Page 154 of Knot Their Omega

“Nothing in this industry is a final sale,” she argues. “Unless it’s on the contract, it’s not, and there’s only one company I’ve heard of that does final sale on deals in the industry.”

“S. Music Clef Corp,” Nate Jr. boldly announces, forcing all eyes on him. “They work with Blair Vesper. That’s why I sold it to them.”

“Are you fucking mad?!” I snap, realizing we’re never going to be able to get those songs back. “You sold the work your fellow bandmates have been spending long twelve- to sixteen-hour days for the last three weeks to S. Music Clef Corp, who will now sell it for billions in revenue with the premise that Blair Vesper wrote it, creating a ripple of bidding wars to make quadruple the profit.”

“Quadruple is an understatement. Even ten times whatever cheap fuck price you listed for all our work isn’t even good enough to describe the profit they’ll make,” Rex whispers and looks defeated. “You really sold the work your true friends spent hours on to a set of fuckers who don’t give two shits about you. While we all worked hard in the hollows of various studios and on the tour bus, you just laid down and recovered from being punched by an Omega.”

“Shut the fuck up, Rex,” he snaps and points to Astraea. “She fucking cheated any?—”

Astraea simply lifts her clenched fist, and Nate Jr. flinches backward with his hands up in defense.

“Fuck! Don’t break my nose again! I can’t afford the medical bills for this shit.”

“After you sold your band’s hard work, I’m sure you can spend a few thousand to get another nose job!” Astraea growls, clearly angry with it all. “You really sold out your friends. THESE FRIENDS who ALWAYS have your back! Do you have no fucking morals? You didn’t learn NOTHING from your sister’s death, huh?”

I can see the flinch of hurt that washes over his face the moment Astraea brings up Suzy, the sudden spike of defensiveness that takes over his being.

“You don’t know fucking shit.”

“I know enough to conclude you’re a fucking jackass!” she snaps right back. “You don’t deserve a pack! You don’t even deserve friends because who would want to be friends with someone who will throw them under the bus with any opportunity that benefits them?”

“As if you’d know shit. You don’t have friends.”

“Oh, I do. I at least have a best friend who has my back when I need her. If push comes to shove, she knows I’ll protect her assets and reputation in any circumstance, but look at you. How must it feel?” she snarls and narrows her eyes with scrutiny. “To know you set up this tour for failure from the very beginning.”

“And how did I do that, Omega?!”

“You enlisted in the pack that your Omega was dead,” she reveals, drawing our attention to her.

“What?” Kenji questions, his voice void of emotion.

“If you list your Omega as dead in a pack, the government only gets to invite you to major Meet and Greets once a year. Anyother opportunities are pushed to the side, and your pack is put on a different list, so you’re not informed of any events that can further open your chances of meeting an Omega.”

When everyone looks at Nate Jr., he can’t even lie to defend himself. His shock proves he’s guilty.

“You know why you guys were invited to that last Meet and Greet?” she begins, ready to reveal more truth. She turns to point the way, causing my anger to subside only slightly, so I don’t frighten her with my venomous expression.

“Knox.” She says my father’s name with confidence, leaving me to frown because I don’t understand. “Knox saw Icarus’ reaction in the gym and decided he wanted to try to set things up between us with an actual meeting. He requested Velvet to check the database and confirm whether a Meet and Greet was approaching. Who would have thought they would find that the pack leader had made very clear instructions that no Meet and Greets should be offered to their pack due to them still mourning their DEAD Omega?”

I’m not the only one whose jaw goes slack at the truth.

Sure, we went to Meet and Greets, but it wasn’t often. Not like how I saw other packs complaining about having to go to weekly ones and grand international events that partnered them with Omegas from across the world.

“Your fearsome leader over there never cared about the pack. He cared about himself,” she declares. “He fucked any Omega he wanted because he aimed to find an Omega that would suit his needs. Not the pack’s needs. Since he’s such a selfish nut case, the idea of sharing an Omega with his fellow packmates made him upset. So, why not just set your chances of finding an Omega down to five percent? That’s the calculated percentage the government gave the pack since you guys were excluded from any offered opportunity to meet an Omega?”

“You orchestrated it so we’d never find an Omega,” Kai whispers in disbelief. “I knew you were a bastard, but even for you, this is the lowest I thought you’d go.”

“None of you needed an Omega!” Nate Jr. argues. “Y’all were recovering from whatever shit you were dealing with.”

“No.” I boldly step in, taking the few steps needed to land me right in front of him. I see how his entire body grows tense in my presence. Maybe everyone is feeling it because my Alpha instincts are buzzing intensely. “YOU were recovering from losing Suzy. The loss YOU instigated.”

“I-I didn’t do shit! It was that copycat fucker!” He points past me, clearly aiming for Nathaníel. I can see the creeping smile at the corner of Nate Jr.’s lips as he’s ready to scrutinize his older brother, but a layer of surprise washes over his face, forcing me to follow my nagging instinct to move.

I make a sharp step to the right—just in time as Nathaníel’s fist goes flying into Nate Jr.’s face. The loud crunch makes everyone cringe as Nate Jr.’s screams fill the studio’s walls. It’s a good thing the room is soundproof, but I doubt that would stop Nathaníel from unleashing his punch of revenge.

“YOU KILLED SUZY!” he yells at the top of his lungs. It’s as if those three words have been begging to echo into the hollows of the world for years. “You set her up with a pack for money! Sold her to them so you could make enough to start your career to create a band that the world will go crazy for! By the time we knew what was going on, Suzy was clinging to life by a thread! All because you needed a few million dollars for YOUR start-up!”

Nathaníel is shaking, his fists clenched in fury.

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