Page 90 of Break Me Knot

I lick my dry lips. “They beat us if we were too slow. Or talked back. Or... or sometimes for no reason at all. Just because they could.” Tears fall freely now, soaking into the nest blankets. “Said they were teaching us our place. Teaching us what omegas deserve. That pain would make us better. More compliant. More... useful. Well, fortheiruse.”

I force myself to stop crying, to gather my strength. Because this... this is the part that puts them in real danger. Not just legal danger for harboring a runaway omega, but something far worse. I wipe away tears, and Cole immediately covers my trembling fingers with his own.

“There's more,” I whisper.

Zane picks me up and tugs me into his embrace. “You don’t have to tell us more, Baby Girl.”

But I do. I must tell them everything. The words are broken glass, but I force them out anyway. “The Basement... it wasn'tjustpunishment. It wasn't even about the labor. It was...” I have to pause, gathering courage from their steady presence. “It was preparing us. Because Dr. Mercer and Senator Hardwick... they make their money another way.”

Cole goes completely still beside me. Zane's arms tighten around my waist while Adrian's cedar smells like a burning forest.

I clutch Cole's hand tighter, drawing strength from his grip. “They sell omegas from the Basement. They set up auction nights and sell us. To the highest bidder. To people who want... who want omegas they can hurt without consequences. Omegas who've been... lost. Conditioned. Who can’t be traced because they don’t officially exist. They sell us right before our very first heat so packs who buy us can bond us to them forever. Chain us for life to do whatever they want to us without any repercussions. That’s why I ran. Why we ran. Emma, Leah and me. We got out just before our first heats. I couldn’t go through with it. Couldn’t do it and now, if Dr. Mercer or Senator Hardwick find me alive…” There’s one of two things they’ll do. “They’ll either sell me. Or kill me.”

Adrian's snarl rips through the closet, furious and deadly, followed immediately by Zane and Cole's. The sounds reverberate in the small space,making the air thick with alpha rage. Adrian's chest heaves with controlled breathing, like he's physically restraining himself from rushing off to hunt down Mercer and Hardwick right this instant. Zane's jaw ticks with suppressed fury, fingers flexing against my skin. The tendons in Cole’s neck stand out with tension and his dark eyes burn with a promise of violence.

My alphas are on my side.

“We're going to make those fucking bitches pay.” Zane’s voice carries a quiet deadliness I've never heard before. Gone is my playful alpha, replaced by something dangerous and focused. “For everything they’ve done. Every omega they’ve hurt. Every life they’ve destroyed. And especially for every moment of pain they’ve caused you.”

“This ends now. What Haven's doing... it's beyond wrong. Beyond criminal. We're going to stop them. All of them.” Cole’s eyes meet mine, fierce with protection. “No one will ever hurt you like that again.”

“We're going to raze them and that whole damn institute to the ground.” Adrian's voice is heavy with promise and rage. “But first, we're going to make them pay for what they did to you, Little One. For every moment of pain, every ounce of fear, every scar they left on your body and soul.”

I'm not facing Haven alone anymore. I am part of a strong, protective, furious pack who will fight for me. Who will stand between me and the darkness that's chased me for so long.

“We protect our own,” Cole growls, pressing his forehead to mine. “And you're ours now. Nothing will ever change that.”

And finally, finally, I believe it.

Chapter Forty

Mira

Ilounge in my nest, bring the blanket and pillow saturated with their scents to my nose and inhale, filling my lungs with my alphas’ goodness. It helps to center me, considering they’ve left me to rest after making plans for Dr. Mercer and Senator Hardwick.

They didn’t want me to be all alone, but three alphas making a statement is better than one and I want Mercer put away for life.

I close my eyes, recalling how they cared for me after we made love. The way Adrian's fingers massaged my scalp, Zane's soft words as he pressed berries to my lips, Cole purring in that low, soothing rumble that makes me feel so safe. We fell asleep tangled together, their bodies forming a protectivefortress around me. Even now, hours after they've left for Adrian’s friend who they said can help us, the phantom weight of their arms still surrounds me.

My fingers trace the scars on my body, my evidence against Mercer and Hardwick. No longer badges of shame, but weapons in our arsenal. We spent hours plotting their downfall. My alphas’ rage was a palpable thing when I told a little too much about the punishments, and how Lars and Hugo were Mercer’s right-hand guards, all too eager to dole out any punishments, which put them on my alphas’ radar as well. There was tenderness too, always tenderness with them, made solid with Cole’s quiet promise that no one will ever hurt me again as he kissed my shoulder.

Love blooms in my chest like spring flowers breaking through winter frost. It's not the desperate, clinging thing I once feared love would be. This is vast and healing, a river that flows through all four of us, filling every crack and crevice with golden light. Three distinct flavors of love that form a perfect whole.

My scent has changed subtly, enriched by notes of their own, and the thought makes me dizzy with joy. I want to shower them with this love when they return, show them how they've helped me bloom, how they've given me wings instead of chains.

I curl deeper into our nest and reach for the omega biology book. I flip through the pages and something catches my eye—a section I've somehow missed before. Sitting up, I swear my heart skips a beat as I read the title: “True Scent Matches: The Rarest Bond.”.

My fingers trace the words on the page, each sentence making my omega sing with recognition:

While all compatible mates will have complementary scents, true scent matches are exceedingly rare, occurring in less than 1% of all bonds. These matches are characterized by scents that don't merely complement each other, but create an entirely new harmonic note when combined. Each component scent enhances and elevates the others, creating a perfect olfactory symphony that affects not just the mates involved, but can be detected by others as a distinct, unified pack scent.

My heart begins to race as I read further:

True scent matches experience a profound fusion of physical and emotional connections, often sensing each other's feelings even before formal bonding occurs. Their scents naturally adjust and evolve in tandem, deepening in complexity over time. In the presence of multiple mates, a true scent match weaves their individual scents into a perfect harmony, where each unique note is integral to the symphony of their bond. This bond extends beyond the physical realm, transcending into the metaphysical. It's said that a scent match not only connects an omega to their alphas through a mating bite but intricately binds their souls for eternity, creating the strongest and most enduring of all connections.

Scent-matched mates often develop extraordinary sensory perceptions, finely tuned to the unique blend of their shared scent. This heightened awareness allows them to intuitively detect subtle shifts in each other's emotions or well-being, even across great distances. The olfactory bond they share becomes a silent language, conveying thoughts and feelings without the need for words. Over time, these mates learn to navigate the world through this enhanced sensitivity, creating an unspoken dialogue that enriches their connection and provides an unparalleled understanding of each other.

Tears blur my vision as everything clicks into place. This is what it is for us. Of course, Haven would never have revealed such a truth. Why would they, when everything they instilled in us focused solely on our existence being for the service of alphas?

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