Page 52 of Knot All Is Ruined: Part 1

How? How had I managed to survive for so long without this? The respect, care, and comfort both of these Alphas had instinctively given to me when I needed it most was overwhelming, to say the least. It was like someone turned on the lights in a room and I could finally see everything I’d been missing. Things I didn’t even know I needed were showered upon me, making the life I’d lived up until now seem ten times more wretched and heartbreaking. No wonder the Omegas never fought against it; they didn’t have any concept of what they were missing. If that discovery ever got out, there’s no way Omegas would allow themselves to be treated that way anymore.

“Little Spark, talk to me,” Victor pleaded after a bit. “I need to know what’s wrong so I can fix it or kill it.”

That got a tearful laugh out of me as I pushed back to look him in the face. “That’s just the thing, there’s nothing wrong.”

He frowned at me, clearly confused by my words and previous reaction.

“This is going to be the stupidest thing that’s ever come out of my mouth, but I’m crying because things are good. Well… better than good, I suppose.” Pulling down my sleeve, I used it to wipe my eyes and snot from my face.

Then a tissue appeared, and I looked up to find Sorin hovering with a box of tissues in one hand and a worried expression on his face. Victor snapped his head to the side and growled at his leader. Sorin shot him an angry look but took a step back, nonetheless. That’s when it hit me. Victor thought I was crying because of what just happened between Sorin and me. My mind had been so overwhelmed with emotion I hadn’t connected the dots.

Grabbing Victor’s face, I forced him to look away from Sorin and meet my gaze. “Stop, Sorin did nothing wrong. Everything you heard happening in the bathroom was one hundred percent consensual. Hell, that was one of the most amazing moments of foreplay that I’ve ever had.”

“Then why are you crying?” Victor demanded.

I gave him a watery smile and rested my forehead against his, unable to admit this while holding his intense gaze. “Because he gave a shit, Vicky. He gave me two mind-blowing orgasms, asked for nothing in return, then the crazy bastard cleaned me up and dressed me like I meant something to him. That, that level of respect and care the like of which I haven’t received since my own fucking mother gave it to me, is what made me cry. Then you had to go and get all protective, telling me you’d kill anyone who dared to take liberties, even if it was Sorin, a man you consider family.”

Victor cupped my head in his hands and pulled me back. “If they were the type to force themselves on a woman, they wouldn’t be my family any longer. No woman deserves to fear the people who are supposed to keep them safe. That’s the reason I killed those two men that bitch was talking about. We stayed the night at a small town on our way to a mission, and two of our team had trouble understanding the word ‘no’. It was the middle of the night, and a young woman barely over seventeen came stumbling into the bar for help. When I tried to offer my assistance, she screamed and started to ramble that I was just like them, that I was going to rape her too.

Once, one of the other women in the bar got her to calm down enough to figure out what had happened. That’s when I learned those two men had taken her to the woods and had their way with her. So I hunted them down, dragged them to the woods, and made sure no one else would ever live with the fear that soldiers wouldn’t keep them safe. It is an honor to fight for our country and keep our people safe. To commit such a vile act deserves an equal or greater punishment, don’t you think?” Victor asked.

Pulling out of his hold, I pressed my lips to his, enjoying the feeling of his beard tickling my skin. He gave a small moan but didn’t try to hold me to him, when I sat back. “If I were in your shoes, I would have done the same thing. People need to know there are consequences for their actions so others can learn from them. Don’t ever doubt that you did the right thing. They wouldn’t have stopped otherwise.”

Lifting my head, I looked over to Sorin, who still seemed a bit worried. “Thank you, Sorin, thank you for proving that actions indeed speak louder than words.”

My stomach took that moment to interrupt the conversation, making me laugh, and Victor pushed to his feet to set me down. “Come on, Little Spark, let’s get some food in you. Training starts tomorrow, and I wouldn’t count on any of us taking it easy on you just because you’re a woman or an Omega.”

“Good, just the way I wanted it,” I agreed, giving them both a bright smile. “Bring it on.”

Chapter twenty-eight

Two weeks.

Two weeks in hell.

Fourteen days since the outpost was attacked, the majority of my men were slaughtered, and Danella was taken by the South. I finally found her after a week of searching the Southern lands and have been watching her for another week even though it felt like years instead of days. It was incredibly risky to be this close to their main base of operations, but I couldn’t force myself to be any farther from her.

When I arrived back at the outpost the following morning after the attack and saw the ruins left smoldering in the morning light, a panic unlike anything I’d known before took hold of me. Without a second thought, I tore through what used to be my home for the past few years and headed right for the breeder house. That building was the only one left standing, untouched by the enemy. Crashing through the door, I searched the place from top to bottom, but it was empty. There were two guards, one on the stairs leading to the room the Omegas slept in and the other in the main space. It was clear they tried but were overwhelmed and never stood a chance.

The door to Babaka’s room was shut and I had to kick it down. The woman had blockaded the door the best she could, but she didn’t have the strength she once had. I found her barely alive, sitting on the floor with a shotgun in her hands and bleeding from two bullet wounds in her chest. Blood leaked out of her mouth as she tried to speak when she caught sight of me. Dropping to my knees, I shifted the woman so her head was resting in my lap. The old battle axe didn’t have long to live but I wasn’t going to leave her alone. She’d always been on my side, watching my back when it came to my father’s demands.

“I’ve got you, Babaka,” I soothed, as she coughed and groaned as more blood leaked out of her mouth.

She tried to lift a hand, so I reached out and took it, leaning closer to hear what she was trying to tell me. “Your girl…she…she escaped.”

Hope flooded through me at this. “Dani got out?”

“Friends…too,” she whispered before another coughing fit took over. She tried to gasp for air, but all I could hear was her choking on the blood filling her lungs.

I squeezed her hand and smoothed a hand down her arm. “Okay, that’s enough talking. I’m going to ask you some yes or no questions. Grip my hand once if yes, twice for no, got it?”

She squeezed once.

“Did they take the other Omegas?”

One squeeze.

“Okay, so if she ends up getting found, chances are they won’t kill her. Was it the South?”