Page 41 of Knight With Benefits

Suspicion tried to take over, clouding my thoughts, but my bear forced it aside. I’d seen the fear responses, the trauma Gwyn delt with, and that couldn’t be faked. Even if it would be smarter to distance myself from anything to do with the radical group, there was no way I could push Gwyn out of my life.

Chuckling, I forced the same smile I used any other time I was trying to hide the dark shit messing with my head.

“They have way more reason to go after me than just being associated with you, Beautiful. I clearly remember laying waste to one of their warehouses before the cops showed up to rescue some unfortunate women not too long ago. On top of some other incidents we may have had with them this year.”

Her mouth popped open, brown eyes rounding.

“The motorcycles! You’re inthatMC?”

There may have been a bit of guilt mixed in with the pride. I wasn’t someone to take a life lightly, but those men had been holding kidnapped omegas. Some had done the worst things to them, and I couldn’t muster up an ounce of regret over what I’d done that night.

“I am. We’re Hell’s Knights, so let me be your Knight. Even if I’m missing the armor.”

It was a corny line, but it got her to smile, and that was all that mattered.

“My knight with benefits.”

That got me grinning, and I finally relaxed as I realized the worst had passed. She was going to be okay.

I’d make sure of it.

Chapter Eighteen

Gwyn

Carl had brought me out of the shock I’d been in, but he’d only muddled my thoughts more with his offers and revelations.

What could I do?

The old me who’d been beaten down and trapped in a bond that sucked all the will from me would have given in without a fight, secretly hoping a second bond would finally kill me. It wasn’t that the few who survived losing their mate couldn’t take a new one, but taking on the weight of another alpha who cared nothing for me other than the status he received for having an omega mate and the high he could get from my heats would have drowned me.

But now?

Carl was right.

I was so close to the dream that had taken root in me when I realized I could be free. Looking at it every day, it was hard to see the progress I’d made, but thinking back made me realize how far I’d come with the café. The kitchen might be empty, but it was clean and painted, ready for its new life. The front end still needed more attention, but progress was being made, and I knew I was on the right track to opening the doors.

But that only meant I had more to lose.

It didn’t matter which of Anthony’s buddies Adam picked to claim me, I’d be enslaved to another alpha who thought he was so perfect he was willing to kill others for being different. The Purists claimed shifters were the cause of all the strife and hardships people faced, and that wiping them from existence was the only way to bring back thegood ole days. I’d known it was wrong before, but I’d been too burdened with my own issues to look beyond at what the Purists were doing to others. After meeting Carl and growing closer to him, he’d solidified the fact that there were good and bad in all people, shifter or not, and I couldn’t stand by and remain silent any longer. I wanted nothing to do with the Purists.

But that would mean cutting my ties to Adam.

I couldn’t help thinking of the little boy who smiled so wide while rolling his monster trucks through the mud, and ate strawberries until his belly bulged. The one who would sneak into bed with me when there was a thunderstorm at night, only to slip out again before morning so his dad wouldn’t catch him and lecture him about how alphas weren’t supposed to be scared of anything.

I’d beaten myself up for so long over how he’d become more and more like his father with each year that passed, and the guilt was on the verge of strangling me. I had to remind myself it wasn’t my fault, I’d shown him there were other ways, yet he’d chosen to follow Anthony and the Purists.

Realizing I was going to lose him completely if I fought this felt like Anthony dying all over again. The gaping wound in my chest, the pain and pressure, and the inability to draw a full breath.

But if I gave in and did nothing, I was going to lose myself. I had only begun to find who I was beneath the years repression, but I still didn’t want to go back to the way things were before. I wanted to keep pushing, no matter how hard it was, until I knew I wasmeagain.

And Carl’s offers…

Hiding in the mountains forever might sound idyllic, but I was tired of running from my problems. I felt like I’d found my purpose with my dream of having a little haven for people to come together in a safe place, and I didn’t want to give that up, even if running would be easier. I didn’t know if Carl meant he’d stay there with me, but I couldn’t ask him to give up his life too.

And his other offer…

The omega in me wanted to throw herself into his arms and tell him to bite me the second I was in heat. He’d proven he was trustworthy and reliable, that he wouldn’t take advantage of his strength or dominance, and I was more than attracted to him…

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