Page 22 of Knot For Keeps

Archer seemed lost for words. He probably didn’t have a better solution either and knew that they couldn’t release me until they had completed whatever this job was.

“Let me go home?” I questioned pointedly.

“I’m sorry, Lavender.” Gage sighed. “The pack house is the best solution for now, and I know it’s not ideal, but given the situation I think it’s the best we can do. We’ll leave in an hour or so. There’s no point in waiting around.” He looked away as I wiped at the tears on my face. I didn’t deserve this, he knew that. Gage sent some sort of unspoken signal to the rest of his pack, and everyone started moving, packing up computers and any other personal items.

While the alphas sprang into action, I just sat still, my mind running a million miles a minute. What was going to happen to me now? I wasn’t safe. There was no way I was going to get out of this unscathed. An unbonded omega, going into heat in the same building as a bunch of unbonded alphas? It was a recipe for disaster.

I hadn’t moved from the armchair forty minutes later when Archer stood in front of me, scarf in hand. “I’m sorry Lavvy girl, we are going to have to blindfold you, we can’t have you seeing where we are going…or able to take the blindfold off.” I looked at his hands, he also had cuffs on him. Fuck that.

“No,” I bit out. Restraints and a blindfold? That didn’t exactly screamsafeto me.

Archer sighed. “It’s this, or we knock you out again. You’ve had so much crap in your system the last few days I’m sure it’ll be much better for your health if we don’t. Hurting you is not our intention.” His eyes roamed over me, stopping on my upper arm where Kane had manhandled me. A dark bruise in the shape of his rather large hand was already forming.

“That’s nothing,” I scoffed. “My midsection is covered in bruises from him grabbing me.” Despite my best efforts a few tears leaked out, running down my cheeks.

“I’m sorry,” he repeated, his words gravelly as he refused to meet my eye.

“I fucking hate you for this,” I sobbed. His face fell at my words, hurt flying across his features, but I honestly couldn’t give a damn.

“You don’t mean that, Lavvy girl. It’s me.”

“I wish you had never reached out to me, you and your gummy bears can get bent.”

Archer shook his head, a sad look etched on his features. He took a step forward with the blindfold and I shrank back. He hesitated.

“I have to,” he said quietly.

“Not you,” I ground out. I couldn’t bear the thought of him touching me. “I don’t want you going near me. Let the grumpy one do it.”

Kane was standing in the kitchen, packing some things and able to overhear us. He looked up, glancing between me and Archer with an unreadable expression on his face.

“I trust him more than I trust you,” I said. That was totally a lie. I didn’t trust that big grumpy fucker in the slightest, but my words had the intended impact as Archer’s face fell. A small part of me also couldn’t handle if Archer physically hurt me, and another part wanted him to hurt like I was from his betrayal. In my mind he had been the perfect potential alpha partner when in reality he was clearly some kind of fucked up.

“Fine.” Archer strode over to Kane and roughly shoved the blindfold and restraints at him. “I’m going to help Gage.”

A tiny part of me didn’t like that he was upset, but I had spent all my childhood worrying about what others felt instead of myself—one of the perks of being raised by whack job religious nuts—and in this situation, my feelings were far more important.

Kane walked over to me, his face unreadable.

“I’ll blindfold you, and if at least one of us has a hold on you, then we don’t need to bother with the restraints.”

I nodded. “Okay, are we going now?” I resigned myself to the fact that this was happening. I didn’t mind a scrap, but I would have to be certifiable to think I could get out of this situation via brute force. I resolved myself to go with the flow and bide my time until a better opportunity appeared.

Kane nodded and didn’t say a single word as he placed the blindfold over my face. His touch was so soft and caring, it was such a stark contrast to the behaviour I had seen from him before.

A large hand gently cupped my elbow as Kane led me out of the room. His leathery smell was becoming familiar.

The flooring changed and fresh air invaded my senses as we walked over what felt like gravel. Car doors opened and I let out a little squeak of fear as I was suddenly airborne, but a split second later I was sitting in a seat with a seatbelt being pulled over me and buckled. I could tell by the slightly leathery smell that it was Kane on the rear driver’s side, Archer on the other.

“Okay, time to get comfortable, it’ll be an hour or two.”

It looked like I was going to be the filling of a grumpy alpha sandwich for the duration of the drive. The back set of the vehicle I was in wasn’t that large, so both Archer and Kane were close, their thighs touching mine.

“I’m meant to keep this on the whole time?” I asked with a whine. The small space combined with the lack of sight and two alphas was wreaking havoc on my senses. Their smell coated every surface, and I felt myself pining for more, mortified when I felt myself getting slightly damp—like some freaking newbie omega who was hankering for a knot.

I crossed my legs, trying to stop my scent from filling the cab of the van and smothering them all. Stupid floral stink. I stayed silent, focusing on anything else than my travelling companions.

“Yes,princess, you’re keeping it on,” Kane said in a gruff tone. The princess felt a little sarcastic so I huffed.

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