Page 6 of Knot Made to Break: Part One

Mate.

The instinct to claim her, to wrap her in my embrace and chase away her fears, blazed through me with an intensity I’d never experienced before. But the scent of her distress doused that yearning, reminding me that she was terrified…

Of Antonio.

Of this entire fucked up situation.

And more devastatingly… ofme.

“She doesn’t belong to you,” I growled, forcing my gaze off the new center of my universe and back onto the bastard who’ddaredto put his hands on her. He and his brothers were undoubtedly responsible for the bruises, scabs, and scars that littered her skin.

They were already going to die, but now I’d derive pleasure from ending their pathetic existence.

My Alpha was nearly feral, and I didn’t wait another goddamn second.

Snarls ripped from our throats, each of us vying for dominance. We acted simultaneously, each squeezing the trigger like we were in a duel. I was already moving—evading—the bullet missing me by fucking millimeters. The stench of Antonio’s distress filled the air as my shot hit true.

Blood spread rapidly, staining his button-down. His gurgling grunt was pure music to my ears, and I strode forward while the Valentino heir fell to his knees. I kicked his gun away when itslipped from weak fingers, then pressed the barrel of my weapon to his forehead.

“I should make you suffer. Keep you alive just to bring you back to the brink of death over and over again. You deserve a lifetime of immeasurable pain for what you’ve done to this poor Omega. But I won’t rest unless I know your pathetic corpse is buried six feet under. And more importantly, I don’t thinkshe’llrest knowing you still breathe.” I jerked my head toward the Omega I couldn’t bring myself to look at.

I couldn’t take seeing the fear in her eyes as she watched me straight up murder someone—even if he was a monstrous prick. I wanted to shield her from our lifestyle, but here she was, caught in the middle of it, unable to hide from the bloody reality of what we did for a living.

How would she look at me after this? I couldn’t focus on it. Shoving down the concern, I hardened myself, grasping for that familiar numbness, the way I’d learned to.

Antonio’s response was nothing but a choked noise as he tried to plead for his life. I saw the moment he realized he was a dead man, those vicious eyes widening as blood leaked from his mouth. I didn’t prolong it.

With a savage kind of silence, I pulled the trigger, watching the man drop. His lifeless body crumpled at my feet.

Chest heaving, I turned back to the Omega, her eyes wide with shock and fear. My heart clenched at the sight of her cowering away from me. Slowly, I holstered my gun, then held my hands up in a placating gesture I hoped would help her realize I wasn’t a threat to her.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” I rasped, my voice hoarse. “I’m here to take you away from this place.”

Though her body shook, her lips parted as if she wanted to speak, but no words came. In that moment, I would have givenanything to soothe her fears, to wrap her in the safety of my embrace. But I knew it would take time to earn her trust.

The distant sound of gunfire reminded me that my brothers were still engaged in battle upstairs.

Straightening, I moved towards her with measured steps.

“It’s not safe here.”

She was so goddamn small, huddled in that corner like a frightened kitten. A manacle was clamped around one thin wrist, chaining her to the wall. Her arms clutched her knees to her chest, making her appear smaller than she already was. Long, tangled, dark hair obscured most of her delicate features. But I studied everything I could see…

Mottled patterns of purple and blue marred the soft pale skin of her arms. Grime and dried blood streaked down her ashen face—it all painted a picture of the torment she’d survived. Her entire body flinched with each echoed gunshot.

The beautiful little thing was so painfully fragile, it ignited a possessive fury in my chest.

I wanted to destroy anyone who’d hurt her. Shelter her from the world’s cruelty.

The constant pops slowed, then stopped, but I couldn’t bring myself to check on my brothers and see how we’d fared. All that existed in that moment was the breakable creature that held me fucking bewitched.

two

DIMITRI

The basement was suddenlyfull of noise as my brothers jogged down the steps, guns still drawn.

The Omega shrank even further into her corner, if it were possible, almost as if she wanted to become one with the wall and disappear.

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