Page 10 of Knot in Their Wildest Dreams: Part 1

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We were eventually ushered out by one of the staff, and headed toward our SUV where Elijah, one of our closest confidants, awaited. Once inside, we collectively let out a breath.

“It worked.” was all Vigo said, and Elijah turned to us, grinning. We had him to thank for all this. Not only had he procured for us this miracle of secret documents, but he’d also helped us hatch an absolutely genius idea - we could leverage this piece of information to clear our names.

“I knew it! See, everything will start to work out from here.” Elijah said as he started the engine, driving us down the long, winding path to get off of Celeste’s family’s estate.

Vigo sat back in his seat, his hands behind his head as he relaxed. The past few weeks had been tense as we prepared for this plan.

“We’re doing it. We finally have a chance to take her down.” He said with relief, appearing like he might finally relax for once.

We’d been living in absolute hell the past year, ever since Celeste had burned every bridge we had to be with an omega. I could sense the pack grow ever more distraught as we struggled with the fallout. “And once this is over with, I can finally get some damn release.” Vigo muttered as he clenched and released his fists with a sigh.

One of the worst parts of the fallout was that we hadn’t had the chance to get any sexual attention at all. We weren’t even allowed to be on the alpha surrogate program, much less meet with any omegas after we’d been blacklisted. So we’d spent the last year dealing with our hormonal frustrations as well. Alphas weren’t meant to go this long without sex, and we’d all been overly agitated. Some packs would get through this by servicing each other, but we didn’t play with each other like that. We were strictly interested in omegas. But the only way we’d ever get one to touch us again was if we were able to fix our reputations. In our province, there were also black market omegas for sale, but we’d never consider such a thing. So we were stuck, at least up until now.

“Uh guys, about that…” I started, thinking about how affected I was just being in the same room as Celeste. “Do you foresee any issues with her being around the house? I mean, we all have the biggest case of blue balls in the entire Eastern Province.” I said with a mutter as I thought about how hard it would be with Celeste strutting around our home, looking how she did.

“Absolutely no problem here.” Dante said with a dark look in his eyes. “I’d rather stick my dick in a cheese grater than anywhere near her. She’s utterly repulsive.” He said as he looked out the window.

“I have a feeling she’ll stay in her own wing for the majority of the time. She feels the same way about us. And anyway, with her on suppressants the only thing we’ll smell is that rotted stench of her nasty perfume.” Vigo said with a grin.

I smirked, but inside I had a small thread of worry starting to unravel. Many times after the Darlington Ball, we’d discussed the perfume she wore - it was a specialty product, an artificial fragrance made to replicate her real perfume but without any pheromones to set off the reactions a real perfume would. She was famous for wearing it and giving everyone a hint of what it would be like to smell her in arousal. It was scandalous, but as soon as she started doing it, the chemist behind the specialty product was in such high demand that there was a several year wait list for a personal non-hormonal perfume.

We’d talk about how rank it was when we’d gotten a whiff of it at the ball. Spent hours talking about how awful it was, how we all hated it, how we were surprised that anyone could stand being in that room after her nasty scent wafted in. But deep down, Icravedthe opportunity to smell it again. And I had a feeling my pack did too.

“Once the deal’s complete, we’ll be done with her and we can get all kinds of omegas to want us again.” Dante said, confident that we’d be back in good social graces soon.

Elijah snorted in amusement. “I do feel bad for the next omega you guys help through a heat. She’ll get a year’s worth of pent up sex to contend with. She’ll probably wear out before all of you do!” He mused as he turned the corner to our area of town. I shook off my worries and focused on the fact that we finally had a win.

I’d spent years fighting alongside my pack to get Manticore Tech off the ground. As a lean startup, we had speed, innovation, and a mission to bring ethical, affordable technology to the masses. But competing with a corporate giant like Harringday was like scaling a mountain with our bare hands. They had the market cornered - cheaper raw materials, legacy deals, and a web of bribes and favors that kept them on top. Still, we didn’t back down. We met face-to-face with partners, hustled with organic marketing, and stuck to our values, even when it cost us. Slowly, our hard work paid off. People noticed us. We started landing contracts, and for the first time, it felt like we were building real momentum.

But it was always a struggle. Every time we gained ground, something knocked us back. Verbal agreements would vanish overnight. Shipments would get held up by officials for no reason, but Harringday always received priority. We asked around, but the answer was always ‘don’t mess with Harringday’. It was sabotage - plain and simple.

Then came the biggest blow. We were about to unveil a game-changing new phone made with a lightweight, ultra-durable material. Our entire launch centered on it. The night before our announcement, Celeste posted a cryptic warning about a “new, untested material” rumored to cause hormonal disruptions in specialty designations. She didn’t name names, but everyone made the connection. Her post went viral. Our launch imploded. We scrambled to delay the release, verify the material’s safety, and run damage control, but the damage was done. Sales tanked, and our credibility took a hit.

We never figured out how she knew about the launch. We suspected someone leaked word of our shipment, but it didn’t matter. She always seemed a step ahead. Still, we weren’t about to give up. We knew the truth about how Harringday Industriesreallyoperated, and once we had the proof tying Celeste to the corruption, we could take her down for good.

“Home sweet home.” Vigo said as we pulled up to our complex. I took one last look at my pack before we went inside. It was like the calm before the storm. In a few hours, we’d have Celeste here and the real work would start. But for now, I reveled in the possibility that maybe, just maybe, we’d get the justice we always dreamed of.

Chapter 7

Celeste

I numbly folded another dress into my suitcase, moving like a ghost. Ever since I’d left the North Wing, everything had felt like a blur. My uncle had said a few things, probably important, but I couldn’t recall a single word. All I could think about was that something I never even let myself hope for, a scent match, had just happened to me. And to a pack I was absolutely sure was not my match, and never could be.

All my life I’d dreamed of having someone love me,reallylove me, not just want me for my money, power or looks. When my parents died, I’d been left with just my uncle and the various staff that my parents employed to look out for my well-being. My uncle was old school. If he had his way, I’d be bonded to a pack the moment I came of age. I’d had to fight my way to be where I was. The associates who worked for my parents didn’t take me seriously. They only wanted me to make sure I was prepared to find a good pack. Even one of the only staff I truly loved and trusted, my nanny, ended up being exposed as a thief when she was caught stealing from the estate. No one expected me to want to step into my father’s place as the leader of Harringday. It had been a legal battle, and still was, to keep the company in my name.

I did it alone. Although my uncle was on my side in many ways, he wasn’t someone I could turn to for advice on relationships or the trauma I went through losing my parents so young.

When I was old enough to start courting packs, I had a small thread of hope that I would find someone whosawme, and wanted to support me through my darkest times. Instead, I found most of them were too busy trying to impress who they thought I was in order to get a high-status omega in their pack. I’d only ever dated a few packs that I thought might work, and even then, they weren’t in love with me. Pack Valence was my most recent relationship, and though we cared about each other deeply, we courted for different reasons. I gave up hope that a scent match was even real. At least, not real for me.

When the scent of Liam overwhelmed me in the North Wing office, I had to put on the best acting performance of my life not to show how it affected me. The other alphas were nearby, and since the air was so filtered, I didn’t get a good whiff of them. Still, my body knew. It responded with a sharp, undeniable pull that told me they would smell just as intoxicating.

Thankfully, the meeting ended before I lost control. I made it back to my room in a daze, every step heavy with the weight of what had just happened. Now I had to contend with the biggest wrench ever thrown into my plans.

How was I going to spend months living with this pack? We already hated each other. They’d tried to take my company down in every way possible. They even tried to kidnap me so I’d miss the vote and my ascension to CEO, I was sure of it. Who knew what else they were capable of?

As much as they might be my scent match, there was no way they would ever care about me, much less love me. And that broke my heart most of all. There would be no other pack I’d want as much as them, not now that my omega senses were flooded with the pheromones that told me they were it for me. And I’d have to be around them, knowing they were the best physical match I’d ever get, and knowing that we were absolutely awful for each other.

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