Page 115 of Knot So Social

“Pull over!” He points to a work truck with a trailer full of mowing equipment parked up on the footpath. “Now!”

“Okay, okay,” I grumble. What’s got him so worked up?

There’s no good place to pull off, so I get two wheels up on the verge.

“I got a bad feeling about this,” my brother mutters, not waiting for me to get his crutches before limping along the side of the van.

“Hey!” I slam my door and give chase. “You trying to break your groin now? What’s got you going crazy?”

I slide up under his armpit so he can lean his weight on me.

“Him.” Jeremy throws open the truck’s door and the alpha scent inside hits me, full bodied, wild with lust, and feverish.

The exact fucking one Willow’s house reeks of.

“Fuck,” Jeremy hisses, hoisting himself up into the cab. He grabs at the man slumped over the center console. The naked alpha flops sideways, pale under his olive skin and coated in slippery sweat. No healthy man should look that hue.

“Alessandro?” My brother shakes him. “Hey! Answer me!”

The alpha groans. He throws out one limp hand and mumbles.

Jeremy looks up at me, panic clouding his brown eyes. “We have to help him.”

Chapter thirty-six

Willow

I cross my arms over my chest and stare out the window, the whirlwind of emotion in my heart growing with every tick of the clock on the wall.

“He left,” I mutter to Mr Shares.

My fucking scent-match alpha checked my electricals and vacated the house like I was a job ticked off.

And who would blame him, when I shut myself inside my room and had sex with his brother? Not that I regret my time with Jeremy, but now, Joel’s absence feels like a hole in my chest. He might’ve been really offended.

The worst part is, I can’t decide if I’m relieved or despairing.

The afterglow of making love clings to me, and yet the moment I stepped outside my room, that summer scent hit me so strong it took my breath away. And oddly, stronger in the hall there, than anywhere else in the house.

I rub my nose and groan. What am I supposed to do now? Am I gonna catch feelings for every alpha who walks through my door? If that’s the case, I’m bolting the door. Or, like Alessandro claimed, is it fate bringing us together in the most mysterious of ways.

Well, I should probably go see what needs fixing up in my studio.

I only make it a few steps when my phone vibrates. Digging it out, I light up at the sight of Jeremy’s face; he made sure I added his photo to his contact before leaving.

“Hey. Miss me already?” I tease.

The gasped breath that hisses through the line puts my nervous system on high alert. “Willow! I found Alessandro in his truck. He’s in bad shape.”

My heart thuds heavily in my chest and I lurch for the wall to brace myself. “What? What happened? A car accident?”

“No, the car seems fine, he’s just . . .”

The long pause sets my teeth on edge. “Just what, Jeremy!”

A deeper voice answers in the background. “He looks high as a kite to me.”

That’s Joel, and he’s saying he’s stoned? Alessandro? I can’t picture it at all.