Page 3 of Believe it or Knot

Stepping over the threshold into her little house that smells like lavender and clean linen, I can’t help but feel this single step is going to change my life, and the lives of my packmates.

Sorrel backs away from the door, clenching her hands in front of her like she’s nervous. I suppose anyone who knows who I am would be nervous. If she was completely calm, I’d probably be a bit more concerned about her going crazy stalker on me or something.

Though the idea of Sorrel stalking me doesn’t seem all that bad. I don’t think I would mind if she kidnapped me, tied me up and had her way with me. If the way my perfume hits the air is any sign, I don’t mind the idea of that at all.

I take a deep breath, bringing the clean laundry and lavender scent of her into my lungs, and immediately it soothes my inner omega, just like the scent of my alphas. Very promising. If I didn’t like her scent, I’d have to reconsider, but this is better than just liking it. It’s positively divine.

Rafe follows me in, eyes checking over every inch of the space, looking for threats that I know he will not find.

The space is small, made even smaller by Rafe’s enormous size and my slighter, but still considerable, bulk. I take in the living room, eat-in kitchen, and stairs leading up to a loft space again, this time up close and personal. Through the glass door at the back of the house I can see a stunning view of the lake with a dock and a little shed that likely houses floaties and life jackets.

There’s a guitar leaning against the magenta bookshelves, like she’d been playing it and then set it there when we knocked.

Despite the bright colors, everything about this little home soothes me, makes my omega feel secure. I want nothing more than to curl up on her couch and tuck Sorrel under my arm, while Rafe watches over us and keeps both of us safe.

“The phone’s over here,” she says, pointing at a cordless phone, before she picks it up and holds it out. “I can look for a tow company. The closest one is going to be Budd’s, but he’s only got the one truck and his sciatica was acting up. But he might be able to find someone to drive it up here and get you taken care of.”

Rafe takes the phone from her, then tugs out his cell. “If you give me the password for your Wi-Fi, I can reach out to our normal car company.”

Her face blanches. And I do mean blanches. All color draining from her cheeks, and her breath hitches in her chest. “Right. Yeah, I can… share my password with you.” Her gaze flicks to me uncertainly, but then she snaps her fingers. “Oh, I can share it with you. One second.” She grabs her cell phone and taps on the screen. “The network is ‘TheBungalow’.”

Rafe taps on his screen and then she gnaws on her lower lip as she shares the password without telling us what it is verbally.

I wonder what it is and why she didn’t want to vocalize it. But I don’t think it really matters all that much. She’s probably just a private person and doesn’t want us to know. As Rafe steps outside to make a phone call in which he’ll be ‘told’ we won’t get a tow until tomorrow, my gaze latches on the guitar again. “Do you play?”

Sorrel’s aqua eyes move to me. She had been staring at the door following Rafe, but now she’s looking at me and I fucking love the feel of it. I always want her eyes on me. “What?” her cheeks go pink and she shakes her head. “Oh, yeah, a little. Not… I’m not good or anything. Not like you. I just play around a little.”

“Something tells me that’s a lie, but I’ll let you keep your secrets,” I tease gently, and she blushes even harder.

I pull my eyes off her and wander to the fireplace, taking in the framed pictures. There’s an older couple standing proudly in front of a painted sign that reads “The Snack Shack.” They are indisputably Sorrel’s parents. The woman has the same tumble of dark brown hair and the same chin and eyes, while the man has her tan skin, freckles and nose. Sorrel perfectly combines both of them into one gorgeous package.

There’s another picture of them obviously in their wedding clothes, just the two of them, which tells me they’re likely both betas and Sorrel was raised outside of a pack.

I pick up the third picture. Sorrel with two other women around the same age as her, all dressed in tiny bathing suits hanging out on a dock with the sparkling water behind them. “Friends?” I ask.

Sorrel’s back to nibbling on her lower lip and staring hard at the door. She appears startled again, like she doesn’t know why I’m talking to her, but eventually she says, “Oh, yes. Sadie and Sylvie. They live in the cabins over to the west. They’re my best friends.”

I nod, strolling over to her couch and settling on a cushion with a groan. “We stopped by them first but found no one was home. It was frustrating, but now I find I’m glad. This is the most comfortable couch ever.” I say, running a hand over a pillow. I’m not even lying. It’s better than the one that cost close to ten thousand dollars at our pack house.

She drops her gaze to the tips of her cute toes and her blush grows even more, but she doesn’t say anything. And fuck do I want her to. I want her to talk to me, tell me everything that goes on in that intriguing mind of hers. I almost feel like I need it.

My heart clenches when she lifts her eyes to meet mine and her lips part, but then Rafe comes stomping through the door, tucking his phone into his pocket and her mouth snaps closed. I have to bite back the growl that wants to erupt to chastise my alpha.

“The earliest they can get here is tomorrow,” he says right off the bat, and Sorrel’s brow furrows adorably.

“I’m sorry about that. It’s not a very big town.”

“Yes, I gathered that when you informed me, we might not get a tow because of a sciatica flare up,” he says wryly.

I flash him a pointed look and then turn my attention back to my beta. “That means we’ll need a place to stay.”

“I can call to have someone come get you, take you into town? Or I can take you, I suppose. There’s a little B and B that has the best scones for breakfast.”

I know she’s just trying to help, but goddammit, can’t she tell we want to stay here with her?

Rafe must be thinking the same thing as I am. “Trying to get rid of us, conejita?”

She looks startled by the question, like it never occurred to her we might feel that way.

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