Page 37 of Knight With Benefits

“Carl?”

I didn’t want to disturb any of my neighbors, but I had to pitch my voice to carry up to where the guys were. I worried I hadn’t been loud enough until a bearded face peered over the edge at me.

“It’s unlocked, and I left some coffee in there for the two of you. I’m heading out.”

It might not have been necessary to tell him I was leaving since we both knew the plan for the day, but it hadn’t felt right to walk away without saying anything.

“Thanks. I’ll call when we’re ready for a break, if you don’t come back first.”

Toes curling in my sneakers, that warm glow spread through my limbs. It was so easy to trust him, to fall into the natural pattern of alpha and omega, and after knowing what he felt like inside me, it was hard not to think about how nice it would be to have that feeling every day.

Of course, those thoughts led to what my life had been like with Anthony. Those fuzzy, warm feelings had died as soon as I came to from the daze of my first heat and I realized what had happened.

My first heat had come earlier than most omegas, and unfortunately my mother hadn’t thought it necessary to prepare me ahead of time. I had still been a naive teen girl, flattered because an older alpha was interested in me. I’d always been a bit on the plump side, and plain, with my brown hair and eyes, so I hadn’t been used to the attention, nor was I smart enough to realize why he’d suddenly noticed me when I had seen him plenty of times at the convenience store by the shitty apartment I lived in with my parents.

A couple ofaccidentalmeetings with increased flirting led to a laughable date at the fast-food place on the corner. A couple more of those within the span of a week led to heavy petting that made me think the way I felt was due to the new experiences and the excitement of it all. He’d convinced me to sneak out to meet him at night, and even after I was half delirious with what I thought was just a fever, I was too stupid to stay away. It couldn’t have been more than an hour after that foolish decision before it was too late.

The fear and confusion were what I remembered feeling first, but it was the hope that hurt the most. I’d been dumb enough to hope for the best, despite what had happened. Naïve enough to think he’d been as overcome as I had been, his desire to be with me too strong to resist, and it was all just instincts that had led to him biting me without permission.

That hope had been ruthlessly crushed, ground beneath the weight of Anthony’s cruelty. His demands on my body and utter lack of care or concern for my wellbeing wore me down, and if it hadn’t been for my sons, I wasn’t sure I’d have had the will to hang onto the last threads of myself and keep going after what he’d put me through.

My head was a tangled mess as I walked to the café that held so many of my long-buried dreams. Even the bright paint in the kitchen couldn’t cheer me up, and looking into the dining room that still carried traces of scent from what had happened with Carl only helped stir things more.

The omega part of me yearned for Carl, but years of abuse screamed to stay away. Told me that I had let him in too fast, and he would end up hurting me just like Anthony had if I was stupid enough to fall for him.

“He’s not like Anthony.”

The whisper was barely loud enough to hear in the empty space, the lack of conviction behind it showing how torn I was. It didn’t matter anyway, since he’d been clear whatever this was between us was only a friends-with-benefits situation. As soon as he was done with the work I’d hired him for, or he found someone else, it would end.

And I’d be alone again.

Blinking the sting from my eyes, I sucked in a deep breath and shook my head. I was a grown woman, not some child unaware of how the world worked. I’d be fine, no matter what happened. I’d already proven I could survive even the worst situation.

I worked on finishing what I’d been doing the previous night until my nose burned from the fumes and my muscles cramped from the labor of smoothing the filler so flooring could be laid overtop it. There hadn’t been much left to finish, so I was done in a matter of hours, with time to kill before I could head home for lunch. Despite the confusion of my feelings, I still looked forward to spending more time with Carl and providing for him. It soothed an itch in my soul to be needed by someone, even if it was for something as simple as lunch.

I went outside to get fresh air as I gave in and placed the order for the counters I wanted from my phone. The crunch of tires on pavement drew my attention up, and the sight of the old burgundy Cadilac stole the breath from my lungs, my heart stuttering as the world froze.

It didn’t matter that I knew he was gone.

That the hole where our bond had been confirmed my mate was dead.

Because that was his car, here, in the place I was trying to start a new life.

I’d been found.

Chapter Sixteen

Gwyn

The creak of the car door opening was as loud as a gunshot, and I jerked as if I’d been hit. The face that appeared over the frame was the one from my nightmares, the one that haunted my memories, and I couldn’t stop the whine that escaped my throat.

“Hey, Mom.”

I blinked and the world shifted. The face I’d imagined filled in, pale scruff covering the dimpled chin from my past. The same blonde hair covered the top of his head, but it was cut shorter than Anthony had preferred, and wasn’t as thin.

“Adam?”

My oldest child grinned as if we’d seen each other only days prior instead of almost two months ago. As if he hadn’t screamed at me the last time I’d walked out of the home we’d shared since his birth, or sent constant demands to my phone.

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