Page 75 of Knot Her Beta

The road ahead splits, and I take the fork toward the coast. Pine trees crowd the shoulders, dark and wet.

“Was there anything real with Caroline?” I ask.

“No.” No hesitation. “She’s brilliant. We could’ve been good business partners. But that’s not...” He trails off with a shake of his head. “I couldn’t give up the chance, however slim, for a real connection.”

“There’s nothing wrong with that.”

His laugh holds no amusement. “It was a lot of money.”

I peek over at him. “How much?”

“Enough to buy Misty Pines and barely make a dent.” He thumps the back of his skull against the headrest. “And I gave it up for a relationship that might not last. I’m acting foolish.”

“It’s not foolish,” I say it again, firmer this time, though I have no idea what it would be like to give up that kind of fortune. “It’s brave as hell. And you know what? Emily would’ve told you the same thing.”

That gets a real laugh out of him. “She told me to choose happiness.”

I smile. “And that’s why we love her.”

The word hangs between us. Love.

Grady sinks deeper into his seat, his bad leg stretched out as far as the footwell allows. “I just hope it was worth it.”

“Me, too.” I tap my fingers on the steering wheel. “And for what it’s worth, I think you made the right call. You look wrecked, and you were only gone for a little over a week.”

He doesn’t answer, but when I steal a quick check of him, the tightness in his features has eased a fraction.

The highway narrows to two lanes. Pinecrest is still thirty minutes away, the cottage another fifteen beyond that. Ahead, the sky opens up, gray and vast above the coastal hills.

Grady shifts in his seat, winces as his knee adjusts. He still gives off an air of sad disappointment, which is to be expected after being kicked out of his family. He must feel so alone, even knowing I’m taking him home to Emily.

“You might not know this as a Beta,” I say into the silence, “but Chloe and I are outliers. Omegas don’t often live outside a pack. We’re too vulnerable alone, what with Heat cycles and predatory Alphas. The world isn’t built for solo Omegas, no matter how competent we are.”

“That’s why the Wright Pack offering me a job felt like...” I lift one shoulder. “I don’t know. A lifeline.”

Grady’s head turns toward me. “Was it unusual to leave your family to move to Pinecrest? Did you need permission or...?”

My grip on the wheel tightens.

“My family cast me out after I refused Carson’s initial courtship.” The words come easier than they would have a few months ago. “I haven’t told many people. The Wrights know, obviously, but other than that, you’re the first.”

His brow furrows. “Because it wasn’t safe for you as a solo Omega?”

“Yeah.”

“But why did they do that?” he still sounds confused. “Carson was a monster.”

“A monster who looked perfect on paper,” I point out. “A respected educator. A stable income. The kind of Alpha parents dream of for their Omega child, and he was willing to overlook my faults.”

My mouth twists. “My family valued appearances more than my happiness. Carson wasn’t the first arranged courtship they’d tried to push on me. Just the last one.”

“Jesus, Leif.” Grady straightens in his seat, twisting toward me. “They tried to push you toward your abuser?”

“They didn’t see his actions as abusive. He never hit me.” I wring the steering wheel. “At least, not back then. And I had already been labeled as picky.”

I cast him a sidelong glance. “In case you’ve missed it, I’m not a pretty Omega. I’m not delicate, or vibrant in my coloring, or falling over myself to make Alphas feel stronger than me.”

Grady frowns. “What does that matter? You’re intelligent and handsome and nurturing toward kids.”