Page 14 of Ruin Me Knot
I don’t remember the last time I saw a scene so ordinary. The things I remembered didn’t go away after all. Only I did. The world kept turning while I’ve been locked in the dark, years stolen from me.
Heavy footsteps thunder behind me. Too close, too fast.
I lunge for the door, the only exit I can see, and claw at the handle. It doesn’t unlatch. A keypad glows red above the lock, taunting. Blinking like a countdown.
No code. No way out.
The footsteps coming toward me don’t stop. The Alphas appear in the living room, their bodies filling the space, looming and broad-shouldered. Ronan steps past Gabriel and Jax. "Don’t be afraid."
Says every Alpha to an Omega in heat.
I wrench a lamp from a side table, the shade popping off, and brandish it like a weapon. "Stay away from me! Don’t come any closer. Give me the code to get out or I swear I’ll smash this over your heads. I’m not afraid of you."
That’s a lie.
I’mterrifiedof them, but I refuse to give an Alpha any more power over me.
I know one of them could bark at me to put the lamp down. Make me walk over to them. Get down on my knees and present. Such a good little Omega. Such a good little puppet. There’s nothing stopping them from using me like that. Despite whatever they gave me to fend off my heat, that lovely little biologicalOmega quirk still simmers under my skin. I’m on Hardwick’s borrowed time. Soon I’ll be mindless enough for them to do anything they want to me.
So why aren’t they?
A sharp cramp twists deep in my belly, but I hold myself tall. I swipe sweat from my forehead, try to keep my grip tight on the lamp.
Gabriel’s posture is easy but his eyes are somber. He smiles and the fine lines at the corner of his eyes crinkle. "Hey, we’re the good guys here. You don’t have to be afraid of us."
I glare at him, words coming out quick and hot. "That’s not true. No Alpha is good. All you want is control. Power over Omegas. It’s how you’re built." But they don’t lurch for me like Hardwick’s lumbering wannabes. Or even look annoyed for that matter. They act like they’re listening, and that scrambles me more.
"I understand why you’d expect the worst. Let us show you different. We’re the Alphas who make those sorts of degenerates pay," deep-voiced Jax says.
I grit my teeth. I’m falling apart waiting for them to show me who they really are. "Just stop pretending. I’m not some ignorant little Omega you can train with your fucked-up urges. I’m never going to be that Omega, so you might as well let me go now."
I swear their essences shift, thickening in the air. Musky and sharp with obvious arousal but also with pride and curiosity.
Gabriel’s mouth quirks into a crooked grin, something bright flickering in hiseyes. "You know, I like that you talk back. That you’ve still got fire even after everything you’ve been through. You wouldn’t believe how many people try to tuck their tails and disappear. Makes it impossible to see who they really are. I’ll take feisty over easy any day." His gaze sweeps over me, warm with respect and maybe something hungrier beneath. "But we’re not here to break you. Only to worship you."
He…likesme talking back? My words normally ended up with a back-hand across my face for the insolence of speaking up for myself, but I’m close enough to see the thick bulges between their muscular thighs and that’s enough to help me think clearly again. They’ll say anything to an Omega to sway them back into their nest. They won’t be able to stop themselves. And just like that, my own perfume spirals out, curling sweet and hot, baiting them whether I want it or not. It’s a trap for all of us, and I’m the one with everything to lose.
Ronan holds out his palms. "You don’t know us yet, but your instincts should tell you the truth. Scent-matches are sacred to us. You are precious, Leah."
I snort, sharp and dismissive. "Yeah? If I really mean that much to you, let me go. Forget I exist. Find another ‘precious’ Omega for your pack. Even better, get a Beta. At least they can’t be controlled by you. Just leave me out of it."
Jax’s stupidly handsome face softens. "We can’t do that. You are who we want. And you’re in heat. If you go outside, you’re going to pull every unbonded Alpha in this building, hell, probably half this block. It’s not safe."
Iknowit’s not safe.Nowhereis safe. Not out there, not in here, not anywhere I can think. That’s the problem, isn’t it? The world’s never made space for Omegas who don’t break the way it wants them to. I’m hollowed out, scraped raw by the facts of life. I ache for a way out that leads somewhere, but with each battered heartbeat I know there isn’t one.
The next cramp spears through me. Flames bore down through my spine to pool lava inside my abdomen. My knees buckle, breath shattering out of me. Fuck Hardwick and her drugs. Fuck her to the seven layers of hell and back.
The lamp slips from my fingers, clattering on the tiles at my feet. I double over, arms wrapped tight around my belly, sweat beading on my forehead. Their scents rush in, thick and cloying and crowding my thoughts. I lean against the wall and force myself to straighten as I try not to slide all the way to the floor. Hopelessness drags at me, drowning everything but my misery.
Ronan lets out a wordless sound, somewhere between a plea and a husk of warning. "Omega!" He steps toward me, arms out like he wants to catch me, and every muscle locks as I look up at him and wait for him to take my choice away.
Yet even as fear spikes, an unvarnished ache pulls under my ribs. My body craves their touch, aches for the comfort of their hands, while my mind screams no. Hardwick’s words echo at the back of my skull. Scent-matches are a curse. The ultimate golden handcuffs. These Alphas are everything she told me they wouldbe. Tantalizing enough to make me forget myself, but poison in the same breath. I’m being torn in two. Longing strangles terror. My instincts are crossed between wanting them and running from them.
Gabriel’s brows knit together. "At least come back to the nest. You’re burning up, sunshine. You’ll be more comfortable there."
It costs me to sneer at him, but I do it anyway as I fight the way my muscles begin to shake. "Trap me in a small, windowless room under the name of comfort. The first thing you’ll do is set the lock. Been there. Done the time. You’ll have to come up with a better trap."
"Not a trap, Leah," Jax says.
