Page 21 of Knot Their Reality

"Yeah... The night started off well. I let Rebecca dress me up like a doll. She did my hair and makeup—the whole nine yards. I was never one to think much about my appearance, but even I had to admit I looked hot that night. As an omega, I had to take suppressants and use scent-canceling soaps, sprays, and even panties, to be allowed to attend the university. Apparently, being an omega, I have to do more to make sure that I don't send alphas into ruts—because obviously they have no self-control. Or at least that's how they made me feel.

"It turns out, sometimes it doesn't matter how many steps you take to keep yourself safe. There's always a douchebag, or a group of douchebags, waiting to take whatever they want—whether you want it or not." I shake my head, trying to pull myself back on track with the story. "We went to a frat house party, and it seemed like everyone on campus was there. I only had one drink—a beer that I opened myself—because I knew I couldn't lose control around this many strangers. That's not safe for any woman, let alone an omega."

"Which is absolute bullshit." When I lift my eyes to look at Brooks, he gives me a sheepish grin. "Sorry. I have a younger sister. Luckily, we're close enough in age that I was there for three of her years at university. I was her safety net so she could have as much fun as she wanted and enjoy being young and foolish. She's an alpha as well, so it's not like she can't take care of herself, but it made me feel better. But I hate that it had to be like that."

I didn't think I'd be able to smile while talking about this, but here I am, smiling at this alpha like the sun shines out of his ass. I might be a little smitten. "It's nice to hear you say that, but that's unfortunately the way of our world. I'd like to think it could change, but that seems unlikely."

He grimaces as he squeezes my hand. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt you."

"It's okay." I take a deep breath. "I don't know how they did it since I never drank from anything I hadn't opened myself, but they drugged me. I noticed it slowly, and I think if I'd been drinking something more than soda for most of the night, I wouldn't have ever noticed. When the room started spinning around me, I knew something was seriously wrong. I tried to find Rebecca, but there were just too many people there.

"My reactions were slowing down, and I was freaking out. I don't know why I didn't just tell someone—anyone—what was going on, but I didn't. Instead, I decided to walk home. Only I didn't make it very far before my limbs just gave out on me. I collapsed right there on the sidewalk. If it had been earlier, or later, then someone might have seen me and stopped. But everyone was at the party getting wasted, and they didn't notice the men who'd been following me. They loaded me into a car, and as much as I tried to protest, I couldn't get my mouth to work. At some point during the ride, I passed out completely." Shaking my head to pull myself from the memories, I realize tears are spilling down my cheeks.

I reach up to wipe them away, but Brooks stops me. When I shoot him a questioning look, he reaches up to brush them away himself before cupping my face in his hands. "You don't need to keep going if you can't."

I rest my hands on his and give him a small smile. "No, I need to finish telling you. But I wouldn't mind if you held me while I do."

"Of course, omega." He slides his chair back before doing the same to mine, then he lifts me in the air as if I don't weigh a thing.

As soon as my butt hits his lap, I bury my head in his neck and take a deep breath, breathing in his scent. The spices and the comforting hint of tea fill my senses as he wraps his arms around me. I pull back to smile up at him.

"Thank you. I haven't spoken about this in over a decade and a half. I don't think I realized how hard it would be to talk about it after all this time. I knew it wouldn't be easy, but... maybe I should've listened to those therapists."

He rests his forehead against mine. "It's my pleasure, Sophia, and I wasn't kidding. If you need to stop, then stop."

"No, I want to tell you the rest. There's not much left, anyway. I don't remember all of it, and some of what I know was told to me after the fact. When I came to for the first time, or at least the first time I can remember, the effects of the drugs were wearing off, but I still couldn't move. They restrained me to the bed by both my hands and my feet. I was naked, and there was blood on the sheets beneath me. I'd been a virgin, and the ache between my legs was anything but pleasant."

I clear my throat as I choke on the words, Brooks's arms tightening around me even more. I soak in the comfort of his touch as I squeeze my eyes shut. I can't watch him as I tell him the rest. "I was in and out for a while and couldn't really tell how much time was passing. They were giving me more drugs—those were different from what they’d first given me. They were trying to induce my heat. They figured if I was desperate enough, then I'd accept their bites.

"Obviously, that didn't happen, but they had me for over a week. They tried to mate me over and over, but their bites wouldn't take. It's like the idiots didn't understand or know that it had to be consensual for it to stick. They did, however, blame me for it not working. They assaulted me over and over—both physically and sexually—for the two weeks they had me. It's a miracle I didn't end up pregnant. They kept saying over and over again how I’d be theirs and that I’d learn to listen to them, to do whatever they wanted me to do. That they’d beat and fuck that independence right out of me." I shake my head. "I'm glad I can't remember more of it. It's not an experience I would recommend for anyone."

"It shouldn't have taken them so long to find me, but when Rebecca reported I was missing the next day, they figured I was just shacked up with some alpha. After all, I was an omega, and that's all we ever did, right? Hell, even Rebecca had assumed that I'd found someone to go home with that night. Which, I guess I did, but it wasn't exactly consensual."

"Don't do that, omega."

My eyes pop open, looking up at Brooks with a frown. "Do what?"

"Don't make light of what you went through. What you went through was something life-changing, and not in a good way. I know it can be easier to make jokes, but not about this. Please."

I nod slowly. "I'll try not to."

"Thank you. As hard as it is for you to tell me this story, it's taking everything in me not to lose my shit and go hunt down those bastards so I can kill every last one of them." He closes his eyes and takes a few deep breaths before shooting me a smile. "When did your roommate realize something wasn't right?"

I loop my arms around his neck, hugging him close for a moment. If this dress would allow it, I'd straddle him and tell the rest of the story like this. I think he needs the comfort as much as I do, but I can't stay twisted like this for long. Instead, I lay my head on his chest, clutching his shirt in my hands, glad that he'd shed his jacket during dinner.

"When she woke up in the morning—well, afternoon really—and I still wasn't home, she started to worry. She told me later that she called me for two hours straight, and when I didn't answer or call her back, she went straight to the campus cops. They laughed her right out of the building so she went to the closest police station, and they had the same response." I smile. "But Rebecca didn't give up. She went to the dean and when he told her he was sure I was fine, she pulled out the big guns and called Sylvia and Greg.

"They were happy to set the cops straight, and after a threatened lawsuit once the required twenty-four hours were up, they started looking for me. Only there was no sign of me. I don’t know what made the idiots start bragging after they’d had me for two weeks, but it’s what got them caught. They started talking about the omega they'd bagged and had tied up at home. It was only then that they had any clue of where I might be. It was the following day when they came storming into the house and found me.

”I don't even remember it. I woke up in the hospital two days later, and that's when everything was explained to me. I think I'm lucky I don't remember more of it. I do have a hard limit of being tied up, though, because of what little I do remember. So if you're into that, you might want to find a different omega."

Brooks huffs. "What did I tell you about that?"

I bite my lip as I look up at him, wrinkling my nose. "To not make light of what I've been through."

"And what did you just do?"

"Made light of it. My therapists never approved of that either." Shaking my head, I force myself to meet his eyes once more. "I'm not saying that Ramsey is like those alphas—in fact, I'm sure he's not, otherwise he never would've ended up on the show. But watching the way Zayd and Silas turned to him before answering anything, it's everything that those alphas wanted from me. And if it works for them, I'm happy for them, but I could never be in a pack that worked that way. Even if they didn't expect me to act that way, I'd always worry that one day they would turn on me and I'd find myself in my worst nightmare all over again."

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