Page 94 of Knot All that Glitters: Part 1

“What?”

I recoil from him at the same time that Creed protests with a loud, “fuck no. We agreed we wouldn’t do that to her.”

Hale’s palm on the back of my neck holds me in place, not letting me move away from him, keeping my eyes on him. It should make me feel unsafe, like prey in a hunter’s trap, but I just feel calm.

“Listen to me, little mouse,” he says soothingly. “I can bark at you to ignore all of your father’s commands. I can take away their burden, so there is only the burden of my command. That would be better, right?”

“I swear to fuck if you bark at her, I will end you,” Creed growls, stalking closer.

Hale meets him with a growl of his own. “I’m not doing it to control her, I’m doing it to free her. You want to be free, don’t you, little mouse?”

“Hale,” Tic says, sounding uncertain. “Are you sure this is a good idea?”

“I think it’s a great fucking idea. We saw what breaking through just one command did to her, didn’t we? Knocked her out for a full day. I don’t want you to have to go through that for every one he’s given you, mouse. Thousands.”

I think about that, about trying to do that just to be free, about having a migraine every time I’m successful. Just the idea of it is draining, makes my stomach recoil and my head ache.

“I don’t want that either. He’s… I think there might be closer to hundreds. But it’s still… It would be years of fighting them, breaking them.” All four alphas growl at that.

Hale’s eyes darken with rage. “I can only imagine what he’s put you through, Haven. I can only imagine the ways he’s bound you. But I can free you. Please let me.”

I want to be free, more than anything, I want that. More than a pack or a career I love or a family. I want my freedom, want to be fully in control of my body, my mind. I want my choices to be driven by what I want, not what my father does. I want it.

But if the only way for me to do that is for another command to be laid out on top of them, smothering all the rest, is that really freedom? Or is it just transferring ownership from one person to another?

“You won’t do it again?” I whisper. “You won’t bark at me again to get me to do something you want? None of you will?”

“Never,” Creed spits out immediately. “I will never bark at you, baby girl. I promise.”

“I won’t bark at you, button,” Jude says, sounding uncharacteristically subdued, like the reality of my life has sucked the joy right out of him. It makes my heart clench with guilt. Jude should always be smiling, laughing, flirting, winking. He shouldn’t be sad, not for me.

“I promise, angel,” Tic adds. They’re all closer to where Hale and I are standing, like they can’t keep away from us.

I look up at Hale, wait for him to give his agreement. He doesn’t really have to. But then he didn’t have to ask for my permission in the first place. He could have just done it, taken away my choice, but he didn’t. He asked, he waited.

“Hale?”

His brow furrows. “Do you trust me, mouse?”

The others around us suck in sharp breaths like the question has weight to it, like they can’t believe he just asked it. But to me it makes sense, and my answer is immediate.

“Yes. I trust you.”

There’s a flicker of something in his eyes, something like guilt, but it chased away with relief. “Good. That’s good.” He nods, his mouth pulling into a small smile. “Trust that I will only ever bark at you to keep you safe. Actually safe. Never for whatever bullshit lie your father has given you.” His brow furrows again. “I don’t want to make that promise and then have to break it because your father does something fucked up to you.” His thumb presses into my pulse point, stroking it gently. “Because I can promise you, I would break it in a heartbeat to free you from him again.”

He’s not giving me the reassurance I was looking for, but he’s giving me something else, a promise to only use this power that alphas have over omegas for my benefit, to keep me safe from the man who I shouldn’t need saving from.

Licking my bottom lip, I consider what he’s saying. “I believe you,” I say finally. The four of them shift closer. “I trust you.” I repeat the sentiment, so he knows I mean it. There’s that same flicker of guilt when I say it, followed this time by pride.

“Good girl,” he murmurs, bending to press a soft kiss to my mouth.

“If we’re doing this, we’re only doing it once,” Tic says, moving closer to lace his fingers with mine. “Not multiplecommands. So let’s figure out the exact wording we want to use to make sure we cover all our bases.”

Jude nods and moves to my other side while Creed steps up behind me, his body tense with unease. He relaxes the tiniest bit when I lean into him, but I can tell he’s still uncomfortable with the situation. I tip my head back to meet his worried gaze. “It’ll be okay,” I reassure him.

His brow furrows, blue eyes intense. “You shouldn’t give your trust so easily, baby girl.”

“You think that was easy? No Creed, I don’t trust easily. Before I met you, your pack, I trusted exactly one person. Ren. Three if I count her mother and sister, but… even then… It’s something I’ve built with them over years.”

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