Page 166 of Knot What I Expected

“I mean it. I don't understand it either.” My thumb moves slowly across her cheek.

“Being an Omega isn't necessarily about species. Not the way Monster means it. It's something deeper. Magic. Biology. Fate. Fuck if I know where one ends and the other starts.”

Her gaze flickers between my eyes.

“And the knot?”

My stomach tightens. I could lie. Could make it sound insignificant.

I won't.

“It’s part of mating.”

She goes very still.

“Mating?”

“Yeah.”

The word hangs between us.

Heavy.

Dangerous.

Real.

I feel her uncertainty through every place we're touching, and immediately my instincts scream at me to reassure her.

Not convince. Not pressure.

Reassure.

Because Monster might think she's ours, but Gabriella doesn't belong to anybody who hasn't earned the right to stand beside her.

“Knotting is an Alpha instinct,” I explain. “With the right female—the right Omega—it can happen when the mating drive takes over. It keeps the pair together. And traditionally...”

I hesitate.

Her eyes narrow.

“Traditionally, what?”

Fuck.

“It's tied to breeding.”

Her eyes widen.

“Breeding?”

“Yeah.”

“Rowan!”

“I know.”

“You probably should've mentioned that!”