Page 64 of Chain Me Knot

The washcloth skims across my shoulders. I lean into it, seeking more of this gentle contact. My body responds to him with a kind of melting pleasure.

“Everyone else at the academy was focused on proving their dominance, climbing ranks, making names for themselves. But Asher had this unwavering moral compass. After graduation, it was natural for us to partner up on omega abuse cases. We wanted to change things, make a real difference.”

The way he speaks about Asher, the depth of feeling in his voice, shows me a kind of love I've never witnessed between alphas. Not the bitter competition of Pack Carmichael, but something pure and supportive and strong.

“Pack bonds aren't about power. They're about trust. About having someone who knows all your weaknesses and chooses to protect them instead of exploit them. That's what Asher and I found in each other. What we later found in Phoenix,” he says.

His words paint a picture of connection I never knew could exist between alphas.

Soren's expression grows serious, his hands stilling on my arm. “You have to believe me when I tell you that Asher hates himself for biting you. I've never seen him like this, never seen him so torn up with guilt. In a decade, I've never known him to lose control of his alpha instincts like that.”

I stay quiet, because how can I disagree? I feel Asher's self-loathing through our bond every day, a constant undercurrent of shame and regret that he no longer tries to hide from me.

“It's completely out of character for him,” Soren continues, his voice soft but intent. “Asher's built his entire career, his entire life, around protecting omegas' rights. To find you in that basement, chained, starved. Our scent-match...” His jaw tightens. “His alpha just... snapped. Keeping you safe overwhelmed everything else.”

He lets my hand go and moves to my feet, submerging his hands into the suds to work on my feet. My eyelids flutter when he starts to massage those large thumbsinto the sole of my foot. “He's beating himself up about it every day. Not because he regrets finding you—you're our mate, Emma, our perfect match—but because he took your choice away. The very thing he's fought against for years.”

I feel the truth of this in my bones, in the bond that pulses with Asher's constant remorse. Unlike the Carmichaels, who feel nothing but satisfaction, Asher's emotions are raw with regret. Even though he took my choice away, his regret is genuine.

“He'll spend the rest of his life trying to make it right,” Soren says quietly. “We all will.”

The promise in his voice eases the tight place inside me that’s always bound tight, not forgiveness, not yet, but maybe understanding.

“And what about Phoenix? How did he join your pack?” I ask, not wanting to dwell on the complicated mess where Asher is concerned.

Soren understands and doesn't miss a beat. His fingers work magic on tired muscles I didn't even know were aching, finding knots and tension I'd forgotten existed. His hands drift up my calf, working the cloth over my knee and along my inner thigh and every nerve ending jumpstarts to life.

He comes dangerously close to where I'm throbbing, pressing closer and closer, but he returns his attention down my other leg before he can touch me where I’m burning, starting at my foot and I’m…disappointed he didn’t follow through.

Normally every muscle would be drawing up tight and I’d try to keep my terror clamped down tight at this type of alpha touch, but Soren smirks as I groan when he begins to knead the tension from my other foot.

He knows exactly what he’s doing.

I narrow my eyes at him and his smirk deepens. I part my lips to speak but he beats me to it. “Phoenix came crashing into our lives two years later. Quite literally. He tackled a trafficking suspect right into Asher's desk. Knocked over Asher's precious coffee and everything. But he'd chased the suspect fifteen blocks to stop him from reaching an omega safe house.”

That’s so Phoenix. A chuckle jumps from me, driven from that quivering place inside me. Soren’s brows lift. “I like that sound coming from you.”

I ignorethe heat drifting over my cheeks.

“You all worked omega cases?” I ask.

“It's what brought us together. We all saw the same problems, the same injustices. Asher's our moral compass, always fighting for what's right. Phoenix brings light to the darkest cases, helps us remember to find joy even in horrible situations. And I...” He shrugs slightly, the movement making his scent shift and swirl around me. “I provide the planning to keep them both in line.”

His eyes meet mine, hazel depths holding something that makes my breath catch. “But we always knew something was missing. Our omega was missing. The one perfect being who would complete us.”

The implication hangs in the steamy air between us.

Me. They were missing me.

He’s also working his way along the inner thigh of my other leg, sending frissons through my body, and then I can’t worry about anything at all other than the way his fingers are…

So.

Close.

My thighs part, wanting—needing—him to go higher. To touch me where the burn is starting to grow uncomfortable.

“Lie back, Omega,” he murmurs, his voice gentle but threaded with command. It’s not a bark. I don’t have to obey, but I want to. Water laps at my shoulders as I recline against the bath. Soren adds more soap to the cloth and traces it over my collarbones with devastating slowness, each stroke deliberate and thorough.

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