Page 21 of Knot Her Beta

A brittle laugh escapes me. “We’re a hell of a pair, aren’t we?”

“Yeah,” he says. “We are.”

The wind picks up, and the tarps snap at their ropes.

“If I could pay cash, I would,” I say. “Maybe I could take out a loan using the cottage as collateral. I don’t think the bank will approve it, though. I still owe so much on the mortgage after buying Auren out.”

“No, we don’t need more debt.” He rubs his palms together for warmth. “But there are other options.”

“Like what?” My brow pinches in confusion. “The truck isn’t worth the parts.”

He looks at me from the corner of his eye, as if gauging whether I’ll bite his head off for suggesting it. “Blake and Nathaniel would front it. You know they would.”

The words cut harder than they should. “I don’t take charity from my bosses.”

He shakes his head in annoyance. “You’re not taking charity. They’re your friends. Quinn calls you Auntie Em.”

I turn my attention to the distant line where the water turns from gray to navy. “I don’t like owing people.”

“Then ask for a loan. Or for them to sponsor the registration in name only. There are ways,” he says, not pleading, not yet. “You don’t have to go it alone.”

I want to argue, to say that’s exactly what I have to do, but the fight drains out of me. “I’ll think about it.”

He stands, stretching his long limbs and wincing as his knees crack. He helps me up before he reaches for my phone and hands it back. “No rush.”

I flip the phone over in my hand, thumb on the glass. The message from Auren is still there. It takes three taps to open the thread, one more to delete it. And suddenly all that drama…vanishes.

A new lightness settles in my gut. Not a floaty, happy thing, but a clean emptiness where the guilt used to squat.

I scroll down to my contacts, thumb hovering over Leif’s name before I fire off a short message.

Emily

Dinner on Saturday?

Jared grins as he nuzzles me. “Good job, Alpha.”

I give him a flat stare. “It’s not a commitment.”

He laughs, the sound rolling out over the water. “No, but it could be, and that’s what matters.”

As I slip my phone back into my pocket, my pulse still hasn’t settled.

Because he’s right.

The message isn’t a commitment.

But Saturday is.

In six days, I’ll either be moving toward a future with Leif again, or I’ll be the one walking away for good.

Chapter Six

Grady

Istare at my open laptop, the confirmation for my flight glaring up at me from the screen.

The welcome party was a study in everything I lack. For months, I’ve watched Chloe blossom at the center of her pack, surrounded by a love so complete it has its own gravity.