Page 24 of Tangled in Knots

There’s an innocence inside of her that wasn’t present in Jeremiah Firestone, especially while we tortured him. There is just as much blood on my hands for his murder as there is the Dresmond brothers. I won’t deny Adira is fierce, the way she managed to get out of the knots in the ropes that Damon tied her in was impressive.

I also can still smell the way Kane exploded when he came while the little omega strangled him. There’s nothing more magnificent than when my wild eyed, red-headed alpha uses violence to fulfill one of his kinks. There isn’t anyone else like him.

“Is there anything else you need from me in the meantime?” Jed asks. He’s opening and closing his fist to handle the stress of dealing with his father, all while keeping his voice even and unbothered.

It doesn’t always work, but if Rock believes his oldest has everything under control, he’ll let Jed handle it as he sees best. For now. My boss’ moods are mercurial.

“Is the omega sedated?” Rock asks, making me pull one of my locs forward to rub the end between my fingers. The feeling of it on my skin helps ground myself as I focus on his words.

I don’t like his question.

“Yes, for now,” Jed murmurs. “I had to give her medication for her pain. A completely broken and wild omega won’t sell well if it’s too obvious, Dad.”

“Too true, too true,” Rock drawls. “Keep her knocked out once you wean her off the pain meds, she’ll be easier to transport. How bad are the roads where you are?”

“The snow is coming down hard here, Dad,” Jed explains. “Even without her recovering from surgery, it looks as if we’ll be snowed in.”

“Well fuck,” Rock sighs. “I’ll tell Ophelia to reschedule for three weeks from today. The roads should clear, the omega should be recovered enough to give the buyers a show, and she can wrestle up an audience with deep pockets.”

A show… My blood runs cold at what that’ll entail. It’s not that I hadn’t already thought he’d do something like this to teach Adira how powerless she is in the grand scheme of things, but the idea of people brutally fucking her for shits and giggles makes my chest cramp.

Zela’s face appears in my mind, the knowledge of how disappointed she’d be with me crippling. I also haven’t fucked a woman since before I packed up with the brothers. I wasn’t planning to join Adira’s heat, though that didn’t stop me from getting pulled into her orbit once I had the guys’ agreement that I should participate.

The truth is that I catch feelings easily. Jed and Kane don’t have any issues messing around with other betas if it’s called for. I don’t get jealous, because I know how important my place is in their lives and the pack. My mind is firmly on this little omega’s life, my words a lifeline to keep her from being another notch of ruination on Rock’s belt.

I’ve done a lot of fucked up things for the boss, but I can’t get behind this one.

Forcing myself to pay attention to Rock and Jed’s conversation, I drop my hands to my sides to keep myself from fidgeting.

“… of course,” Jed says in mid-sentence. “She’ll be drugged, calm, and ready to be fucked for the pleasure of the masses, Dad. I don’t know how much fun she’ll be if she’s passed out though.”

White hot anger fills my veins at how nonchalant he is, but I pull air silently through my nostrils as I listen to him. Most of it is an act, though to Jed, the omega is the pack’s enemy. She threatens the safety of his brothers and myself.

Rock hasn’t punished us in at least a year, and even that was due to a minor fuck up that wasn’t our fault. Our boss doesn’t care who pays for shit that goes wrong, as long as someone does. This is why he blew up Adira’s family home and everything that could have been used to pay her father’s debt.

He wants the debt paid in sorrow, blood, and tears. Nothing else will do.

“Ophelia has ways of making naughty omegas do what they’re told,” Rock rumbles, chuckling under his breath. The sound reminds me of the devil sharing a joke only he understands. “Don’t worry about the details there, I’ve got it covered. Simply deliver the package to Jefferson City Auction House on January nineteenth. You can choose to stay and watch, or leave to celebrate another job well done.”

Rock hangs up without another word and I gag, feeling the urge to retch.

“Woah, breathe,” Jed says, shoving his phone away and grabbing my shoulders.

“Can’t,” I rasp, shaking my head. “He can’t do… that. Jed, no.”

Turning my head, I choke on bile, not having eaten much over the last few days. Spitting it out, I continue to shake my head.

“Do you realize what he’s proposing?” I ask, heart pounding as I gasp in a breath. Fuck, I hate puking. My throat is on fire from the acid of the bile, making me cough.

“Yeah,” he mutters. “Ophelia has some sort of forced arousal drug. It’s been a long standing rumor, but Dad just confirmed it.”

“Are you seriously going to let this happen?” I ask, wide eyed with horror. “Even if this omega was no one, would you?—”

“I would,” he grunts. “However, you told me yourself that she’s not simply ‘no one’ anymore. There are a lot of people I would sacrifice for my pack. It’s possible I still would if the omega and Damon hadn’t bonded. As it is, with how deep the little rabbit is burrowed in his psyche, I’m going to have to reevaluate. Understand, though, Adira will still need to be given to Ophelia.”

“The show will go on,” I mutter, shuddering. We may not be able to stop this, but just maybe… An idea begins to form, and I struggle to hold onto it. Everything about this is horrifying. “Would she take me as a beta to help her manage Adira?”

“What?” Jed asks, brows drawn in concern. “You want to infiltrate her guards?”

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