Page 6 of Knot Your Problem

In this case, I was definitely angry. Someone had hurt her. I scented the air but couldn’t catch any scent that felt like it came from her. She had to be an omega for me to react this strongly to her. Surely.

Maybe there were just too many scents with so many alphas nearby. I could smell Dio’s buttered popcorn scent. It had spiked alongside mine, with a burst of chili coming through. I could feel him vibrating with anger and sensed his intent focus aimed in the same direction as mine.

The woman looked like she had put up a fight, and the thought made me strangely proud. She looked beautiful and fierce, even on her knees.

I sensed she wasn’t defeated. She had a wild energy pouring from her that lit me up inside. I was a match waiting for a spark, some friction, to burst into flame.

She was talking to Leif but looking at the ground as if she couldn’t raise her head. She took a deep, jagged breath suddenly before freezing momentarily. Then she subtly moved her arm across her stomach and seemed to push on it before lightly gasping.

I don’t think anyone else noticed the movement, but I did. My gaze was riveted on every ragged breath she took and the pulse beating wildly at her neck. I felt Dio stiffen beside me as though he’d caught the movement too.

Why was she still looking at the ground?She didn’t look up or acknowledge us at all. I was desperate to catch her gaze. I wanted to tell her it would be alright, that I had her, but the words died in my throat.

I could vaguely hear Damon growling at me, but it flowed over me with little effect. I heard Ronan laugh menacingly before I saw him wave the gun wildly from the corner of my eye. A split second later, Maia dropped, elbowing and unbalancing him on her way down, and the world exploded into action.

Damon detonated, and his dominance exploded around us. Every enemy alpha in the vicinity dropped to their knees and froze instantly. He launched himself at Ronan faster than I could comprehend, snapping his neck and dropping him to the ground with hardly a thought. It was the quickest yet most efficient death I had ever witnessed, and I’d seen my fair share.

I was momentarily stunned. I’d heard he was powerful, but Damon’s dominance was unparalleled. No alpha could dominate more than one person at a time outside of stories and legends.

Less than a heartbeat later, a shot rang out, taking out the man who had turned his gun on my sister as she dropped.

I felt torn. Leif, Max, and Hunter all leaped into action around me, moving as if they were one and completely in sync, with no audible words or orders from Damon. I knew I should check on my sister, but I still couldn’t tear my focus away from the woman breathing heavily on the ground.

My body decided for me as I moved, almost involuntarily, towards her. Like I was a puppet on a string and her need pulled at me. Dio was at my side and headed in the same direction.

I held my hand out towards her to help her up, but she waved me away with barely a glance before pushing herself up with a low groan and turning her back on me. I was instantly bereft and a tearing sensation shot through me.

Did she not feel the same pull toward me? What the fuck was going on?

I was so confused. My heart was racing, and the need to touch her, claim her, was an insistent beat in my veins, demanding action. I moved towards her again, but Dio threw his arm out in front of me and held me back.

I looked at him in confusion and saw my need mirrored there, but he shook his head.

I trusted Dio with my life. I had been lost, bitter and angry when I met him. A volcano continually erupting and burning everyone and everything around me. But he had always stood steadfast at my side. He had launched himself without question, alongside me, into every stupid, impulsive mess I had gotten myself into in my late teens.

He always watched my back and pulled me back from the brink when I needed it. Plus, his cheerful, easygoing nature smoothed over every feather I ruffled, including my own.

Dio calmed me in a way few people in my life had ever been able to do, apart from my long-lost sister. I would trust him in this, as I did in all things. He’d never let me down yet.

I couldn’t help the glare on my face when I raised my eyebrow at him in question, though. He just chuckled tightly in response, knowing me well.

“Wait,” was all he said quietly while shaking his head. But then, something over my shoulder caught his attention before he could finish what he was going to say. He jerked his chin up, directing me to look, and I spun around.

“What the fuck?” I groaned.

My sister, Maia, was wedged between Damon and Hunter, pressed hard between them, with the dead body of Ronan lying at their feet. Leif and Max were circling them like predators. They were all breathing heavily, while Damon was growling lightly, and Maia’s scent was spiking rapidly.

Maia had proudly announced all four men as her mates. Including Max, even though Max was a beta. She had refused to leave when I’d made contact less than an hour ago at the farm’s lower gates, and tried to take her to safety. Just before all hell had broken loose with Ronan and his henchmen breaching the farm’s defenses.

Her announcement had shocked me. Our society did not condone multiple mates, despite it being part of our natures for alphas and omegas. Packs were outlawed as dangerous, and having more than one partner was too close to being a pack.

What the hell had Maia gotten herself into?

This was going to end badly. There were too many people here, too many witnesses. I couldn’t protect her if this got out.

I moved over and tried to reach for her to pull her away, calling her name, but she resisted. Damon’s growl intensified, becoming aggressive before he blocked me roughly.

“Damon, snap out of it,” I demanded. But his beast was firmly in control and didn’t know me. He wasn’t going to listen. I tried another tactic.

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