Page 20 of Chain Me Knot

Pain flashes across Asher's face, quickly masked by understanding that somehow hurts worse. Matthew would have struck me for pulling away and then barked at me to shut up and do what he wanted but Asher just raises his hands, palms out, and inches back.

“It's okay,” he murmurs. “You're safe. No one's going to hurt you.”

I press my back against the cold tile wall, the chill soaking into my skin. Drops of blood dot my gown and one part of my brain tells me I’ve ripped out my IV again. I don’t care. I also don’t waste breath telling him how much I don’t believe him, how empty those words sound, because hurt is all I’ve ever known. Terror claws up my throat, saturated in fear of him, fear of myself, fear of the treacherous sense of safety whenever his scentsurrounds me.

“Emma.” He tries again, voice staying gentle. “Whatever's happening outside, you don't need to be afraid. We will protect you.”

“Stop making those promises!” I wrap my arms around myself, wishing I could dissolve into the bathroom walls, disappear into the grout between tiles. “Just stop. Please.”

We both know if it weren’t for alphas I’d never know what it is to be truly afraid.Theyhave made this world the scary-as-fuck place it is. I’d be happy if the human race never had designations. Life would be so much easier if we were all betas. No packs. No scents. No bonding and no one designation having total and complete control over another.

Two massive bodies cram into the open doorframe. Both alphas look as though they've been in a battle. Disheveled clothing, a bruise forming on Phoenix’s cheek, blood on Soren’s knuckles. Their frantic eyes scan the room, locking on me huddled against the wall.

“Are you okay?” Phoenix asks, his voice tight.

I can't take it. Can't handle more alphas, more concern, more confusion. I lunge toward Mira, the only safe person in this room of predators. She opens her arms without hesitation, and I all but climb into her lap, burying my face against her shoulder, hating myself even more that I need to do this.

Adrian’s jaw tightens as I cling to his mate, and I realize I’ve made a grave mistake. Every instinct screams that he'll tear me away, that he'll punish me for touching what's his. I freeze, waiting for the violence, but it doesn't come. Instead, Adrian hauls Asher to his feet when a rumbling growl vibrates the tiles.

“Take it down a notch,” he growls at Asher. “Your pheromones are choking me. I can’t imagine what it’s doing to your omega.”

I don’t miss the way he says ‘your’ omega, and that’s the thing. I’m always going to belong to someone else. Never to me. That’s a fleeting thought because my terror is making sure an invisible band constricts around my chest. I clamp my jaw when my teeth start to chatter but that only makes an ache spread through my temples.

I’m falling apart in a way I never did in the basement. Survival helped me contain my reactions. Helped me to maintain control, but since Asher, Phoenix and Soren literally tore the chain off my ankle, every defense I relied on has crumbled to ash.

Being rescued broke me more thoroughly than being held captive ever did.

“What the hell happened out there?” Adrian demands, still gripping Asher's shoulder.

“Pack Carmichael.” Soren's voice shakes with barely contained rage. “They brought reinforcements.”

“They got into the hospital too easily. Slipped right past our officers,” Phoenix says, his face grim as he just stands there staring at me. “It's not safe here.”

I choke off the whine that claws up my throat.

“Hey, hey,” Mira whispers, arms tightening around me. “Breathe with me. In and out.”

She wraps her hands where I’m digging my fingers into her shoulder. I must be hurting her, but I can’t unclamp my grip. All I can see is the basement, the darkness, the chains. If Matthew gets me back, if they lock me down there again...

“—not going to happen,” Asher's voice breaks through the ringing in my ears. “They will never touch her again. Never.”

“We need to move her,” Soren says, his words cutting through my spiraling thoughts. “The police compound is safe. The protocols there are ironclad. We can monitor anyone coming into and going out of the gates. There are guards stationed everywhere, and security camera’s provide a comprehensive view of the ground and inside each building. For now, it’s the best protection we have. It’s safer than anywhere else in the city, including our apartment.”

My head snaps up. Police compound? Another prison? My breathing quickens again.

“No. I…I’m not going. I…I don’t want to.” I don’t care if I stay in this sterile little hospital room burrowing under stiff white sheets, I don’t want to go anywhere with any alpha.

Asher drops to his knees, his hands reaching for me before they fall onto his ridiculously thick thighs when I jerk away from his touch. “We won't take you anywhere without your permission. You don’t have to go there if you don’t want to. If you want to stay here, we’ll put other things in place. Protect you another way.”

I blink at him stupidly, certain I've misheard. At least my shock eats into the liquid terror that’s infused into my bloodstream, helping me to finally take a full breath, but he continues even when I want the world to stop turning just for a little bit. “But you need to understand the situation before you make your decision. The hospital has multiple entry points with minimal security. The Carmichaels got in once. They'll try again. I’ve seen alpha packs like this before. They don’t stop, Emma. They keep coming and coming because they think they own you.”

If there is anything I’m sure about, it’s this. He’s right. Matthew and his pack won’t stop coming for me. Even when I stopped going into heat and became useless to them, they still didn’t let me go. They’d rather me die a slow death of starvation than give me up. It didn’t matter how they got me. I’m claimed and that’s all the law cares about. I’m nothing but a useless piece of garbage. A toy that doesn’t wind up any more.

Asher’s eyes never leave mine as these thoughts run through my head.He sees too much. “The police compound has security fencing, armed guards, and a safe house specifically for protecting omegas. We've used it before. No one gets in or out without clearance. They can’t touch you there.”

They can’t.

Butyoucan.

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