Knot Broken (Hiddenverse)

22. Lilah

CHAPTER 22

Lilah

As our kiss ends, Elliott pulls back, and I find myself pressed against the closed closet door, my breath still racing. He steps back slightly, putting distance between us while still holding me up. My shaky legs hit the floor as he sets me down. I press against the wooden door at my back more firmly, stopping myself from sinking to the carpet at my feet. His words hit me like a shockwave.

"I think that’s seven minutes," he says, his tone neutral and almost stiff. Then his gaze shifts, focusing on a spot above my head on the door. The sudden change in his demeanor leaves me reeling.

I’m jolted back to reality. The abruptness of it leaves me breathless, my mind spinning as I struggle to grasp where I am. It's as if I've just been torn away from another planet and thrown back to Earth. The echo of his touch lingers on my lips, leaving me craving more, yet unsure how to regain my balance.

The unexpectedness of his statement leaves me feeling vulnerable and off-kilter. My heart sinks as doubt creeps in. For a moment, I think I see something like regret flash in his eyes. Did I read that whole thing wrong? Shit, actually climbing him like a tree might have been overboard.

I take a deep breath, trying to steady myself against the weight of his possible regret. But the uncertainty lingers, and the pressure of the closet door behind me feels suffocating with him standing a foot away from me.

It’s all a reminder of how I was lacking in some way before. A reminder of Jared and Tabitha. I swallow as tears try to gather. Oh, crap, I am not crying in front of this alpha. Blindly finding the doorknob behind me, I twist it, releasing the latch.

Pasting on a bright smile, I back away from him. While attempting to find something to say that won’t reveal how much I craved his bite when his teeth grazed the crook of my neck moments ago.

“Time flies—” I say, cringing internally as I cut myself off. He chuckles, and the oppressive feeling that was crushing my chest tightens like a fist.

He follows me out of the walk-in closet, brushing past me as he heads toward the door of the bedroom like his ass is on fire. I fight off the feelings of inadequacy that try to spread inside of me all over again. It’s all in my head .

Forcing my legs to continue moving, I trail after him, back into the kitchen. Miles and Rafe’s gazes lock onto me the second I’m in view. And the force of their eyes feel like a physical touch to my sensitive skin. A fresh wave of perfume clouds around me, and I swallow.

“I think I need to take a blocker,” I say through the frog in my throat.

Rafe cocks his eyebrow at me, but silently reaches across the kitchen island and grabs my glass to refill it. When he hands it back, he slides a pill bottle across the counter.

“Production got your pills,” he says.

Miles nods toward the hall we just came from. “Your change of clothes are in the bathroom. Second door on the right.”

The smile wavers on my lips. Maybe I wouldn’t feel like this if I could scent their musks. The hints of them I think I may have gotten still haunt me. Hell, if I’m honest, it’s part of the reason I didn’t take the pill or put on lotion. The omega in me was testing the waters in the only way she knew how, with pheromones.

I’m pretty sure it didn’t play out how I expected…although, I don’t think I knew what to expect going into it. But it was not ending up here, in their small carriage house, taking a shower to wash off my perfume.

I pop the lid on the pill bottle and take out a single white tablet and swallow it with a drink of water. Setting both back to the counter, I glance around at each of them. Not that I actually see them.

“I guess this is it,” I say and force an awkward laugh at myself. “I’ll just—” I trail off and gesture down the hall, before leaving them behind without another word.

The bathroom’s beautiful. All white, pristine ceramic surfaces and brushed steel accessories. With soft hues that remind me of the beach. Teal, blush pink, and a lavender mix in the space in a calming way.

Turning on the shower, I shed my perfume-soaked clothes and step into the still lukewarm cascade. It warms quickly. Steam billows in the room, as I let the flow of water rinse off the remaining pheromones. It seems production thought of everything, because the same shampoo and conditioner I use is here, along with the body wash.

Making quick work of the shower, I’m out before my skin can become pink from the heat. Drying off and dressing in the new, identical clothing. Once finished, I eye myself in the cloudy mirror and inhale a slow breath. Now’s the time to exit the bathroom and pretend I didn’t break all the rules. I fold my old clothing and set it on the edge of the counter. I’m sure they don’t want me to take it with me back to the house, and I’m not sure what else to do with it.

“Oh, fuck off, Rafe,” Elliott’s voice travels down the hall to the now open bathroom door, and I pause. “You can’t tell me what I felt or didn’t feel. You weren’t in the closet with us.”

An almost angry sounding exhale that can only be Rafe sounds seconds before he says, “The shit I can’t. You’re pack. I know you. And Lilah, has to be off limits—” he breaks off and swears softly. It's one-eighty to how he had been acting. I don’t know what made him change. But it’s like a knife to the chest.

My heart races wildly as the silence stretches. Wiping my hands over my shirt, I attempt to make my feet work and step out of the bathroom. They know I’m done, staying here is weird. Forcing myself forward, I am immediately thrust into Rafe’s direct line of sight. He watches me like a hungry predator until I’m back in the kitchen.

“Uh, I left my clothes on the counter,” I say, gesturing back to the bathroom like they wouldn’t know what counter I was talking about if I didn’t. “Where’s Miles?”

Rafe and Elliott share a look, before Elliott shakes his head. “He went for a run. He’ll be back soon.”

My nose crinkles. “A run?”

“It’s how he releases excess energy,” Rafe says as if that’s an explanation of why he would just ‘go for a run’ before our date was officially over.

Elliott rubs at the back of his neck, his tongue pushing out his cheek, as he focuses on the counter. “Lilah, we need to talk.”

“We do not need to talk,” Rafe says, pure annoyance at his pack mate painted on his face. “What did we just talk about?”

I’m not sure what he wants to talk about, and I’m not sure I even want to know with Rafe’s reaction. Shaking my head before I even decide what to say, I wet my lips. “Elliott, it was just a kiss. I know. Flirting’s fine between two consenting adults. It doesn’t mean anything.”

Elliott’s eyes dull a bit, losing their depth, and I wonder if I said the wrong thing. “Of course.” He nods, flicking his eyes to Rafe, who gives him a tight smile.

“So, are you three sending me home?”

“No,” echoes between them, and Rafe adds, “Final two, Lilah, remember?”

Ignoring the painful thump of my heart, I nod. “Yeah, final two.”