Page 30 of Knot Unwanted: Part Two

She picks up the tablet again, tapping the screen. A wall-mounted monitor I hadn’t noticed flickers to life, displaying a split-screen image. My breath stops in my throat.

On one side: Finn, pale and still in a hospital bed, monitors beeping steadily around him. Stone sits beside him, head bowed, shoulders slumped with exhaustion.

On the other: Ren, bound to a chair, blood dripping from a cut on his temple. His eyes are closed, but the steady rise and fall of his chest shows he’s alive. The room he’s in is featureless—concrete walls, a single light overhead.

“Where’s Jax?” My voice shakes, and I hate it. Terror claws its way up my throat. “What have you done to him?”

Veyra’s smile widens. “Worried about them? How touching.” She zooms in on Ren’s face. “He was quite determined to find you, you know. Even after learning you weren’t at the facility. Even after his alpha abandoned him.”

“Liar,” I spit, but doubt creeps in. “Jax would never?—”

“Wouldn’t he? To save the others? To warn them?” She studies my expression. “You know so little about loyalty, little pig. About the calculations people make when faced with impossible choices.”

My mind races. If Jax got away, if he’s warning Stone and Finn right now, then maybe…

“He won’t find them in time,” Veyra says, reading my thoughts with disturbing accuracy. “Not with his injuries.” She taps the screen again, bringing up a new image: Jax stumbling through what looks like a forest, blood soaking his shirt, face contorted in pain.

My heart twists. “You’re going to kill them,” I whisper, the realization settling like lead in my gut.

“Eventually,” Veyra agrees. “But not yet. First, we’ll make them suffer for a bit, since threatening their little business wasn’t enough. For all the trouble they’ve caused, the Ironwoods must be punished.” She stands, walking to a cabinet across the room. “And you’re going to help me decide how.”

When she turns back to me, she’s holding a syringe filled with iridescent blue liquid. The sight of it makes me stiffen, breaths becoming stuttered.

“Let’s play a game,” she says, approaching with measured steps. “Which packmate should we kill first? You pick.”

“Go to hell,” I manage, my voice surprisingly steady despite the fear churning in my gut.

Veyra sighs, as if disappointed by my lack of cooperation. “Always so defiant. That’s why you need extra training, you know. I should have never let you leave on that transport, but Cee…always so impatient.” She holds the syringe up to the light, examining it. “This is the latest version of a drug I’ve been developing. Your labs show you’re in pre-heat. We need you to go into heat now. Cee is very…upset at this horrible delay in your procurement.”

I try to jerk away as she swabs my arm with alcohol, but the restraints hold me fast.

“What it does,” she continues, positioning the needle just above my skin, “is amp up your hormones to the point you won’t remember anything.” Her smile turns cruel. “All you’ll want is some hard cock. All you’ll want is to be knotted. Your delirium will make you forget them.”

“No,” I gasp, real panic surging through me now. “Please?—”

“Please?” Veyra’s eyebrows lift in mock surprise. “Are we begging now? How novel.” She leans closer, her breath warm against my ear. “Let me tell you a secret, little pig. They never really cared for you. Not your parents. Not Pack Ironwood. The only person who has cared about you has beenme.Itook you in.Ifed you. Cared for you. Omegas are tools. Assets. Your only purpose is to serve…and I was helping you achieve that purpose.”

“That’s not true,” I say, clinging to the certainty in my heart. “We’re pack. Family.”

“Family?” Veyra actually laughs, the sound sharp enough to cut. “You’ve been misinformed about your place in the world, piggy wig. But don’t worry—” She slides the needle into my vein with ease. “I’ll fix that.”

The drug burns as it enters my bloodstream, a cold fire that spreads up my arm and into my chest. I grit my teeth against the pain, refusing to give her the satisfaction of hearing me scream.

“It takes a few minutes to fully circulate,” Veyra tells me, discarding the empty syringe. “During that time, you might experience some…discomfort. Hallucinations, perhaps. Your brain fighting the inevitable.”

Already, the edges of my vision are blurring, colors smearing together. The pain intensifies, a vice tightening around my skull.

“While we wait,” Veyra continues, as if we’re having a perfectly normal conversation, “let me explain what happens next. Once the drug takes effect, we’ll run a series of tests to evaluate your responsiveness. Then we’ll begin the reconditioning process. By the time we’re finished, you’ll be exactly what our client wants. Obedient. Compliant. And utterly without memory of your time with those alphas. But most of all, you’ll be ready for Cee.”

I try to focus on her words, to hold on to my anger, but it’s slipping away like water through my fingers. My thoughts are fragmenting, memories blurring.

Finn’s smile. Stone’s laugh. Jax’s gentle hands. Ren’s quiet resolve.

My pack. My family.

They might not come for me, but I can’t lose them. Not like this.

“They’ll come for me,” I say, even though I know it’s not true, each word a struggle as the drug pulls me under. “They’ll tear this place apart. They’ll destroy you.”

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