Page 10

KNOX

Shock renders me silent.

Did she really say that? To us?

“Excuse me?” I don’t believe I heard her correctly.

She sits back down at the table like she can’t be bothered. Her delicate fingers wrap around the glass of Chardonnay, taking a sip. Her eyes never leave ours, challenging us to do the same.

“You heard me.”

Through the bond, I feel a little tug. My eyes leave hers and drift over to Tripp. His eyes are burning with need as he continues to stare at her. I watch as he licks his lips as if he can taste her.

He may be a problem for us.

Remi isn’t the type of woman we need, especially me. I must have a specific type to parade around on my arm to appease the masses, and she’s not it. She’s too sweet, too innocent.

It’s not that she’s terrible looking. She’s absolutely breathtaking. Her curves I yearn to run my hands over and get lost in. Her beautiful, tan skin calls to me to run my tongue over every inch.

She’s perfect.

And her scent? It’s very, very faint, overpowered by the floral perfume that she’s wearing. It practically singes my nostrils, and I spend most of the time breathing through my mouth to keep from choking on it.

I don’t think there’s a more perfect individual than the one seated before us.

Her dress clings to her curves, taunting me.

The sunflower in her wavy blonde hair has me fighting not to run my fingers through the tresses.

Her tits … fuck me. Her breasts are big and luscious, and she screams for me to put my face between them as I press them together.

She’s every man’s wet dream.

She’s most definitely mine.

Only, I can’t have her. None of us can. My circle will chew her up and spit her out, and there will be nothing I can do about it.

Tossing a look at the other two, I find them both as mesmerized by her as I am. However, just because we’re lost in her doesn’t mean we can have her.

And we’re already matched in Select-A-Mate’s system because of this date.

Now, we need a way to break this tie with Remi without it appearing as if we are the ones who rejected the mating.

In order for us to find another match in the system, we need to split amicably or have her be the reason behind our match failing.

“I think we got off on the wrong foot,” I say, leading the way for the other two as I take a seat across from Remi.

They both follow suit on autopilot, each taking a seat without removing their gaze from her. Without looking, I can tell through the bond that each of them is having a hard time suppressing their baser instincts.

They want to lay claim to this beautiful creature. Hell, so do I, but I can’t allow that. I refuse to allow a woman such as Remi be subjected to the viciousness that is my world.

“You got that right,” she replies, swirling the liquid in her glass. “You all are a bunch of uppity brats.”

Tripp barks out a laugh before he can stop himself. His eyes flash over to mine, pleased with the omega sitting in front of us. If he had it his way, he would have already laid claim to her the second we saw her.

My hardened expression sobers him. He covers his mouth to keep from smiling widely at her forwardness. I know Tripp, and he’s already halfway in love with her snarkiness.

“My name is Knox Hastings,” I say, briefly nodding toward her.

“I’m Boone Windsor,” Boone states, licking his lips as he trails his eyes over her.

“And I’m Tripp Lancaster.”

She nods at all of us in turn, staying silent.

I’m antsy, shifting in my seat as if my pants are full of little creatures crawling all around.

Her bright, honey eyes drink us in as she goes to take another sip, only just remembering that her last sip emptied her glass.

With a sigh, she replaces it on the table, smoothing out the thick, white tablecloth.

“It’s nice to meet all of you,” she says, even though I can tell by the sound of her voice she’s not impressed.

Something about the way she says that has my hackles up with the need to prove myself that we’re adequate enough for her to want us. But that’s crazy. Even if we want her, we can’t have her. She’s not the type of person I can have on my arm at events. We need someone more ferocious.

Underneath the table, I pull out my phone. I open up the group chat between Tripp, Boone, and me.

Knox: We can’t have her. My circle will eat her alive.

Thankfully, both their phones are on vibrate. I hadn’t thought about that before I pressed Send. Usually, Tripp has this obnoxious song that plays with his notifications. So, I’m glad I don’t have to live through that particular horror.

Boone looks down first.

Tripp takes a few moments as if he can’t bear to look away from Remi for more than a few seconds. Finally, he looks down.

Boone begins typing first.

Boone: Are you sure? She’s so beautiful, man, and she bit back when we first got here.

Knox: Yes, I’m sure. The masses are looking for me to be with a Kennedy type, not a sunshine girl with a bubbly personality.

Boone’s eyes snap up to mine, darkening.

For the second time tonight, shock renders me speechless.

Boone isn’t the type to go against the status quo.

He lets me, the First Alpha, make the decisions.

The reason he allows me to make decisions is that I make them solely based on what’s best for our pack.

I don’t mindlessly go into a situation and hope for the best.

Tripp: But she’s so beautiful. And her scent …

Tripp has always had a keen sense of smell. He can smell scents much farther away than either I or Boone can. I want to think it’s because of his heightened senses, but I think it’s because of the ruts he’s succumbed to over the years. His sense of smell has never let him down before.

I can scent a little something, but I can’t put words to it. I know it smells good, but there really isn’t enough there for me to aptly tell just what it is.

Knox: They will eat her alive. I may be an asshole, but I’m not the type of asshole to throw an unsuspecting woman to the wolves.

“Am I interrupting something?” she snarks from across the table, effectively drawing our attention back to her. She has a cute little frown on her face, her eyes blazing like an inferno.

Her scent grows a little stronger, but not so strong that I can smell it properly.

But, oh, Tripp can. His nostrils flare as he drags in her scent like she’s an aphrodisiac. I watch as his pupils blow wide. He slides to the edge of his seat to get closer to her without getting too close. I can tell whatever he’s smelling that his alpha side likes it. Maybe a little too much.

“Not at all.” I clear my throat and put my phone away, giving her my undivided attention. “Again, sorry about earlier. My apologies.”

She eyes me for a minute before nodding her head. “Forgiven.”

Just like that? My eyes search hers to detect any malice, but I can’t find any. Slowly, I relax in my seat.

Even if we can’t mate her, we can share a good dinner.

With that, we get lost in conversation. There are multiple times she breaks into our conversation with funny stories of her own. It’s the first time in so long that I find myself relaxing and going with the flow.

It’s so easy to get lost in her, not worrying about the stresses of everyday life.

Remi is trouble wrapped up in an incredible body.

Every inch of her is made for sin, and I’m a sinner starving to kneel at her altar to repent.

She is so animated when she tells her stories of her youth. The one time she climbed up in a tree to save a baby bird that was nearly falling out of its nest. The practical jokes she used to play on her friend Windy.

Everything about this woman resonates with me to the very core. But I can’t allow myself to give in to temptation. It would be so easy to fall under her spell. So easy to forget the everyday hustle and bustle and just be with her.

As I watch Remi, her laughter filling the air like a melody, I can’t help but see more than the present moment. Her animated gestures draw my eyes, her expression shifting effortlessly between humor and quiet thoughtfulness.

There’s something about the way she moves, the way she exists in the world, that makes me envision a future—a life where the chaos surrounding me fades into a distant murmur.

She carries something intangible, a kind of freedom, a lightness that feels like the answer to a question I haven’t dared to ask.

In her presence, I see what could be. I envision Sunday mornings spent lazily at the kitchen counter, sharing a mug of coffee, her teasing grin as she recounts another escapade from her past. I see quiet nights under a blanket of stars, her voice weaving stories that beguile and soothe.

She’s the type of person who could make the world feel smaller and more manageable, as though her mere presence could untangle the knots of ambition and duty that have bound me so tightly.

But the vision is fleeting—a mirage dissolving as reality pulls me back.

The weight of who I am, of what I represent, looms large.

The path I’ve carved is rigid, defined by expectations and responsibilities that leave no room for the kind of reckless hope Remi inspires.

Yet, as her gaze meets mine, unguarded and full of life, I can’t help but wonder if maybe, just maybe, there’s a version of the future where I’m brave enough to choose her.

However, it’s a future I’m not brave enough to go after. It’s a future that doesn’t fit in with my plan. I know the guys are absolutely smitten with her, as am I. Yet, I can’t bring myself to make that final leap.