Page 35 of Knot in Their Wildest Dreams: Part 1

“Live here. Work. Breathe. Knowing we were scent matches the whole time.” His jaw tensed as he ran a hand through his hair. “Because I can barely manage, and it’s only getting worse.”

I swallowed, my fingers tightening around the edge of my laptop. “It wasn’t easy,” I admitted, keeping my voice even. “It still isn’t. Out of everyone in the world, I got stuck with you three. And yeah, I had to suffer through it. I wasn’t sure if you would use it against me.” I said, thinking about how bad it would have been if they were the more pushy, controlling alphas that were common in my circles.

Liam reared back, clearly horrified at the idea that they would use alpha barking or worse, a bite to control me. “Celeste, we would never-” He started, but I held up a finger.

“I know that now. But how could I have known when the first time I really talked to you was to discuss how you were blackmailing me to save yourselves? You saw how Marlon acted at the party. That’s what I’m used to. So yeah, I couldn’t trust you with the information. And it tore me apart.” I said.

Liam’s throat bobbed as he swallowed, something unreadable flashing through his eyes. “I didn’t realize -”

“You didn’tcareto realize,” I cut in, my voice sharper than I intended. “None of you did.”

Silence stretched between us, thick with unspoken regrets. Then, finally, Liam sighed. “You’re right.” He leaned back against the couch, rubbing a hand down his face before glancing at me again. “Look, I know we can’t change what’s already happened. But we still have time left in this… arrangement. And I don’t want to spend the rest of it at war with you.” His voice softened, and I saw something tender in his expression. “Can we call a truce?”

I hesitated, searching his face for any sign of deception. But for once, Liam Lockwood wasn’t playing a game.

A truce wouldn’t fix everything. But maybe, just maybe, it would make this mess a little more bearable.

“Fine,” I said at last, closing my laptop. “But don’t expect me to be nice.”

His lips twitched in something that wasn’t quite a smirk. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”

Chapter 25

Liam

This had to be the worst week of my life. I thought we were on the brink of our greatest revenge and our biggest win. That was until I smelled Celeste’s real scent.

Now, it was like I was a different person. I had suddenly turned to mush for her. I’d do anything to be around her. And I’d fight any other alpha to the death if they tried to touch her - which I nearly had to do when she perfumed in public. Now, I was grappling with the constant need to check on her, be near her, and care for her, all while knowing she was an awful human being. Or was she?

The more I’d been around her, the harder it was to see her as the enemy she should be. Speaking of hard, I had spent the week with my dick harder than a rock ninety percent of my waking hours. And after a year of unintentional celibacy, I was somehow even more horny now that I’d found out she was my scent match. It was like my sex drive was ramped up times ten.

And my instincts were starting to take over when I least expected it. When Celeste was in the kitchen trying to cook, I wanted to scream at her for keeping that secret from us for so long. But then she went and hurt her hand, and every negative feeling for her was wiped clear out of my system as the overwhelming urge to protect her took over. Then it was all downhill - I’d wanted to make sure she ate properly, had the medical care she needed, and couldn’t even leave her alone for the afternoon while she worked. And surprisingly, it hadn’t been all bad.

She’d snipped at me and made her little remarks, but her advice on the marketing campaign made sense. It was almost like she was being honest and trying to help. But I had to stay cautious. She was still our biggest enemy, and no matter what she said, I knew she sabotaged us before. I couldn’t let a few tender moments make me forget the real reason we brought her here.

I needed to focus, especially tonight. We were going to a concert - one of the planned public dates in our contract. We would go, be photographed, then become tabloid fodder the next day. I could get through this. The rumors of her perfuming at our party had been kept away from the media, likely because none of the high-ranking alphas wanted their lack of control reported on. I was thankful for that at least, although I felt a pang of possession over the idea that other alphas had smelled my scent-match’s incredible perfume.

I dressed for our date, making sure to shower in cold water beforehand to calm myself down. I was still getting ready when Dante knocked at my door, not bothering to wait for my answer before letting himself in. He’d taken the news of a scent match the hardest of us all, and hadn’t talked much since. But tonight he was at my side, looking at me in the mirror as I combed my hair, trying not to think about Celeste.

“How are you going to get through it?” Dante asked, his jaw tight.

“Same as before.” I answered curtly, straightening my collar as I looked at myself yet again, scrutinizing my appearance in a way I’d never done before.

“It’s different now. She can manipulate you.” Dante growled, staring at me with an intensity. I faced him, crossing my arms.

“I will not be manipulated by her, Dante. I know who she is. Just because she scent matched us doesn’t mean I’m going to throw everything away.” I remarked as I tried to feel confident in my own words.

“You’ll be alone with her.” He said, his voice strained. I knew what he meant. All of us were going insane in our own way from the desire to bond with her. The longer we went without being with her, the harder it was to function.

“I will be at a whole concert full of people.” I said, placing my hands on his shoulders. “She’s attractive. We can all agree on that. But I’m not just any other horny alpha.” I said reassuringly. He looked at me, his dark eyes doubtful.

“Just be careful.” He warned before turning to leave. He stalked away and I tried not to think about what we’d have to do in the future. I wasn’t able to even think of another omega besides her. After this whole charade was over, how would we be able to do anything? Our entire existence would be consumed with fighting our alpha instincts to follow our scent match and make her ours.

“One step at a time.” I muttered as I looked in the mirror one last time. I’d get through tonight, then the rest of my pack would have their one-on-one dates the next few weeks. We could do this. I stood up straight, braced myself and walked out to the foyer. I didn’t even get halfway there before I felt like I was punched in the gut.

The sweet scent of jasmine and bergamot drifted down the hall, and my heart started racing. I almost worried I’d go into a rut before I realized the scent was her artificial perfume, not her real one - I could still function. But just the memory of her real pheromones had me halfway feral. If this was what her artificial scent would now do to me, how would I manage if I smelled her real perfume again?

I was sure she wanted this to happen. Despite all our talk of a truce, she knew exactly how easy it would be to get me riled up now that I knew she was my scent match. I bit back a growl. If she wanted to make this date difficult, so be it. I knew how to be difficult, too.

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