Page 31 of Knot Enough

THIRTY

The SUV roared to life, and I peeled out of our front drive. Grimm was, at most, an hour ahead of us, since we had to go back to the house for the fucking car. Keeping myself from losing control was taking a lot out of me.

My little Omega was with that degenerate.

I couldn’t get rid of the image in my head of the gun to her temple.

“Will he hurt her?” Oak murmured, his voice trembling.

I stomped on the gas. Pack Dolion was full of fucking idiots. If they sent Grimm to take her from us, I would kill them all. Slowly. Each one would get an unmarked grave in my fucking backyard.

“He wouldn’t dare touch her,” Rath said, pressing the button to roll down the window. “Grimm’s a fucking freak, but?—”

“We’re fucked,” Axel groaned. “If you think he’s bad, then he’s worse.”

Rath tapped his finger on the outside of the car.

I ignored their bitching, focusing on driving. The route was unfamiliar, but he lived in the housing close to the river. Pack Dolion hadn’t officially bonded with their bitch female, Valerie. The female we believed we had. But it was never her, so what did Grimm want with our scent match?

“Shut the fuck up and figure out how you’re all going to make sure she stays.” I had a lot to think about, too. She’d been done wrong, but she was still ours.

I careened toward the exit to merge onto the highway.

“Go up that ramp.”

I followed Rath’s order, taking the sharp incline. His place wasn’t as far as I thought. “It leads to the side of the house.”

“How do you know that?”

Rath smirked. “I know where every single member of the fuck-ass Dolion pack lives.”

Grimm’s place poked through the top of the trees, closely hugging the gray house.

I screeched to a stop as close to the house as I could get, being sure to ruin the flowers on his lawn.

“I was thinking of a more stealthy approach,” Rath drawled.

I wasn’t here to fuck around.

Once I stormed up the path to the door, I pulled back my foot to slam it into the wood and let loose. At the same time, a creak sounded. My shoe connected with nothing, causing me to lose my footing. I stumbled forward.

Lena’s hands steadied me, and I grabbed her around the waist, pulling her tight to my chest.

She wriggled in my arms, pushing and shoving.

Grimm sat at a dining table, leaning back with a smirk on his face. Carefully setting Lena to the side, I narrowed my eyes on him, stepping in front of her.

“I’m going to kill you.”

Grimm smirked.

“Kane,” Lena shouted. My woman grabbed my arm, and I looked down at her. She had on one of his shirts. Rage pulsed through my veins.

“Did you fucking rape her?” I roared. Lena clung to my arm, and I had no choice but to stop because I would have ended up dragging her into the fight.

Lena bunched the front of my shirt.

“Look at me, now!” Her angry tone brought my attention to her. The only one that could have pulled me out of the rage.

“I wanted to fuck him. He’s not like you .”

I froze, my stomach throbbing.

“Ouch,” Oak muttered. Lena stepped back, and my arm flopped at my side. I had too many regrets, but I didn’t want her to leave me.

“Lena . . .” I whispered. She tipped her chin up, meeting my eyes in challenge.

“I’ve talked to Grimm more than I’ve talked to the lot of you. He listened to me.”

It felt like she was driving a knife into my heart.

“Please . . .” I trailed off again. I had nothing to say; she was right. I’d hurt her. But as much as she’d been wronged, I would never let her go.

“What he means is stop fucking around, let’s go.” Rath stepped forward to grab her, and she slipped away.

“No.”

Axel shoved past Rath.

“Lena,” he started.

“No, Axel, I’m not going back even if it’s you asking.” Her voice hitched.

“You can’t leave me,” he sounded broken, like a child. “I want to be wherever you are.” He rolled his shoulders and stepped close. A ripple traveled over his body, and he seemed impossibly straight.

“Axe,” Oak gasped. Axel nodded, as if he was confirming something to himself. He took another step toward Lena. A deep, soul-clenching rumble vibrated in my chest. My eyes had widened so much it hurt.

What was he saying?

Lena’s eyes widened, and she sucked in a breath. Finally, something other than anger reflected in those brown depths.

Axel cupped the side of her neck, and he blocked her from my sight. “Where does he come into all of this?” Axel jerked his chin toward Grimm.

Watching them splintered my soul. She allowed him to touch her, and she gave him the attention I craved.

“He’s not going anywhere. I don’t know about everyone else. They can do whatever the fuck they want.”

Another twist of the knife she’d planted in my heart.

“I’m not going anywhere either,” Axel blurted. His eyebrows furrowed, and his shoulders jolted.

Lena studied him, her expression shocked. She backed up, and he mimicked her step. He straightened his shoulders, lifting his chin. He wouldn’t . . .

“I mean it. I will stay wherever you are.” The warmth from our bonds snapped so suddenly, I felt the visceral tear traveling through my gut.

Axel’s face turned pallid, but he didn’t retract his words.

The bond broke, the loss of Axel’s thread snapping.

My knees buckled, and I barely managed to catch myself from the sudden rupture. I could only watch them in shock.

My breathing sawed from my mouth. He’d left Pack Reaper. Oak fell to his knees, and a gasp came from behind me.

“If you stay, things will be different,” Lena finally said, her voice muffled in my ringing ears.

“How?” I finally pushed out through the agony slicing my gut. “How will things be different?”

Lena turned her impassive gaze toward me, then slipped out of Axel’s grip and strode toward Grimm, who pulled her onto his lap. Grimm tickled her waist, and she snorted, a smile blooming across her lips.

I’d not heard her so carefree.

I closed my eyes, clinging to the happy sound. Once I opened them, Axel was already seated at the table in front of the breakfast spread. Oak was halfway there, and Rath was shoving his hand through his hair and leaning against the wall.

Grimm’s smirk was like nails on a chalkboard.

There was no decision to be made. I wouldn’t live without her.

As soon as the thought settled, it felt like a fissure opened in my gut.

The slice of pain was so intense that it caused my chest to constrict.

With my teeth gritted, I forced myself forward.

Each step was agony now that I had decided to sever my bond to Rath and Oak.

Whatever Lena wanted, she would get.