Page 102 of Knot Your Possession

I realized suddenly that Maven had terrorized and abused each of their children. But had then hidden behind their henchmen, the military, and the Palace, once they’d reached maturity and their dominance developed.

“You really are the worst kind of cowards,” I said to them, and they all flushed with rage at having an omega talk to them in that way. Only I was no longer the cowering little omega they were expecting. I never had been. I’d gripped the frayed edges of my bonds to me and used them as a shield against everything the Palace threw at me. Keeping to myself at my core. If omegas needed someone to stand up for them, and that had to be me right now, so be it.

“You little bitch,” Richard hissed, seeming to have forgotten already that I’d just dominated one of them. Before he could draw another breath to add to his unimaginative and lackluster insult, power had him slammed against the wall. Wolf hadn’t made a sound, but I’d felt the energy course through him. Richard shut up fast, but Wolf kept him pressed there.

As I watched them, another realization hit me. There was no rehabilitating these alphas. From birth, they’d been told they were invincible and gods amongst men, despite the waning alpha dominance in their family line. They had a lifetime of ingrained delusions they would never relinquish. I studied them one-by-one. Phillip was almost frothing at the mouth at our treatment of him, and was clearly unhinged. While Richard looked indignant, not used to being pushed around, even as I could see his hands shaking in fear. William and Arthur glanced at each other and I could almost see their minds working. They were figuring out how they could manipulate their way out of this situation, as they always did. They wore matching sneers as Wolf released Richard and he slid slowly down the wall.

“Okay, I think you’ve made your point, Wolfgang. Things have clearly gotten a little out of hand. Maybe now we can sit down as the civilized people we are and discuss how we move forward,” William said. Condescension dripped from every word. He also had the audacity to step towards the couches and wave a hand graciously at the empty seats, as if we were indulging in a morning tea together.

“Shut the fuck up. Nobody here is interested in anything you have to say,” Sam snarled at him. He shoved him back into the corner with a burst of dominance, before moving over to stand behind Damon and Hunter, supporting his found family.

I heard a small giggle and my heart melted a little more when I glanced over to see Nick had covered Angel’s ears to block the cursing. He was making faces at her as she looked up at him adoringly. We really needed to get both her and Nicole out of here as soon as Pala had finished triaging Nicole.

“We’re going to take Angel into the hallway and watch for anyone approaching,” Cary said, as if he’d read my mind, and River nodded. Angel had the audacity to pout at me, but she went with Cary and Nick willingly. I was glad they both went with her. Watching Angel was definitely a two-person job. We did not want her sneaking away right now.

My pack was working in perfect sync together, each playing to their strengths. Wolf having my back, River and Ryder controlling the room, while Nick and Cary watched our six and took care of Angel. They seemed

“What do you want to do with Maven?” River asked me, bringing my attention to him.

“I don’t think that’s up to me,” I said, surprised to find everyone watching me. I knew Maven had kidnapped and threatened me, but I had no relationship with these men. “Surely that’s up to the people they’re related to.” I deliberately didn’t call them family. It took more than giving birth to someone to earn that title.

“I know what to do with them,” came a voice I didn’t recognize from behind us, “and I’m related to them.”

I twisted again to peek around Wolf. A scary looking alpha in dark clothing and a skeleton balaclava under a hood stood in the doorway.

“Okay, so who’s the skeleton guy?” I asked Maia, surprised that nobody else seemed to be concerned. Wolf hadn’t even tensed. “How much did I miss, exactly?”

“That’s Ghost. Don’t worry, he’s an ally,” Lexie answered instead, coming up alongside Maia. “We’ll fill you in later.”

Ghost pushed through the throng and walked up beside River. “Hi, Dad,” he said to Phillip, tilting his head and looking at Phillip as if he was a strange creature in a science exhibit.

“Holy crap,” Maia hissed. “How many kids do these assholes have?”

“Oh, there’s a lot of us. Someone really should have taught these guys to keep it in their pants,” Ghost drawled, as he pulled off his balaclava so Phillip could see his face.

“I’m not your father. I have no idea who you are,” Phillip sputtered.

“Oh, sorry. You’re right. You’re just my sperm donor, and I’m your illegitimate bastard. Now I’m an orphan, since you killed my mother,” Ghost growled as he towered over Phillip. “Or I soon will be.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about—“

River and Ryder stepped back instinctively as Ghost growled and kicked Phillip hard enough to sprawl him out on the floor. It was hard to watch, but watching Maia after she’d suffered at the hands of the Palace had been harder. Nobody made a move to stop Ghost.

“That was for Nellie,” Ghost growled. “My mother, since you can’t seem to remember having your men hunt her down and execute her. She didn’t know any of your precious secrets. She was only trying to keep me safe. But I do. Ironically, it was the Crash you caused that finally led me right to you. It was easier to find you when the rest of the world got quiet and dark. Now I know all about what you and your pack have been up to. And it ends now.”

Wolf flinched behind me, and Ghost looked up to meet his gaze. I remembered Wolf talking about his nanny, Nellie. The one that disappeared. Sadness flooded the bond, and I wrapped his arms around me tighter, pushing comfort into our bond.

“That’s why you helped us that night, in town? When you shot the Palace alphas from the rooftop. For Nellie?” Wolf asked him.

“Yeah,” Ghost growled and looked away. “She talked about you a lot.”

“I’m sorry. Your mother was a good person. She was my world when I was little. She didn’t deserve that,” Wolf said with a quiet rumble, as his voice shook slightly.

Ghost nodded. “If I could have intervened to help you sooner, I would have. The Crash made it harder to move around.”

“You were there when my mates were in danger, and you’re here again now. That’s all I care about. I owe you,” Wolf said. He let me go before he moved over to Ghost and gave him a hug.

“You owe me nothing,” Ghost said a little gruffly. He looked a little taken aback, but he returned Wolf’s hug.

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