Page 45 of Knot So Damaged

She is too young to have to learn the realities of our world. She is too young to have that innocence of hers threatened.

The thought terrifies me enough that a sob gets caught in my throat. I slap my hand over my mouth to not wake up Amity just as Cal reaches the door.

His scent spikes in panic as he makes the few strides to me in the blink of an eye. He doesn't waste a second to pick me up from where I was sitting and makes his way back out of the room.

The moment he closes the door behind us, the flood waters break, as does the sob I was trying to hide.

I bury my face into the curve of Conall’s neck as I let it all out.

I don’t realize until he lays me down on my bed that we are in my room. I should feel some sense of embarrassment or maybe terror at the fact that I am alone with an Alpha.

But I don’t.

All I can feel is the overwhelming sadness for not only my daughter, but also myself.

I cry for everything that has been stolen from me. All the opportunities to be me were taken by the pack that couldn’t be told no.

I cry for my daughter who one day I will have to tell how vile her fathers were. Why she will never get to meet them and why I will always have to look over my shoulder.

I cry for my daughter who will have to face her own troubles with her designation. A female that will have to fight for her strength in a world where other men will be determined to tear it from her.

I don’t know how long my face remains buried in Conall’s chest. All I hear are his reassuring words of comfort and the overwhelming feeling of safety being in his arms makes me feel.

Eventually my sobs dissipate and the darkness of sleep steals me under.

Chapter Fourteen

Iwake with the start. The all too real dream causing a bead of sweat to roll down my temple.

“Shh, Little Devil. It was just a dream.”

The comforting voice has me settling for a moment before reality hits me and I squeal, my fist flying around and connecting with the side of Conall’s face.

He grunts, slumping back onto the bed beneath us.

“Fuck! Cal! What the fuck are you doing here?” I shout, bringing my fist to my chest, clutching it in pain. Motherfucker has a hard face.

“Good morning to you too, baby. I would have expected a kiss on the cheek or even a sneer but a right hook was certainly a surprise,” he chuckles,opening his eyes to look up at me. “When are you going to understand that you are the woman of my dreams?”

I roll my eyes before I fling back the sheets. We are both still covered in the clothes we were wearing last night and I thank myself for small miracles.

I then allow myself to remember just what happened before I fell asleep.

I sigh as I cross my legs, looking down at my hands as they twist in nervousness before I look up at Cal.

“Thank you for being there for me, Cal.”

He smiles sweetly as he sits up and grabs my hands to hold them in his own.

“You never have to thank me for being there to support you, Valley. It was my honor to be there for you when you needed someone.”

I nod and drop my eyes to where he holds me.

“I know that yesterday was a lot for you. I have questions and I know that you have a million of your own. But there is one thing that I need you to understand before we get into any of that…” He trails off for a moment longer than I expected. I look up to find him looking at me with a strange look on his face. “No matter what happens, no matter what you tell me, I will be here for you, Valentina. I know that may terrify you but there is something about you that has me hooked and I can’t stop.”

I go to talk but he cuts me off. “I know that is a lot right now for you to process but I just want you to know that I’m not going anywhere. I will be here for both you and Amity in whatever capacity you will let me.”

There is a part of me that wants to tell him no. To push him away. To demand that he leave right now and never speak to me again. It's small but it's there.