Page 50 of Knotting Autumn

I ate quietly while the men chatted. It turned out that Cole and Sawyer both enjoyed reading sci-fi and dystopian books, and once they started debating aboutDune, I tuned them out, having never read the books.

Thorne sipped a glass of wine, a small smile on his face as his other hand squeezed my knee. That simple touch sent flames licking up my skin. It was too warm in this room.

Sawyer shattered the moment. “I’m just saying—if Mistborn was written by a woman, people would consider it a romantasy.”

Cole shook his head, standing to gather up all of our plates. Thorne thanked him and then folded his hands on the table.

“Alright, I know we need to find a solution for Hunter. And I’m really sorry we are in this position. I know it’s not fair.” He searched my face, checking for my reaction. I gave him a small nod. “But at the end of the day, he is my family and the alpha of my family’s pack, so I’d prefer if we avoided violence.”

Dropping back into his seat, Cole pulled his foot up onto the cushion so he could rest his forearm on his knee. “I’m sorry, but I’m not sure that’s possible.”

“If they threaten Autumn, don’t they deserve death?” Sawyer said, his lip curling to show sharp teeth.

“Yes,” Thorne said, his jaw tensing like he hadn’t thought of it in those terms. “But I’d prefer to not kill the people I grew up with. So perhaps just injuring them could be sufficient.”

“I don’t want anyone killing anyone,” I interjected. “This is ridiculous. There’s gotta be a way to convince Hunter to leave us alone.”

“Our plan was to run and hide,” Cole said, “until they forgot about us. Find a pack far away from here or start our own.”

He gave Sawyer a pointed look. “But if you insist on returning to your human life, that idea is ruined.”

“I said you’re welcome to leave town. I can take care of Autumn,” Sawyer growled.

“I’m not leaving my fated mate. If she wants to live in town, I’ll be there with her,” Thorne said.

Part of me balked at his words. We barely knew each other, and I was already in a romantic relationship with Sawyer. But the other part of me, the wolfish part, I suspected, purred at his words.

“And if she doesn’t want you?” Sawyer snapped. “Because if you didn’t notice, she picked me.”

“Did she?” Thorne said, sitting back with his arms crossed, a smug look on his face.

A chair screech interrupted their inane arguing. Cole straightened, his mouth a thin line, and walked away. Clearly, he had no interest in this debate. He probably already knew the ending of it.

“You two need to work this out,” I said, standing.

“What?” Sawyer said, holding his hands up.

“I’m going to check on Cole. Stop fighting and focus on the problem at hand.”

Leaving Thorne and Sawyer to figure their shit out, I followed Cole down the hallway. He sat on the small bed in the secondary bedroom, his back against the padded headboard and his legs stretched out.

“You okay?” I asked quietly, pulling the door so it was only open a crack. Crossing the room, I sat on the bed beside him, my legs curled under me.

Cole’s throat worked. “I can’t watch them argue like that. It’s too hard,” he admitted in a rare show of vulnerability. My heart squeezed.

“Why?”

“I know this is temporary, and I won’t be ignored forever,” he said, pinching his nose.

Pieces fell into place. My voice barely above a whisper, I asked, “Are you in love with Thorne? I know sharing is normal, and I don’t mind, if he’s into you, too.”

Cole laughed. “No. He’s very straight. Well, as straight as any werewolf is.”

“Wait, so who did you mean?” He couldn’t mean me.

His chin tipped down, and he cocked his head, his pale gray eyes boring into me. “I can’t tell you that.”

It couldn’t be me. Could it?