Page 18 of Chain Me Knot

Mercer wasuntouchable. Powerful. The woman who smiled while explaining exactly how alphas would use us, who watched during “correction sessions,” who prepared us for lives as possessions. And Asher...stopped her?

A traitorous whisper flickers in my chest that this alpha is different to the monsters who kept me chained, but I shut down that thought before it can take root. That's exactly how they trap you. With stories of heroism, with glimpsesof goodness, with complexity that makes you doubt your own judgment. I can't afford that kind of doubt. Not when my freedom hangs by such a fragile thread.

But still... Mercer is dead.

And apparently, Asher pulled the trigger.

“There are investigations now,” Mira continues. “Into Haven, into the Basement at Haven. Asher's been given authority to investigate everything. He's already saved so many omegas.”

He still took my choice away.

“The public is outraged. They're demanding answers about omega rights, about the omega birth crisis. Senator Hardwick can't maintain her power anymore. Not with what's being revealed.” Mira's eyes gleam with fierce satisfaction. “My alphas are powerful, Emma. They're out for blood, starting at the top. Mercer paid for what she did to us, and Hardwick will pay in blood, too.”

I struggle to breathe, to process this impossible information.

“Asher, Soren, and Phoenix head up a new division focused on changing how omegas are seen and treated.” She leans forward, face alight with purpose. “I run a therapy program at Pinnacle now, helping omegas recover from trauma. And I... I want you to come there. To help you. When you’re ready.”

It's impossible. Too hopeful.

Too much.

“Things don't change.” Why would any alpha want to give up control? Not when they have an entire designation at their beck and call. Their gods complex is too big to even conceive of changing. A knock at the door makes me flinch, and I hate that. I hate not being in control of my own body's reactions. This isn't me.

Or at least, it wasn't me before.

I used to be a girl with dreams, with plans for a future that extended beyond my next heat. A girl who didn't flinch at knocks, who didn't measure rooms by escape routes, who didn't calculate the risk-reward ratio of every word before speaking.

Being omega stole that girl from me.

Stole my life, my future, my very self.

And I hate my biology with a fury that burns hotter than anyclaiming bite.

I hate how I've been forced to become a person I don't recognize, someone small and scared and broken. Someone whose greatest aspiration is no longer to change the world but simply to survive it.

“Emma?” Mira's voice pulls me back to the present. “Are you okay?”

No. I'm not okay. I haven't been okay since the day my designation test came back ‘omega’. And I don't know if I ever will be again.

The door opens and an unknown alpha peers in. He's beautiful in that devastating way all alphas are. Olive skin, dark hair swept back from his forehead, stubble shadowing a strong jaw.

He half stands in the doorway, huge shoulders punching out an expensive business suit. Matthew and his pack were wealthy, not that I experienced any of their lifestyle apart from the fact they were wealthy enough to buy me, but this alpha is clearly on another level. If wealth had a scent, he could launch his own cologne line.

I want to curl in a ball and hide under the blankets, but I don’t fully succumb to the usual panic attack. There's something different about him. Something in how he holds himself, how he waits in the doorway instead of barging in. His eyes find me first, and I brace for the mocking look my alphas gave me whenever they came into the basement. Instead, I see concern. Compassion. Nothing more.

His gaze slides to Mira, and the transformation in his expression steals my breath. Pure love softens his features and warms his eyes. This alpha looks at Mira like she's precious.

Like she'severything.

Mira's face lights up. “Adrian,” she says, and there's joy in her voice. Actual joy. She turns to me, “This is Adrian, my prime alpha.”

He turns to me, his gaze commanding yet somehow gentle. “Emma. I'm so glad my Mira found you and that Asher saved you from that hell.” Anger flashes across his face, darkening his features.

“They’re going to rot for what they did to you, Emma. We’ll make them pay.” The smile Mira gives me should be chilling—all teeth and promised violence—but instead it's reassuring.

This isn't the same Mira who whispered escape plans in Haven's basement. She's grown stronger. The fearful omega girl is gone, replaced by a woman who stands tall, who speaks with authority, who knows her worth.

I study her with her alpha, the way she leans into him without flinching, the way she glows with health and purpose. No collar. No bruises. No dead look in her eyes. Maybe Adrian deserves a chance. He's clearly done something right. The Mira I knew would never be so relaxed around him if he were a monster. At least one of us has a happy ending.

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