Page 52 of Knot Forever

Chapter twenty-one – Asher

Mypenclattersontothe desk as I stand up, moving away from my desk and over to the window. I can see right across the city from here, all the hustle and bustle, people going about their day.

Normally, I’d be head down. But I’m restless. Knowing that Nova is at home, knowing that her heat is coming, is making my skin prickle with awareness.

I can’t lose focus on my work. If I do, our carefully stacked house of cards could easily come tumbling down, taking our position with us.

The phone on my desk buzzes. “Yes?”

My secretary, Sascha, keeps her voice professional. “I have an Adam Williams here for you, sir.”

Well, this is interesting. I take a second to assess. “Tell him I’m in meetings.”

Sascha’s response comes seconds later. “He said he’ll wait, sir.”

I put the phone down with a click. He wants to wait? Let him.

***

By the time Adam Williams is shown into my office several hours later, he’s seething. I assess him casually, sat back in my chair. “Hope the wait wasn’t too long for you, Williams.”

He sits gingerly, a glower on his face. I notice with relish that the bruising on his face has bloomed into a deep, dark purple.

“You think you’re so high and mighty, King.” He leans forward, wincing as a hand moves to his ribs. “But it’s just us now, so you can drop the act.”

“I’m sure I don’t know what you mean.”

Williams rolls his eyes. “I get it. You want us to stay out of your patch, stop stirring things up. Message received. We’ll back off, but you need to hand over Nova. Think of it as a goodwill gesture.”

My casual pose fades in an instant as I place my hands on the desk. “Let me make this very,veryclear. Nova Chevnik is not yours, Williams. She never was. She is ours. We won the auction, fair and square, and we’re claiming her as our mate, with her full agreement. You have no money, no influence… and last I heard, your house is going to auction to pay off your debts.”

He glowers at me, but I’m not finished.

“Think of this as a lesson,” I say softly. “But I’ll give you one more. If I catch sight of you, or any member of your pack, anywhere near my mate in the future. If you so much asbreathein her direction, if you contact her in any way, or her family, then I will end you. I will hunt you down, and I will rip you apart. I will remove your fingernails first, and I will end with your tongue. Do you understand me?”

Adam pales, his hands shaking on his chair. “You can’t do that.”

“Can’t I?”

He flinches at the soft challenge in my voice. “I need to keep in touch with her family. They owe us money, and thanks to you, we need it back.”

And just like that,clarity.

“You will leave them alone. They don’t owe you shit. Think of it as compensation for what you did to their daughter and be grateful I’m letting you go with a warning and nothing else.”

Almost nothing tastes as delicious as watching someone realize they’re completely out of options. We’ve cut the Williams pack off, laying traps and poison until they’re drowning in it. Adam’s mouth flops open, but I can see the awareness in his eyes.

Checkmate, asshole.

“I strongly suggest you leave town.” Picking up my pen, I pull my paperwork to me in a clear sign of dismissal. “To avoid any accidents. And of course, to avoid the debt collectors. I hear some of them are quite angry at not being able to recoup their investments.”

He growls, but I don’t look at him as he gets up and shuffles towards the door. “Careful, King. In looking for our weak spot, you’ve revealed your own. And they have a way of destroying you from the inside out.”

I flick my gaze up. “You see Nova as a weakness, but she is our strength, Williams. And Nova is not the reason for your current circumstances. You’re here because you’re a violent asshole who gets off on terrorizing women. There’s no space for that in our city, so pack whatever shit you have left, take your pack and leave. This is your final warning.”

I hold his eyes until he spins with a curse, the door slamming shut behind him a second later.

Contemplating the discussion, I pull out my phone and call Seth.

---