Page 102 of Believe it or Knot

He tilts his head, making his white blond hair slide over his forehead. “I’ve never had a sister before.”

I shrug. “Well, now you do… maybe more like a sister-in-law, but the feeling is the same.”

He hums, and slips his knife away, hiding it somewhere I can’t see. “Well, now I’m going to have to hurt them. Can’t have them making my baby sister cry.”

I point a finger at him. “No. I just… I want to forget it ever happened. Cut ties with them entirely and just move on.”

“With that in mind,” comes Maddox’s voice from behind me. “I have the contract here.” He slides it on to the island in front of me, before moving to pour himself a cup of coffee. “I wish you’d just let us give you the money as a thank you for helping Sadie realize she belongs with us.”

I wave my hand and pick up the stack of paper, scanning it even though I know what it says. We’ve debated the terms thirty minutes ago. “That’s what best friends do. You don’t have to pay me for that. Honestly, it’s offensive that you’d even offer.”

“It’s not payment,” Maddox points out. “If it’s a gift.”

“It’s not a gift, if you give it to me with the frame of services rendered.” I hold out a hand to him. “Do you have a pen?”

A moment later, one of those super heavy fancy pens slides onto my palm, and I sign the contract with a flourish. As soon as I do, a small amount of the weight that had been sitting on my chest dissipates, making it easier for me to breathe. Not much, but it’s an improvement.

This is the first step to forgetting the Cordova pack.

At least the first one that I’ve taken. Sadie and Sylvie are packing up all the gifts they sent me, scrubbing their existence from my little cabin. With any luck, I’ll be able to go back home without seeing them all over my tiny space. It’s unlikely, but a girl can hope.

I have the feeling I’ll be thinking about them, mourning them for the rest of my life.

Pathetic considering I’ve only been with them for a handful of weeks.

What’s the rule about it taking half the time you were with someone to get over them?

It’s a lie, is what it is.

This feels… Catastrophic and like I’ll never fully recover.

Track 23: Mastermind

The last person I expect to find in my office at is my little brother. I mean, I wasn’t expecting to find anyone here at seven am, but he really is the last person I would have expected.

“Luca,” I say, proud when my voice doesn’t show any of my surprise. Years of handling boardrooms and volatile meetings have taught me to be calm, cool and collected in the face of everything.

Even the second in command of the Falcone pack. Even the fact that he’s not alone. Two omegas have joined him, if the scents in the air are anything to go by—cherry pie and honeyed nectarines—and Jackson Werth.

How the hell all four of them got into the building and past security is something I’m going to have to address, sooner rather than later. I can’t have Liam coming into a building that isn’t secure. Which he will do when he stops being pissed at me for how things ended with Sorrel.

“Jackson,” I nod my head at the other alpha and around my desk to sit in my chair.

“Grayson,” he grunts out, eyes hard. It takes me by surprise. We’ve always been perfectly pleasant to each other whenever we’ve come into contact. Which is fairly often given the circles we both run in. But now he looks near ready to tear me apart.

Come to think of it, Luca doesn’t exactly look pleased to see me either.

But then, that’s always been the case with my little brother ever since he became a criminal.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know your-” I cut off my address to the omegas, because I realize with a start that I do know them. The one sitting in front of Jackson has shoulder length wavy blond hair, dark at the roots, hazel eyes and a nose ring. The other, perched on my little brother’s knee, has long light brown hair, silver eyes and her lips are painted a bright shade of red that should be garish this early in the morning, but instead compliments her extraordinarily well. “Sylvie Kinsella and Sadie Pierce,” I greet them. “Sorrel’s friends.” I congratulate myself on getting her name out without a wince or having my voice crack.

Sadie scoffs while Sylvie tilts her head. “You know who we are?”

I nod and lean back in my chair, trying like hell to not let my heartbreak show. Fuck, what I wouldn’t give for things to have turned out differently. “I do.” My gaze flicks to the two alphas in the room, but they seem content to let the omegas handle the situation.

“I don’t know what you’re doing here, though.” Something occurs to me and my heart clenches, even though I battle against the feeling. “Is Sorrel okay? Did something happen to her?”

“You mean like a bunch of assholes breaking her heart? Maybe having the entire fucking world hate her for something she didn’t even do?” Sadie growls at me. Luca chuckles like she’s adorable and runs his hand down her spine.

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