Page 109 of Knot My Sin

Maybe it’s silly, but I’ve overheard her say that she never wants to have a heat again, and it kills me to know it’s because of us. We failed her.

“Your emotions are spiraling, baby,” Shaw says, throwing his arm over my shoulders to guide me toward the living room. “Whatever it is, we’ll get through it together as we always do.”

I can hear feet on the stairs as I walk away from them, and I nod at his words. I’m not looking forward to this conversation at all.

“What’s going on?” Everest asks as we’re settling on the couches. Flynn and Wren appear behind them, looking curious as they trail down the stairs into the sunken living room space.

“I was Corbin's intimidation during a meeting,” I begin. “Shaw usually goes to them, but this time he asked me to step in after a particularly grueling torture session.”

Wren’s eyes widen but she doesn’t ask questions, while the rest of my pack frowns. It’s not something Corbin typically does, because he likes to keep my existence in the same place that the boogeyman lives: a fictional entity that’s spoken of in whispers. Shaw, Everest, and I together are deadly, but I’m typically his favorite person to pull information from traitors.

“Kieran will be very careful about the secrets he keeps from Corbin, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he ends up in his office the next time he cheats on his wife or pisses on the street when he’s drunk,” I tell them, rolling my eyes. “I was covered in blood, but the boss had me stand in the meeting regardless and stare down the men there.”

“Corbin is becoming a paranoid fucker,” Shaw grunts. “What else has you so upset?”

“The Irish families want to have a party to force Corbin and his brother to come to a truce,” I mutter. “We are to attend as Pack Mohan, with our omegas. There’s no way to go with only Flynn, Corbin forbid it.”

“What the fuck,” Everest says, shaking his head. “While Corbin doesn’t make money from auctions, some of the families do. How the fuck do we make this safe enough for them to attend?”

Shaw growls under his breath, beginning to see why I’m so angry.

“What else?” he asks. It seems like there’s always something else, isn’t there?

“At some point, Corbin told me we’ll be separated from our omegas at the party, because we’ll need to be witnesses when he and his brother sign this agreement. Honestly, I think the families feel the tension and this may be an excuse just to slaughter Crowson for all the shit he’s been pulling,” I explain.

“What’s happening?” Wren asks, confused.

“Okay, let’s back up here,” Everest agrees. “Corbin and Crowson are brothers, and up until a few years ago, they were bonded to the same omega. Hillary died three years ago, when a rival of ours kidnapped and killed her. Crowson was a lawyer, but now uses his knowledge of the law to evade prosecution as he fucks with his brother.”

“The issue is that he’s not just messing with Corbin’s business, but also his allies,” I explain.

“The other Irish mob families are worried,” Shaw sighs. “Fuck, I’ve been nervous this was going to happen. I haven’t wanted to kill Crowson because he’s Corbin’s blood, but there may not be any other way through this.”

“Corbin thinks we may be able to make a grab for him, or force him to break the agreement so we can execute him,” I say. “It’s finally come to that. It’s unfortunate, but if Crowson continues to escalate things, the families will turn on Corbin. We can’t afford that kind of backlash.”

We’re his men, and our loyalty will never lie with anyone else, which means that we will be exterminated with Corbin. There’s no way our omegas will survive that. It’s another reason I can’t bond with Wren yet.

The loss of a mate can make alphas go mad, but some omegas kill themselves from the grief. I’ll do anything I can so that she and Flynn can keep Everest and Shaw.

“Ambrose!” Shaw snaps at me, making me blink as I look over at him. “Whatever you’re thinking about, stop immediately. Every one of us is important, we do not sacrifice each other. Is that understood?”

“Yes, alpha,” I mumble. Flynn and Wren’s stricken looks make me stare at the ground in shame. I don’t know if they know the full extent of my dark thoughts, but I have no business thinking them to begin with.

“Things may get bumpy the next few weeks here, guys. The party is in four days. Here are the details.”

Careful to keep my eyes on Shaw, I shove the slightly crumpled invitation at him. “It’s black tie, and the invitation is set to Pack Mohan,” I grunt.

Shaw reads the invite aloud from the invitation, scowling at the words.

“The Irish Families have decided to bring everyone together for an urgent meeting.

Please bring your packs to this event. Failure to do so will result in grave repercussions.

Date: Friday, June 14th 2024 at 9:00 pm

Attire: Black Tie

Note: This is a neutral space. Any infighting will result in death.”

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