Page 104 of Chain Me Knot

“Ditto, Butterfly. You’re everything and we’ll be right by your side razing everything to the ground in your wake.”

Phoenix muscles in front of Soren with a broad shoulder. “All right, all right, enough. My turn to tell her how wanted she is.”

A shiver steals through me at the hunger in his eyes. Phoenix slides a possessive arm around my waist, pulling me flush against his chest. His blue eyes darken as he tips up my chin with his thumb. He claims my mouth without hesitation, his kiss scorching, hot enough to burn away every lingering trace of fear. Desire flares beneath my skin, liquid fire flooding through me—fueling my determination until I feel nothing but fierce clarity.

This…this is why I’m going to fight.

Why I’m going to take down Pack Carmichael and the commissioner.

I don’t care how big and powerful they are.

They’ll just fall harder.

I’m done hiding, done being used and discarded.

Done being chained.

Pack Carmichael, Axel Turns—anyone who stands in the way of my happy ever after no longer controls my story. And anyone who thinks otherwise is about todiscover exactly how fierce an omega can become when her heart and freedom are on the line.

Chapter Forty

Emma

Standing by my bedroom window, I gaze out toward the sea over the top of the perimeter fence, the rolling waves reflecting silver beneath the late-afternoon sun. My skin still hums pleasantly from Phoenix’s touch, remembering the gentle slide of sand beneath my back, the soft whisper of his encouragement in my ear when my heat spike surged through me in the dunes. These heat spikes are sudden and unpredictable, leaving me trembling and desperate inside. He soothed me, gentling me through the intensity, wringing three exquisite orgasms from my body and quieting the frantic pulse of heat. Yet my full heat refuses to arrive. Now, back in the house, I feel frustratingly normal again, no residual symptoms, just the nagging worry of when the next spike will catch me unawares. My worries don’t end there.

Leah’s face haunts me each time I close my eyes.

Pack Carmichael getting their hands back on me.

The commissioner choking me with a dog leash, as he does poor, poor Aubrey.

The extent to which my alphas are willing to risk their own safety to protect me.

Fears compound every day, knotting tighter even when I see my alphas offering determined smiles. I’m not blind. I glimpse the tension hidden in their expressions when they think I’m not looking. Their worry, so clearly for me; their quiet frustration when they can’t shield me from my own body or this endless stress. It breaks my heart and strengthens my resolve at the same time.

For the first time in forever, though, I can fight back. My alphas stand by my side. We’ve taken dangerous steps forward and now, finally, there is a chance. But that chance terrifies me just as much, because it means I have something fragile and precious to lose. My alphas. Leah, and Mira.

I’m spinning in circles, making myself insane with too many fears and too many hopes racing through my mind.

I can’t keep these thoughts inside any longer. I need to talk to Mira. I hold the phone tight to my ear while the quiet ringing fills me with nervous anticipation.

Mira answers before the second ring fully ends, the warmth in her voice wrapping instantly around my heart. “Emma? God, I'm so glad you called. I've been so worried about you.”

“I'm worried about you too,” I whisper, the ache in my chest overflowing into that admission.

As soon as the words break free, emotion cracks through my voice. A sob escapes, raw and unstoppable. Then Mira is crying too, our shared tears closing the distance between us. For a moment we're both quiet, letting unspoken understanding and hurt flow on silent breaths. I wish I could reach through the phone and hug her, the sister by choice who carried me through hell.

“I wish we could see each other,” I choke out, wiping wetness from my cheeks with my sleeve. “I just want to hug you. I need to see you're safe.”

“We can't. Not yet. It's still far too dangerous,” Mira says.

I close my eyes, sinking onto the edge of my bed, gripping the phone tighter. “I can't stand not knowing anymore. I'm terrified for Leah. Every hour that passes without answers eats away at me. Not knowing what she's going through, how she's surviving. Or if she’s…”Alive. My throat closes around the last word, painful and raw.

My bonds with Asher and Soren pulse with immediate concern and I feel their need to chase away the dark emotions crashing through me. Phoenix’s emotions are close on their heels, our bond not yet claimed, but no less determined. I send a pulse of reassurance to them and wait until their concern settles.

Mira draws a shaky breath, pausing for a heartbeat. “We’ll find her, Emma. We won’t lose her again.”

“I want her back with us so badly. It's killing me that she's been in the commissioner's clutches all this time, enduring God knows what.” My voice breaks. “We all escaped together. She was supposed to be free.”

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