Page 24 of Knot All Is Ruined: Part 1

“No Beth, no problem. I just unfortunately scared her since I didn’t realize she had no idea I was here,” Toma explained. “Thought for sure she would have sensed an Alpha in the room.”

“How exactly was she supposed to realize that when she’s been in a medically-induced coma and had her brain rattled around so hard it started to swell? Would you be on the top of your game if something like that happened?” Bethany demanded, glaring at the man I now could undoubtedly tell was an Alpha.

“B—”

“Nope, I don’t want to hear it. I allowed you and the others to stay in here to keep an eye on her as long as you stayed out of my way. Now go back to your chair, and don’t move unless there is something wrong,” Bethany ordered.

Shocking the hell out of me, Toma hung his head and did as he was told. I could tell that Bethany wasn’t an Alpha, so how in the world did she have the right to order him about like that? It was becoming more apparent to me that the South definitely had a different way of dealing with things. Pretty sure if I’d tried to do that while helping Jan I would have ended up in a medical bed for the beating I got.

Bethany must have seen my expression as she used the remote to bring up the bed so I could sit up, then held out the water with the straw in it. “Small sips, I don’t want you choking on it. Coughing is not your friend right now, so go…slow. Oh, and just ignore my little brother, he’s a pain in the ass.”

I’d just started to take a sip when I stopped and looked up at her, surprised. For a family to have more than one child was amazing but to have one be a Beta and the second child be an Alpha was even more exceptional. When she didn’t add anything further, I just worked on drinking the water and ignored the feel of eyes from the corner. Bethany told me to ignore him, so ignore him I shall.

“I’m going to stop you there. Too much, and you might make yourself sick,” Bethany warned, pulling the water away from me. “Let’s start with the basics. Can you tell me your name?”

I hesitated at the question. Did it matter if I told them my real name? It’s not like they were going to go after my family if they found out we were rich. They were in Oscad and probably forgot all about me at this point.

“Danella Holstand,” I answered, my voice husky from disuse.

Setting aside the water she grabbed a clipboard and started writing down information. “How old are you, Danella… or do you prefer Dani? That’s the name your two friends gave us.”

“Danella. Only my friends call me Dani,” I told her.

Not at all bothered by my attitude, she just continued on, “How old?”

“I’m not really sure, we never had access to dates or anything. So I’m guessing twenty-four or twenty-five,” I answered.

“That’s fine, Danella. What’s your birthdate and then I can figure that out,” Bethany assured me.

I rattled it off, and she added that in my chart and did some quick math. “You’re twenty-five, almost twenty-six, and your birthday is next month.”

Rather than making me feel better having that information, it only made me realize how much time I’d lost. How in the world did all this start when I was twenty-one, and now suddenly, I’m almost twenty-six?

“Do you have any allergies to foods or medication?” she inquired, trying to keep us moving. I simply shook my head and started picking at the blanket with my free hand. “What about children? Have you given birth?”

While I knew that was a practical question to ask, everything in me raged at her digging into my life. “No.” I bit out.

“When was your last heat?”

“Why? So you know when best to stick me in a room with strange men to rape and breed me?” I snarled. “Fuck you and your questions. I’m not answering any more of them. If you think that just because this place isn’t a shit hole like it was in the North, I’m going to be more willing to spread my legs for your men. You’ve got another thing coming. I’d rather bite my own tongue and drown in the blood than be treated like a fucking piece of meat to shove a dick into.”

My rage burned under my skin as hot tears rolled down my cheeks. Bethany, for her credit, didn’t react, allowing me to spew my angry words at her. On the other hand, Toma wasn’t quite so willing to let me get away with that as he shoved himself out of his chair and marched up to the bed.

“You think you can fucking talk like that to my sister? All she’s done is help you,” he snapped.

“Toma,” Bethany cut in. “Don’t. She has every right to feel this way. We know how the North views Omegas. How does she know that we are any different? Sit down, please, and let me handle this,” Bethany begged her brother, giving him a look that told him she wasn’t really asking.

Toma glared at her, but when his dark brown, almost black eyes landed on me I could see the pity, and that made me even more upset.

“Don’t you dare pity me,” I warned. “Not from the likes of you who just a second ago was furious at me for speaking the truth of the life I’ve had to live. Do you know what I would have given to have someone stand up for me like that? Instead, all I could do was choose between a torturous death or allowing a man to use my body to stay alive. Until you know how to choose from one version of hell over another, don’t you fucking dare pity me.”

I hadn’t meant to be so cruel or allow myself to get this worked up. However, to be treated like an actual human for the first time in a long time seemed to break me. Using my free hand, I wiped away my tears, furious that I was crying in front of them. I’d given up on wasting tears over the shit situation my life had become. Why were they appearing all of a sudden now?

“Toma, I think it might be best if you gave us a little space. She’s awake now, so didn’t Team Leader Sorin ask for an update when that happened?” Bethany said, obviously understanding he was doing more harm than good being here.

He frowned at his sister but gave her a curt nod, then spared me another glance, but there wasn’t any pity this time. It was quite the opposite. I might actually call that look—respect. He stepped out into the hall, closing the door behind him and leaving me alone with Bethany. She turned to take down some notes from readings she found on the various machines giving me a chance to collect myself.

“He’s not all that bad, you know,” Bethany commented as she set down the clipboard to take my blood pressure. “Like all men, he has no idea how to deal with women or say the right thing when we’re feeling particularly vulnerable. Life here in the South isn’t easy by any means, but it’s not the hell you’ve lived through. Everyone carries scars, some aren't as old as others, and we tend to forget what it feels like to have such fresh wounds.”