Page 96 of Chain Me Knot

Silence falls between us, the raw weight of what I've shared settling deep. But even in my worst memories, I feel the bonds around me tighter than ever. I lift my gaze slowly, ready to find revulsion in their eyes. Instead, in my alphas' steady faces, there's sorrow and fury and gentle pride for the bravery I've shown in the telling.

“It wasn't all darkness. Because that basement is also where I found Mira and Leah. Without them, I wouldn't have survived.” My voice tightens. “We bonded, the three of us, fast and deep, because we were the only light any of us had. We shared food when there wasn't enough. We whispered stories late at night, reminding each other who we were, dreaming about what our lives might be beyond those walls. Without Mira and Leah, I'm sure my spirit would've broken entirely.”

I pause, throat closing, before I force myself to continue. “There were others too. Other omegas who were taken and never brought back.” My voice trails off. “We all suffered the same. They groomed and broke us to make us ready to sell at auction for our first heats, so we could be force-bonded to alphas rich enough to buy us. We were nothing but merchandise. Broken omega husks they could do with whatever they wanted. Hugo and Lars weren’t subtle about it, either. The threat of our futures was their runningjoke.”

My heart speeds up at one particular memory, sharp as the night it happened. “Mira, Leah and I planned our escape. We waited for the perfect opportunity. Finally, impossibly, the chance came. One slip in security was all it took and suddenly we were out of those doors and running.”

My breath catches as cold dread turns in my stomach. “We ran into the forest, the darkness so heavy I couldn't see ten steps ahead. I felt hope for the first time in years. But it didn't last. They set hunting dogs after us. As the barking got closer, I panicked. I told Mira and Leah we had to split up.”

Guilt tears through me, a fresh wound re-spilling the grief that has never healed. “It was my fault. My idea. I was sure that splitting up would confuse them, make it harder to find us all. But now… I don't know if I was right or wrong. And that was the last time I saw my best friends, both of them sprinting away into the shadows.”

Asher’s lips brush against my temple, his arms tightening around me as though he’s trying to absorb my pain. “You’re doing so well, Emma.”

“Ten minutes of freedom. That’s all I had before the dogs caught me. Hugo and Lars dragged me back and locked me in a room. That night Pack Carmichael bought me.” My voice lowers. “When I was there in that cage, with all those alphas leering at me…Hardwick injected me with an accelerant to force my heat.”

I feel sick, thinking of that night again. The terror. The shame. The confusion.

“Water. You need water.” Phoenix gets up and walks into the kitchen. As he moves to the sink my gaze locks through the doorway onto Soren’s laptop still open on the kitchen table, and the huge silver-haired alpha now sitting on Pack Carmichaels’ luxurious lounge with a frail omega on his hands and knees on the end of a fuckingdog leash.

I point to the screen, horror rising in my throat, catching the words I want desperately to speak, but instead the memory I locked down the tightest bursts free.

I'm cold and naked, curled in the middle of a cage, steel pressing into my palms. I jerk backward, panic flooding me as a needle jabs into me and iced liquid stingsunder my skin. Evelyn Hardwick's souless eyes hold mine, gleaming with satisfaction as she removes the syringe.

“At last you'll be of use now,” she whispers, that horrible smile crawling across her lips.

Heat races through my veins, bitter and wrong. My skin prickles, burning too fast. Nausea swirls in my gut, vision sliding in and out of focus as sweat drips into my eyes.

Movement flutters around me, shadowy shapes crowding closer. My heart slams against my ribs as countless alpha gazes rake over my body. Hands brush their crotches, their intentions clear and threatening as bitter honey rises from me.

A hulking alpha pushes forward from the silhouettes—tall, broad-shouldered, his silver hair gleaming. He pulls a thin, sickly-looking male omega behind him on a dog lead. The omega’s fragile bones strain beneath bruised and scarred skin. His wild eyes dart around, body curling inward, mouth moving in frantic mutters as he rocks on the floor.

He’s so close I hear what he says.

“One, four, six, five. One, four, six, five…” Over and over and over.

Evelyn Hardwick moves to stand next to the alpha. The omega cowers, putting his hands over his head to protect himself. The air is tinted with his muffled words as he shakes from head to toe. “One, oh, three, seven.”

The silver-haired alpha growls, his lips twisting. He yanks the lead, and the poor omega collapses, dazed, pulling into himself.

“Shut up, mongrel.” The alpha tightens the chain hard enough to choke the poor male before turning toward me.

The silver-haired alpha’s eyes rake over me, his expression calculating and excited. “You're going to make me very, very good money tonight, Omega.”

I retch and a bucket is thrust under my mouth as I lose the contents of my stomach. I heave until I’m drained, sweaty and panting from the force of vomiting. I blink up into Asher’s eyes, as Phoenix takes the bucket away. Soren appears with a warm washcloth. He wipes my face before Phoenix hands me a glass of water.

I’m here.

I’m notin that cage.

That night happened years ago.

It can’t happen again.

The memory can’t hurt me anymore.

The memory releases, allowing me back into the safety of the present—shaking and trembling, shuddering in Asher’s strong grip. My prime alpha peers down at me, brows knitted either side of a deep groove in his forehead. “What happened, Moonbeam?”

My lips move but I can’t seem to make a sound.

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