Page 22 of Tangled in Knots

Is there a way around it?

“What if we were to make Dad believe we want an omega?” Kane breathes. His voice is twisted with hope, something I don’t think I’ve ever heard before. “We bring her to the auction, and then bid on her ourselves. Dad just wants the cash, to make her suffer. He doesn’t need to know we’re the ones who buy.”

“What about Ophelia?” Morris asks. “She’s twisted enough to want to impress Rock, put on some kind of show in order to drive up the price. We’ve seen it. She has alpha and beta guards who thrive on her malicious intent. It’s not every time, but this sale is special to Rock.”

“She’s not just a sale,” Damon growls dangerously.

“Sorry, man,” Morris replies. “I need to discuss this in terms your brother will understand.”

“Mutiny,” I grunt, tossing out the paper towel that I’ve been eviscerating between my fingers. I refuse to give in to a nervous tick. “It was a mistake to bond with her. I should have stopped it.”

“Maybe,” Kane agrees. “It’s too late for that. Demon has another person inside of him, Jed! Come on, tell me you did not see the pain whenever he looked over at you poking at the little rabbit? He’s not squeamish and never has been. It was for her. Her pain is inside of him. What happens when she’s murdered for shits and giggles after Ophelia has her fun with the little rabbit?”

“When she’s bleeding from every fucking hole she has,” Morris rumbles, his hands running over his hair before he tugs on it to center himself. “Jed. What happens when Rock has hersold anyway, and then decides to do it as a loan, where he can buy her back at any time.”

“It doesn’t work like that,” I deny. My father and his pack are sick men. He made sure that we were his children, even though they all fucked the omega who is our mother. When they were done with her, they sent her back. He could work out a deal exactly like that for Adira.

Fuck. My traitorous gaze moves back to her still body, intent to make things even more difficult for me. At some point, Kane took the boots she pulled on before she ran off, and I catch a glimpse of her slim feet.

They’re delicate the way she is. I have a terrible feeling the only reason she’s going to pull through this gunshot is because my baby brother is keeping her with us through pure bullheaded stubbornness. Their connection is saving them both.

She’ll never survive Rock Dresmond’s depravity. What isn’t being asked is: what happens when he decides to take her back and then fuck her with his pack? They haven’t taken an omega in twenty-four years. Betas and female alphas are who they spend time with when the itch hits.

Less issues, less hassle. Fuck, I can hear his voice now.

“You’re seeing it, aren’t you?” Kane asks, his sultry croon making Morris shiver. His spicy scent floats along the air, a reminder of his arousal. “Down boy, Morris. I’m proving a point. If our father gets his hooks into the little rabbit, he will destroy her soul, body, and mind. While it would be a shame to lose such a beautiful rabbit, the ramifications are worse for Demon. We will lose him completely. Even now, we get glimpses of our baby brother.”

“I’ll eat my gun to save her,” Demon says. “To save her, I’ll kill us both. Dad can’t have her. All I’ll be able to hear are her screams in my mind and… I’m not strong enough to survive that, Jed. Don’t make me try.”

“How does she have her hooks so far into you?” I complain. “It’s only been a few days. I don’t understand how you’re willing to turn your back on me and the pack for… her.”

If I call her a tight cunt, he’ll blacken my eyes and I’ll have to answer for it. As it is, I can hide the glancing blow under my chin from earlier. Dad doesn’t like when his soldiers fight within their ranks, as he calls it.

God, I’m my father. I’ll do anything for my brothers and Morris, but only if it fits the narrative the boss wants. Do I really want to be that person?

“I need to tell Dad there’s been an accident and that we can’t move her,” I grunt. “It’ll give us a chance to postpone the auction, but be aware that it will happen. I’m open to discussing how to ensure we buy her without Dad knowing. That’s as far as I’ll bend.”

Refusing to meet any of their gazes, I’m aware of Kane’s dark eyes staring at me anyway as if trying to get into my head, and Damon’s green eyes asking for a miracle. Morris’ caramel and cream gaze will gut me, because I’m looking for time and space to figure out how the fuck we’re going to pull this off.

Whatever happens, I’m not naive enough to believe Adira Firestone is going to survive this without more scars, both physical and psychological.

This is going to suck, little omega. I’d ask you to trust me like a good omega, but I don’t quite trust myself.

CHAPTER 7

MORRIS

If Damon was Kane, I’d squeeze his shoulder or offer some comfort, but I don't have much of a rapport with him. Damon, or Demon, as his brother calls him, is closed off and cold. His violent emotional outbursts with the little omega are the closest I’ve ever seen him come to normal behavior.

Turning instead to follow Jed, I reflect on how he once told me that it’s his fault Damon is unattached and a darker form of insane than Kane. While Damon will dispassionately kill someone because it’s his job, Kane would rather scare and torture them.

There’s a wildness in Kane that Damon doesn’t have. I often have trouble meeting the youngest brother’s gaze, because of how dead his green eyes are. It’s uncomfortable to fall into the bottomless pit of them, even though I know he has no ill will toward me. He tolerates my ass, but that’s all.

“Why are you following me?” Jed growls, grabbing a coat as he steps out into the cold. The surly alpha wants privacy, but that’s too damn bad.

I want to know what’s said when he calls his father, because there’s no one else he’d be calling. He doesn’t get to hide from me. I don’t bother grabbing a heavier coat, since I’m wearing a sweatshirt, staying close as I catch the side door he lets close after himself.

He’s lucky I love his surly ass. Jed can and has shown me the worst parts of himself, it doesn’t change that I still come back for more.

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