Page 45 of Knot Only For One Night

Reed shakes his head again. “No. I can’t have scent matches.”

My eyes water, burning with tears I refuse to let fall. “Why?”

My heart aches as his rejection hits me like a volley of arrows. What’s so bad about scent matches? Is it the club? His presidential status? Asher and Neven don’t seem to be so disappointed.

Is it me?

Reed shakes his head again, lets out a dark sound that could’ve been a scoff, making me flinch. “I can’t. Not now. Not…”

He flies from the booth, blows past me, and storms out of the shop without another word.

CHAPTER 15

NEVEN

“How long did you fucking know?”

Reed burst into my apartment, anger still sparking off his scent as if he hadn’t had two days to come to terms with the reality of having scent matches.

“Same amount of time as you, dickwad,” I say, not looking up from my computer.

If what I’m looking at is correct, then I have a way bigger fucking problem than Reed’s insecurities.

He hurt my omega’s feelings.

Our omega’s feelings.

And he hasn’t called her. Asher and I tried to glue ourselves to her after his disastrous reaction to being scent matches, but she wouldn’t let us. Actually asked us to leave after we made it back to her dorm.

We stayed outside the door until security kicked us out.

I visited her today, a box of cookies in tow, and she wouldn’t open the door. This asshole royally fucked up so monstrously that Esper wouldn’t let us in for the cookies she had repeatedly told us she couldn’t go a day without.

The only way I could cope without finding Reed and pummeling him into the dirt was to throw myself into working on the task I got from Prez. The desire to beat Reed down lingered in the back of my head, running and whirring like a dormant program in the background. I tried my best to ignore it.

He’s my packmate, after all. For Esper’s sake, I won’t kill him.

But now he’s burst into my apartment, and my patience is thinning quickly.

I rest my legs up on my coffee table, my dark green coaster next to my feet. I’ve never had a coaster before, but when Esper gave me one, I decided then I’d start using one. My water bottle sits on it. I home in on it now, letting thoughts of her calm my mounting ire.

Reed is waving his hands in my face. He must have said something, but I didn’t hear him.

“Keep waving your hands in my face, and I’ll bite them off.”

“Don’t get all tough on me. I’m just…”

“Lost, confused, scared?” I snapped. “Yeah, so is Esper. And her scent match rejected her and now she won’t talk to any of us. So no, Red, I don't want to help you figure out your damn issues. Get the fuck out.”

“I—”

“Need to apologize to Esper.” I scroll through the payment wires one more damn time. I can’t bring this to Prez unless I’m absolutely sure.

Someone’s been stealing from Wolves Garage, and it’s none other than its own fucking boss. Hunter has worked with Prez for almost as long as the club has existed. That's nearly three decades of loyalty.

Right until about four months ago. He’s been sending payments stolen from the Garage, not just his own paycheck, to an account. One I’ve yet to uncover.

He sends about ninety percent of his own paycheck as well, which is odd. It gives me a sliver of hope the guy isn’t actually betraying the club, but…