Page 100 of Tangled in Knots

“No one will be offended or wash away from a few tears,” Shaw says sagely. “Jed and his brothers have been Rock’s faithful guard dogs for years. They’ve caused a trail of destruction in their wake so big, we pretend Missouri doesn’t exist. Rock has been getting bolder.”

“I don’t want to get involved in this,” I tell him, tears streaming down my face.

“Adira, you’re fucking mafia royalty, you know that, right?” Shaw growls. “Your father fucked up, but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t a major player. No one has ever seen you.”

“Dad didn’t let me go out,” I explain. “So I never did. Jed thinks he may have been grooming me for something, because he had me on hormone suppressants to stunt my ability to go into heat.”

“I wish I’d know that,” he sighs, glancing at the pill. “Those other suppressants are long out of your system, so it shouldn’t be an issue.”

“The nurse didn’t see any issues in your blood tests from them,” Aisling murmurs.

“Do you have any idea why he had you on them?” Shaw asks. “Was there a certain pack he wanted you to meet?”

“No,” I deny. “Dad continuously told me that the outside world was dangerous and that I needed to stay where it was safe. It would have been lonely if I knew any different. Jed said if my father wanted to marry me off well, he would have been circling me through the packs for courtship.”

“That’s how it works for people who live in the dark ages,” Shaw grumbles. “I met your father a few times, and he always looked as if he was planning something. I could never figure out what.”

“I don’t know,” I say. “There are no records that survived Kane’s explosives when he blew up my house.”

“Crazy fuckers,” Shaw growls. “Biology gave Damon to you for a reason, and his brothers are a package deal.”

I refuse to think about Morris, because my body locks up when I do. So, I don’t mention him to Shaw.

“My point is, while I don’t know what their fucked up reasoning is, sometimes alphas fuck up,” Shaw says. “I don’t know if they deserve your forgiveness or if cutting off their knotsis the better option. What I do know is that it sounds as if they’re holding their promise to keep you safe.”

“Killing Rock gives him a shit ton of power though, doesn’t it?” I ask, unsure of Jed’s motives.

“It does, but Rock brags that his sons are so well trained that they’ll never backstab him,” Shaw says. “I’m unsure they’ve ever wanted to take over until now.”

Jed protects his pack with an iron fist, and I got in the middle of that. I don’t really understand more than that, despite their best efforts to explain it to me. I was shutting down the night they dropped me off at the shelter.

They could have told me that grass was green, and I would have said it was blue instead.

“Who knows what their motivations are,” I mumble. “It feels like too little too late, Shaw.”

“Maybe it is,” he agrees. “The bond isn’t going to understand that, Adira.”

“I can feel his emotions, hear his thoughts, sometimes when I’m feeling things really strongly, I can cause him pain,” I whisper. It feels like a really terrible secret to tell. I know it’s not something that happens to everyone.

“Another reason you’re special,” Shaw says easily. “Jeremiah was hiding you away because he knew something, though he took his secrets with him. You and Damon are closely tied to each other. It’s wishful thinking that you’ll be able to avoid each other for long.”

“Maybe not forever,” I say. “I’m not as numb as I used to be. I smiled for the first time in almost a month, and it was the oddest sensation. It’s as if the blockage and numbness is slowly wearing away.”

“That’s the way trauma works,” Aisling says. “The numbness is a lie. It makes you think you have things handled until something happens to blow it all up.”

“When did this smile happen?” Shaw asks gently. Anyone else would think it’s insane that a smile is anything to mark as important, but Shaw just rolls with it.

“At the bar,” I tell them. “I had some visitors. Callum and Duncan Kelly.”

“They’re good men, but how do you know them?” Shaw asks, confused.

I’m telling my story in a very piecemeal fashion, but it doesn’t seem to bother the alpha.

“They bought me at the auction,” I explain. “Jed had a plan, and the Kelly brothers were in on it. They just didn’t realize how far Ophelia and Rock would take things.”

“I’m waiting for someone to kill that bitch,” Shaw growls.

“Everyone wants to kill her,” Aisling sighs.

---