Page 58 of Knot Your Romeo

“I have to find a pack eventually,” I say desperately, standing so quickly my chair scrapes against the floor. “I need Alphas, Mom. I need—“

“I asked you to wait. We had to know this place was safe first.” Mom’s voice cracks with anguish. “Don’t you see that?”

“Blake doesn’t know we’re here.”

She stands too, her hands shaking as she grips the back of her chair. “But three Alphas, Emmie. Three men from the same powerful family, and you think that’s a coincidence? You think they all just developed feelings for you?”

“They’re not from the same family,” I protest weakly. “Jude isn’t—“

“Jude?” Mom’s voice rises to a near shriek. “Your professor? Oh, Emmie, no. Tell me you haven’t—“

“He’s an Omega!” I shout, the words exploding from me before I can stop them. “Jude is an Omega, just like me. He understands what it’s like. He wants nothing from me except friendship.”

The admission hangs in the air between us, loaded with implications I’m not ready to examine. Mom stares at me like I’ve grown a second head.

“Omega,” she repeats slowly. “Your professor is an Omega.”

“Yes.” I lift my chin, some of my defiance returning. “And he’s the only person in this entire place who sees me as more than my biology. Who values my mind, my opinions, and my feelings?”

“And the other two?” Mom’s voice is deadly quiet. “Beck Silver and…”

“Eli, but it’s over with him.”

Her head nods lightly. “His brother? And what do they see you as?” she asks, like I never just told her what I did.

I open my mouth to defend them, to explain that it’s complicated, that there are feelings involved. But the words die in my throat because I can’t explain it. Not in a way that won’t confirm all of Mom’s worst fears.

“I thought so,” she says, reading my silence correctly. “Oh, Emmie. My brilliant, beautiful daughter. They’ve gotten to you, haven’t they? Made you think you’re different from every other Omega they’ve used and discarded.”

“You don’t understand—“

“I understand perfectly.” Mom’s voice turns cold, controlled. “I understand that I’ve failed you. That I brought you to this place thinking we’d be safe, and instead I’ve delivered you directly into the hands of predators.”

“They’re not predators,” I insist, but my voice lacks conviction.

“Aren’t they?” She moves around the table, standing close enough that I can see the tears gathering in her eyes. “A professor taking advantage of his student? A wealthy alpha old enough to be your father? His brother—“ Her head tilts back, and she sighs as she stares at the ceiling.

“It’s not like that,” I whisper, but I’m not sure I believe it anymore.

“Then what is it like?” Mom demands. “Explain to me how three powerful men all developing an interest in the same vulnerable Omega isn’t predatory behavior. Explain to me how this isn’t exactly the situation we escaped.”

I can’t. Because when she puts it like that, it does sound calculated. It sounds like the situation Blake would have orchestrated if he’d been clever enough.

“Pack up your things,” Mom says quietly. “We’ll leave by the weekend.”

“What?” The blood drains from my face. “Mom, no. We can’t leave. This is our home now.”

“This was never our home,” she corrects. “This was a temporary sanctuary that’s become a trap. I won’t let you become another casualty of Alpha entitlement.”

“You can’t make me leave,” I say desperately. “I’m twenty-one. I can make my own choices.”

“Can you?” Mom’s smile is bitter. “Because from where I’m standing, it looks like alpha pheromones, and their sneaky manipulation has heavily influenced your choices. When was the last time you thought clearly about what you actually want versus what they’ve convinced you to want?”

The question stops me cold because I can’t answer it.

“That’s what I thought,” Mom says softly. “You can’t tell the difference anymore, can you? Between your own desires and their influence.”

“I...” I sink back into my chair, suddenly exhausted. “I don’t know. I’m the one choosing.”

---