Page 10 of Knot Broken

“It’s always the basement,” Jex groans, flopping back against the couch like this entire movie has betrayed him on a spiritual level. “Why is italwaysthe basement? I swear if I ever hear a noise like that—”

“You’re goingfirst,” I cut in, smirking as I pop a bite of crust into my mouth. “Alphas first.”

Dare barks out a laugh, nearly choking on his soda. “Alphas first,huh? Is that the rule now?”

I shoot him a sweet smile. “Look, I’ve seen how big you guys are. If the monster gets one of you first, I’ve got at least five seconds to run.”

Fox shakes his head, fighting a grin. “Ruthless.”

“I preferstrategic.”

Jex grunts, eyeing me from the other end of the couch, legs stretched out like a king surveying his chaotic kingdom. “You’d make a damn good villain.”

“Please,” I say with mock outrage, tossing a napkin at him. “I’d be the final girl. I’ve got just the right amount of trauma and snark to survive.”

Dare raises a brow. “You’re assuming we’dletyou go in alone.”

“You think I’dlet you stop me?” I challenge, and that earns me three different looks—fond, amused, and something that’s almost reverent.

The pizza box is nearly empty now, only a few lonely slices left, and I’m tucked between Fox and Jex on the couch while Dare’s sprawled on the floor in front of us, leaned back against my legs like a smug human heater. One of Jex’s arms is draped lazily across the back of the couch, his fingers brushing the ends of my curls. Fox has a plate balanced on his thigh and one hand wrapped protectively around my ankle like it’s the most natural thing in the world.

I don’t even know when I stopped guarding myself—but I realize I haven’t tensed in hours.

No edge. No fight. Just… this.

Laughter, warmth, the brush of knuckles and knee and cheek, the press of their presence all around me.

I sip my soda and glance at the screen just as the killer lunges from the shadows, blade gleaming.

“See?” I yell, jabbing a finger. “Should’ve stayed upstairs, Karen!”

“Damn it, Karen,” all three of them mutter in unison, and I burst out laughing so hard I nearly spill my drink.

Chapter Three

Dare

May 20th

2:45 A.M

I lay in bed, arms crossed behind my head, staring at the ceiling like the answers to my restlessness might be written in the shadows.

Sleep isn’t coming. Not tonight.

I’mbone-deepexhausted—my muscles ache, my mind feels like it’s been run through a grinder—but none of it matters. My instincts won’t settle. Not when she’s down the hall.

Ouromega.

The past few days feel like a dream—the kind you don't want to wake up from. The kind where everything feels a little too perfect, and part of you is waiting for the fall.

We've spent every moment we could learning her—her likes, her edges, her tells. Every word from her lips has a bite to it, a twist of sass, but there’s always something soft underneath. Something real.

Violet St. James.

Sharp-tongued, sweet-hearted, and completely capable of knocking me on my ass with one look.

She’s the kind of woman who’ll insult your haircut with a straight face and then turn around and offer you the last piece of garlic bread without blinking. Fiercely independent, a littlereckless, and still soft in those quiet ways that make something in my chestache.

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