Page 84 of Knot What I Expected

I stare at him.

He stares back.

“Don't even think about it.”

His little mouth twitches.

“I wasn’t.”

“Bullshit.”

“Havoc,” Gabriella warns.

“Sorry.”

Matteo giggles.

I push some fries toward him anyway. The kid grins like he won something. And fuck me, maybe he did. Because watching him eat does something weird to Monster.

The Wolf is quiet.

Not absent. Never that.

Just content. Watching the boy. Watching his mother. Taking in their scents while they mix with cut grass, damp earth, and the heavy promise of rain still hanging in the October air.

Matteo can sure put away the food. He almost out-eats me. Which is typical for a growing Shifter.

Assuming he is one.

I glance at Gabriella.

She’s cleaning up wrappers, tucking them neatly back into the bag instead of leaving them scattered across the table.

Whatever supernatural blood she carries, she doesn’t want anybody knowing.

I get that. And I know I should leave it alone.

Should.

Instead, every fucking secret she keeps makes me more curious. Not because I think she owes me answers.

She doesn’t.

But because I want to know her.

All of her.

The good shit.

The ugly shit.

The things she laughs about.

The things that put those shadows behind her eyes.

I want to know why she needs money badly enough to work herself into the ground.

Why Matteo carries his favorite things around in that little backpack like he’s afraid he might have to leave without warning.