Page 50 of Knot What She Seems
As our gazes shred one another, cruelly shaving ribbons from each other’s souls—my panties grow soaked.
Flooded.
And when Ridge inhales, his eyebrows lift, not in disdain, but surprise.
Fear tumbles through me, worse than any of the pain bleating from my hand.
That’s when I turn and march off, in a wide arc around the rest of the alphas, clinging to the wall of the gymnasium until I reach the double doors, where I shout, “Point fucking made. I’m off to the nurse.”
Shoving open the doors, I take a shaking step through them, adrenaline rattling my bones.
I half expect Ridge to come running after me, but he doesn’t.
No one does.
I make it all the way down the hall alone.
And for some reason, I’m not relieved by that.
17
COLTER
Need to run.
Too much excess energy.
Too many thoughts.
Too much…everything.
I duck my head out the door of our cottage, ensuring the woods behind it are empty. With my mask on, I glance twice to ensure that I don’t miss anything due to limited side vision. Don’t want any students to see me around, to talk to me, to ask fucking questions.
The cutting wind slices at my bare chest as I develop a comfortable pace. Something I’ll be able to maintain for the next few hours. I need that long to dissipate the thoughts in my mind, to burn them away like strips of paper being set aflame.
I found this particular trail during my very first night here—years and years ago, when I was a student. The pathway weaves through trees before plunging down a steep ravine. There, it skirts around a tiny stream and enters the forest residing behind Darling Academy. It’s one of the only places that isn’t separated by a wall and hedge.
I push myself harder and harder. Branches snag at my shorts and bare arms, but I push them away with an irritated growl. Just need to keep running.
Finally, the stream comes into view, the water murky and gray in the rapidly setting sun. Bubbles foam near the top, where there’s no doubt a fish floating in the depths.
With a gracefulness that belies my huge frame, I leap over the stream, landing on the other side. Then, I pick up my pace.
Faster.
Faster.
Need to be faster.
Need—
I stumble to a stop. Only my quick reflexes manage to keep me upright. I place one hand on the nearest tree trunk and inhale sharply. That smell…
It floods my senses, zipping through my veins like lightning bolts. I’ve never smelled anything like this before. It cocoons me in warmth, in peace, in comfort.
A rumble starts in my chest, and I feel my cock harden in my basketball shorts.
Mate.
