Page 1 of Cruel Knots

1

Damien

A single lamp lights the street corner, illuminating the cracked sidewalks and graffitied walls. There’s barely anyone around and most of the houses have darkened windows. You’d think it’s late in the night and the neighborhood is asleep but it’s barely seven in the evening.

This area is whispered to be one of the shadiest parts of Ashville. Gang violence is common in these streets. Drugs and cheap whores are the only attractions here. Even the cops stay away in a bid to preserve their pitiful lives.

So, what are Trevor Harding and his two best friends doing in a place like this?

“I can’t wait. Let’s take a hit now,” says Trevor. He’s the sixteen-year-old asshole who’s dared to ask our Lucia on a date to prom night.

The shitheads accompanying him halt in their steps at once. Their beady eyes gleam as Trevor pours a small amount of sugary dust on his forearm and shapes it into a thin line.

“Get out of the way, Denver!” Trevor snaps, pushing the guy with spiky green hair as he closes in for a sniff. “I get to do it first.”

“C’mon, Trev,” Denver groans.

Trevor fixes him with a scowl that shuts him up immediately.

I glance at the two shadows tailing me. The tall, lean figures are perfectly camouflaged against the night in their black jeans and hoodies.

I give a small nod, silently commanding them to stay alert but not to make a move yet.

“Fuck!” Trevor moans, throwing his head backward. A burst of wild laughter escapes his lips as he looks toward his friends. “This shit feels so good.”

“Do you think it’ll feel just as good to fuck Lucia Baldwin?” Denver asks.

“The bitch smells divine and I hear she’s a virgin,” says Cooper, the third guy with auburn curls. “How tight do you think she’ll be?”

Pure venom flows through my veins as I hear them talking shit about my omega. My fingers itch to snuff the life out of Trevor and his two friends who consider Lucia as nothing but a fuck-worthy trophy.

“She’s as easy as a dumb fuck,” Trevor brags loudly. “Should’ve seen the way she blushed when I asked her out. I think she’s been thirsting after my cock for a long time now.”

“Give her a good dicking,” says Cooper, his eyes lighting up maliciously. “Film her like you did with Katie Goldberg. Even if we can’t have a piece of her ass, we can at least jerk off to it.”

My eyes squeeze shut to calm the storm raging inside my heart. How dare they conspire against the girl I love?

The most beautiful thing about Lucia is her untouched innocence. She’s the kindest, sweetest girl in the world and the type to pick up abandoned, stray puppies on the road and bring them home.

My brothers and I were nearly starved to death when she picked us off the street. She thought we were a couple of homeless kids and wanted to help us.

Lucia probably thought she was doing a good deed by giving us a home in her family’s mansion. Our innocent angel had no idea she’d picked up a group of young assassins-in-training.

Two dark shadows stretch on the broken asphalt road but the three kids snorting coke are completely oblivious to their presence.

My brothers stand beside me now. The sound of their quick, shallow breaths tells me they’re fuming and itching to get their hands on the three bastards about to prey on our innocent angel.

I raise my chin toward Trevor, permitting them to do whatever they please.

Mikhail, my youngest brother, moves forward at once, gaining on the group and attacking the tallest guy without a moment’s thought.

Always so impatient, I think as Cooper turns around to face his attacker. He should’ve gone with a strike that could incapacitate his enemy in one blow.

Shouts and grunts shatter the silence of the night as the three boys rear up to fight against Mikhail who’s leaner than them all. They’re all alphas and think they can beat anyone who dares to attack them.

Mikhail easily blocks their combined attacks but he’s having a hard time returning their hits.

“It’ll take him all night to finish them off,” Leon whispers in my ear.

---