Page 26 of Knot Enough

TWENTY-FIVE

Lena walking out pissed me off, but my pride flared knowing she still had some fight in her.

It meant we hadn’t broken her. If anything, Little Monster’s fire threatened to burn us all to the ground.

I turned and watched her tight ass as she stomped away.

Axel quickly pushed past me to follow her.

Once she was out of sight, Kane glared at me.

A few seconds later, she charged back into the room.

Her eyes shone with unshed tears, her nose red, and Axel hot on her tail.

She folded her arms across her chest and leveled me with a look of contempt and bravery that made me want to fall to my knees.

“Do you regret what you did?” Lena swiped at the stray tear that dared escape.

Little Monster. . .

“I can’t read minds. Why don’t you fill me in before you start bitching like a lunatic.”

I was the king of indifference. Leaning back against the wall, I mirrored her and crossed my arms. My Alpha nature demanded I scoop her up and fuck her until she forgot she was sad, until she forgot everything I had ever done to her.

I wasn’t stupid, though. Turning back time was the only way I could undo the damage I’ve caused, and that was impossible. Lena scoffed and shook her head.

She was beautiful even when she cried.

“Then I’ll spell it out for you. Do you regret kidnapping me? For mistaking me for my sister? Are you sorry for what you subjected me to? Do you feel anything close to apologetic for locking up the wrong woman, raping me, and refusing to give me even a fucking blanket!?”

Her words flew across the room and hit me square in the chest. One after the other.

I held tight to my mask and smirked. I was so used to wearing it around her, I couldn’t take it off.

Her big brown eyes dropped to my lips, and her face flushed a deeper shade of red.

From where she stood, I was the villain, but she forgot I didn’t act alone. It was so much easier to hate just me.

“Am I sorry for taking that pretty little mouth before anyone else could? For locking you in the cell downstairs? No. I did what was necessary . My pack and I enjoyed having you. And from what I remember, you did too. So, to answer your question, no, I don’t regret any of it.

“Because if I hadn’t accidentally snagged the wrong woman, we never would have met you.

Without that one mistake, you wouldn’t be standing here in front of us.

So yes, even though you’re angry, even though my sins have caused you to hate me, you’re still here.

” I watched as fat tears escaped and fled down her cheeks.

They gathered and dripped from her chin, but instead of lashing out at me and giving me the slap across the face I so fucking deserved, she held her chin high and turned her back on me.

The knife I just lodged in my gut twisted as I watched her leave.

My eyes darted to Axel’s forest green ones.

Disappointment and sadness stared back at me.

He sighed and followed her out. Movement in the corner dragged my attention to Oak.

He looked at me. Really looked at me. I know he saw what she did.

He left without a word. He’s grown attached to her–we all have.

Even though this felt like a betrayal, I deserved it.

I fucked up, so I’d let him leave. For now.

We’ll fight it out later.

“What was that?” Kane growled.

Arching a brow, I faced him and shrugged.

“What happened to your promise? The one you made to Axe in the car? You were supposed to make it up to her. That? That wasn’t even an apology. Which, by the way, is the bare minimum.”

“I’m not the only one who fucked up here. Have you apologized to her? I must have missed it earlier,” I spat. Pushing off the wall, we’re chest to chest, and I’m in my Alpha’s face.

“Don’t lash out at me because you’re a fuck-up. You dug your own grave.” Kane was right.

“I don’t need you guys telling me what I’ve done. Outside of Axe, no one else apologized. Yet, I’m the only one she’s mad at! I’ve owned up to it, and I know I’ve done the unforgivable.”

“Don’t give me that! You were given a chance! Right then, right there. She would have forgiven you! Did you miss the way she looked at you?” Kane asked. The disbelief rang in his tone.

Whatever Kane thought he saw was wrong.

“I don’t deserve forgiveness.” My heart hurt, a throb thrummed through my chest.

“Did you mean what you said?”

“About what?” I let my hands fall to my sides.

“Just now. Did you mean it?” Kane leaned forward, his brown eyes bore into mine. As if this question would decide my fate in the pack.

“Yes. If I hadn’t mistaken her for her sister, we might never have found her.”

His eyes widened as the words sank in. Realization dawned, and he swiped his hand through his hair. It was a habit he had when he was angry or flustered. Right now, he looked like a mix of the two.

“Fuck, Rath. If you’d just said that, it wouldn’t have gotten this bad.

You hurt her just now. You know that, right?

Yes, we’ve all hurt her, but that was when we thought she was the bitch who murdered pack.

She isn’t Valerie. She didn’t kill Kim or Nox.

You hurt our Omega knowing who she was, and that’s fucking low. ”

I broke eye contact. I’m fucked either way.

“I have no control over her feelings. I want to focus on the bitch ,” I spat.

Moving, I sat down, and he took the seat across from me.

I was the villain in Lena’s life, and that was okay.

Before I could even try with her, I needed to right the wrong committed to Lennox.

He was still shaking his head, but her feelings weren’t a priority. Not right now.

“Lena’s fucking important,” Kane hissed.

“She’s got all of you by the dicks. Am I the only one who remembers why I took her in the first place?”

“Rath…” The sadness in his tone caught me off guard.

“What?”

I could deal with anger. The sudden anxiety that rolled off him in waves? Not so much. He looked over his shoulder to make sure it was just us. Whatever was floating around in his brain right now had him fucked up. When he confirmed there wasn’t anyone overhearing, he faced me.

“I think Lena’s our mate.”

If I could describe this moment, it would be like a sinner confessing his sins to the Father. But I was no priest and there would be no forgiveness—no washing away the blood on our hands.

“Probably.”

“That’s it? That’s all you’ve got to say?

We’ve mistreated our mate, Rath. We locked her up, chained her to the fucking floor!

I’ve used these hands to carve into her skin, for fuck’s sake,” he hissed.

Kane was distraught. He hung his head in shame.

He needed to take care of her, but before he could do that, he needed to make it up to her.

“We’ve done… unimaginable things to the woman we’re supposed to love and cherish,” his voice choked at the end.

“I understand that, Kane. I was right there with you. But like I said, we have bigger problems. Nox’s killer walks free. I can’t. . . think about her right now.” I gripped his shoulder.

“Say her name,” Kane growled.

“What?” His anger didn’t scare me. The direction of this conversation did. He slapped my hand away.

“You heard me. You haven’t said it. Not since we found out who she was, not when we confirmed her story, and not when you tore her bleeding heart out of her chest just a few minutes ago. So. Say. Her. Name!” He said the last bit through clenched teeth.

It had been a long time since I’d felt the effects of Kane’s bark.

And it was because of her. I kept her at arm’s length and denied her of any comfort my alpha instincts craved to give her.

I pinched the bridge of my nose. The same instincts that told me to fight him for control.

The disrespect commonly seen between alphas in the same pack never had a place in ours, and it never would.

“I don’t deserve to say her name. And I won’t try to earn what I don’t deserve. We need to bring Kim and Nox to justice first. Their killer walks free. I can’t just forget them and be happy with someone else. And neither should the rest of our pack.”

My words sobered him up. Kane closed his eyes, and the muscle in his jaw ticked. “Now that we know the truth, what are we going to do about Valerie?”

“There’s no need for any of you to touch her. You guys handle her pack. Leave the bitch to me,” I hissed.

“You’re already in deep.” He said as he walked toward the chair and sat in it.

“That’s the point.” I rested my head back on the wall. “Valerie’s on borrowed time. We can’t move on until she’s dead.”

“When?” Kane asked. This is what I loved about Kane. He was the head of our pack, but we ruled together.

“Two days,” I murmured, the words a promise.

Kane whistled. His shoulders slumped, and a few minutes passed between us. We stared at each other as Lena’s muffled cries floated down to us. Kane sighed.

“Okay. Two days.”