Page 33 of Knot All That Glitters: Part 2

“Perfect beta daughter,” Creed corrects me and I nod.

“Right, the perfect beta daughter.” My knuckles turn white as I squeeze my hands into fists. “We know you’ve barked at her, know you’ve forced her to be something she’s not. Know that you’ve commanded her repeatedly to bend to your will. That stops now.” I jam one pointer finger into the top of the desk to emphasize my point. “She is ours, and you will give her back to us.”

Bell goes silent for a long, long moment. Eyes running over us, four bristling alphas, with nothing more than calculation inhis eyes. He’s entirely unafraid of us. Not the least bit concerned that we’ll be able to do anything to him. He thinks he’s untouchable, and I’ll be delighted to prove him otherwise.

Then he slowly, slowly shakes his head. “I don’t believe I will.”

My three former packmates growl behind me. Jude shifts forward like he’s going to leap over the desk and beat the ever-loving shit out of the older alpha. Only Creed’s hand on his shoulder and a significant glance at the camera in the corner keep him in check. The last thing we need is for Jude to be arrested for assault.

Which he undoubtedly would be with video evidence of Bell doing nothing but sit there moments before Jude struck.

“I’ll give you one fucking chance,” I say, keeping my voice as level as I can. Which isn’t all that level, given that my alpha is fucking screaming at me, tearing at my chest to take out the threat to our omega. Bell thinks we have no control, that we’re mindless animals, but he has no fucking clue.

If we didn’t have control, he would be dead now. Slumped over in that chair with a bullet between his eyes. Or the office would look like a nightmare, with pieces of him strewn around, torn apart by our rage.

“Walk away from Haven, leave her the fuck alone for the rest of your life, and we’ll let you go.”

I feel all three of the alphas behind me perk at that. If we still had our bond, I’d send them reassurances through it to keep them from turning their ire on me. But I can’t, so instead I ignore their growls and muttered protests and keep my gaze focused on the enemy in the room.

“You can’t touch me,” he scoffs, shaking his head. “The most you can do is pull your support, but that is hardly a drop in the bucket of my campaign funds. No one will care if some nameless pack decides they don’t like my policies.”

My brows arch at the dig. We are relatively nameless. We aren’t famous. We don’t have fans like some packs. We don’t have entire corners of the internet devoted to us, like the Royal or Cordova packs. But we aren’t entirely without influence. We’ve built ourselves up with the sole intention of having enough power to take on Frederick Bell. To destroy the senator.

We don’t have to be well known to be dangerous. In fact, it’s better if we aren’t.

The senator pushes to his feet and smooths a hand down his tie. “It’s been… enlightening, gentlemen, but I think it’s time for you to go.”

Not one of us shifts to leave. I lean back in his chair, lace my fingers together over my stomach. “Just so we’re clear, you are turning down your one chance?”

The older alpha tilts his head. “Are you threatening me?”

Jude chuckles, low and dangerous. “Oh, Freddy boy. This isn’t a threat. It’s a promise. Leave Haven alone, or you’ll regret it.”

That is bordering on a threat, but there’s nothing specific. Nothing that Bell can take to the cops. The mostly alpha police force, who doesn’t agree with the bullshit he spouts off. Not even the lone packless ones.

No, most of his support comes from the betas.

Besides, a lot of our revenge are things at are untraceable, or totally legal.

The killing him part though? That’s where things could get a little dicey.

Still, if there’s no body, there’s no crime.

We’ll have to figure out a way to make it look like he ran off rather than disappeared.

Bell leans forward, placing his palms on his desk, towering over me in a move that might intimidate a lesser alpha, but just makes me want to hit him. “She’s my daughter. She is mine to dowith as I see fit. I will never leave her alone. I’ll be barking at her for the next thirty fucking years to keep her in line, if that’s what it takes. Now get the fuck out of my chair and my office.”

I don’t have a bond with my pack any longer, but I can still feel their absolute rage. Their scents spike and turn bitter, flooding the space with angry alpha pheromones. Bell’s face drains of color, but he doesn’t back down.

Slowly, so fucking slowly, I push to my feet and lay my hands flat on the desk, leaning into him. Meeting his glare with one of my own. My phone vibrates in my pocket, and I don’t have to pull it out to know what the message will be.

“The next time you bark at her,” I say low enough that I know the camera won’t pick it up. “I’ll rip your tongue from your mouth with my bare fucking hands. It’ll be pretty hard to command her to do anything when you’re choking on your own blood, hmm?” I lean closer. “And that is also a fucking promise.”

Jude chuckles and surprisingly there’s a bit of humor in the sound, like the idea of that is actually delightful. A hand claps onto my shoulder and squeezes. Creed. I straighten away from the now sweating man, my lip curled in disgust. “You say you’re in control, that your alpha doesn’t drive you, but only a weak alpha would resort to barking at his own daughter. One afraid of what will happen if she’s in control of her own actions. You’re nothing, Senator, and I can’t wait for the world to see it too.”

I glance over my shoulder at the three men behind me and nod. “Let’s go.”

Jude practically runs out of the room while the rest of us exit at a more leisurely pace. I don’t blame him. My phone is burning a hole in my pocket, the need to check it itching at me like a rash.

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