Page 9 of Knotting else Matters

Except he wasn’t talking.

He was looking. Right. At. Me.

The smile I forced this time was pure reflex, but there was no hiding the way my pulse picked up speed.

This was shaping up to be the longest two weeks of my life.

When the last of the ribbons were finally in place, and Sophie had stopped rearranging the same ribbon for the fifth time, she turned to Adrian with that impossibly bright smile of hers. “Adrian, could you take Liv back to the hotel?”

But I jumped in before he could answer. “Actually, I think I’ll walk. It’s a nice day, and I haven’t been here in eight years. Might be fun to see how much has changed.”

Sophie beamed, and I caught the way her eyes sparkled with that naive optimism she wore like a second skin. “Oh, so much has changed! But all the best changes came two years ago when Adrian took leadership of the pack.”

I snorted, leaning in to hug her and whispering in her ear, “Kiss-ass.”

She giggled, giving me a light swat on the shoulder.

I pulled back and turned to Adrian, who stood with his usual mountain-like posture, arms crossed, eyes dark and unreadable. “Well, see you later,Wolfzilla. Try not to miss me too much.”

“See you tonight,” he corrected, a hint of amusement touching his stern face. “Dinner party at my family’s house. Seven p.m. Don’t worry, you’ll have plenty of time to cure your hangover.”

“Wow, counting down the hours till we can be awkward in the same room again? I’m flattered.”

Sophie giggled, and before I could add another sarcastic jab, she grabbed my hand. “Don’t worry, Liv. Karl and I will come pick you up.”

“Can’t wait,” I grinned, even though the thought of another few hours trapped in a room with Adrian made me want to spontaneously combust.

I turned and headed down the street without a backward glance, even though I could feel his gaze lingering on me.

The air was warm the sun finally breaking through the clouds, and the town stretched out before me like a faded photograph with a fresh coat of paint. New shops, renovated storefronts, trees that seemed taller and prouder than I remembered.

I walked, letting the sounds of Blue Springs wash over me—the laughter of kids, the hum of distant traffic, the faint rustle of leaves as the breeze swept through the park ahead. The park. I hadn’t been there in years.

I stepped onto the winding path, the soft crunch of gravel beneath my boots. The familiar scent of pine and damp earth filled the air, but there was something peaceful about it now. Back then, the park had always felt like a cage—tall trees that seemed to block out the world beyond. But now it felt… open. Like a space where I could breathe.

If I didn’t think too hard, I could almost pretend I was just another visitor in a charming medium-sized town. Not Olivia, the runaway Zeta, sarcastic mess, and sister of the perfect Omega bride.

I walked faster, letting the warm air whip against my cheeks, desperate to shake off the tangled knot of thoughts clawing at me. If I was going to survive this, I needed to remember one thing—don’t get attached. Don’t get comfortable. And definitely don’t let somegrowly, dark-eyed Alpha get under my skin.

CHAPTER 3

Adrian

I stared at the stack of papers on my desk, but the words blurred together, a jumble of meaningless text against crisp white. Contracts, pack agreements, ceremony logistics—each line was supposed to bring order, to keep everything running smoothly. Control. I liked control. Needed it.

But she was chaos.

Olivia.

The moment she stepped out of that hotel, all sharp words and careless laughter, she’d shattered the quiet order of my morning. My wolf bristled beneath my skin even now, pacing restlessly, his growl a low, constant rumble in the back of my mind. He didn’t like her. Didn’t trust her.

And neither did I.

I didn’t trust what I couldn’t smell. That was the problem. Wolves were creatures of scent—identity, emotion, truth, all laid bare in a single breath. But Olivia? She was a puzzle. Wrapped in floral perfume, laundry detergent, and the acidic bite of stale whiskey. Beneath it all—nothing. No true scent. No hint of her wolf. Just a void where her soul should be.

My wolf hated it. Hated the way she looked at me, her smile sharp and teasing, her voice a constant dare. Hated the way she spoke without deference, challenged without fear. A creature born without submission, a spark that refused to be smothered.

And yet I couldn’t stop thinking about her. The way she leaned against me in the elevator, that flash of vulnerability when she didn’t know who I was. The defiance that danced in her eyes the moment she found out.

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