Page 72 of Knot Enough
She frowned, her hands sliding off my biceps.
“Kidnapped?” I could only gawk. “We figured the pack you went to meet took you in.”
I couldn’t believe this. It hit me all at once. Yes, I’d always seen how differently they treated Val compared to me, but they hadn’t even considered me. My own mother didn’t even bother to check if I was okay.
She sucked in an audible breath and swept her gaze over my shoulder. She inhaled sharply again and leaned closer, sniffing me.
“Why do you smell like an Omega?” she muttered, breathing me in. I leaned my head away.
“Because I am one.”
“No,” she breathed. She didn’t stop inhaling. “You’re a late bloomer, but I’ve never heard of a female coming into her designation this late in life.” She was breathless and slightly awed.
I was never a ‘late bloomer’ Valerie just forced suppressants on me, but I didn’t say the words that wanted to spill free. She gave me a look I’d never seen directed at me.
“You’re an Omega?”
I gritted my molars, staring at her.
“Myhija,” she clasped my face between her palms, squeezing my cheeks until my lips puckered. “Two Omegas?” Her awe disgusted me.
If they behaved like this, it made it clearer why Valerie didn’t want to risk me being an Omega, all the attention she so desperately craved would have to be shared.
“You’re awful,” I croaked. Mom jolted back like I’d slapped her.
Anger flitted over her expression.
“What is going on now?” Dad said, striding in through the glass door leading outside. He slipped his cell phone into his pocket. He approached so quickly that I could only back up as he invaded my space. My throat clogged up. “Do you know where your sister is?”
I backed up in the face of his aggression.
“Get away from her,” Kane snarled, dominance in his voice. I hadn't realized he'd followed me in. Both my parents cringed back. I stayed frozen as they whipped to look at him. Their eyes wide, their jaws slack.
Kane curled his arm around my waist. Grimm’s arms were crossed, and he stood closer to the kitchen, sneering at them.
“Stop wasting your time here. I’ll replace anything you need,” Kane said, not addressing my parents. He swept me to his side and pulled me back toward the front. I stumbled after him, numb. The hallway held a bunch of pictures neatly lined up.
“They’re cocks,” Grimm murmured, studying the images. None of them would have a picture of me. He made a point to put his hand out as he walked, unmounting all the pictures. The thud of them, the sound of glass shattering, followed us all the way to the door. Oak waited there, and he squeezed the back of my neck.
“Everything will be okay,” he murmured. I blinked, feeling numb as hell. This was the reality I’d always refused to acknowledge. Mom and Dad never cared about me.
I straightened my shoulders and lifted my chin, meeting Oak’s eyes, and said, “Fuck them.”
They could worry about her whereabouts for the rest of their lives. My pack was my family now. Oak and Kane surrounded my sides as they returned to the car, where Axel idled in the driver’s seat.
“Where did Rath go?” Kane snapped.
Rath jogged up as if Kane’s words summoned him.
“I left them a little surprise.” He shrugged and hopped into the car.
“For someone who works at the council, you really shouldn’t be,” I muttered. His grin was feral. It was a good thing Oak was his assistant. He likely kept him in line.
Axel drove past my old, broken-down car.
“Our girl needs a little pick-me-up,” Rath smirked and swatted Axel, who grunted. He took a sharp left, driving into the darkening sky.
The bar was dark,and people danced on the dance floor with embedded strobing lights.
