Page 23 of Knot Enough

TWENTY-TWO

You could hear a pin drop in the car ride over.

I knew everything about Valerie. Be it her schedule, the shops she frequented, and where she worked out.

I squeezed the wheel under my hands. Little Monster’s face filled my thoughts, and my knuckles popped as I gripped the wheel even harder.

The confusion painted on her features as Axel called her name.

It had been so real, I backtracked. She looked us in the eye and lied.

Not once had two of them walked out of the house.

Had none of us called her by name before?

I craved her pain, but my alpha instincts reared their ugly head at the betrayal in her gaze.

I ignored the painful pang in my chest. Refused to rub it—refused to acknowledge the possibility.

Her pretty little lies wouldn’t sway me.

Although my mind still tried to process the implications of what it meant for me if she was right.

Stomping on the gas, the SUV lurched forward.

The sooner we got to the gym, the sooner I’d verify her claims were lies.

And then I would show them what they refused to see: that she was a lying, conniving bitch.

“What do you make of this, Kane?” Axel’s irritated tone broke through the chaos.

In the rear-view mirror, his gaze locked on mine.

The anger there would one day burn him. He’d convinced the others to listen to her and check her story.

Axel was an open book. I knew she was guilty, while he wholeheartedly believed she was innocent.

I scoffed and stared ahead. He’d hurt the most when he was forced to face the truth.

“I don’t know what to think. Why would she lie? After all, what could we do to her that we haven’t already?” Kane asked. A low, snarling sound came from Axel.

“We’re not killing her.” Primal instincts had taken over, and Axel was all Alpha.

“No one wants that,” Kane said. Axel’s gaze darted back to me, full of judgment.

“We’ve done the unimaginable to her, but she liked it. Her pussy squeezed my knot and milked me. I’ve seen the way she looks at you, Axe.” Kane wasn’t the only one who noticed. It was clear.

“I’m not going to let anything happen to her.” This was meant for me. She’d brainwashed him.

“We’re a pack,” Kane sighed. “We’ll decide what happens to her. Together.”

“Like when we discussed sneaking into her cell and taking her virginity?” I taunted. Axel sneered.

“I went into a rut. That wasn’t my fault.”

“Bullshit.” He may have been in Rut, but it was his job as the head of our pack to stay in control—at all times.

“I’m sick of your attitude, Rath,” Kane spat. I ignored the red light and swerved around the corner.

“Just say you believe the shit she’s spewing,” I scoffed. Axel was obsessed, and Kane was slipping. The Little Monster muzzled our Alpha, fed crazy juice to Axel, and in the blink of an eye, she turned Oak against me. Yet none of them could see the hold she had.

“We owe it to our brother to check it out. He’s fallen for her and?—”

“Fuck off, Kane.” I hissed, tearing my eyes from the road to glare at him.

“Watch it,” Kane warned, and I wanted to obey, but he wasn’t the only fucking Alpha in the car.

“Just admit it already.” I glanced back out the windshield just in time to blow through another red light. My pulse spiked. In my peripheral vision, he edged closer.

“What are you fucking going on about?” Kane growled.

“You first.”

His words made my skin itch—uncomfortable, exposed.

“Don’t feed us this ‘we’re doing it for Axe’ bullshit. Admit you want to keep her!”

“You’re the only one against keeping her, Rath.” His words were a blow.

“I’m glad you guys are finally talking about your feelings, but don’t kill us.” Axel grunted behind me.

“You weren’t in Rut when you went down those stairs. Own up to it. You wanted to fuck her. ‘I went into Rut. I’m not at fault.’ We’re all here because we want to prove our prisoner’s story is a lie. Not because of Axel,” I hissed as we hit town.

“We, as in the three of us,” Kane murmured. “The three of us want to know. That includes you. ”

“I want her to suffer. Think with your head and not your dick. You haven’t been leading us for long, but this is our chance for revenge. I did all that work, and what did you guys do? You fell for a warm, wet cunt.”

“I haven’t forgotten?—”

“Do whatever you want. Keep lying to yourself, Kane, but I know the truth. You want her to be right. What happens when you’re forced to face the fact that you fell for a woman who killed pack?

” My foot was heavy as lead, and we were way over the speed limit, but gods, none of it mattered.

The town lights blurred as we hurled toward our destination.

“Enough!” Kane growled as he slammed his fists on the dash.

Silence fell over us like a blanket as I stomped on the brakes. We’d arrived. Two adjoining buildings with blacked-out windows and a white sign that read: Elevate Alpha.

The streets flickered on.

“You’re so set on her being a liar, Rath. Have you considered she might be telling the truth?” Axel asked. I threw my head back and laughed.

“You think I followed her for two months to be wrong?” I spat.

“I’m asking you to be open to the possibility you missed something and swiped the wrong woman.” Axel was desperate. He didn’t want us to fight, but he believed her. He wanted me to give her something I couldn’t: trust.

“You’re the only one who doesn’t want to keep her.” Kane this time. He unfastened his seat belt and turned his body to face me.

“Damn the fucking gods,” I hissed.

“We like her. We’re stubborn as fuck, but nothing like you,” Axel added. Their focus remained on her, lighting my fuse.

“Do I want to fuck her? Yeah. That doesn’t mean I want to keep her. Not one of you has mentioned Nox or Kim!” I snarled.

“No one’s forgotten them. The dead are gone, and we have to move on.” My eyes cut to his in the rearview mirror. He stared back, unyielding. It shouldn’t have been possible, but something died inside me. Abandonment. He was abandoning Nox.

“Just promise me you’ll make it up to her. We’ve all hurt her, but you and Kane have left the deepest cuts,” Axel murmured, sensing my pain.

“Make it up to her?” I repeated.

“Yes,” Axel rasped.

“She’s got your balls in her hand, and you don’t even realize it. I’m tired of this. Don’t sit there and pretend I didn’t do what you all failed to. She killed them! You may have forgotten where your loyalties lie, but I’ll have vengeance. With or without you.”

We were at the edge of change. If they ignored her sins, even after seeing proof, it would tear us apart. I wouldn’t make nice with the woman who took from our pack and hurt them so deeply. Unlike them, I wouldn’t forget the damage she’d caused.

“If, Rath, if.” Axel tried again. He wasn’t going to let it go.

“Damn you and your promises, Axe. Fine. I’ll make this one because I already know the answer.

I…” I trailed off as a group rounded the corner.

As if this were planned, three men followed behind a woman.

An identical copy to the one we’ve had chained up.

The three of us looked on in shocked silence as she pranced with her head held high.

There was a look in her eye that screamed confident omega.

The men followed behind her like dogs in heat.

How did I get this all wrong?

I grabbed my door handle and pushed it open. Someone gripped my arm. With a glance over my shoulder, Kane shook his head.

“We can’t move yet.” Axel doesn’t look smug, even though he was right.

“We can. She’s right there,” I pointed out.

“With her Alphas,” he hissed.

“We can take them.” It wouldn’t be the first time we went into a fight outnumbered.

“We need time. We have more important matters.” He was still thinking about her .

“You’re kidding me,” I spat, but a weight had settled in my gut. Fuck.

“We verified her claims. Let’s discuss this as a pack. With Oak.”

I glanced back as they disappeared into the gym. I checked my bottom lip and slammed the door. Axel’s gaze bore a hole in my head.

“That was Pack Dolion,” he muttered.

“It was,” Kane confirmed.

Their conversation became background noise as I tried to make sense of what I’d just seen. Everything I’d done hinged on the belief I’d captured the guilty, but I’d just watched the real culprit living her best life, carefree.

She’d killed Kim and Lennox… and gotten away with it.

Until now.

My need for blood had driven me for a month, especially after I kidnapped her. Or so I thought. I’d done everything I could to take back what she’d stolen from us. I’d been violent, chained her, and—gods. My stomach churned.

We’d done the unimaginable.

I had done the unforgivable.

This entire time, our Omega had been pure. Innocent. And I—we—had a hand in corrupting her. The only guilt she had was association. She wasn’t responsible. All those times she’d begged us to tell her what she’d done…

Fuck.

“Let’s get out of here.” Kane didn’t need to bark this time. I threw the car in drive and peeled out. A sick, ugly feeling tunneled through me. I’d stalked her for months.

And I fucked up.

The only reason I had to hate her was gone, and I didn’t know what to think.

“Don’t forget your promise,” Axel grunted from the backseat.

“Damn the gods,” I hissed.

“You swore on those same gods. You owe her an apology.” He jumped on my case before I could even process it.

“Who’s going to tell her we have to kill her twin sister?” Axel asked.

Kane cursed.

I raised my hand, and Axel scoffed.

I’m already the bad guy . What’s one more sin?

When we arrived, we got out one by one–Our steps heavy as we made our way inside. My heart kicked into overdrive. We could let her go, but that thought died the second we turned the corner.

Oak and our Omega were on the couch. Her head rested on his chest, eyes closed in sleep. The love of my life had his arms wrapped around her protectively, and his grip only tightened as I stepped into the room. His gaze locked with mine.

At what point had I become the enemy?