Page 100 of Believe it or Knot

Or maybe in the future, I’ll find a beta male and settle down with him. The key word there being ‘settle’. Which isn’t fair to the faceless, nameless man in that scenario. I shouldn’t settle and neither should he.

“What do you want to do?” Vee asks again, drawing me out of my bleak thoughts.

I consider and then say, “I want to cut all ties with them. I want to give back everything they ever gave me and I want to repay them what they paid to the Stillwell pack. I don’t want any loose ends that they can point to and say, see? She was just a money hungry, manipulative bitch after all.”

Sadie nods, then hops up from the bed. “We’re on it.”

Vee stands a little slower, bending to press a kiss to my forehead. “Yep, we’re on it.”

I get up too, but they both press me back down. “Nope. You stay right there babe and get to wallowing. By the time you’re done, we’ll have everything they sent to you packed up and sent back.”

“I’m pretty sure we’ll be able to tell what is yours and what they gave you,” Vee says, brow wrinkled. She’s not wrong. They will probably be able to figure that out. I’d never be able to afford designer labels and everything the Cordova pack gifted me is the most designer of designer labels.

I nod. “Most of them have the tags still on them, anyway. If you have any questions…”

“We’ll ask,” Sadie assures me, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. “Don’t worry. We’ll handle everything. You just hang out here. There’s a ton of ice cream in the freezer. You know where the snack cupboard is. But if we don’t have something you want, let one of the guys know, okay?”

I wrinkle my nose at the thought of asking any of the Falcone pack for anything, even though I know they’d likely move heaven and earth for me, just because I’m Sadie’s friend.

But the idea of them seeing me like this is… embarrassing.

“Sor,” Sadie says in a warning tone as she pokes my cheek. “They will not judge you for this, and if they do, I’ll withhold sex from them for a week.”

My brows jump and a small laugh burbles from my chest. “Well, then I’m sure they’ll be on their best behavior. “

She laughs. “Yep. Without a doubt.”

They both bend and press kisses to my forehead before shuffling out of the room.

I lay in the conversation's wake, feeling wrung out and exhausted, but better. It feels better to have told them everything, to have shared the story, to have my feelings and heartbreak validated. Cathartic.

And now that I’ve processed everything out loud, I can see just how doomed everything was from the start. They pursued me with an almost single-minded intent. I never pushed for anything from them. That they can conclude that I was using them the entire time off of so little proof is evidence of how broken the Cordova pack actually is.

They claim to want someone else to join them, a female to carry their babies and build a family with, but they’ll never get it with the overwhelming distrust issues they have. Not only did they lie to me about our relationship, but they also lied to themselves.

And Gage… I don’t even know where to start with him. At some point, I’ll probably forgive him for what he said, for how he acted. We’ve always worked through our fights. But for now, I’m still too raw to consider having that conversation.

After laying there for all of ten minutes, I tire of wallowing.

Sadie and Vee are doing their part to extract me from the tangle that is the Cordova pack. I need to do the same.

Thirty minutes later, I’m showered and dressed in a pair of Sadie’s leggings and one of her oversized cropped hoodies. I feel marginally more human, or at least better prepared to face the world.

Taking a deep breath, I pull open the door of the guest bedroom I’ve been staying in and step into the hall. The combined Falcone pack scents aren’t as emotionally offensive to me today, which is a good thing, because the last thing I need is to cry during the conversation I need to have.

I follow the sound of a TV to the living room where I find Swift slouched on the couch watching a cooking show and Maddox at the island with his laptop open. They both look up as I enter, but don’t comment on how I showed up as a sobbing mess on their doorstep two days ago.

“There’s coffee if you want some.” Maddox jerks his chin at the carafe on the counter.

I stare at it for a moment before I venture to ask. “Do you have any green tea?”

Swift hops up from the couch, his pale blond hair flopping over his forehead, his colorful tattoos catching the light. “I’ll make it for you, Sorrel.”

“I can do it,” I protest, not wanting to intrude on their hospitality more, but he’s already filling the kettle and pulling out a mug. “Thank you,” I say softly, and he waves me off.

I look back at the prime alpha, Maddox Falcone, and find him still watching me carefully. “You look like you’re doing better,” he says cautiously, like he’s worried I’ll fall apart at the words. Which, you know, fair.

I tuck the damp strands of my hair behind my ears and nod. “I am. Thank you for letting me stay. I’ll get out of here soon.”

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