Page 21 of Knot All Is Ruined: Part 1

Ignoring how much it hurt to move, I yanked my face out of his hold and slammed my elbow into his nose which appeared to have been broken many times before. “Don’t you dare lay a finger on them.”

“Fuck,” the man swore, jerking away from me to clutch his nose.

Even as my vision swam from moving so much, I looked everywhere for the other two. Deciding that getting the fuck out of here while Dead Eyes was still dealing with his nose, which was gushing blood, I used the rock wall to steady myself as I stood. Once on my feet, the whole world heaved and bucked like I was on a boat. I closed my eyes and took some deep breaths trying to ground my senses. When I opened them again, it still felt like I was looking at the world from underwater, but I could manage.

Following the wall to the entrance, I made it to the opening where I saw Tori and Violet tied up with five men standing guard with guns. They seemed unhurt even if they were bound and gagged. I’d known it’d been too quiet when I first woke up, though my brain isn't firing on all cylinders right now to be that observant. Tori saw me, and her eyes went wide, telling me that Dead Eyes was coming up behind me. I dropped to my knees as the wind and the whistling sound of a knife flew over my head.

“Draza,” an Alpha barked, telling me that Dead Eyes was a fucking Beta. No wonder the asshole had such a big chip on his shoulder. “I told you that I wanted them alive.”

“The bitch broke my nose,” Draza muttered.

A man entered my vision and knelt in front of me. Tucking a finger under my chin, he forced me to raise my gaze. “Half dead and foolishly fearless, you take on an elite assassin. Maybe I should give you the job instead.”

His voice was soothing in a way that made no sense as he studied me with rich brown eyes. His head was shaved bald, and the only hair he had was a beard that was kept short and neat. It was hard to miss the fact he was a well-trained soldier. I mean, his muscles had muscles, for Christ’s sake. Then the light evening breeze wafted his eucalyptus and wintergreen scent right into my face. Taking a deep breath seemed to energize me and clear my head a little more to fully take in what was happening.

Southern soldiers had found us, and it sounded like they didn’t have any intention of killing us or leaving us behind. I was trading being enslaved by one half of Asturg for the other. I seriously can not catch a break.

The Alpha and I continued to stare each other down like we were locked in our own battle of wills. As an Omega, I was supposed to be submissive, let my eyes fall, and listen to whatever the Alpha told me to do. Yeah, well, this Omega was fucking sick of rolling over and taking orders. I’d gone from one prison to another, each one becoming worse than the last. If this asshole was hoping for me to be as sweet and demure as the Northerners demanded, I was all out of fucks to give on that one.

“How could one so fierce survive so long?” the Alpha murmured. “They must be desperate if they are willing to overlook the defiant fire that burns bright in your eyes, little Omega.”

“Oh, and you’re going to be so different? Aren’t all of you cut from the same cloth?” I demanded.

His brows rose, and the curiosity grew in his gaze. “I suppose in the beginning, before the country fractured, we shared more of the same ideals. Not so much now. Although you’ll be able to learn that for yourself once we get you across the border.”

“Yeah, I’ll pass and let Dead Eyes over here kill me. I feel like it will be a much better choice,” I informed him.

“I can see why you would think that, except I’m afraid that wasn’t really supposed to be taken as a take it or leave it option. You and your friends will be coming with us back to the South, where you will receive medical attention and food, and then we’ll discuss where your placement will be,” he explained. “It’s also clear to me that you are dead on your feet, so our medic Cristofor will keep an eye on you.”

The Alpha pointed to a man with sandy blond hair, bright blue eyes, and a kind smile. Walking over, he kneeled next to the Alpha and started to grab a few things out of his medic bag. He seemed younger, less affected by the war than the others on his team. I was impressed they already had a medic for a group this small, but I had doubts with how young he was if he’d be any help at all.

“I’m going to take a look at your head wound first. They tend to bleed a lot, making it seem worse than it is. So you might get off lucky with just a gash and nothing more,” Cristofor shared as he shuffled on his knees to get closer to my head.

When he reached out, I jerked away, not wanting to have him touch me. The last thing in the world I wanted to deal with right now was a stranger putting his hands on me. I knew it wasn’t just a cut with how rattled my brain was feeling, and having him poking around it would just make it hurt even more.

“It’s not just a cut,” I snapped. “If it’s not actively bleeding, then just leave it be. There’s nothing you can do about it so don’t waste your meager supplies.”

“Meager…” Cristofor blinked at me a few times. “What makes you think I wouldn’t have medical supplies to treat you? Never mind.” He waved off the question. “The bleeding has stopped, but I’d like to see how bad the damage is. Are you having trouble with your vision? Nauseous? Any memory lapses?”

“God, listening to you is making it worse. I told you, just leave it alone. I don't want anyone touching me,” I grumbled.

The Alpha wasn’t pleased with my response and turned his attention to Cristofor. “I believe it might be best to help our patient rest while we travel. Staying here longer isn’t wise, and we need to hoof it back to the river.”

I didn’t catch his meaning until Cristofor poured a liquid onto a gauze pad. The second I realized it was to knock me out, I tried to pull away, only that damn muscled Alpha grabbed hold of my shoulders. He was so strong and my body was in so much pain I didn’t have the energy to fight. I’d used it all up against Dead Eyes and fleeing out of the cave. Tori had been right, I was far worse off than I thought.

The gauze covered my mouth and nose, and even as I tried not to breathe, I couldn’t take it any longer and gasped. The sickly sweet smell coated the inside of my nose and tongue. My nails dug into the Alpha's arms, needing to leave some proof that I’d not gone willingly. Soon the world started to fade and I slumped into his arms, my head resting on his shoulder. Still, I fought to stay conscious but ultimately lost.

Fucking assholes.

Chapter twelve

I couldn’t help but snicker as this little firecracker of an Omega called us assholes under her breath. Really, I couldn’t blame her, especially if she’d lived in the North. It made sense they weren’t known for their caring ways. Not that we Southerners were a soft bunch, but we didn’t rape a whole designation of women to produce children for us. Omegas were placed in situations to give the best chances of breeding, but it wasn’t their sole purpose of existence. In fact, we trained them to be soldiers alongside us Betas if they met the standards. Something told me this woman would absolutely be accepted into training.

“Cris, I still want you to look at her head, but we’ve hung around far too long looking for them,” Sorin stated as he gathered the Omega in his arms with a smirk on his face as he peered down at her. “I suppose I should be impressed that they gave us a run for our money without any training.”

I spotted the marks on his arms where she’d clawed him as I knocked her out. Grabbing an alcohol wipe, I cleaned them and put on some ointment knowing he’d never let me put a bandage on them. “That amount of sedative should have been able to take out Victor within a few minutes. Just how stubborn does a person have to be to fight that hard?”

“Trust me, Cris, if she’s that wild and managed to keep her tongue inside her mouth, then she’s one hell of a fighter,” Petru interjected as he looked down at the other two. “Now, what of you two? Are you going to come with us without any trouble, or do we need to toss you over our shoulders?” Both shook their heads, not at all interested in that option.