Page 10 of Knot As It Seems

I turn my attention back to the redhead. “I don’t like any of you. I don’t want to be around any of you. You guys ruined my life and it’s completely your fault I’m the way I am.”

“We ruined your life? We don’t even fucking know you!” The one that was in here earlier with Anderson screams.

“Don’t fucking yell at her, Moon!” Redhead immediately retorts to the pack. “If you guys can’t keep your mouths quiet, then you need to leave. Regardless of what your personal thoughts on the situation are, yelling at the omega will not do a damn thing for any of us. Find your fucking manners or get out.”

Well then. He’s slightly less annoying now.

I look at this man again, feeling my energy drain by theminute. “Interesting pack dynamics you’ve got there. I may not know too much about them, but aren’t packs supposed to be like…close? And agree on things?”

He runs his hands through his hair and unfolds his massive tree trunk legs, changing position. He moves slowly, letting me track him, and I’m curious enough to see what he wants that I don’t attempt to move away from him. It’s also possible I’m too weak to do that, but I like the illusion that I have a choice here.

I’m still on my side on my bed, and I’ve waited too long to breathe and now I need to draw in breath desperately. His scent hits my system like a drug, and I know my pupils are dilating and my entire body is instantly on high alert, and it takes everything I possess to not throw myself at him.

“Why are you afraid of us? Why do you hate us?” His voice is too soft, his breath too warm.

I squeeze my eyes shut and shake my head. I can’t talk. It’s too risky when he’s this close.

Next thing I know, he’s picking up my wrist and tsking at the thinness of it, bringing it up to smell. He groans, a sweet, syrupy groan that might make me do things if I hadn’t had years to practice restraint when it comes to them.

“You’re an omega. Who was Winslow to you?”

I’ve been trying to weigh my options since they first came here. If they ever discovered me, what would happen? How would that confrontation go? Would giving them information help me or hurt me?

The conclusion I kept coming back to is that giving them information couldn’t hurt me any more than everyonealready has. I figured they’d have pre-formed opinions about who I am, so I don’t really care if they believe me or not. Lying to them will only muddle my righteousness more. “She was my sister.”

He swallows, still too close to me. “How do you two have the same scent?”

Now that I’m being cooperative, the hallway has gone quiet. They’re acting like they give a shit about what I have to say, and I don’t think I like that. “You wouldn’t believe me.”

“Try me.”

I can do better than that.

I pull my arm out from my blanket and show him my elbow. I’ve heard that there’re drugs some people inject into their bloodstreams, that it leaves behind track marks that never go away. My arms are kind of like that. “Clear enough?”

His frame is shaking now as he reaches out to run a finger over my scars. Bruising I don’t think will ever go away, holes upon holes where Winslow stole my blood. She wasn’t clever enough to come up with the idea to inject my blood on her own, she had to have gotten the idea from somewhere. If he’s at all intelligent, he’ll put two and two together.

His eyes look at my arm, assess it far too quickly, then he’s back to looking at my face.

My cheeks get hot and my body is trying to do what it wants to again. I can’t control the way my biology reacts, so my scent sweetening and perfuming for him isn’t ideal, but there’s not much I can do about it.

“We’re your scent matches.”

“Youweremy scent matches. You were herpack. You’re nothing to me, just the pack that made me sick every month and tortured me.”

“Omega, we don’t— no. I don’t accept that. She must have stolen everything from you. If we’d known…” He looks back at his pack. It’s clear some of them are thinking I’m being honest and some are too bitter to even entertain the idea that I’m what I say I am… what it’s obvious I am. It’s not my job to convince them, though.

“Okay. Before we do anything else, I want to get you checked out at my clinic and get you some nutrition. Can I do that?”

“Clinic? What kind of clinic?” Medical care is not something I’ve ever been offered, and I’d be stupid to say no.

“Private. I have my own practice. Just me and whoever else you want there. I’m Jos, by the way. We’re going to do all we can to fix everything, Omega.”

“Don’t call me that. I’m not— I mean I am, but I hate that I am. Call me Fable, please.”

“Fable,” he says, caressing my name with his voice in an incredibly unfair manner. His pheromones and purrs are caustic, and I’m letting my guard down far too easily. Survival though; I don’t have the energy to fight him.

I reach a hand out to Anderson. It’s satisfying giving him attention when the rest of them are right there trying to pry it from me. “You’ll stay with me, right?” Then I look down the small, smashed-in hallway and feel my eyes roll at their over handedness. “You’re all fixing this. I won’t have holes in my home. And if any of you so much asthinks about taking this one,goodalpha from me, I don’t think you’ll like who I become.”