Page 44 of Knot All Is Ruined: Part 1

Finished with what he had to say, Victor tossed the Beta down the stairs to crash into the next landing. “Spread the word. There won’t be another warning, just blood and missing body parts.”

Draza struggled to pick himself up but only managed to get into a sitting position as he coughed and struggled to get his breath. Stunned at what just happened, I didn’t notice Victor stalking up to me before scooping me up with one arm under my ass. Instinctively I wrapped an arm around his neck as he carried me down the rest of the stairs, through a hall full of soldiers, into the cafeteria. The shocked faces of the men and women watching me being hauled around by this intimidating man had me struggling not to laugh. I could just imagine the picture we made.

Arriving at a table with six chairs, Victor put me down and pointed to a chair. “Sit.”

The order instantly had me bristling. “No.”

“Yes,” he responded, crossing his arms.

I matched his look, and I jutted my chin out. If I had to look up at him, I was going to make it clear he didn’t scare me… much. The fucking Alphas and their bossy tendencies always thinking they know what's best. Would it kill them to say please?

“Danella, sit down.” He bit out through clenched teeth.

“Vicky, say please,” I countered.

His brows crashed together. “That nickname isn’t happening, Little Spark. Now, please, for the love of all that is holy, sit down.”

“Thank you for saying please,” I said, taking a seat. “Although I’m absolutely going to call you Vicky now, seeing how much you enjoy it,” I added with a flash of a smile.

Glaring at me, he turned but paused and stabbed a finger at me. “Don’t. Move.”

Cocking my head, I lifted a hand to my ear. “I’m sorry, what was that?”

“Please,” Victor all but growled.

“Oh, sure thing.” I grinned, leaning back in the chair, and gave him a thumbs-up.

“Fucking Omega, she’s lucky she’s cute when she’s being sassy,” Victor muttered as he shook his head and walked away.

That had me snorting and covering my mouth so I didn’t laugh and draw more attention from the others eating. Glancing around the room, I noticed it was rather full and the food smelled amazing. With a loud rumble, my stomach agreed, excited to be fed. It didn’t take long for the other four to enter the cafeteria and make their way over to the table. This must be their usual table since it wasn’t easy to spot being in the back corner.

“Danella, why is everyone saying that Victor hauled you in here over his shoulder, kicking and screaming?” Sorin asked as he came to stand in front of me.

That’s when I finally lost it and fell into a fit of laughter. This had Sorin’s eyes growing wide as his brows shot up. It had been so long since I’d laughed. Really laughed, the kind that makes your cheeks hurt and your eyes water. The situation wasn’t that funny, but everything about this day so far had been one curve ball after the other and I just couldn’t stop it once it started. The man in question returned with a tray that had two plates loaded with food.

“What did you do?” Victor snapped, slamming the tray on the table. “Why is she crying?”

My laughter subsided to mere chuckles as I wiped at my eyes. “I’m fine, Vicky, just had a good laugh, is all. Oh man, I can’t remember the last time that happened.”

Toma pulled out a chair and sank into it next to me. “Vicky?”

Within seconds a dinner knife was being held against his throat. “No. Wipe it from your memory because it’s not happening,” Victor threatened as he dropped the knife and shifted his glare from his friend to me. “Not happening, Little Spark.”

I just gave him a toothy smile and flipped him the bird. The others laughed at that response and headed off to get food. Slapping Victor on the back as they passed resulting in him telling them to fuck off. None of them seemed bothered by his irritation so I took that as a sign I hadn’t truly made him mad.

“Here,” Victor said as he slid over a plate and slapped silverware next to it. “Didn’t know what you liked, so I got a bit of everything. Eat what you want and what’s left over, I’ll take care of.”

The overflowing plate of food had my mouth watering. Scrambled eggs with cheese mixed in, bacon, sausage, two pancakes covered in syrup, and seasoned potatoes. Diving into the food, I took a bite of everything just to sample the taste and decide what I wanted to be sure to eat before my stomach was too full. Over the past few days of eating three meals, my stomach had gotten bigger though I would be lucky to eat half of what was on the plate. The pancake was fluffy and the syrup was divine so I started on that. Unable to keep still as I ate, my excitement over the yummy food had me rocking side to side as I hummed.

“Is she dancing?” Petru questioned as he took his seat.

Freezing, I swallowed the food I’d been chewing and grabbed the glass of water Sorin set in front of me before I choked.

“It’s adorable,” Cristofor said, sitting next to me, and then leaned in to whisper, “Ignore them. They’ve never really had women around to know it’s a completely normal occurrence. Especially for Omegas.”

Nodding, I took another sip of water trying to get the image of him naked out of my mind before I made a fool out of myself again.

“Also, I wanted to say I’m sorry for what happened back at the apartment. I shouldn’t have dropped all that on you like that. Sometimes all the knowledge I know from my mom just comes tumbling out before I make sure it's the right time to bring it up. You’ve had a lot thrown at you the last few days, you didn’t need more put on your plate,” Cristofor apologized, resting a hand lightly on my arm as if he needed to make sure I knew he was being sincere.