Page 151 of Knot Heirs: Serenity's Reign

A sharp sting in her neck. A cold rush spreading through her veins. The room tilting sideways.

"The most ancient kind," Elena replied, her face the last thing Serenity saw before darkness claimed her. "Blood calls to blood."

Serenity drifted backto consciousness in stages, her mind struggling against the chemical fog that enveloped her thoughts. The surface beneath her was cold and hard—metal, not the plush comfort of the Society's furnishings. The air smelled of dust and disuse, with undertones of something metallic and organic.

She kept her eyes closed, assessing her situation before revealing her consciousness. Her hands were secured behind her back, the bite of metal against her wrists suggesting handcuffs rather than rope. Her ankles too were bound, though less tightly. The gun was gone from the small of her back, and her pockets had been emptied.

Most concerning was the heat building beneath her skin. Whatever they'd injected her with wasn't just a sedative—it had triggered her heat cycle. The suppressant Darius had given her was failing rapidly, overwhelmed by whatever chemical they'd introduced into her system.

Voices murmured nearby, too low to distinguish words but clear enough to identify speakers. Nikolai. Victoria. And Elena—the betrayal still a fresh wound.

Serenity allowed her eyes to open slightly, viewing her surroundings through her lashes. She was in what appeared to be an abandoned warehouse, secured to a metal chair in the center of a concrete floor. Industrial lights hung from the ceiling, casting harsh shadows across the space. Through dirty windows high above, she could see darkness—night had fallen while she was unconscious.

Which meant hours had passed. The deadline was approaching, and her pack had no idea where she was.

"She's awake," Victoria's voice cut through her thoughts. "The sedative metabolizes quickly in Omegas."

Footsteps approached, and Serenity abandoned the pretense of unconsciousness. She lifted her head, meeting Nikolai's cold blue eyes with a glare that would have made her father proud.

"Ms. Vale," he greeted her, as if they were still in the Society's elegant boardroom. "I apologize for the crude accommodations. This facility is temporary."

"Where am I?" she demanded, her voice hoarse from the sedative. "Where are Darius and the others?"

A smile touched Nikolai's thin lips. "Your Alphas are currently tearing apart half of Manhattan looking for you, I imagine. By the time they think to check this location, our business will be concluded."

Elena stepped into view, her expression unreadable. "You shouldn't have trusted them, Serenity. They were using you, just as your father used us all."

The betrayal stung despite Serenity's attempts to steel herself against it. "You were my father's most loyal officer. He trusted you with his life."

"And he repaid that loyalty by refusing the Society's most basic request," Elena replied, bitterness evident in her voice. "Marcus Vale thought himself above our traditions, above the sacrifices we all make to maintain our way of life."

Victoria circled behind her, high heels clicking against the concrete. "Your father understood the arrangement, Serenity. Every ten years, each major family contributes one unmated Omega to the Primal Circle's selection pool. It's been our practice for centuries."

Cold horror washed through Serenity as understanding dawned. "Selection pool for what?"

Nikolai clasped his hands behind his back, his posture formal despite the decrepit surroundings. "The island," he said simply. "Where we maintain the purity of our bloodlines and ensure the continuation of our oldest traditions."

"An island," she repeated, pieces clicking into place despite the fog still clouding her thoughts. Elena's cryptic warnings about "rehabilitation islands" for disobedient Omegas hadn't been hypothetical—they were real. "You exile Omegas to some island?"

Victoria laughed, the sound brittle in the cavernous space. "Not exile, darling. We provide opportunity. One hundred Omegas of the finest bloodlines, transported to a controlled environment where they can form bonds with Alphas selected for genetic compatibility."

"Form bonds?" Serenity couldn't keep the disgust from her voice. "You mean forced matings."

"Nature is hardly concerned with consent," Nikolai replied dismissively. "The biological imperative serves a greater purpose than individual choice."

Serenity tested her restraints, finding them professionally secured with no obvious weakness. The heat beneath her skin intensified, her pre-heat symptoms accelerating toward full heat with alarming speed. Whatever they'd injected her with was designed to trigger an Omega's most vulnerable state.

"My father refused to offer me as a sacrifice," she concluded, fighting to keep her thoughts clear as her biology fought to overtake her consciousness. "And you killed him for it."

Elena stepped closer, her expression almost sympathetic. "He not only refused but threatened to expose the entire program to federal authorities. The Primal Circle couldn't allow that risk."

"So you had him assassinated and staged the hunt to flush me out," Serenity continued, anger providing temporary clarity. "All this—the contract, the claiming ceremony—was just theater to get me isolated."

"Not entirely," Victoria corrected, perching on the edge of a metal table across from her. "The hunt was genuine. We hoped one of the approved Alphas would claim you properly, saving us this unpleasantness. Your father had made arrangements with Castellano, after all."

The revelation struck Serenity like a physical blow. "Darius knew?"

"Knew about the island? Of course not," Nikolai scoffed. "The lower echelons of the Society are kept ignorant of our most sacred traditions. Castellano, Blackthorn, Drake—they're useful tools, but not privy to the inner workings of the Primal Circle."

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