Page 48 of Knot All Is Ruined: Part 1

Leaning down, I whispered in her ear, “Seems you might be wrong about the breeder bitch from the North. Thing is, that life makes us feral, more prone to violence. So I’d watch yourself and what you say, especially regarding my unit. I won’t let you destroy them, and if I have to, I’ll take a page from Victor’s book… dead cunts don’t cause trouble.”

“You crazy bitch, do you know who I am?” She spluttered, thrashing under me.

“Nope, and I don’t plan to,” I shared, letting go of her hair to grab her throat. I then smashed my fist into her cute little nose, liking the idea that it wouldn’t be so perfect after this. “But you’ll remember me, that's for damn sure.”

“Dani, stop,” Sorin barked.

My body froze at the Alpha command, fist primed and ready to greet her face one more time. I looked up from my prey to find not only Sorin but Toma standing there with him along with Beth. Sorin stalked forward grabbing a towel, looped an arm around my waist, and hauled me off Mora. Setting me on my feet, he wrapped the towel around me, picked me up like a toddler, and settled me on his hip.

He glared at me then looked down at Mora. “I’m sorry, Ms. Korda. I’ll get to the bottom of this and ensure the matter is settled appropriately. Allow Nurse Bethany to look after you in the meantime.”

That made me lose my shit all over again. “You’re taking that cunt’s side without even knowing what happened? Of course, why would you believe the Northern breeder? We’re just wild animals picked out of the dirt.”

Sorin’s brows knitted together. “That’s not what I’m doing, and no matter who's at fault, Ms. Korda will need medical attention. You, on the other hand, seem unharmed or I would have requested the same for you.”

Beth stepped forward and knelt beside Mora to examine her face then met mine with such a profound look of disappointment. “Come, Ms. Korda, let’s get you dried off and cleaned up.”

Toma reached down to help, and I practically hissed at the action. “Sure, help the witch but know that you’ll be helping a woman who bitched about Petru being a traitor. Who she believes should be killed because of association. Not to mention her view on Cris being nothing except a man whore for the unit. Or the fact that Victor is a monster who killed members of his old unit and should be put to death himself. Yeah, I might be the one who bloodied her face, but she’s the one who keeps saying people should be killed. Go right ahead, help the woman who wants to prune the dead weight from her precious Sorin once she lures him into being her lover.”

That got everyone’s attention, and Sorin turned to set me on the counter to box me in with his arms. “Dani-girl, I need you to know that what you're accusing her of is a serious offense. What you said about Petru and Victor are part of sealed records that no one is supposed to know about. Are you one hundred percent positive that this woman, Mora Korda, is the one who said those things?”

Leaning in so our noses almost touched and I could feel his breath on my face, I answered. “That’s the bitch I beat up, isn’t it?”

Sorin searched my expression then nodded and turned to face the rest of our little gathering. “The perpetrator has been identified by a witness. This identification has been corroborated by myself, Staff Sergeant Dalca, as well as Senior Nurse Dalca. Staff Sergeant, if you could please see that the accused is clothed and handed off to the MPs while I file the paperwork.”

Toma stood to attention and lifted his left hand, placing two fingers near his eye, and flicked them out in a salute. “Right away, Major.”

Reaching down, Toma grabbed her arm and yanked her to her feet. “You won’t get away with this,” Mora snapped. “Do you know how many people know about your unit of misfits and soldiers who should have never been allowed the positions they hold? It’s disgraceful to see our President's son surrounding himself with such filth. My father will not stand for this. He’ll have you all discharged and thrown in jail, especially that Northern whore of an Omega.”

Lunging at her, I was thwarted when Sorin scooped me up again, holding me with both arms around my waist. “Joke’s on you bitch, I’m from Oscad.”

“Toma,” Sorin ordered.

Knowing exactly what his leader wanted, Toma snagged the towel from Beth, wrapped it around Mora, then tossed the furious woman over his shoulder to march out of the showers. I caught a glimpse of Victor blocking the way into the bathroom. He spared a glance over his shoulder and winked at me. Bet the crazy bastard heard everything we’d said in here since I hadn’t really kept my voice down.

“Can I put you down now, or do you plan on exacting more justice on our unit's behalf?” Sorin asked, his voice back to its calm, smooth tone.

“I couldn’t take it anymore,” I muttered as I was once more placed on my feet. “You should have heard the bullshit that was spewing from her mouth. Someone needed to shut her up.”

The towel had slid down to my hips so I pulled it up and secured it before facing Sorin. Clearly, everyone in this room had gotten a free look at me, though I hated how all it showed was the years of starvation I’d lived through. I’d never been vain about my physical appearance, but no one finds half-starved attractive.

“I’m sorry you had to hear all that from someone else and not from us. Everything that was said is true to a point. No one but myself, the person directly involved, and a judge has all the facts where Victor is concerned. You already know the truth about Cris, and Petru… Well, that’s not my story to tell. All I will say is that his father was executed for treason, and his mother killed herself soon after. The why behind all of it, will be up to him to share,” Sorin explained as he reached out and rested his hands on my shoulders. “Dani-girl, you need to know these men have all been through hell in their own way but came out of it stronger. When they give you their loyalty, nothing could make them give it up or turn their back on that person. What just happened here shows me you’re exactly the same way.”

Leaning down, he pressed a soft kiss to my forehead letting his lips linger there for a moment. “Thank you,” he whispered before stepping around me and heading for the door. “Get dressed Dani-girl. I think it’s better if we move you in right away. Seems leaving you on your own gets you into trouble.”

Well, I couldn’t argue with him there.

Letting out a sigh, I noticed the knuckles on my right hand were split and were bleeding a little though it wasn’t anything I was too worried about. Grabbing my shower caddy from the stall, I plucked out the wide toothcomb and started working on my hair. Once it was tangle-free, I dried off and slipped into the clean uniform. For once in my life, I’d love to be able to wear something I chose, but it seems that day would be far off by the looks of it. Giving my hair one last scrunch with the towel, I headed out of the bathroom to find that Victor was still waiting for me.

“You’re like my fricken shadow, always popping up in places,” I commented as I headed down the hall to my room.

He snorted. “More like public protection detail. Can’t let you wander off and attack more unsuspecting shit-talkers. If I did, there might not be anyone left to fight the good fight.”

That made me laugh because he was probably right. “What can I say, I don’t like it when people get too full of themselves or speak out of turn. Life is hard enough without people sticking their noses in places they don’t belong.”

“How the hell did you survive living in the North?” Victor asked, shaking his head.

“Because I was owned by the man whose mark I bear. If not for his protection, I would have been beaten and killed long before this. In fact, many were waiting for the chance to do just that when he got tired of me,” I shared as we entered my room. “So, Sorin said you’re pulling me out of here.”