Page 35 of Knot Their Starlet

“Hello?” Andi’s soft voice is a little hoarse. There’s a soft noise on the other end of the line that sounds suspiciously like a sniffle. “Is this Beck?”

“This is! Are you—thanks for calling me—are you okay?”

She pauses on the other end of the line.

“Are you a mind reader? Or is it just an omega thing?”

“Wait, that’s not an answer. Is everything okay?”

Eli sets down the pint of ice cream on my bedside table, his brows drawn down in concern. Even though she’s not on speakerphone, the room is quiet enough for him to listen to everything she’s saying.

“No,” she says, her voice trembling, halfway between a sob and a laugh. “How could you tell?”

“I just could,” I say, softening my voice. “Maybe it is an omega sixth sense thing; I am new to all of this, after all.”

“Really?” She asks, seemingly eager to change the subject.

“Mhmm, I was a late bloomer. I only presented when my first heat hit me like a truck. I was twenty-two.”

“Wait, so only two years ago?”

“You’ve been doing some Googling, have you?” I tease, leaning further into Eli’s side.

“Hey, I’m sure you’ve Googled me too. Though the stuff you’ve probably found on me is a lot less cool than the stuff I found on you.”

My heart flutters in my chest at her teasing tone. God, I don’t know what it is about this girl that has me all tied up in knots.

“Do you want to tell me what happened?” I murmur.

She falls silent on the other end of the line. It has me shifting nervously, my caramel scent burning in the air.

“Do you need help?” I push.

“No, I’m fine,” she says. She lets out a soft huff, like she’s just laid down somewhere. “I’m just a bit shaken up. Ezra showed up at my place.”

Ezra. As in Ezra Fletcher, her ex-boyfriend? The one who fucking assaulted her?

Eli snatches the phone from me, pressing it up against his ear.

“What the fuck happened?” he bites out the words, his jaw working.

I snatch my phone back, my eyes narrowing on him in frustration.

“Sorry, are you alright?” I ask.

“Has Eli been here the entire time?” she asks in return.

“Yeah,” I sigh. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s... It’s fine. And I’m fine. Physically, at least. He didn’t do anything. He just wanted to talk.”

Eli gently grabs my wrist, pulling my phone away from my ear and putting the call on speaker. His blood orange scent is still sour with anger, but I can tell he’s trying to tone it down. Whether it’s for Andi or me, I don’t know. Maybe both of us.

“How did he get in?” he bites out. “Were you stupid enough to open the door?”

Okay, maybe he’s only trying to tone it down for me. Because that question was stupid.

“Shut up,” I growl, shoving at his shoulder. He doesn’t budge a single inch. “Do you have to be such an ass?”