Page 113 of Knot What She Seems
She stumbles on the bottom step, cursing the heels, and I reach a hand out to help steady her. Then stop myself.
She doesn’t want me to touch her. Still afraid of me.
Still afraid of all alphas.
I can see the demons in her eyes. Whatever happened in the past has changed her irrevocably.
Want to banish those ghosts.
Kill everyone who hurt her.
Brylee pauses when she catches sight of me leaning against a tree near the edge of the stairwell. Pink stains her cheeks—no doubt at having been caught falling—and she ducks her head, golden strands of hair obscuring her face from view.
“Hi.”
My omega…
So sweet, so shy.
Yet so fierce.
“Hi,” I reply gruffly, pushing myself away from the tree and moving toward her.
She shifts from foot to foot. “Do we have to…I don’t know…go to the front office and fill out any forms?”
Perhaps. That’s usually what alphas do when they’re courting an omega. But I don’t want to wait. Waited long enough for her already.
I extend my arm for her to take, and I’m moderately surprised when she does so, her tiny hand fitting in the crook of my elbow like it was made to be there.
“The rules state we need to stop at the office,” Brylee insists half-heartedly, and I flash her a smirk, one she can’t see perfectly with my mask in place, shrouding my face in shadows.
“Since when do you play by the rules?”
Her cheeks pinken, and I know she’s thinking of her little…alter ego.
Honestly, I don’t know how the other guys haven’t caught on to it yet. Don’t know how it took me so long in the first place.
It’s obvious.
Brylee may be wearing a bodysuit when she’s masquerading as Teddie, but her face… Her face doesn’t change. And those glittering blue eyes I yearn to lose myself in… They don’t change either.
A bunch of idiots.
The two of us are quiet as we walk toward the wall. With a furtive glance in either direction, I boost her over the stone barricade between campuses and quickly follow. We meander under the trees toward our cottage before Brylee breaks the silence, her voice tentative, “You haven’t told anyone yet.” It’s not a question.
I simply grunt in response, not sure what else she wants me to say. Of course I haven’t. She doesn’t want me to, and my mate comes first. Always. Besides, there’s obviously more to the story than what meets the eye.
“I…” She swallows and glances away. “Thank you.”
“Just want you to be happy,” I reply simply.
She blushes, and another comfortable silence expands between us.
I’ve never had this with anyone before—someone I can just be myself with, without worrying about making awkward small talk or asking about the weather. It’s nice. She’s nice. She smells nice.
“Can I ask you a question? And if it’s too personal, you can tell me to butt out and shut up. I don’t mean to pry,” Brylee blurts out. Then, softer, she adds, “I understand if there are things you don’t want to share. I…I feel the same.”
“About those alphas?” I question, my voice just as quiet as hers.
