Page 38 of Knot Shattered
But they didn’t move away. Instead, each alpha tightened his hold, silently promising that I wasn’t alone anymore.
“There was one man—the leader,” I continued, trembling softly now. “He liked to talk. Called me ‘pet,’ always in asickeningly sweet voice. He loved making me cry. Told me I belonged to them now, that I should be grateful they wanted something so broken. He’d hit me until I blacked out, then kiss my forehead, pretending it was kindness.”
The words flooded out, unstoppable now. “They fed me just enough to keep me alive. They punished silence, demanded I beg for their scraps. I lost track of days, and I didn’t even know how long I’d been there. All I had were the sounds of their footsteps, their laughter, the way they whispered awful things into my ears.”
I realized tears streamed silently down my cheeks only when Haze’s arms tightened protectively, his breath ragged against my shoulder.
“When they finally thought they’d killed me, they dumped me outside a hospital like trash. No ID, no memory of how I got there. It took me days just to speak, to remember who I was.”
There was a long silence, heavy with anger and sorrow. Salem’s voice was soft, but tight with controlled rage. “The sculpture you’ve been working on—the kneeling woman screaming—was that you?”
I nodded, unable to meet their eyes. “It was the only way I could get it out.”
Micha’s voice rumbled, low and lethal. “You’re not shattered. You’re not their pet. You’re ours, and we will never, ever hurt you.”
“We will destroy every single one of them,” Ravik growled softly, each word dripping venomous promise. “I swear it.”
“All of them,” Salem echoed quietly, deadly serious. “Everyone who touched you, who allowed it. They’re already dead, they just don’t know it yet.”
“I’ll cut their hearts out myself,” Haze breathed fiercely, his arms trembling with barely restrained violence. “because I fucking love you, Odette.”
The nest stilled instantly.
I turned slightly, meeting his wild, earnest gaze, and suddenly laughter bubbled up from somewhere deep within me, unexpected but freeing. “Gods, Haze,” I choked out softly, wiping tears from my cheeks, “that’s deeply disturbing…and somehow the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard.”
His smile was feral, affectionate, and utterly unapologetic. “I knew I was doing something right.”
Small smiles tugged their lips, and the tension broke just enough for Salem and Micha to relax. Ravik rolled his eyes fondly, his hand still possessively curled around my ankle.
I looked around at each of them, absorbing their fierce protectiveness and reverence in their eyes, not for what I had survived, but for the woman I was now, still fighting and healing.
“I thought telling you would break me again,” I whispered softly. “But I feel…stronger.”
“That’s because you are,” Micha said gently, pressing a kiss against my temple. “Stronger than any of us.”
I finally let the last walls inside me fall, wrapped tightly in the strength and protection of my pack. My alphas. My home.
Salem
October 16th
8:35 A.M
The rain tapped gently against the windows, a quiet rhythm that matched the slow, even cadence of her breathing.
Odette was tucked into the crook of my arm, nestled warm and safe in her nest, our nest now, maybe. At least when I was lucky enough to be let inside. The colors around us were hers, gold and amber and the softest shades of orange, like the last light before a sunset. Fuzzy blankets, layered quilts, soft pillows, some shaped like random food stuff. Which always makes me laugh. A dozen textures I hadn’t known could comfort a soul until I laid in them with her.
She smelled like blueberry pancakes and lavender shampoo. Her hair was a tangled halo against my chest, and her fingers were playing with the hem of my shirt as I spoke.
“Have I ever told you about the time Haze got kicked out of a billionaire’s yacht party because he tried to throw the host’s toupee overboard?” I asked softly, drawing lazy circles on her arm.
She let out a tired but genuine laugh. “No, but that sounds exactly like him.”
“It was mid-conversation, too. Dude’s explaining how he wants us to guard some priceless necklace, and Haze just reaches up, snatches his rug, and flings it. Claimed it was possessed.”
She laughed again, brighter this time, and I felt it ripple through her. It was the best sound in the world. I’d carry it in my bones if I could. I shifted, leaning against the pillows. “We’ve done a lot of weird shit in the name of security. There was this one time we had to babysit a corgi who had a hit on him. No joke. Like, real hired killers. We had a whole SWAT extraction plan for a dog named Sir Piddles.”
Odette snorted. “You’re lying.”
