Page 58 of They Love Me Knot (Starsfalls Omegaverse #2)

Alister

I wait around the corner from my baby girl’s booth so I can watch her work without distracting her.

My instincts urge me to jump in and stop her from rushing around helping customers. I want to make her sit down and relax, or, even better, tell her she doesn’t have to work at all so she can laze around without stress.

I know those are irrational, controlling thoughts. I can’t take over her job and do it for her, nor would I want to jeopardize it or have her quit doing something she loves.

Instead, I wait and watch so I don’t interrupt Daphne’s work. Once she’s free, I’ll go visit her.

Stalking from afar is somehow the most noble option here.

I don’t know how I got lucky enough to find her.

I was attracted to her immediately, but since she’s so much younger, I wasn’t sure if she would be interested.

She’s an adult of course, but even so, not everyone wants to date older.

But not only was she interested, we found we have similar tastes, beyond mutual attraction.

Daphne is intelligent and passionate and strong, self-driven .

She’s amazing, the perfect omega for our pack.

If only I could get Ciro to admit she’s the one.

I know our other packmates will love her, but I’m not sure about introducing them when Ciro is being so fickle.

I thought we were helping Ciro break through his reservations about love. Until he broke through them a little too hard, going all in and trying to bond Daphne. He’s kept himself closed off almost completely in the bond ever since, so that I’m not entirely sure why he’s avoiding us at this point.

Is he really that ashamed of attempting to bond Daphne without asking, or does he still have it in his head that he doesn’t want a mate?

Daphne wants Ciro, and she already forgave him for the overenthusiastic bonding attempt. She asks about him often, and I keep making excuses for him. She gets more dejected as the days wear on.

No one likes rejection, but omegas being rejected by an alpha can be dangerous. I’ve watched her closely for any sign of sickness, but so far she hasn’t shown any symptoms of rejection or broken bonds, just the usual sadness over missing someone.

It’s gone on for too long. Once the fair is over, Ciro won’t have work as an excuse for avoiding this conversation.

Speaking of work, I watch closely as the trio of alphas in Daphne’s booth finally leaves. I’m not the jealous type, but I’m finding I’m more possessive than I thought. I want to carry her off to our house and put her in the nest and give her everything she wants so she’ll never leave.

Now that the crowd has finally lessened, I make my way over to see if Daphne’s free for lunch.

“Hey, baby girl,” I say .

Daphne smiles as I tilt her face up and kiss her.

“Hi,” she says breathlessly when I pull back.

I smile at how flustered she is just from a kiss, her vanilla scent warm and comforting as it intensifies.

“Are you free for me to take you to lunch?” I refrain from asking her to come home with me so I can eat her for lunch.

“Yes,” she says, eyes dilated.

“Are you sure?” I ask with a low chuckle.

She’s acting like she does when we’re playing together, agreeing to whatever I suggest, which is why I’m careful not to ask for anything she might regret. I won’t have her skipping out on work just because I gave her a kiss.

I make eye contact with Anicka, who’s working the register, to see about stealing Daphne away. She’s used to our routine by now, so she understands what I’m asking and nods.

I take Daphne’s hand and walk her to the Screaming Teapot. We haven’t been here yet, and I think she’ll like their garlic and nasturtium noodles.

We settle at a table, and it’s not until we’ve eaten half our food that I realize Daphne is more quiet than usual. She hardly looks up from her plate, and she’s slowly eating through her noodles, unlike when she’s enjoying the food so much she can’t look away.

Daphne was in a good mood when I picked her up and didn’t mention any problems when we talked while waiting for the food. Except now that I think about it, she wasn’t as animated when talking about her flowers. Normally she’s so excited talking about her favorite subject that she dances a little .

She’s probably worn out after a full week of the fair.

Daphne has been working long days at the booth, and in the evenings, she makes more arrangements at Queen of Hearts.

I’ve hardly seen her since they’ve been busy keeping up with demand, the festival getting more visitors than the town originally anticipated.

This is her last day at the booth, thankfully. Poppy will swap out with her next week. Still, I would suggest Daphne take the rest of the day off if she’s this tired, but the awards are this afternoon, and I don’t want her to miss her well-deserved recognition for all of this.

We finish our meal in silence, not wanting to overwhelm her with conversation.

Except I’ve been studying her, and now I’m not sure about my assumption.

Daphne doesn’t look tired, no dark circles under her eyes.

She’s as beautiful as ever, maybe even more so.

In this light she’s practically glowing—round, sweet face, hair shining, curves barely hidden under her sundress and cardigan.

It’s her demeanor that’s off.

I reach for her hands, which are folded in her lap. Daphne hesitantly sets them limply in mine.

“Is everything alright, baby girl? Is there something on your mind?”

Daphne frowns but eventually answers, “It’s been a busy week. A lot to think about.”

My heart dropped with every second she didn’t answer, and her response wasn’t reassuring, only ratcheting up my alpha impulses to fix whatever’s bothering her.

I would help her regardless of biology because I care about her, but my instincts make it feel even more pressing, like there’s a weight on me that won’t be lifted until she smiles again .

“If you’re tired, I’m sure you can take a break. Rest up for the awards ceremony later.”

Anicka can manage without her for a few hours, but I’d be more than willing to take Daphne’s place if it means she can get some rest.

“I’ll be fine. Today’s the last day anyway, and then I’m off for the weekend.” She smiles but doesn’t quite look me in the eye.

If she doesn’t want to tell me what’s wrong, I won’t force her. I’ll just make sure she gets plenty of rest tomorrow and let loose on the caretaking then.

I move my chair closer so I can rub her back. Daphne relaxes, leaning into my touch. My chest eases with the physical contact.

I suppose I also wanted reassurance that she’s not upset with me.

I’ve been increasingly unsettled by our undefined relationship.

If I’m being honest, I want to be bonded to her already. I know she’s my mate, and our connection is too tenuous for my alpha, so my instincts have been riding me extra hard.

Perhaps it’s the same for Daphne’s omega, and that’s what’s upsetting her. She hasn’t said that any of her other dates asked to court her.

I already planned to get things worked out with Ciro. Once we do, we’ll introduce Daphne to the rest of the pack and work toward courting her together.

“I’ll get you a coffee on the way back, if you’re sure you’re up to working the rest of the day,” I say.

Daphne agrees, and I escort her back, looping her arm through mine. She leans against me, practically letting me carry her, as if I couldn’t already tell she wasn’t feeling like herself .

However, her lackluster response to getting caffeine was the biggest, most glaring neon sign of all.

I order Daphne the biggest marshmallow flower espresso from Quickie Coffee, and watch out of the corner of my eye as she sips it, licking the melted marshmallow off the sides.

If she’s not more animated by the time we get to her booth, I’m going to strongly suggest again that she go home to rest until the awards ceremony.

Since I’m watching her so closely, I catch her glance down a side street as we pass, looking away with a frown marring her face.

I glare down the road, but don’t see what would have upset her. It’s the same as the rest of the fair.

When we reach her booth, I immediately take Daphne around to the back where there’s no one else around.

“Are you sure everything is alright? You know I’d do anything to make you happy, no matter what it is. That includes taking you home to get some rest or shutting down this whole fair if it’s upsetting you,” I say.

That at least gets her to laugh.

“You’d shut the fair down because I’m having a bad day?” Daphne quirks an eyebrow and looks at me like I’m acting like a fool.

Which I am, but I’m her fool.

“In a heartbeat. Please, Daphne, just tell me what’s wrong and I’ll do everything in my power to fix it.”

“Well, I don’t want you shutting down the festival, so put that thought out of your head,” she says sternly.

“I understand, the fair stays. What are your other commands?”

I had hoped to keep the mood light and draw out the real issue, but Daphne shuts down again, face expressionless.

She’s always so lively, her face reflecting the thoughts flitting through her head. I never realized just how open she was until now, when she’s trying to hold things back.

I don’t know what I’ve done to make her think she can’t share something with me.

“I don’t have other commands,” she says, turning her face away.

I take her hand and kiss the back of it.

“Surely there’s something I can do. Bring you a fresh coffee every hour? A dessert on the half hour?”

I stop before offering to kill for her. That sounds like, well, overkill. I would, but I don’t want her to think I’m insane. I’m just crazy about her.

I need to draw out more information first before deciding if it’s appropriate to offer to kill someone.

Daphne drops her head so I can’t see her face. I want to tilt it back up, but I’m afraid of what I’ll see.

I hold her hand over my heart and feel the warmth of it on my chest, but my hands are frozen.