Page 11 of Knotted By the Demon

I ignored the wave of shame that washed over me. I wasn’t a thief. At least, not a real one. Okay, I was. But I hadn’t wanted to steal. Hunger could make you do strange things. Things you wouldn’t normally do. Hence, the reason I had to sneak onto this property to steal. Honestly, if I’d known an alpha lived here, I would’ve steered clear of this place.

There were no strong scents around here, which was why I’d thought a quiet beta lived here. That wouldn’t have made my thievery any better. But I’d planned to pay him back after I went into town and got some cash off my card. I had to admit, I decided to take this self-discovery journey of mine at the wrong time of the year and in the wrong location.

Living off the grid wasn’t as easy as my cousin made it sound. And I wasn’t as good at it as I thought I’d be. My dad had warned me that I wouldn’t make it on my own. To prove him wrong, I’d stuck it out, even after a dumb-ass bear got into my cabin and ate all my food. I hadn’t even known they had bears in this neck of the woods.

I’d left my door cracked while I’d gone out to check my traps and returned with the door swung open and a bear leaving my home. My home was a mess now. Plus, the last tornado that had come through had torn parts of my roof off. I now kept large buckets in my living room and kitchen to keep water from flooding the house whenever it rained.

But because I had holes in the roof that I couldn’t repair on my own, all sorts of creepy crawlies were trying to get into myhome. My cabin was officially unlivable. But I had nowhere else to stay and nothing to eat.

"What a disaster," I muttered, tugging at my bindings again. "Can't even grow a tomato, let alone survive on my own."

The stupid bear had even stepped all over my garden, which hadn’t been much to look at anyway. Nothing had grown in it.Nothing. How could I plant all those seeds yet grow nothing? How? Then, there were the gators that chased me away from the lake whenever I tried to fish. The bayou didn’t like me, and I didn’t like it very much now, either.

Nothing was working out for me. I was starting to feel like the pampered princess my dad claimed I was. But that wasn’t what I wanted to be. I didn’t want to live off my family’s money or join the family business. The Agresti family’s meats and cold-cut production company kept grocery stores nationwide stocked with the best meats of the best quality.

Our smaller farms kept the local markets stocked with fresh vegetables and produce. And though it was illegal to do so, my family secretly made sure safe haven facilities stayed stocked too. I was proud of what my family did. And we were tight knit. I loved them all, even my meddling cousins.

However, I was tired of living on our Mississippi ranch and raising cattle. I know what my family did was lucrative and important. But it wasn’t the life for me. I loved hand-to-hand combat and I was a natural born protector. I would love to train to be a patroller and protect the citizens in my community.

But my dad’s influence kept the local authorities from hiring me. They didn’t want to get on my family’s bad side. It wasn’t that dad didn’t believe in me. He was just afraid I’d be hurt or killed. What he failed to see was that my spirit was dying inside our estate, where I was protected by guards and taken care of by our staff.

I’d wanted to make it on my own. But after weeks of trying, I’d realized I was utterly failing. Stealing had been a last resort. One that I wasn’t proud of. But I had planned for tonight to be my last haul. I was going to steal enough to get me through the next few days.

Then, I was going to tuck my tail and return to my family and join the family business because, apparently, I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life outside the family. I had no idea my last haul would lead me to this situation. When I smelled that omega’s scent, I rushed my stolen haul back to my cabin and then returned here.

Not only could I not hunt, take care of a garden, or protect my home from animals, but I also couldn’t protect the innocent like I thought I could. Now, here we both were. Captured by the rogue. I looked toward the other couch. The omega lay across from me, motionless, his body a map of bruises and pain.

Whoever he was, it was obvious he’d been through hell. Dark smudges shadowed his eyes, his face pale beneath the bruises and scratches that marked his skin. He was like a wounded animal, his presence stirring my protective nature. He was the reason I wanted to be a patroller. I wanted to protect omegas from trash alphas.

My mind raced, running through possible scenarios. Had this alpha attacked him? No, that couldn’t be the case. The way he’d handled the omega had been tender and careful. It wasn’t what I’d expect from an alpha who’d gone out of his way to restrain me and drag us both here. The omega shifted slightly, his mouth parting as his eyes fluttered open, just for a moment. A small gasp escaped me.Silver. His eyes were really silver.

A faint spark lit his silver gaze, and his lips moved, barely forming the word, “Beautiful.”

The quiet murmur sent a jolt through me, and my throat tightened. He didn’t know my name, but that word—beautiful—was meant for me. The innocence of it, the way he looked at me, even in his weakened state, made my heart ache in a way I hadn’t felt before. I wanted to reach out, to touch him, to take away his pain, but my wrists were bound, and there was nothing I could do.

“Don’t worry,” I whispered, knowing he probably couldn’t hear me. “I’ll get us out of here. I’ll figure something out. I just need to calm down and think of an escape plan.”

But the truth was, I wasn’t sure if that was even possible. The ropes held fast no matter how much I wriggled, and as much as I tried to tell myself that this alpha was the enemy, I couldn’t shake the feeling that he was... different. His touch had been tender, careful, and the worry in his eyes as he’d treated the omega hadn’t been fake.

Then there was his scent.Oh. My. Damn. He smelled divine, at least the hints of his aroma that I was picking up. Maybe he was on suppressants that were muting his scent, so I couldn’t get a full whiff of him. Still, what I got was enough to know that he smelled good as hell.

He smelled of the earth, lightning during a bad storm, hail during a hurricane, a whiskey-filled night of bad decisions. His scent was wild and untamed, and when I’d first smelled it, I’m pretty sure I came a little in my panties.

I’d never been affected by the scent of anyone until I’d encountered these two people. Still, it infuriated me that Mr. Bear Man had karate-chopped me. The nerve of this man, tying me up, leaving me helpless while he took care of the omega as if I was a threat instead of someone who would do anything to protect the abused man before me.

Why would anyone hurt him? Had his pack done this to him? I swear, some alphas deserved to have their knots chopped off and fed to them. I tugged on the bindings again, ignoring theburn as I tested each knot. If I could just get a hand free, I’d make sure we got out of here.

My mind wouldn’t stop circling around the rogue. He was a mystery, a towering figure with short dark hair that looked like he’d just woken up from a good fuck and ran his hands through his hair instead of combing it.

Even the scar that cut across his right cheek didn’t distract from his handsome looks. If anything, it made him look even more appealing, even more dangerous. Then, there were his eyes that seemed colder than ice. They were an unnatural blue. I’d never seen anything like them. Yet, when I’d challenge him, I could’ve sworn his eyes lit up. If eyes could smirk, his had.

And that damn scent, smoky, rugged, something that shouldn’t smell so good but did. The worst part was, I hated that I’d noticed it, hated the fact that it lingered in the air even now. I was a beta, for crying out loud. I didn’t get this worked up over scents. Alphas didn’t affect me like this. Why now? Why him?

I would just have to ignore the insanity that had taken over my body because I couldn’t afford to feel anything for him. He was the threat, the reason we were here, the one who had restrained me and dragged us into his home like it was his right. And yet, the way he’d looked at the omega told a different story.

His eyes had softened, his hands moving slowly, almost reverently, as he’d wiped away the grime and blood from the other man’s face. The tenderness in that simple act made me want to understand him, and I hated myself for it. Why was I trying to figure him out? Why did I care if there was a reason behind his actions?

I shook my head, attempting to banish the thought, but it lingered, an itch in my mind that I couldn’t scratch. I’d expected cruelty, violence, but instead, I’d seen a silent, almost resigned kind of care. Under the alpha’s touch, the omega’s breathing calmed, his face finally relaxing as he slipped deeper into sleep.

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