Page 105 of Chain Me Knot

Mira sighs, the sound heavy over the phone line. “What about the commissioner? Did he say anything—anything at all—that might help us find Leah?”

Frustration tightens my chest, “No. He talked about her like she was nothing, Mira. Just another transaction. Another commodity to be bought and sold. Like she was someone he could profit from.”

“Gods. They make me sick,” she rasps.

My stomach twists. “I’m worried about how Leah might react when they finally reach her. If it comes down to a confrontation at the gala, the commissioner will have a full contingent of alphas at his side. We'll only have nine.” The image of Leah, terrified and desperate, fills my mind, pain sharp and immediate at the thought. “What if Leah tries to escape from everyone? What if she doesn't trust anyone who shows up? Mira, you know as well as I do—after everything she's endured, it would take a miracle for her to trust any alpha at all.”

Gods know Mira and I hadn't been in any state to trust alphas after what we experienced. Every instinct in me had screamed to run, Mira told me she'd feltexactly the same way. Leah would be no different, maybe even more wounded; even harder to reach.

“Then we have to get to her ourselves. She'll trust us. Leah knows us. Knows we’d never hurt her. If we're there at the gala, it could make all the difference. We could be exactly what she needs to accept help,” Mira says.

Warmth rises in my chest, chasing away some of the fear. “You're right.” Together, Mira and I understand Leah’s pain on a level no alpha ever could. “If we're there, she'll know she’s safe.”

“We'll need to convince our alphas. They have to understand that we need to be there at the gala. Not just for ourselves, but for Leah. We could be the difference between saving her... or losing her,” Mira says.

The fear in my heart is still there, but now, there’s something else too: a spark of purpose, burning away the helplessness.

Mira falls silent for a second before taking a steadying breath. “It won't always be like this. When it's safe, I’m going to show you both the entire town. Every ridiculous boutique, café, and pastry shop. We'll eat bad food, buy overpriced coffees, and spend half the day doing absolutely nothing important. You know, normal things. The kind of things that alpha bastards like Hardwick and Mercer denied us. Just to remind ourselves we have a place in this world.”

Her words sober us both. She's right. It hits that simple things others take completely for granted, have been denied to us for years. Our lives have left us existing in darkness so long, we forgot simple pleasures even existed. That we could choose our own futures.

Suddenly, unspoken worries flood me, questions I've feared to voice rising urgently to my lips. “Mira…are you really, truly happy? With your alphas?”

There is no pause when she answers. “More than happy.” Her voice softens as emotion shines through. “They're everything to me, Emma. They hold my heart with a gentleness I never thought possible. They healed wounds I didn't realize were still bleeding. For the first time in forever, I'm completely safe. Utterly loved. They complete me in a way no one else ever could.” She pauses and when she speaks her words are cautious. “Emma…are you happy?”

I don't even pause. “Yes.” I press fingertips against my heart, over the steady thrum of the bonds I already share. “Asher and Soren are incredible. Their bonds make me feel whole. Complete in a way I didn't think I'd ever feel again. They saw me at my worst and still cherished me anyway. Now their love holds me steady every second.”

Mira hesitates, tentative in her next question. “What about Phoenix?”

Heat flushes softly through my cheeks, and I glance down as my fingers twist nervously in the fabric of my shirt. “I haven't claimed him yet. I want to. Gods, Mira, I want him desperately. But it hasn't felt like the right moment. It needs to be special, perfect for him…for us.”

She hums quietly. “Emma, can I ask... why didn't you claim them all at once?”

“Honestly? If I'd been properly in heat, maybe it would have happened that way. But my system is such a mess, Mira. These past days I've been having heat spikes, but no real heat cycle fully sets in.” My voice wobbles with worry. “It's scaring me. I feel like a ticking time bomb. My body keeps starting and stopping, and none of us know why.”

“You're healing, Emma. It took years for those asshats to fracture and harm you. It’s going to take your body time to right itself,” Mira says.

I close my eyes briefly, absorbing her comfort. Yet, anxiety still knots quietly inside me. “I hope you're right.”

“Have you…used the nest?” Mira asks. “Maybe that's partly the reason why your heat hasn't come. The nest is instinctive. It's healing. Your omega side knows exactly what you need. You've got to start trusting yourself again.”

My gaze slides across the bedroom to the closed double doors. Longing coils through my chest, sharp and bittersweet. I haven't had the strength to open those doors, let alone step inside.

She lets out a knowing sigh, understanding my silence. “Emma, listen to me. Don't you dare let Haven or those waste-of-space alphas tell you that you can't have a nest. Do you hear me? I know exactly how hard it is to stand up against all those terrible things we've been taught, but don't mistake it for anything otherthan abuse. Pure, twisted abuse to stop you from giving in to your omega nature, so bad alphas can control you. That guilt is not yours to bear.”

I swallow down painful emotions, pressing fingers against my eyes. She's right—I know she is, but the feeling still lodges tightly in my throat.

“I'm trying. Really, Mira, I am. You're right about so many things, but the truth is, this place isn't mine. Even though I love it deeply, it's yours.”

“Emma—”

“When all this is over, I’ll beg to visit. The beach outside this house feels like mine. The sand, the waves…they’re my safe space. I claimed Asher and Soren here, bonded heart and soul to them within these walls. I know it sounds crazy, despite why we came here and the danger, but it’s the safest I've ever felt.”

Emotion thickens my throat as I lower my voice. “It would destroy me. To let myself have this nest and then have to leave it behind.”

“Emma—”

“Don’t ask me to use the nest. I...I don’t even know how to start—”

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