Page 36 of Knot the One They Want

Claiming her.

Completingher.

Thwack.

The chains rattle as the bag jerks under my assault. Control. I need control. I'm Damien fucking Blackwood. My will is iron, my heart ice. I don't let anyone in, especially not some seductive little society omega. Not anymore.

Except Evieisunder my skin, an itch I can't scratch. And I want to, so fucking bad…

No. I shake my head savagely, sweat flying. I have to be strong. The others, they don't understand. They're blinded by lust, by the primal need to claim and conquer. But I see Evie for what she really is—a threat. A fucking trap.

The memory of Lake, pale and still in that hospital bed, flashes through my mind. He almost died and that was from an omega wetrusted.One careless mating mark too many. And now they want to tie themselves to Evie? Evie, who swanned into our lives with her designer clothes and vapid smiles. Evie, who cares about nothing but status and how many high-powered alphas she can collect.

She'll destroy us. I feel it in my bones. And I won't let that happen, no matter how sweetly she begs. No matter how much my instincts scream to make hermine.

Thwack. Thwack. Thwack.

Punch after punch, I pour all my rage, all my frustration into the bag. But her face still hovers in my mind—flushed with desire, pink lips parted, blue eyes pleading, velvet sex slick with need…

Thwack!

With one final, brutal punch, the bag splits open, sand spilling across the floor. I stare at it, chest heaving, knuckles aching. It's not enough. It's never enough.

"Care for an opponent that hits back?"

The deep, taunting voice snaps my head around. Cole. The huge alpha stands in the doorway, wrapping his handsmethodically with tape. A challenge simmers in his gray eyes as he steps toward the mats.

I smirk humorlessly. It figures Cole wants to dance this dance. He's pissed—at me, at this whole fucked up situation. And I can't blame him. I'd want to pound my face in too.

"Sure," I say with a shrug, sauntering onto the mat. "Where's your better half?"

Cole's jaw clenches. "Painting. You know how Lake copes."

I do. Lake always retreats into his art when the world turns to shit. Pours his bleeding heart out on canvas after canvas until the pain subsides. Just like Asher and his music.

"Guess we have more in common, you and I," Cole says, mirroring my stance. "We'd both rather beat on something until the anger goes away."

A bitter chuckle escapes me. He's not wrong. Cole and I, we've always understood each other's darkness. The rage. The violence simmering beneath the surface.

We circle each other, fists raised, feet sliding across the mat. The air crackles with tension, with the unspoken things boiling between us.

Cole moves first, a lightning quick jab at my ribs. I block, counter with a sharp uppercut. He takes it on the chin, head snapping back. Pain explodes across my cheekbone a second later as his fist connects in retaliation.

We trade blows, grunting, panting, sweat slicking our skin. It's a brutal dance, all the anger and frustration pouring out with each punch. But beneath it, I sense the real question Cole is asking with his fists.

Why did you stop us? Why won't you let us have her?

I answer with a vicious right hook.Because she'll ruin us. Ruin you and Lake and everything we've built.

Cole's kick sends me stumbling back.You don't know that. She's not Daria.

A snarl rips from my throat as I tackle him to the mat. We grapple, muscles straining, teeth bared.She's worse. She'll take and take until there's nothing left.

Cole flips me, pinning me beneath his bulk. His eyes blaze into mine, dark with fury and something else. Something raw and pleading.She's our mate, Damien. Our chance. Why can't you see that?

I buck him off, scramble to my feet. "I won't risk it," I rasp out loud. "I won't risk the pack again."

Cole rises slowly, shoulders heaving. The fight drains from him, leaving only exhaustion. And pain. "You're already risking it, Damien," he says quietly. "Evie... she's everything. I saw it the moment I laid eyes on her. So did Lake. So did you, if you weren't too fucking stubborn to see anything right in front of your face."

---