Page 61 of Knot My Luck

Devlin.

One of the others lunges for her, and that’s all it takes. CathalabandonsPodraig without a second thought, because Devlin is the greater threat, the greaterneed. He pivots, fast and brutal, moving like a force of nature, and then he’sthere, tearing into the bastard before he can lay a hand on her. He grabs the weaker alpha by the back of the neck and throws him back like he’s nothing but dead weight. The man crashes against the nearest wall with a pained shout, and when he looks up, he pales.

Because Cathal isn’t just furious. He’sFeral.

I see it in the way his shoulders bunch, his chest rising and falling with ragged breaths. I see it in his eyes – dark, burning, unrelenting. His scent is a storm breaking open, thunderous and electric with fury. His presence is enough to make Podraig’s pack stiffen but he doesn’t back down.

“What the fuck did you just say about my pack?” His voice is quiet, but the threat behind it crackles in the air.

Podraig, still pinned beneath me, scoffs. “Didn’t realise you needed your fag brother to help you get the girl, Cathal.” He jerks his chin toward me and Tadhg. “But I guess if you’ve got to settle for what’s left, you’ll take whatever scraps you can get.”

The insult lands, but it’s not about her being an omega – he’s trying to rile us, trying to get under our skin. The sharpness in his voice is meant to provoke, a challenge to our strength and claim. I feel my jaw clench, a growl rumbling deep in my chest.

I snarl, ready to break his fucking nose, but before I can move to retaliate, Devlin steps forward, and I can feel the change in her almost before she fully does.

Her scent shifts. Turns burnt. Something snaps.

It’s subtle at first, barely a ripple in the charged air, but then ithits.

Gone is the uncertainty, the overwhelmed omega who ran from us only hours ago. In her place stands someone unshaken,undeniable.

Devlin steps past Tadhg, past me, even past Cathal, who growls in warning. With each step, she grows bolder. She closes the distance between herself and Podraig until she’s standing directly before him, her posture straight and commanding, her eyes locked onto his like a predator ready to strike. “You don’t fucking get it, do you?” she says, her voice a perfect balance of fury and ice. “I’m not yours to take.”

Podraig sneers, but there’s a flicker of uncertainty in his eyes as he looks down at her. “Then why the hell are you out here?” His voice drips with accusation. “Why’d you run?”

The three of us snarl.

Devlin doesn’t flinch. “You been watching me like some kind of creeper, Podraig? It’s been days since the wedding ended. What are you doing still hanging around the reception venue like a bad smell, huh? Do you always stalk alone omegas at night? Or do you just prefer to prey on anyone weaker than you?”

Out of the corner of my eye, I catch sight of Tadhg, muscles straining as he holds Cathal back. His brother is a raw, snarling thing, teeth bared, eyes wild with fury, every inch of him coiled for the kill. Tadhg has an arm banded across his chest, murmuring low and firm, but Cathal isn’t listening. His lips are curled, his body vibrating with the force of his rage, only barely restrained.

I snap my attention back to Devlin, just in time to see her shove Podraig hard in the chest, and she must catch him unaware because he stumbles and falls backwards, sliding down the backside a couple of feet. Our tiny, feisty little omega just got the upper hand over a douchebag alpha.

Pride and fucking arousal flood me.

But our fiery little redhead isn’t done yet. She approaches and crouches slowly, positioning herself at eye level with him, clearly in power right now. There’s a calm intensity in her gaze, her muscles taut with the strength she’s hiding beneath the surface. “I ran because I needed a fucking minute to breathe,” she snaps. “But don’t mistake that for doubt.”

She tilts her head, the mark on her neck exposed. Her voice drops, tinged with a fury that feels ancient and deadly. “I chose them. Every single one of them. And I will continue to choose them. Every. Single. Time. In this life and the next. You’re nothing to me.”

The words hit like a thunderclap, final and absolute.

Podraig’s bravado flickers, his sneer faltering for a second as he stares at the mark, understanding what it means. The air around us tightens with an unspoken threat.

But that doesn’t mean he’s ready to back off yet. He’s not willing to go without one last jab.

He exhales sharply, then glances at the rest of his pack. “C’mon,” he mutters, jerking his chin at the others. “This bitch ain’t worth it.”

The others hesitate for a moment before slinking away into the darkness like the cowards they are. Podraig lingers for a second longer, his eyes flicking between Devlin and the three of us. Devlin, standing unbowed, and the three of us, still bristling with the need to hurt. To take revenge. To protect our omega. To make him pay.

He knows he’s lost, his arrogance wavering, but he still manages a sneer as he turns to leave.

“Fucking waste,” he mutters under his breath, bitter, before turning on his heel and walking away.

The moment they’ve gone, I exhale, the coil in my chest loosening just enough for me to breathe. The stress in the air begins to settle, but I can still taste the fury lingering in my mouth. I exhale again slowly, shaking off the tension… Until I catch sight of my packmates.

Cathal is still feral.

Tadhg’s got his arms locked around him, but even he’s struggling to hold him back. Cathal snarls, feet dragging furrows into the dirt as he fights against Tadhg’s grip, muscles bunched and trembling with the effort to tear himself free. His teeth are bared, his breath coming in ragged, panting growls, eyes fixed on Devlin like she’s the only thing in the world that matters.

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