Page 98 of Chain Me Knot

Rising dread snakes around my spine, sickening and bitter in my gut. Another omega? Someone I knew—someone already drawn through the torturous hell of the Basement? Mira and Leah were my only true friends there. Unless…

My mind goes straight to Leah, but the horror of that thought is too much. He couldn’t possibly mean her.Please gods, let it not be her. Perhaps he means one of the other omegas who suffered. Who came and went as I never saw again.

My mind races, frantically searching for the memory of hidden faces lost in the shadows. I can’t pinpoint who the replacement might be.

Matthew's irritated voice sounds through the speakers. “We’ll need her soon. And we won't be paying. Consider this one an apology. You owe us.”

The commissioner sighs. “Fine. In that case, I won’t run her through the auctions. The transfer can be made privately. You’ll take Leah at the Aegis Gala in five days.”

Oh my gods. He did mean Leah.

Not Leah…not gentle Leah…please, gods, no.

The commissioner stands and the leash goes taut. He frowns at the choking omega as though he’s only just noticed the poor male can’t breathe. He releases the leash with an annoyed flick of his hand. The omega collapses to the floor. His chest heaves as he draws in big, panting breaths, tears running down his cheeks. “We’ll finalize the details there. Come on, mongrel. Time to go.”

The commissioner starts to walk with disregard for the omega, who frantically tries to keep up. Time stops completely for me, everything freezing in gut-wrenching horror. Leah’s name echoes in my head, drowning out their venomous voices, engulfing me in sudden, overwhelming grief.

They're planning on giving Leah to those arrogant, callous monsters. My sweet and gentle friend, whose laughter once lit up the dim, dark rooms meant to break us.

Leah, whose hope kept Mira and myself alive.

The truth tears an awful, shattered hole straight through my healing heart.

My knees buckle, strength bleeding from my limbs. Asher catches me, steadying me while guiding me into the chair behind us. I collapseinto the seat, my breath shallow, fast, panicked. His large hand cups my shoulder, anchoring me in calm reassurance even as my pulse races.

The commissioner strides from Pack Carmichaels’ living room, leaving behind tense silence.

James is first to speak. “We can't trust him. We're taking too much heat over this lately.”

“Axel Turns might say he's on our side for now, but when shit falls apart, he won’t hesitate to toss us out as scapegoats. He needs a pack to take the heat he’s been attracting with this mess and it’s not going to be us,” Matthew says.

Derek begins to pace. “Then we leave. As soon as we have our new omega secured, we disappear.” His voice lowers even further. “We leave nothing behind so nobody will track us down. We settle somewhere new, far from the reaches of law enforcement or the commissioner's fucking reach.”

“Agreed. Another state. Hells, another country. Some place no one will take this omega from us. We only have five days to organize everything. Let's not waste a moment,” Matthew says.

The three alphas rise, their movements hurried as they exit the living room. I’m left with the thunder of my heartbeat in my ears. The four of us stare at the empty living room on the screen as we grapple with what we just saw.

“Please tell me you recorded that entire conversation,” Asher finally rasps.

“Every word.” Soren’s fingers move over the keyboard, securing the recording.

Phoenix scrubs a hand roughly over his jaw, frustration tightening his voice. “We’ve got him. We’ve finally got him.”

Asher's palms flatten onto the kitchen table, knuckles whitening as he leans forward. “This evidence still isn't enough on its own. A single recording won't bring down a man as powerful as Axel Turns.”

Soren frowns, frustration heavy in his reply. “What else can we do? How much more concrete can our proof get than a confession directly from Alpha1465 himself?”

Asher shakes his head. “He can spin words. Claim coercion or doctored footage. Our proof against him must be airtight. We have to eliminate everydoubt, every shadow of uncertainty. To truly take down the commissioner, we have to catch him red-handed, right in the middle of the act.”

Phoenix straightens. “Then we get him at the gala. Right there, in the act of handing Leah off to Pack Carmichael.”

“It could work.” Soren rubs a hand over his clenched jaw. “But the logistics and timing have so many moving parts. So many unpredictable factors. The gala is public, high profile. The commissioner might think he’s protected, that no one would dare confront him there, but we can use that arrogance against him.”

“Exactly. We catch him with his guard down, with Leah clearly being traded to the Carmichaels. We strip away every possible excuse, every denial. We leave nothing to doubt,” Asher growls.

“Leah—gods, I can’t bear to imagine what she’s been through—what she's facing right now,” I say. What that poor male omega is also going through. He’s the devil’s omega and has been for years.

Asher wipes away fresh tears from my cheeks. “We’ll save her, Emma. But if we’re going to do this, we can’t do it alone. We have allies. Alphas we all trust.”

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