Chapter 44
FORTY-FOUR
KNOX
What Bella didn’t know, and what she could never know, is why I would never bite her. That I’d caught her scent upon that cold forest floor, when mine was hidden.
They’d smothered our scents before letting us run—not wanting to risk a scent match. But that day, I’d caught hers .
I hated Bella Morgan more than life itself.
I’d rather take ten lifetimes chained to Rogue than sink my teeth into her flesh. There was nothing—no threat, no blackmail, that could convince me to do that.
At least, there hadn’t been before Thistle.
My heart turned to stone as the door from the main mansion hallways banged open, and she was dragged in by one of Bella’s Alphas, gun to her head.
I staggered a step, but Rodrick grabbed my neck and held me in place.
No…
Why hadn’t she stayed downstairs?
A huge hand was clamped over her mouth. Her eyes were wide and wild as they darted around. She looked desperately from me to Bella, who was still seated like a queen before me. She clutched Bunny in her fist, and I could hear the faintest whine loosing from her chest with each breath.
At the sight of her, it felt like the world was collapsing around me.
Anyone but her.
Anyone or anything.
The world went silent, a high-pitched ringing in my ears as I stared.
As I realised it was over.
“Cute.” Bella’s voice floated in and out of my consciousness. “She’s already got a collar just for me.”
“Let her go.” It took everything in my power to keep my voice steady.
“There’s a problem,” the Alpha who’d dragged her in was speaking.
“What?” Bella frowned, staring as he dragged Thistle toward us. His fist closed in Thistle’s hair, dragging her head back and exposing the fresh bite.
“No!” Bella was on her feet, and I heard the fury in her snarl as her perfect composure finally slipped.
Panic scored my system. “It’s not mine,” I spoke far too quickly, my voice shaking.
If Bella thought I’d already bitten Thistle, she would put a bullet in her skull in seconds.
Bella froze, eyes flicking to me. “ Not yours?”
I weighed my options, trying to grapple with the few paths I had left. Escape routes were quickly vanishing with each new turn of events. “She belongs to Rogue,” I said through gritted teeth, the words almost breaking me.
Bella drew up at that, bitter Absinthe settling from the tempest of fury it had been seconds before. “You paid that much money so your pet could have a toy?” she asked. “You don’t give anyone the impression you like him very much, parading him around wearing a muzzle.”
“Three of the Alphas you bought are in your pack, Bella. I’ll say it again. What I do with my own isn’t your fucking business.”
“If you care for him so much, do you care for her, too?”
“Do you see my bite on her neck?”
“Alright then.” She waved a hand at her Alpha. “Kill her.”
“No!” I cracked, a rock stuck in my throat. “She’s not a part of this.”
“What is the truth, lover? You said she was Rogue’s, yet you seem a little… tense .”
What she had on me before was nothing compared to this, but what she wanted for Thistle’s safety?
It was worse than death.
Bella stepped up to me, tips of her fingers brushing my cheek. “If you want her to live, you know what I want.”
The walls of this cage were closing in, but I needed time. “I’ll go with you.”
“Slow down, lover,” she drawled. “First, I’d like you on your knees.”
Horror settled over me like a frigid blanket of snow, turning the rest of the world silent.
Bella took a step back, sinking into the seat, expectant jade eyes fixed on me.
I didn’t move for an age, as if my bones were locked in place. All it took was one glance from Bella, from me to Thistle, and I stumbled forward, knees crashing into the hard marble.
This was it.
I could barely believe that only an hour ago, the worst thing I could imagine was being in a pack with Rogue.
An offer to bite Thistle—the Omega who’d given me something I never thought I’d see again.
And I’d pushed her away.
No.
I swallowed.
It was good . If that had been my bite on her neck, she would be dead already. At least now, she had a chance.
In a wild moment, I realised that somehow, impossibly, that alone was something precious. For the first time since I’d put a bullet in my brother’s head, I’d found a way to love someone.
“It’s a bit of a hierarchy in the pack,” Bella told me. “Where do you think you deserve a bite?” I blinked, trying to focus on the nightmare before me, not daring to look at the other Omega in this room.
I… loved her…?
It was strange, and relieving and terrifying at the same time.
Bella’s skin glowed, smooth and gold. She was a picture of perfection, and yet for me, that beauty was as empty as her heart.
Her body was a canvas of bites. From neck, to arms, and I could see two on her leg, and one even down at her ankle.
I tried to focus, but it was almost impossible as frosted moonflower crept into my consciousness. Primal. Desperate. Terrified.
I had to find the strength for this.
For her.
Bella’s fingers closed sharply around my chin, and she squeezed, her voice mocking. “I’ll have a riot on my hands if I let you mark my neck after you’ve been such a bad boy.”
She slipped her silver sandals off, offering her foot to me.
“Well?”
My tremor vibrated bone deep as I leaned forward, trying to hold on to the last traces of moonflower while drowning in Absinthe.
My teeth grazed her smooth, golden skin, and I tried not to throw up.
Somewhere, in my consciousness, I heard Thistle’s whine. It was punctuated with distress.
I clung to that, let it obliterate the voice screaming that I couldn’t do this.
I could do this for her.
There was a growl, and I heard a sharper whimper. I flinched, eyes darting back to see Thistle fighting the Alpha who held her. Gun to her head or not, he had to pin her to the ground. Her wild, violet eyes were fixed on me, a huge hand clamped over her mouth as he crushed her fight to dust.
Those beautiful galaxies glittered with tears and terror, wider than I’d ever seen as she watched.
She wanted me.
I’d pushed her away, and she still wanted me.
I shouldn’t have looked.
“Lover…” Bella’s voice was ice cold, and I felt the tips of her toes brush against my chin, nudging me to face her once more. “Do I need to cut her eyes out and wear them around my neck to make you see me?”
My gaze snapped back to her, shoving down my growl. I needed to end this, so Thistle didn’t linger in her mind.
My fingers curled around her ankle and drew my teeth against her skin.
I didn’t turn, this time, when I heard Thistle’s choked sob.
She’d turned from prize, to an Omega who was mine to protect, and that was the conviction I clung to now.
She’d lived her life with no protection, rejected by everyone who was supposed to love her.
I’d seen glimpses of those scars, even when she fought so hard to cover them up, to pretend she was okay.
I wouldn’t be another knife in that wound, slowly bleeding her to death.
Mate or not, I loved her.
And I could paint her a picture of what love might look like—without destiny, without scent matches, it was a gift that was mine to give. So much more than those canvases of black my own scent match had left me with.
I shut my eyes as my teeth broke flesh, and I made an offer that would be my end.