Page 9 of Knot Her Beta

I heard you’re doing better. Can’t wait to catch up with you.

My stomach knots. My father insists on calling it the Bennett arrangement, as if dressing it up in the modern language of partnerships and shared financial security somehow disguises the fact that it’s an arranged marriage.

I stare down at the message while harbor traffic moves around me.

This is the real problem, isn’t it?

Not the condo.

Not Kyle’s cabin.

Not even the question of where I want to live.

I can’t decide what I want for my future while ignoring what already waits for me on the East Coast.

Sooner or later, I’m going to have to get on a plane, sit across from my parents, and finally have the conversation I’ve been avoiding for almost a year.

But how can I go home and disappoint my family if I have nothing better to show them as an alternative?

Chapter Three

Emily

“Need a refill?” Jared asks, holding out a fresh bottle of sparkling water.

“Thanks,” I murmur as I take it from him.

Around us, the Homestead hums with life, overlapping voices bouncing off the exposed wooden beams, Nathaniel’s deep rumble mingling with Blake’s booming laughs.

The scent of Holden’s cooking drifts from the kitchen, where the door has been propped open, filling the air with garlic and rosemary, and my stomach grumbles in response. This isn’t the first gathering I’ve attended here, but today, the atmosphere is different.

The Homestead had been closed to the public for the evening. Tonight wasn’t for resort guests or tourists. It was for Leif. For the Wrights, folding him into their pack after everything Carson had put him through. A glitter-heavy sign hangs by the door, spilling purple sparkles onto the floor that will be impossible to clean up.

Across the room, Quinn sits cross-legged by the fireplace, Sprinkles sitting attentively at her side, the Newfoundland’s focus on the plate balanced on her knees as she animatedly tells the enormous dog about her day. Her uncle Blake lounges nearby, one leg stretched out, close enough that Quinn can tip sideways into him when she gets tired of sitting up straight.

“Kyle?” Jared asks, holding out the second bottle of beer to his cousin.

“Don’t mind if I do.” The Beta switches his still half-full bottle to his other hand to accept the fresh drink, his attention still on the water visible through the tall window in the dining room. “See that sailboat?”

Jared’s hand comes to rest on my waist as he leans forward to look. The boat is barely visible, a white speck on the darkening water. “It’s too early in the year for sailing.”

“Amateurs,” Kyle says, taking a sip of beer from each bottle. “And now they’re stuck with engine trouble. They haven’t moved since this morning.”

“If you know they’re in trouble, why not go out to help?” I ask.

“Nope.” He lifts his two beers. “No boating today.”

Jared squeezes my waist in reassurance. “I’ll take the skiff out after the announcement and help if I can.”

I lean up to nuzzle his cheek. “So responsible.”

His hand slides down to palm my hip. “How else am I supposed to impress my Alpha with my boating skills?”

“Oh, we’ve got movement,” Kyle announces, breaking the moment. “Shoot. Guess they figured out the issue.”

My lips brush Jared’s ear. “You’ll just have to find another way to impress me.”

A pleased rumble rises from him before he kisses my temple. “I should go make sure Grady doesn’t need rescuing. When I passed them on the way to you, Dominic had him pinned down to discuss contract language.”