Page 49 of Knot the One They Want

No. I can't let that happen.

Iwon't.

I approach the counter, placing the cream and my prescription card down with a polite smile. The pharmacist, a middle-aged beta woman with kind eyes, takes one look at the collar around my neck and her expression shifts to one of awkward sympathy. I had to put it back on to go out into the world, even if it's torturous against my inflamed mark.

"I'm sorry, Miss Blackwood," she says gently. "But I can't refill your suppressants."

I blink, confused. "Why not? I should have at least six refills left on my prescription."

She shakes her head, her gaze darting away from mine. "It's not that. It's just... there's a new law. Mated omegas need their alpha's permission to take heat suppressants now. But if you come back with one of your alphas, I'd be happy to fill it for you."

For a moment, I can only stare at her, my mouth hanging open in shock. She has to be joking. This has to be some kind of sick, twisted prank. But the pity in her eyes tells me it's all too real.

Fury rises in my throat, hot and bitter and choking.

Howdarethey?

How dare they take away my bodily autonomy, my right to decide what I put in my own body? And for what? So my alphas can have unfettered access to me whenever they please whether I want it or not?

I want to scream, to rage, to tear this whole fucking pharmacy apart with my bare hands. But I can't. I can't afford to make a scene, not when I'm already on such thin ice with the Blackwoods. So I swallow my anger, my humiliation, my fear, and force a smile that feels more like a grimace.

"I understand," I say through gritted teeth, snatching up the antibiotic cream and my useless prescription card. "Thank you for your time."

I turn on my heel and stalk out of the pharmacy, my heart pounding in my ears. The car is waiting for me, Lori's concerned face peering out from the window. I slide into the backseat, slamming the door behind me with more force than necessary.

"Everything okay, Miss Blackwood?" Lori asks tentatively, her eyes wide and worried.

I take a deep breath, forcing myself to relax my white-knuckled grip on the bag with my cream. "Everything's fine, Lori. Just a little misunderstanding, that's all."

She nods, clearly unconvinced but too polite to pry further. I lean back against the plush leather seat, closing my eyes and willing my racing heart to slow. This is just one more obstacle, one more hurdle to overcome.

But as we pull away from the pharmacy, the weight of my new reality settles heavy and suffocating on my chest. I'm trapped, well and truly trapped, with no way out and no one to turn to.

Lori seems to sense the shift in my mood and we're both silent the rest of the drive home. The imposing stone facade ofthe mansion eventually looms before us, a reminder of the cold, unwelcoming alphas waiting inside.

The day wasn't a complete loss, though.

I made a huge step toward putting my mark on this house, and if nothing else, with Lori's company, I don't feel quite so alone.

CHAPTER 24

DAMIEN

Numbers and projections blur before my eyes, the droning voice of my company's CFO fading to a distant buzz. I stare at the presentation on the screen, but my mind is a million miles away. No matter how hard I try to focus, my thoughts keep circling back to the same damn thing.

Evie fucking Beaumont.

My omega problem.

Well,oneof my omega problems. The other is currently serving lattes in some shithole coffee shop, playing house with a nobody alpha who doesn't deserve to breathe the same air as her.

But Evie... Evie is here, in my house, in my face, under my skin. A constant thorn in my side, a persistent itch I can't scratch.

And it's driving me insane.

The phone in my pocket vibrates, jolting me out of my brooding thoughts. I glance at the screen, my brow furrowing at the unfamiliar number. The bank. What the fuck do they want?

I excuse myself from the meeting, ignoring the disapproving looks from my father and the older board members gatheredaround the table. They can shove their disapproval up their asses for all I care.

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