Page 55 of Knot in Their Wildest Dreams: Part 1

“God, you alphas are so bone headed!” She said, huffing as she glared at me. “You know, the only reason we are in this mess is because of Arnault. He’s the one who was in charge of that account. He’s the one who profited off of the incident in Tedena, and he forged my signature on the paperwork!” Her words came out indignant, but I was processing them in real time as she spoke. What was she talking about?

“You mean to tell me that the man who was a witness to your signature was the one behind the whole thing? That’s awfully convenient. How would a low level employee like him be able to pull the shots?” I asked, skeptical of her story.

“Gods, yes! Arnault knew that if I found out the buildings weren’t up to code, I wouldn’t be as forgiving as my father. The fire had nearly caused lost lives, and all of it was preventable. It would be a fireable offence. So he paid off the mayor and swept it under the rug. We only found out later, and he was removed from his position the same day!” She said, exasperated.

I rocked backward with this information. If it was true then it meant he’d gone behind her back and made an executive decision, then covered it up and blamed it on her. My focus snapped back to her.

“How did you find out he forged your signature?” I asked, suddenly feeling off kilter as the possibilities came roaring through my mind.

“Only because I’d visited there myself. The mayor mentioned something to me, assuming I had given the okay. Otherwise, I’d never have known. Arnault is a traitor, and he profited off of his misdeeds. Either way, I’m sure he made even more money for himself by keeping the documents as leverage!” She said, and my world felt different from a moment before. If Celeste truly didn’t know about Tedena… then what else didn’t she know?

She was still looking up at me with her blue eyes, now more green as they picked up the colors around us. “You still don’t believe me, do you?” She asked quietly. But she was wrong. I still didn’t trust her, but her story checked out. Elijah had mentioned Arnault when he obtained the documents. I shook my head.

“It’s possible I was wrong.” I finally admitted. And maybe I was - about Tedena. But for everything else, it remained to be seen.

“Wow, a humble alpha! Now I really have seen everything today!” She said with a teasing tone, and before I could help it, a smile formed on my face.

I turned toward the open archway that led to the larger nature preserve beyond the glass dome. “Come on. There’s more outside.”

Celeste followed, checking herself for butterflies, until we stepped into the clearing. The glass walls gave way to rolling meadows, thick with wildflowers that swayed in the breeze. She inhaled deeply, arms outstretched as if soaking in the warmth. “It feels so refreshing to be away from everything. Peaceful, really.”

She had no idea I’d grown up in a place where I was surrounded by nature. It really was a privilege to be around so much life. But now, when I thought about my home, only an aching bitterness remained. I watched Celeste, conflicted about what I knew. Could it be possible that she wasn’t responsible for what happened on Arkala?

I was about to say something to her when movement caught my eye. A flash of brown and gold against the sky. A falcon, sleek and deadly, cut through the air above the meadow. It hovered for a moment, almost serene, then it dove. Celeste gasped, her hands flying to her mouth as she watched the falcon’s talons close around its prey - a smaller bird, something helpless and unaware until the very last second. One moment it was flying, the next it was gone.

I turned to her, expecting her to be bemused. Maybe even impressed. That was nature, wasn’t it? The strong consume the weak. The world as it was meant to be, especially in Celeste’s world.

But her face…

Celeste wasn’t amused. She wasstricken.

“That was so fast,” she murmured, voice oddly small.

I frowned. “That’s how hunting works.”

She shook her head, still staring at the sky. “I know. I just - I wasn’t expecting it. I don’t like violence.”

Something unsettling shifted inside me. Celeste had grown up in the corporate world. She understood power plays. Ruthlessness. Predators and prey. But watching a falcon hunt had shaken her. If she truly was behind the attacks against my people, if she was as cold and calculated as I believed, would she really react likethis? She was practically queasy at the thought of violence. Would someone who could order destruction with a single command truly be moved by the small, quiet death of an animal?

I wanted to hate her. I had built my rage against her like armor, layer upon layer of distrust, of certainty that she was the villain in this story. But every second I spent with her, every smile, every scent-filled breath that pulled me closer - cracked something in me.

I had spent so long convincing myself she was the one responsible for all my anguish. But what if she wasn’t?

What if Celeste Harringday, my enemy, my scent match, wasn’t the predator in this equation?

What if she had been the prey all along?

Chapter 39

Celeste

Something had shifted. After nearly two months of living with Pack Lockwood, we had gone from near hatred of each other, to a tension filled existence, to a sort of truce. And now, it was almost like we were getting along.

I was able to be around all of them without the anxiety of the scent match or the fact that for years they had been targeting me and my company. We’d reached a point where I could sit with them in the living room, each of us buried in our laptops, the silence not strained but companionable. It was unsettling how natural it felt. Almost domestic. Like we were a real, bonded pack.

Late morning blurred into early afternoon, and as I finished a minor project, my stomach gave a loud, unmistakable growl. Three heads immediately turned toward me.

“Hungry?” Liam asked, already starting to stand up.

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