Page 40 of Knot All Is Ruined: Part 1

The concern and worry in Tru’s eyes told me this was not going how he’d expected. Petru didn’t do much without knowing how the other person would react. For him to have made a miscalculation this big had me curious. Unable to keep from inserting myself into the situation, needing to see what would happen if I pushed her further, I snuck up behind the Omega.

Leaning down, I was caught in her sweet, spicy scent as I lit the match to the fuse. You could learn so much about a person by how they respond to intense or dangerous situations. It was time to see if this little firecracker would send sparks flying or fizzle out like a dud.

“By all means, oh feisty one. Share with the class, we’d like to know what Tru’s up to,” I taunted.

Whirling to face me, panic written all over her face, I feared that her fire was just for show. Standing up at my full height, I crossed my arms knowing it made me look bigger than I was. Don’t disappoint me, little firecracker. I want to see you shine. Almost as if she heard what I was thinking, she transformed before my eyes, squaring up to face me head-on. Shoulders back, head held high, green eyes flickering with her anger making the gold in them stand out. She thrust her chin out at me and gave me exactly what I was looking for.

“You really want to know what’s pissing me off? Hmm? I’m sure you're thinking, oh look, the poor, weak, timid Omega is having a tantrum. Well, you asked for this, so it’s too late to change your mind because I’m happy to tell you what’s on my mind,” Danella said, ending that rant practically shouting.

If Sorin had still been asleep, he wouldn’t be now. I gave the boss to the count of three to come out here and see what the hell was going on. One…two… oh look, there he is now. Good thing he thought to put pants on before coming out and not just in his towel from showering. He started to say something, and then when he spotted the feisty little Omega standing off with me, he shut up. Smart man, he could probably guess I started this, and I didn’t need him to get me out of this mess. I was seeing it all the way through, even if I got singed along the way— it would be worth it.

“For too long, I’ve stayed silent in the belief that nothing I said would make a goddamn difference, but I’m fucking sick of being quiet. Who decided that Omegas couldn’t make choices for themselves? Where in the hell did they get the idea we were weak, timid women who couldn’t fight for themselves? Yes, I understand we require certain things to remain healthy and of sound mind but doesn’t everyone? Hell, if an Alpha couldn’t be in control they’d lose their shit and demand to be given a role that fit their skills. No one seems to think it’s a problem allowing them to have the right to dictate what I can do with my life because I’m the only thing they can fucking knot. So really, it’s not Alphas who make the rules, it’s their cocks.”

Taking a second to catch her breath, I flicked my gaze around to see everyone was here to witness this moment. I had to fight back the urge to smile hearing her decide it was our cocks making the calls because, in many ways, she wasn’t wrong. Once Alphas had found that Omegas could take everything we had to give and crave it, god, that’s like a fucking drug.

“So Petru asked if he could knot you?” I poked, not wanting her to lose steam when I felt like she had more to get off her chest.

Eyes flashing with rage, she stalked up to me prodding me with her pointer finger. “That would be the first thing you think of, isn’t it? Always thinking with the lower brain than the one in your head, which is astoundingly more useful. Give it a try some time, you might surprise yourself with what you think up.”

Oh fuck, I hope she couldn’t see how hard I was getting from the way she was challenging me. God, I’m seriously one fucked up bastard if having a woman right up in my face, pissed as a demon spat from hell, had me wanting to beg on my knees to fuck her fury out of her.

“As for the situation that you happened to walk in on between Petru and me. That had everything to do with him thinking he could take advantage of a moment that occurred on neutral ground and use it to make me submit to his wishes on his turf.” Turning so she could see the others without entirely giving me her back, she leveled them all with a disdainful look. “I’m the one who controls what happens with my body, no one else. For most of my life, I’ve had no say in what to eat, wear, learn, live, or fuck, and that ends now. You keep telling me that you’re different from the North, that I have choices, but from what I see, the South is just better at hiding the fact I have no choice with pretty words and illusions. What would have happened if I didn’t have anything to share about the North? Would you have let me leave with my friends? No, of course not, because at that point none of us would be leaving the South. Everyone desperately needs Omegas, so why the hell would you let three of them walk away? So that’s what I have on my mind. Oh, and before you jackasses decide to toss out the whole deal we made and lock me up somewhere, I’m getting a fucking cup of coffee.”

Which is precisely what the little firecracker did, slamming the cabinets until she found a mug and filled the thing to the brim. The respect I had for that woman right now was more than I think I’d had for any female. She took the bull by the horns and spoke her mind. Consequences, be damned. Honestly, though, these assholes should be thanking me for that outburst. It told us pretty much everything we needed to know about her that was important. She didn’t trust anyone but her two friends. She had an independent streak wider than the badlands, and no one should touch her without her permission. This is where I’m assuming Petru missed the mark in the earlier situation. I'm not sure why he thought he could get away with that, but he wouldn’t have tried unless it was something he’d thought she’d welcome.

Feeling like my work was done, I headed to get a coffee myself. Not bothering to move our little badass out of the way, I just reached over her head and grabbed a mug. She’d planted herself right in front of the coffee maker as if to stake her claim on it. As cute as I thought she was, it wasn’t enough to keep me from my coffee.

“Just so we’re clear, I’m going to get some coffee. It’s up to you if I do this going around you, which guarantees I will make contact, or you scooch over a step. As you said, you make the choices on who touches you. I'm just laying out the facts,” I informed her.

She narrowed her eyes at me even when I didn’t budge from where I stood. She made her choice with us having only an inch of space between us. Taking half a step over gave me enough room to shift sideways if I didn’t want to come into contact with her arm. Oh, this girl was wicked clever, and I don’t think she even realized what she did. Now both of us had to give to get what we wanted, making the fight for dominance completely null. That, and the fact I wanted to show her the respect she’d just demanded, told me more about myself than I cared to admit. Had fucking Tru been right? Was this ball-busting Omega meant to be ours? God, I fucking hoped so, because I’m not sure I could handle someone else trying to make a move on her.

Armed with my coffee, I took a long gulp before I made my next move. “Okay, Firecracker, we’ve heard what you had to say. Now you’re going to sit your feisty ass down and listen to us.” Raising a hand, I stopped her from speaking. “Nope, you’ve had your time to tell us all that we’re just a bunch of Alpha assholes, which in my case, is one hundred percent true. Now that we know your issues with us and the world at large, we can have a real, honest to god, raw conversation. We will happily take off the kid gloves for you and tell it like it is, though I don’t want to hear shit if you don’t like how this goes after you just handed us our asses.”

Hiding behind sipping a drink of her coffee Danella studied me. When she pulled the mug from her mouth, she quirked a brow at me, almost as if asking if she could talk now. I motioned for her to go right ahead. It was odd being able to read someone so clearly who wasn’t one of my unit mates. Granted, I usually didn’t give a shit about other people and didn’t pay that much attention. Still, she intrigued me in a way only explosives had.

“Trust me when I say a raw, call-it-like-it-is conversation is exactly what I want. I even promise to listen to your opening argument before commenting,” she offered.

I snorted while taking another sip. “Yeah, I fucking doubt that. My bet is the second one of us says something you don’t like, you'll be jumping down our throats. Doesn’t bother me at all, but you’ll have to take it easy on the others. They’re more sensitive than they look.”

“Vic,” Sorin said in a warning tone.

“Yeah, yeah, boss,” I commented so he knew I heard the warning. Bossy bastard should know when I’m saying shit just to be an ass and not get so easily offended. “Let’s go, sassy pants, take a seat where you like and get comfortable. I have a feeling this conversation’s gonna be a long one.”

With no further motivation required, Danella pushed off the counter and headed over to the others. She, of course, picked the chair I always sat in. However, it put your back to a corner and gave you a view of the whole room, so it was a wise choice. One, I couldn’t begrudge her, for it was a tactical advantage when in a room with five men who she didn’t really know or trust. Plus, we had home turf advantage, as she previously pointed out. Even still I wanted her to feel comfortable here in our space for some godforsaken reason.

“I did the hard work. Now one of you has to do the talking,” I told the others, flapping a hand for them to do something.

Sorin took the lead, as I expected, but he didn’t start on the subject I thought he would. “Can I ask how it is that you ended up in our apartment at five a.m.?”

“I happened to be out on the back patio and heard a commotion, so I decided to investigate it. As I looked around, I saw three suspicious-looking people so when I found Petru, a higher-ranking soldier, I alerted him to the issue, and he addressed it,” she explained rather unconvincingly.

None of us believed a word she’d just said, so we all turned to Petru who I knew wouldn’t lie.

He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “I told her to say that if she was asked. The truth of the matter is she overheard the privates we asked to make the transfer, and she was worried about her friends. I stopped her before she tried to attack the privates, and we came to an agreement that she wouldn’t interfere if I took her to where they’d be staying.”

Cris shifted forward on the couch to look past Toma. “You took her to see my mother?”

“She says hello, by the way,” Petru said as an answer.