Page 42 of Knot Your Romeo

I should run after her. But I know I can’t. She deserves better than a man who needs to work on himself before he can give her everything she needs.

She deserves an Alpha who won’t hesitate to claim her, who won’t let fear override desire. She deserves someone who isn’t me.

But I still feel like I’ve just made the biggest mistake of my life.

You’re an idiot, my Alpha repeats, and for once, I completely agree.

16

Emmie

“Were you with thegardener?” Mom asks as she chops vegetables for dinner, her tone deliberately casual. I look up from my textbook, my chest still tight with the memory of Eli’s rejection.

“Elias? We were just talking.”

Talking,I think bitterly.Among other things.

“Mmm.” She slides the diced carrots into a pot. “Talking about what, exactly?”

“School. The grounds. Nothing important.” I shrug, trying to downplay the connection I thought I felt with him. The connection that apparently meant nothing when it mattered. “He’s nice, Mom, that’s all.”

The words taste like ash in my mouth.

Nice. Right.Nice enough to let me bare my soul and body to him, but not nice enough to actually want me for more than an afternoon’s entertainment.

She sets down her knife, turning to face me fully. “Jolie, Alphas are very good at seeming nice when they want something. Especially from young Omegas.”

“It’s not like that,” I insist, though my voice lacks conviction. Maybe it was exactly like that. Maybe I was just another conquest for a bored Alpha with too much time on his hands.

“That’s what I thought about Blake, too,” she says quietly. The mention of my stepfather sends a chill down my spine. “Eli isn’t Blake.”

“No, he’s probably worse,” Mom says, her voice hardening. “Blake was obvious in the cruelty he dished out. The truly dangerous ones are the ones who seem kind, who lure you in with gentleness before showing their true nature.”

Before rejecting you when you offer them everything, I add silently, my hands clenching around my textbook.

I close my textbook with more force than necessary. “You don’t even know him.” And I don’t know why I’m wanting to protect him.

“I know Alphas,” she counters. “Especially wealthy ones who think they own everything and everyone around them.”

This catches me off guard. “Wealthy? Eli is just a gardener.”

Mom gives me a look of surprise, then sighs. “Oh, Emmie. Elias Silver isn’t just a gardener. He’s Beck Silver’s brother. Co-owner of this entire estate, the tech company, everything. The difference is he chooses to work on the land, but make no mistake—he’s as rich and powerful as his brother. And probably as ruthless.”

Another lie. Another deception.

Eli had let me believe he was just an employee, had played the humble groundskeeper while he owned half of everything I could see. No wonder he wouldn’t give me his complete self.

“I asked around town,” Mom continues, returning to her chopping. “The Silver brothers are old money, with fingers inevery pie from tech to real estate. Some people say Beck has dealings with the mafia. But I’m not speculating on that. As far as I know, Beck runs the business side of their legal business and Elias manages the land holdings. They’re practically royalty in this town.”

My mind races, reevaluating every interaction with Elias. The confidence beneath his casual demeanor. The authority in his voice when he confronted Romeo. The way Mrs. Reynolds referred to him. The expensive cottage, filled with first-edition books and handcrafted furniture. How could I have been so naïve? So utterly, completely stupid?

“Did you know Romeo isn’t actually Beck’s son?” Mom adds. “The story is that his parents died in an accident. Beck took him in and his siblings in, raised his niece and nephews.”

“Elias told me that much,” I murmur, still processing everything else. At least that hadn’t been a lie.

“Well, there’s more. Apparently, Romeo’s quite the troubled young man. Wild parties, fights, rumors of drugs. The only reason he hasn’t been expelled from that fancy college is because of Beck’s donations.”

Great. The Alpha who thinks he is my scent match is not just a jerk, but a dangerous one with a powerful protector.

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