Page 39 of Knot All Is Lost: Part 1

seventeen

Shuttingthedoorand walking away from the house had never been as hard as it was that morning. I couldn’t believe I’d almost marked her for real. There she was in my arms desperate for comfort and stability, and she offered herself to me in the most trusting way an Omega could. I knew from everything I learned about Omega’s that I couldn’t let the offer go unacknowledged but there was no possible way I could accept what she was asking me to do.

With one bite I would be bonded to her for life. We would have a soul connection that was deeper than anyone could understand. Or that’s how my grandmother explained it to me as a child. Her pack was created the old-fashioned way before everything fell apart during my parents’ lifetime. I’d grown up hearing stories of the good old days and watching the love my grandparents had for each other.

My father and mother loved each other in a way. They enjoyed each other’s company and chose to marry, committing to spend life together but it wasn’t how I saw my grandfathers look at my grandmother. When we found out about my sister she was there to comfort her but when she was taken from us I think it broke my grandmother because she passed away a few months later. Her men soon followed seeing no point in living when she wasn’t.

Having Cambrie enter my life I could easily understand their thinking. When someone so special and perfect walks into your life it’s almost as if you see the world in a whole new light. Now I needed to leave her home while I went off to work for the same people who would want to take her away from us. Already she’d made an impact on each and every person in my pack. The rag tag members Nixon and I collected through the years had the same vision as us for the future and was the bond we all shared. Then comes a blonde haired, blue eyed little princess that gave us a reason to become a real family.

“Love,” Spencer murmured as he rested a hand on my back. “You sure you’re okay?”

After I almost marked Cambrie and Nixon sent me upstairs, I’d taken Spencer up against the wall in my bedroom, like a brainless rutting Alpha. My options were to mark her, fuck her, or fuck the shit out of someone else I loved, or I was going to do something I couldn’t take back. Poor Spencer had a bruise of my teeth on the back of his neck where I held him as I fucked him. Thank god he enjoyed every moment of it as much as I did, or else I would feel even lower than I already was.

“I’m sorry, I just can’t believe how out of control I’ve been.” I turned and cupped his face loving his smile as he turned into the touch. “I don’t ever want you to feel like I’m using you or treating you as an outlet for my need and ignoring your own. I don’t want you to doubt my love and desire for you just because Cambrie’s come into our lives. What I did upstairs was wrong and I know it.”

Spencer scowled and slapped my hand away. “Wrong? What you did…” He took a deep breath and glared at me. “I’m sorry, are you talking about the amazing quickie we had ten minutes ago where you fucked me like you thought I was going to leave you? Where you left a claiming mark on the back of my neck telling anyone who sees it that I have an Alpha who owns my ass? That, that’s what you’re telling me is wrong?”

His words were like a slap to my face as was the hurt in his eyes.

“Did you think I wasn’t as fucking turned on as you were watching you almost mark Cambrie? God, all I could think about was how I wanted to be right there with you holding her between us as you claimed me right after her, making us a truly bonded pair. I didn’t know if there would be a chance for that to happen for us, but now because of her, I can see our future together. One where I could proudly display two marks from both my Alphas while holding an adorable Omega that I get to call mine as well. Don’t you ever fucking say shit like that again, Marius!” Spencer snapped.

A car horn honked, making him sigh as he pressed a kiss to my cheek. “I love you. I’ll see you after work, alright?”

I stopped him and pulled him back for a real goodbye kiss before I let him go. “I really don’t deserve you, do I?”

“Damn right, and don’t you forget it, mister,” Spencer quipped.

Another quick kiss and I stepped back. “Thank you for setting me straight, I love you too. Have a good day, and I’ll see you tonight at home.”

“Promise you won’t let them take her from us? I don’t think anyone else in the world could fit our pack the way she does,” Spencer said as he walked backwards toward where Nixon and Rafael were waiting for him.

“I won’t let them take her, Spence,” I vowed. “I gave Cambrie my word and you know how seriously I take that.”

He nodded, understanding firsthand just how far I would go to keep my promises. With a quick wave, he slipped into the car’s backseat and the three of them drove off. With a heavy sigh, I tossed my briefcase into the passenger seat and got in. The benefit of living here was that I was close to the new Capitol Building. The Capitol Building of Oscad was built twenty years ago when it wasn’t safe to have it in the middle of the city anymore. Too many attacks by various groups unhappy with the way things were being handled forced the CoF to relocate. The building they constructed was rather opulent in my opinion, a waste of taxpayer money. Now it’s where I went to work every day.

I pulled up to the gleaming white marble building that looked more like a Greek palace than a Capitol Building. A spire of gold plated metal rose high into the sky, the sun glinting off it blinding you if you stared too long. From what I read in records the Officials at that time wanted to ensure that anyone in the city could find their way to justice by simply looking for the spire. All I thought of when I saw it was how many people that money could have helped.

“Good morning Official Stone,” Tommy, the valet, greeted as he opened my car door for me. “Decided to take a leisurely morning?”

It was comments like this that told me I work far too much and that I would need to change if I wanted to spend time at home.

“Might be something I do more of, it was nice to have the morning with my pack,” I shared, clapping Tommy on the shoulder. “While my work is important, if I have nothing to come home to, what good is it?”

Tommy was a young kid recently out of high school and working at the Capitol for a year to save up for college. He was hardworking and I never had any trouble with my car when it was in Tommy’s hands. Cars were the one thing I indulged in and spent far more than I should on a vehicle. This newest sports car was bright red and could fly like a bat out of hell. This led to having a few issues with the other valets that worked here.

They didn’t think I noticed when they took it for a joy ride. They only did it once after I chatted with them. The world was harsh and I didn’t want to be another person telling them they were screw ups. Yet, on the other hand, they also needed to understand I wouldn’t stand for it and it was an abuse of their power. So now only Tommy drove my car. When he goes off to college I’m not sure what I’ll do but that was a drop in the bucket of problems I had to deal with right now.

“Marius, odd to see you coming in at such a reasonable hour. Did your alarm not go off?” Official Fredrick McCoy called from behind me as I started up the steps.

I paused and waited for him to join me. He was a kind man and loved to tease me for being the youngest member of the CoF and having far too much gumption as he called it.

“No, I decided to take your advice,” I answered as he caught up. “Enjoy life and stop trying to change the world overnight.”

“Ha, ha, ha, that a boy,” Fredrick said, his booming laughter rattled my ears. “Now let’s see if you can actually leave at a decent time. That will be the real trick to see if my words finally hit home.”

Fredrick was a brilliant mind when it came to numbers and systems but he was incredibly lazy and didn’t involve himself in anything more than he had to. He was a puppet for Yoram, the longest standing member of the current CoF. If Yoram needed something to be passed he would always have Fredrick’s vote. When it came down to a split vote, which hardly ever happened, it would then get put before the City Magistrate, Willem, for the deciding vote.

Of course, like Fredrick, Willem was in Yoram’s pocket as well. The only support I had was Alton, the fourth of the Officials. He is the second longest standing Official and hates Yoram with everything he is. I feel like he would have stepped down a long time ago if he didn’t think he was the only thing stopping Yoram from changing things into a dictatorship. The moment I was voted in Alton took me under his wing and showed me the truth behind the curtain. That’s because the CoF was a sham, Yoram was the puppet master and all the dreams I had of changing the world will never happen with him in power. Sadly, Alton had become extremely ill and hadn’t been able to work as much. I feared they would vote him out but it seems they were content to leave him be since he’s not causing trouble.

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