Page 13 of Love Me Knot, Part One (Knotty Omegas #1)
It wasn’t a surprise to see her in the gallery on my exes’ side at our first court date or each one after.
Meeting after meeting, she’s been here. Flying in for depositions, playing the concerned mother role.
When asked on the stand if I ever directly told her about their abuse, she said no.
Did I ever express wanting out of my pack?
Same answer. She told the judge about how troubled I’ve always been.
How I’d never appreciated my pack’s generosity.
How my friends brainwashed me as if I wasn’t a fully functioning adult the day I left.
And that contract? Why would I ever sign something legally binding for my adult daughter? That makes no sense.
And now here she is, wanting more of me like a vulture circling carrion.
“Do you want an escort to your car?” Sasha asks.
“I’m fine,” I say, ready for yet another confrontation.
Sasha leaves, glaring at my mother the whole time.
“Daphne, darling. You look…well.” Mother air kisses my cheeks, hands hovering over my shoulders without touching. Even that makes my body ache. Wanting her closer, needing her farther. Being an omega is such a mindfuck.
I’m sweating in the sun, but she looks as perfect as ever in her long camel coat. Beneath, her sleeveless dress beneath is stylish and functional. Her typical stilettos that could kill a man if she ever pulled her nose from between his cheeks.
Possibly, I’m a little bitter, but watching your parents support your abusers in court will do that to a person. “What, no Happy Birthday, Mother?”
She looks down at her watch with a practiced frown. “Oh, is it that time again?”
As if she doesn’t remember spending two days in labor with me.
Wanting to get this over so I can break down in my nest, I ask what I want to know. “Did they tell you they were coming for Nymph?”
“Oh, they won’t touch your little store, Daphne. It’s just to get your attention.”
“Then they should’ve gone through my lawyer.”
She scoffs, waving prettily as someone she recognizes passes nearby.
States away and she still knows everyone.
“Your pack has agreed to put this whole thing to rest if you come home. Your store will be safe and your reputation intact. They’ve even agreed to bond immediately and try for a baby. It’s a very kind offer, Daphne.”
The thought of sleeping with any Parker makes me ill. “Pretty sure forcing me to raise Satan’s spawn is against your religion.”
Mother fingers her string of blue pearls and looks around with a practiced smile.
Nothing to see here, folks. Move along. When she’s sure we aren’t being overheard, she leans in and digs those dagger nails into my arm.
“Daphne Renee, I swear to all things holy, if you can’t make up with your pack and set this to rights, we’re going to have serious issues. ”
“More serious than my family disowning me?”
“If you would just do what you’re told, we wouldn’t have to do it this way.”
Pulling away leaves me with a few scratches, but it’s better than having her hands on me. Funny how the touch I’ve always craved leaves me hurting. “It’s wild how you say the quiet part out loud and still don’t understand the problem, Mother.”
I’ve officially reached the end of Lorelai’s patience.
She straightens her shoulders, staring down her nose at me despite being four inches shorter, even in heels.
“I suggest you think this through, Daphne. The Parkers won’t let this go until they get what they want.
Jacob, in particular, is looking forward to having you back. ”
That sends a shiver down my spine. Before I blocked them, he sent the vilest texts.
Truly heinous things about putting me in my place and taking me in hand like he should have years ago.
How he’d break me for real next time. Yet, they weren’t admissible in court because we couldn’t prove they were from him.
Pro tip: Don’t divorce lawyers. They know how to get away with everything.
I step close, swallowing the space between us. “Listen, Mother, because I only want to say this once. I’m not going back to them. One day, when I’m ready, I’ll find a pack that treats me right and I’ll forget they ever existed.”
People in our circles practice the art of subtle digs over tea like it’s going out of style. Mother is no different.
She looks me over with a curled lip, laughing like I’ve just told her the funniest joke. “Oh, darling. I never realized you were so na?ve. No one’s going to choose an omega when her own alphas wouldn’t bond her.”
Because I’m emotional, I’m weak. Because they kept me sheltered, I’m a moron. Because I’m not doing what they say, I’m na?ve.
“Maybe you’re right, but I’d rather be happy and alone than stuck in that hell hole, Mother.”
“You’ll change your mind. The question is how long it takes before your alphas decide to fix things themselves.
” I hate her for the fear that slips beneath my skin and how she revels in it.
“I’m off to the spa. Have a fun time working , darling.
” After another round of bullshit air kisses, Mother sashays away in a cloud of nauseating synthetic perfume and the air of a desperate housewife.
I know I should block her number and ignore these interludes she insists we have, but I can’t seem to do it. I’ve tried so many times, but despite her many, many flaws, I’m not ready to cut ties. What if I regret walking away in the future? What if she needs me one day and I’m not there?
Love is unconditional and as much as I wish it weren’t true, there’s still some in me with her name on it.
For now, anyway. Who knows what the future holds if things continue like this?
Sweat trickles down my spine, my skin itches and I just can’t be here anymore. I have to figure out how to tell my friends their savings are gone and so is my business. That my exes are determined to ruin everything I’ve built for myself.
Because if they can’t have me, no one can.
Worry dogs me the entire way home. The fear I’ve ruined my friends’ lives makes it so hard to breathe, I have to pull over twice. By the time I step inside my new place, all I want is to curl up in bed to sleep.
Never in any of our conversations did Sasha and I plan for the Parkers coming after Nymph. It’s always been below them, or so we thought. I should’ve known they’d go after my business when they couldn’t get to me.
Slipping off my heels at the door and letting my hair down from its confined bun feels like a relief I desperately need. Even after weeks of living in the townhouse, empty boxes still line the edges of the main room, but it still feels like home in a way nowhere else has.
It may not look like much now, but I see the small area in the living room where I’ll curl up on rainy days.
Soft blankets I’ll toss everywhere to match my favorite art.
Over by the front window, I’ll put a lush sectional big enough to fit all my friends so we can gossip over pizza and movies we haven’t watched in years.
For the first time ever, I’m living alone, and I love it.
No one to demand we get the newest tech or the most expensive, scratchy blankets.
No one to fight about pink couches and green rugs.
There’s just me, my bedroom nest, and a lifetime of possibilities.
If I can sort out the Pack Parker shit storm.
The living room fills with the bitter scent of burning sugar as my descenter fades, my cotton candy smell twisting as I relive the hearing.
The entire ride home, I wondered how I can save my friends from losing their investments.
On top of the bridewealth, any repayment plan I come up with will leave me with approximately enough money for one sleeve of crackers a week if I space my meals correctly.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
As if they feel me spiraling, I get a video chat alert from the group. Staring at the photo we semi-drunkenly convinced a passerby to take outside the storefront that first day hurts. We’re all so happy, celebrating my chance at a new future and now…
Shame swallows me as I let the phone ring out. I can’t come to them with problems again. Not when they’ve already done so much.
Me
Tired. Call you all tomorrow?
Kai
Something’s wrong.
Damn her and those spooky senses. She’s the first to smell danger, or a lie.
Me
Mom cornered me. Just need a night alone.
Mellie
I’ll sneak into the mansion and cut all her clothes up.
Me
Your mom will probably be there too.
Mellie
Hmmm, might still be worth it.
Lacey
No misdemeanors.
Mellie
It would be Criminal Mischief at best.
Lacey
Daphne, do you need a care package? I could drop it by the door. Audio sent me something that’s right up your alley.
Me
No, thanks. Enjoy your treats from your man.
Lacey
Oh my god, he’s not my man.
Mellie, Kai and Me
Sure.
Maverick
Out getting dinner before Kai’s next client. Want something?
Me
Eating sounds awful right now.
Kai
Too bad. There are pastries on the kitchen counter. Dropped them off earlier.
I don’t deserve their kindness. I don’t deserve them. Being my friend is ruining their lives, and they don’t even know it.
Me
I’m good. Love you all.
Lacey, Mellie, Kai and Maverick
Love you.
Kai
We’ll see you in the morning.
I manage to nibble on Kai’s pastries and my favorite junk foods as an early dinner. With every bite I take, I feel better. The tendrils of fear are still there in shadowed passes, but I know the best way to get rid of them.
Because my guest room is always available if my friends need to crash, my bedroom doubles as a nest now.
Unlike the atrocity at the pack house, the room is small.
The ceiling stoops so low I worried it wouldn’t work, but the nook it creates is cozy and so fucking perfect, even with how bare it is right now as I rebuild my nesting supplies.
This time, everything’s going to be exactly how I like it.