Page 39 of Knight With Benefits

“I hope he is, and if you keep following in his footsteps, you’re going to follow him to the same place. You can be mad all you want, but one day you’ll have to pull your head out of his ass and actually think for yourself.”

I had to blink fast to keep the tears back. I hated that things were this way between us, that my son had turned out the way he had, and my chest felt like it was caving in.

He drew in another breath to make a comeback, but he paused with his lips parted, his eyes going wide. Leaning closer, he practically put his nose to my neck and inhaled again before taking a step back, laughing. His entire body loosened.

“So, that’s what the problem is. The others thought you were too old to bother with, especially after the things Dad had said, but it seems like you’ve still got some use left. Don’t worry, I’ll choose the best of Dad’s friends for you.”

The car door was shutting behind him before his words sank in. I barely felt the pain when my knees hit the pavement as the engine cranked, my eyes never leaving his through the glass. My lungs were frozen, my head pounding with the need for air, but I couldn’t breathe.

I wasn’t sure I wanted to.

He was going to tell the others. The alphas just as bad as his father. The so-calledPurists, who were so blinded by their bigotry that they kidnapped and killed people for being different.

Adam pulled away, leaving me on my knees on the pavement. I kept staring at the place he’d been, waiting for the hysteria to hit, to break down, but my mind was oddly quiet.

Blank.

Hope had turned to poison, pouring through my veins and eating me from the inside.

Chapter Seventeen

Carl

Ihadn’t thought anything of it the first time I called Gwyn and she didn’t answer. I figured she was busy and either didn’t have her phone on her or hadn’t felt it vibrating.

But when I hadn’t seen or heard from her thirty minutes later, and she didn’t answer again, the worry got to me.

I ran to the café, my heart pounding as different scenarios played out in my head. Each one was more ridiculous than the last, and while I could realize that, it didn’t stop them from continuing.

As soon as I turned the corner around The Hangout I saw her on the pavement. While seeing her upright quieted some of the fear, the way she sat motionless, staring at the ground in front of her despite the heat of the sun shining down, had me running faster.

“Gwyn? Gwyn, are you okay?”

I’d had enough mental health issues of my own, I was scared to touch her in case it triggered the wrong response, so all I could do was drop to my knees in front of her and duck to look into her face.

There were no tear tracks, and her nose wasn’t red. There wasn’t any hint of blood on her clothing or in the air around her, and she seemed to be breathing easily, so I had no clues to work with.

“Gwyn, Beautiful, what’s wrong?”

Her head slowly lifted, and she blinked as if just realizing I was there. There was no hint of expression on her face, but her eyes were dark, as if with pain, even when her lips twitched the tiniest bit.

“Nothing. Everything. I fucked up, but it’ll be taken care of soon.”

There was such hopelessness in her voice it felt like a blow to my chest, a band wrapping around my heart and lungs and squeezing. My bear dug his claws into my insides, demanding I fix what was wrong, but I still had no idea what to do.

“What happened? What can I do?”

Her lips pulled higher, but the smile didn’t reach her eyes as she let out a huff.

“My son came by. He smelled my heat coming. He’s going to tell the other alphas my mate was associated with, and I’ll be put in my place soon enough. They’ll take the café from me, or make me run it their way once I’m claimed and bonded again, since an omega isn’t capable of doing anything on their own.”

“Bullshit.”

She jerked when I spit the word out, although I thought I saw a spark of something in her eyes, and a purr poured from me without thought.

“You’re capable of doing anything you want. You’ve bought two pieces of property, investing the money you had in a way to continue providing for yourself, as well as bringing value to the community. You’ve come up with a plan, made repairs and renovations, and you knew when to ask for the help you needed. You’re so close to the finish line, to getting what you’ve wanted, and you’ve done it all on your own.”

I carefully took her hands in mine, watching for any signs that my touch made her uncomfortable, but she remained relaxed, staring into my eyes as if she needed my words more than she needed her next breath.

---