Page 94 of Chain Me Knot

“Relax Butterfly. Anyone would be insane to think you could render a fully grown male unconscious. This is obviously fabricated, and we’re being framed,” Soren says.

“Stay alert out there. We'll keep digging and let you know if we find anything more.” Adrian cuts the call, leaving the kitchen heavy with silence saturated by dread. I lean into Asher, letting his strength ground me as his arms wrap protectively around me. Yet, for the first time since we arrived here, even the safety and heat of his embrace can't fully erase the net closing in around us. Something shifts in my peripheral vision, snagging my attention on Soren’s open laptop.

The screen displays footage of three figures I know intimately. They are lounging on deep, leather sofa chairs in a room I saw only once on that horrible day my alphas dragged me, starved and delirious with fear, from the basement. Matthew. Derek. James.

My stomach lurches and everything around me fades to icy static as my eyes lock on the screen. I'm embraced by crisp sandalwood as Soren turns my face gently but firmly away from the view. He pushes my nose against his neck, guidingme straight to his scent gland, filling my senses with clean, calming reassurance that cuts straight through the fear.

“I'm sorry, Emma. I should have warned you I was monitoring them.” His hand curls protectively around my head, holding me carefully.

My tremors slow, warmth seeping into my bones as two more bodies cage me between them. Phoenix's coffee weaves seamlessly into Asher's rich leather. Low purrs vibrate against my skin, steady rhythms grounding me. Their touches push away the cold clawing tendrils of memory, bringing me back to the present and grounding me fully in their warmth.

I draw a deep breath. Their scents, their steady heartbeats, soothe the edges of panic, reminding me that the Carmichaels' bitter, frayed bonds no longer own space inside me.

Their insistence on taking me back doesn't make sense, and nowthis. “Why won't they let me go? Why do they want me so badly? What good am I to them now? Why don't they just give up?”

Violent emotion ripples through our bonds as silence clings to them, heavy and uneasy. The answer comes to me slowly, knowledge dark and ugly clicking into place.

“They think I know something incriminating about them,” I whisper, swallowing hard. “I do. They bought me at an auction. Kept me captive. Abused me for years. That's more than enough evidence against them.”

“It should be.” Quiet anger bleeds heavily into Asher’s voice. He lifts a gentle palm, cupping my cheek carefully, despite the harshness of his words. “But your word as an omega won't count if it goes to court. They'll twist it, invalidate you, dismiss the evidence outright. To be so persistent they must believe you have something more concrete. Something that would actually destroy them.”

Helplessness creeps back through me, frustration bubbling beneath my skin. I search their serious gazes, pleading silently for clarity.

Soren brushes his fingers through my hair. “There has to be something else you know, Emma. Something hidden, something powerful enough they're willing to destroy us all to silence you.”

I close my eyes, their quiet certainty pressing heavily into my heart. Searching my memories is overwhelming, painful scraps of darkness scattered among false tenderness. What could a chained omega hidden in darkness for years know that would threaten alphas so much that they're prepared to go to war for my silence?

“I'm sorry. I just don't know,” I say.

Phoenix's palm slides slowly down my arm, fingers slipping through mine, threading our hands together. “Not yet, Tough Girl. But we'll help you find it. Whatever you're holding will end this for good.”

Even shaking my head, something deep inside whispers that whatever secret I've kept unknowingly hidden, someone very powerful is afraid of it getting out. Whatever it may be, it's hidden inside shadows. But I’m not alone anymore. I have my scent-matched mates supporting me and with their strength, I'll finally uncover what they're so desperate to hide.

I take a steeling breath, knowing how fully I’m going to have to bare my soul. “I’ll tell you everything about me. I’ll tell you everything you need to know. If I don’t see something there, then perhaps you will.”

Asher's voice is a deep, soothing rumble. “Emma, you don't owe us anything you're not ready to give. You don't have to relive anything uncomfortable. We'll find other ways to get answers.”

His protectiveness warms my heart from the inside out, but it isn't fair. How can I rely on their strength, on promises they keep giving freely, yet shelter myself away from truths they desperately need?

“This is mine to share. Mine to face. You all deserve to know about me, especially now that…” My voice ends on a soft whisper, my cheeks warming, fragile but certain. “Especially now that I'm falling in love with all of you.”

A breath of stunned silence stretches between us. Asher freezes, eyes widening. Even Soren holds still. Before I can second-guess the overwhelming truth I just voiced, Phoenix leaps forward with a whoop of delighted laughter, radiant joy lighting his handsome face.

“You said it! You seriously said you're falling in love with us!” He sweeps me into his arms, spinning me around in dizzying circles.

I can't help smiling, the world twirling as I clutch his shoulders. Phoenix sets me down gently and cups my face in warm hands. His kiss is bright, joyful, breathtaking in its excitement. “Damn right, Tough Girl. You're ours!”

Before I catch my breath, gentle hands turn me. Then Soren is there, his steady gaze shimmering. He cups the back of my head, tilting my face upwards, his mouth claiming mine in a kiss as deep and certain as morning sunlight. “You're everything, Butterfly,” he whispers against my lips. “Always.”

Asher’s kiss is searing. His fierce intensity sizzles under the tenderness in his touch. My body melts beneath the heat, craving him, needing him desperately. When he finally ends the kiss, resting his forehead to mine, my heart pounds wildly.

I must do this. I have to face my deepest fears now because whatever it is I can’t remember affects them. “I need you to know. About what they did to me and everything I've buried. If they want me this much, perhaps the four of us can work it out.”

Asher studies me, then nods, accepting. “All right, Moonbeam. But if you feel uneasy about anything, we’ll stop. We won’t make you say anything you don’t want to.”

I know they won’t, which is all the more reason I need them to know. Asher scoops me into his arms, carrying me to the sofa and settling me on his lap, arranging me close to his heartbeat. His warmth and solid strength seep into me like an anchor, calming my nerves like the best kind of drug. Phoenix and Soren settle beside us, each one gently holding, touching, grounding me, as I pull in a deep breath and start to talk.

Chapter Thirty-Six

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