Page 15 of Knot my Alphas

“Let’s arm ourselves,” I say, thinking about the cold-blooded monster who’d compelled Iris into submission. The man has no honor despite being a high-ranking military official. “By your logic, he’ll not back down from killing us if he has the chance to do so. He’s fixated on Iris for some reason and he’ll do anything to claim her as his mate.”

“We have to approach him like an enemy,” says Raiden. “It’s the only way we’ll get Iris back from him.”

“Let’s grab some spy gear as well,” I say, agreeing. “We may never know what we might need once we get there. It’s best we conceal ourselves while going in.”

Raiden nods. “We’ll act according to the situation we face but we’ll prepare ourselves for a battle.”

“It’s just going to be us though,” I tell him. “I don’t want to involve anyone in this matter.”

“Yeah. Callahan won’t think twice before complaining we went to his home to attack him. Let’s stage this as a casual visit.”

I hate that we’re having to strategize to simply enter the house of a man who works for the same goal as ours. Most men who stay in the military do it out of responsibility and duty toward their country but some covet only power.

Callahan belongs to the latter group.

He’s cruel and cunning. Dealing with him will take more effort and tactics than an enemy.

Still, I don’t care. Nothing matters to me more than Iris’s safety. I’m ready to kill and die for her. She’s my mate and I’ll not fail her a second time.

4

Iris

“It looks like you’ve finally met your mother.”

Callahan’s words echo in my head as I stare at him.

“You’re her mirror image,” he says, continuing to look at the woman in the painting. “That’s how I knew who you were the moment I first saw you.”

“This is a coincidence,” I say. “I don’t even know who she is.”

Callahan glances down at me. The cold, calculating look is back on his face. “You look nothing like the people who claim to be your parents. They’ve brought up their omega daughter in the most precious way while you were suppressed all your life. That’s not how someone treats their own child.”

Everything Callahan is saying has crossed my mind since the moment my parents abandoned me. I don’t want to accept the truth but the facts are glaring me in the face.

Delilah and I don’t share any similar features. People are always surprised when I tell them we’re sisters. I have more in common with the people in the portrait than all my family members combined.

“What happened to them?” I ask, glancing toward the painting I found hidden inside the wardrobe. “How did I end up with the people who claim to be my parents?”

His gaze hardens, sharpening the creases along his eyes. “I have no idea. Rosamond told me her baby was dead. If I’d known you were alive, I’d have never let you go.”

“Why?”

“I loved her,” he says in a surprisingly sincere tone. “I loved her since the moment I first laid eyes on her.”

“How do I know you’re telling the truth? You could’ve photoshopped all those photographs and gotten a talented painter to do these portraits. You could be lying to me right now. Is this some kind of sick trick to get me to submit to you?”

“I want you to know why I want you,” he says in a grim tone. His usually cold eyes are filled with emotion. “I wanted to protect your mother after your father died, but she left me. She’s the only woman I’ve ever wanted. Seeing you at the mayor’s mansion was like seeing her again.”

“I’m not her,” I say, taking a step back. “Other than our looks, we share nothing in common. Forcing me into submission won’t bring back the love of your life.”

“Her blood runs in your veins,” he says, closing the distance between us. Reaching out, he caresses a lock of my hair. “She used to have the same angry expression as you have now. It’s uncanny. I couldn’t have Rosamond but I will have you. You must belong to me.”

“I’m fated to be Damon and his brothers’ mate,” I say in a loud, clear voice. “I can never accept anyone else, especially someone as evil as you.”

He leans forward. Before I can step backward, he snakes an arm around my waist and pulls me closer. “Your scent is so addictive,” he murmurs, skimming his nose along the column of my neck. “It’s almost the same as Rosamond’s.”

I kick out at his knee.

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