Page 51 of Knot Broken

“This isn’t a race or anything, is it?” Ethan asked, shooting me a wary look. “Because while I do cardio, I’m nothing compared to Grey.”

“No one can beat Grey.” Tex looked me up and down. “Not unless he wants them to.”

“Not a race. We need to stress test your bodies, see what happens when the adrenaline gets pumping,” Riley explained.

“That’s usually during sex.” Candy walked in holding a steaming cup of coffee. “I tried to convince Riles that would be a more realistic form of stress testing, but apparently ‘watching patients have sex is unethical.’”

“I know which scenario I’d enjoy more.”

How the fuck did Tex do that? Smile down at Nadia and she looked up like a flower might the sun. Watching his hand slide down her spine to rub at the base, my fingers twitched.

I wanted to do that.

I wanted to soothe her, make her smile, then make her scent sweeten with desire. Instead, I climbed on the treadmill the moment the heart rate monitor was on and started running.

This won’t get us any closer to our mate. The wolf was a dark presence coiled inside our skull. She’s glanced over a few times, see how fast we can run, how strong our body is, but that’s not going to be enough.

Nothing would be enough, I’d decided.

Our pack mate can’t run as fast. His body is bigger, but not as strong, but it is him she smiles at. He seemed bemused by that. We are the ones that will give her strong pups.

My feet faltered. Going at the speed I was, that meant I was forced to grab the handrails, then recover before sprinting forward.

Strong pups?

I was born to two people who were eminently unsuited to have any children, let alone an alpha son. There were addiction issues, domestic violence, and neglect. When I’d pushed for it, Jess had done what was necessary to get me access to the case notes. I barely remembered the people who made me, and yet they haunted me like ghosts. A memory here, a smell, a sound, would have something rising inside me. A dark presence that threatened to swallow me whole.

Which was where the wolf came from.

The psychologist I saw as a teenager theorised that my wolf had come forward far younger than normal to protect me. From their abuse, their neglect, to ensure I survived. But being able to take fur at an early age meant the maturity needed for control wasn’t there to keep him in check. She assured me that if I was raised in a healthy, happy family, surrounded by my alpha and omega parents and in the company of brothers, I would’ve been quite a different person.

But that’s not what I saw.

The wolf filled my head with visions of what mating Nadia would be like. The way her back arched as she struggled to take Tex’s knot the first time. She’d do that for me and more. But thrusting hard, forcing myself deeper, would result in something else. My seed splashing inside her and then taking root. He growled in satisfaction at the idea of Nadia pregnant, but I didn’t. A child born with a shock of dark hair and too pale eyes? My feet stopped and the conveyer belt drew me backwards until the brake activated. Wanting to protect your mate from your own son was not a feeling most alphas had experienced.

“Everything OK, Grey?” Haze asked. I simply nodded in reply. “Well, we’ve got a few more tests to do here, and then we’ll get each one of you to talk to the psychologist.”

No, I wanted to say, I didn’t want to do that. Not the tests and definitely not talking to someone about my feelings. The urge to run, really run out of this room, this whole clinic, was building more by the second. Instead, I looked over and saw Nadia was panting hard. A bottle of water was plucked from the cooler and I had the lid cracked before I reached her side, then I handed it over.

“Drink,” I commanded and she did just that. “Not too much at first, and keep walking around slowly. You don’t want to get a cramp.”

That had her looking up at me abruptly, then nodding as she began to pace in circles. My hand was there, hovering around her back, ready to catch her if she felt lightheaded. Her whole body jolted when the wolf forced my palm to come to rest on her lower back. Brown bled to silver, just a little as she watched me silently, obviously wondering what the hell I was doing, but how could I answer her if I didn’t know myself?

“Alright, if I can get everyone to come into the next room…”

The request saved me from having to answer her unspoken question, but as we settled into a small group to listen to the next set of instructions, the sidelong looks she kept giving me made clear that there were many, many more questions she wanted answered.

And I had no idea what to say to her.

Chapter 25

Nadia

“Almost done,” Riley told me with a kind smile. “I know this must be overwhelming.”

“Considering I would normally be reconciling invoices right now?” I dabbed at my forehead, wiping the sweat away. “Yeah, it’s kind of a lot. So what’s next? Completing an obstacle course? Sparring in a ring?”

“Nothing as strenuous as that,” she said. “Just a consult with one of our psychologists.”