Page 11 of Knot Forever

I glance down, squeezing my eyes shut as belated reality hits me in the face like a slap. “You’re playing with me, aren’t you?”

I feel the alpha’s breath on my cheek as he moves closer, pushing a strand of hair away from my cheek. “Why would you say that?” he asks softly, and I wave a hand.

“You’re not the first,” I say tiredly. Even before Adam and his pack showed up on the scene, I had more than my fair share of flirtatious alphas. They can’thelpit. But when it came down to it, the Williams pack were the only ones who ever went so far as to make me an offer. Every single other pack just... disappeared.

I know how this game goes. And I don’t have time to play it, not when my future is looking like fifty shades of fucked up.

The alpha tilts his head, his eyes glittering. “And if I do mean it?”

I take one last, final look at him before I turn away. “Then I hope you came to win.”

Reckless words, but I have no intention of being anywhere near that stage. My legs only shake a little as I move into the crowd, making my way quietly towards the other side of the room where the supply closet waits like a haven.

A screeching sound echoes across the room, and the music dies down as a shrill female voice comes over the tannoy.“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to this evening’s Omega Auction. The bidding is about to begin. Alphas, please take your seats. All participating omegas to the stage, please.”

Fuck. I’m nearly out of time, and I start to push against the crowd, cursing the puffiness of my dress as I surge against the sea of bodies. I’ve nearly made it to the edge of the room when I’m caught.

“Nova,” my mother snaps. My father lingers behind her as she grabs my arm. Her fingers close right over the marks Julian made, and I flinch away. “Where are you going? It’s about to start.”

Turning to face her, I cross my arms. “I’m not going up there, mother. I’ve decided.”

My mother sighs. “Nova, really. This is ridiculous. You think you’re the first omega to have second thoughts about her future?”

“If I go through with this, I’m not going tohavea future.” My eyes flick to my father, but he’s looking around the room, the usual vacant expression on his face and the usual glass of whisky in his hand. I won’t be getting any help from him.

My mother takes a step forward. “I’ve made an agreement with the Williams pack. If you don’t enter the auction, I have signed a mating arrangement on your behalf.”

No.

The ground falls out from underneath me, shock stealing the air from my lungs.

“It’s time, Nova.” My mother doesn’t meet my eye. “You’re not getting any younger—,”

“I’mtwenty-four!” My angry hiss draws a few faces our way, and her face tightens.

“When you’re a mother, you’ll understand that sometimes, you have to make decisions in the best interests of your children.”

I stare at her.

“You know what they did,” I say hoarsely. “You saw me when I came back the first time. Do you really hate me that much? Do you want to see me in a casket next time?”

She rolls her eyes at me. “Don’t be so dramatic—”

I thrust my arm at her. “This wasfive minutesin the middle of a crowded room. How do you think they’ll treat me when we’re alone?”

My mother eyes the bruising, her eyes softening before she looks at me. But the small ember of hope I have that she’ll change her mind is well and truly doused with her next words.

“An omega’s life is difficult, Nova,” she says quietly. “You’ll make the best of it, just as I did. All alphas are wild to start. Things will settle, in time.”

I fall back as she turns. “Make your choice,” she says, lifting her skirts. “If you’re so keen to avoid the Williams pack, then the auction is your final chance.”

My heartbeat thunders inside my chest as she walks away from me, my father following behind.

This isbullshit.

My mother has always been harsh, but this is a new level, even for her.

Panic tightens my chest. I have no options.

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