Page 35 of Love Me Knot, Part One (Knotty Omegas #1)

DAPHNE

My head tips back of its own accord, watching Connor’s eyes track over the screen as dread seeps through my body like winter’s chill.

I knew this would happen, but I’m not ready . If I had more time, maybe I could…

It’s too late to think about it now. The two sides of my life are coming together, colliding in a maelstrom of destruction I’m not sure I’ll walk away from unscathed.

Connor’s hands are on the back of my chair, the wood creaking as he leans in with that deathly cold scent. “Answer me, Daphne.”

I’m not scared that he’ll hurt me. Not physically, anyway. But I can see him unraveling and it makes me wary. “I don’t have a pack.”

“Liar.” The word hisses from his perfect mouth, striking like an arrow notched and loosed.

Nate growls. “Back off, Connor. Let her explain.”

“Explain what? That she lied?” He scoffs, shoving past my seat to pace the living room, every movement lithe and controlled. A wolf out for blood. When he turns back, all I see is that angry snarl. “You said you weren’t bonded. Was that true?”

“Obviously.” They had me ass up, twisted like a pretzel and spread out before them. If I had a mark, they’d have seen it.

“Then why is your mother texting you about your pack if you don’t have one?

” He snatches my phone away and reads the text out loud.

I hate every word. Hate how she twists things, turning my time with the Morgans into some scandalous affair instead of the most singularly meaningful moment of my life.

“Because she’s delusional.” That’s the simplest explanation. Anything else would take years and multiple therapists.

“Pretty sure that’s just us,” Connor sneers.

I’ve never seen someone so upset, but it’s not anger that sours his scent. It’s disappointment. Sadness. A hint of vindicated fear above a heaping mound of regret.

That stings.

Connor Morgan regrets meeting me, fucking me, inviting me here. It’s obvious he wishes he’d kept Nate at his side in Diamond’s so our paths never crossed. Maybe I do too.

Maybe my heart wouldn’t hurt so fucking bad.

And it does. My body aches like I’m sick, but in the center of me lies the inevitability of this moment.

The chilling certainty that my exes were right.

No one’s going to want someone with my baggage.

What a fucking idiot I was for letting myself believe that a few days together and a nice, comfortable dinner could lead to anything more than disappointment when that’s all I’ve ever earned.

The tabletop holds my attention, the only thing keeping the frustrated tears at bay. Stupid, na?ve omega.

“No. You look at me, Daphne.” Connor leans over the table, hair swaying as he takes these long, measured breaths. “Were you ever going to tell us? I mean, we helped you cheat on your alphas. The least you could do is let us know we’re homewreckers.”

Every word twists the sadness inside me, turning into something harder. Something that refuses to back down. The shift is fast, anger a living, breathing thing that threatens to burn us all alive. This time it really is the post-heat hormones, but I don’t shy away, I lean in.

The thing about ice is, when put again heat, it melts, leaving nothing but a puddle where barriers should be.

I’ve had enough of alphas who think they know better than me. I’ve had enough of men who can’t put their fucking pride aside to listen. I’ve had enough of people who think they deserve my truths while refusing to offer theirs in exchange.

Connor wants me to look at him? Fine. I let him see every angry, bitter piece.

“Former alphas,” I spit, reveling in each word. This isn’t the meek, silent Daphne I was raised to be. Right now, I feel like a warrior. That backbone I built the day I left the Parkers returns, forcing me taller. Stronger. “We’ve been broken up for almost a year, so there’s no home to wreck.”

Connor backs away, glaring at me like I’m shit he’s just stepped in. “Of course you’d say that.”

Condescending alphahole.

“How fucking dare you.” I shove out of my chair, seething. Scent sharp as rock candy. “You have no clue what’s going on, Connor. Who knew you were so fucking fragile that one out of context message would send you spiraling.”

My hands dig into the tabletop like I’m mining for splinters to shove under his fucking fingernails. Like I’m scrabbling for purchase so I can launch myself at this arrogant, idiotic alpha who couldn’t be bothered to fucking ask before accusing me of shit he doesn’t understand.

“Fragile? Are you fucking kidding me?” His scent swells, icicles in my nose. If they were real, I’d snap one off and shove it up his?—

“Stop!” Nate shouts and we both turn to him, panting and angry. “We’re not doing this. Sit the hell down and let’s talk this out.”

“Why would I?—”

“Shut up, Connor.” The gentle giant I leaned on is gone and in his place is something wilder. Something angry. Dare I say, something on my side.

The moron opens his mouth and Dez shoves him toward a chair. “You’ve done enough. Let her talk.”

There’s a moment where I wonder if more than this fragile trust we built has splintered. Dez looks ready to throw his pack lead out the window and Nate…I’ve never seen someone look so fucking violent. Yet everything about him softens when he looks at me. “Please, Daph.”

How can I say no when he’s worked so hard to make me feel comfortable? He and Dez uprooted their lives to be here and unlike Connor, they’ve made it clear they’re happy to do it.

The least they deserve is answers. Maybe then they’ll realize this is hopeless and walk away for good. Even if I’m not sure I want them to go.

Nate kneels at my side, hand heavy on my thigh. “Tell us.”

His face falls when I push him away, but as much as I want to take the comfort he’s offering, I can’t.

It doesn’t feel right with the coldness climbing up my body, trapping me.

For once, I’m grateful for an omega’s fast emotional shifts.

I need the numbness to steal the sadness, the shame. The pain.

It won’t last forever, but that’s okay. I just need to get through this colossal fuckup.

“I’m in the middle of a dissolution.” My voice is as empty and flat as I am.

“You’re packed up?” Nate’s cautious, obviously hoping I won’t prove Connor right.

“I was .”

Dez warily eyes their pack lead, who’s drilling his attention into my forehead. “How long has the dissolution been going on?”

“Ten months. I left a few before that, but my exes refuse to let me go.”

“Seems awfully convenient that you forgot to tell us all this. Like you knew we would’ve walked if you had.” Connor seems victorious, the alpha part of him so busy crowing at besting me that he doesn’t realize he’s made a mistake.

“Knock it off, Con.” Dez slaps his hand onto the table and I’m not the only one shocked. Connor’s head snaps up, body tense as the energy shifts to something volatile. Something similar to a dominance dispute.

Shit, are they going to fight for pack lead right now? That would be the sprinkles on top of a shit sundae.

While I’m scrambling to figure out what to do, Dez is the one to deescalate. Deep, calming breaths ground him until he can step back. Away from the table and the alpha pushing him too far. “Let her finish or walk away.”

Connor turns a petty glare on me. “Well?”

“I told you exactly what I’d tell a heat helping pack and no more. You weren’t required to know my life’s story before you fucked me.”

“No, but it’s common courtesy to let someone know he’s going where others have been.” His face clouds with regret the second the words leave his mouth.

He can choke on those feelings. It’s obvious he never cared about mine. I’m just an inconvenient lay who took too long to figure out she wasn’t welcome.

Well, message received.

All three alphas flinch at my dark, caustic laugh.

Eyeing me warily as I lean over the table.

“Did you expect me to be a virgin, Connor? Think I was waiting in some ivory tower for you to rescue me? News flash, I rescued myself. And to be clear, I told you I had a pack. We’re separated and have been for a year. ”

“Yet you’re still theirs, according to the law.” It’s a weak argument, and he knows it, eyes scouring his packmates like they’ll back his bullshit. Neither holds his gaze.

“Which I don’t have a choice about!”

You know what? Fuck this. Connor doesn’t want to know the truth; he just wants to be right. No matter the consequences. No matter who he hurts in the process. Well, he can have the trophy. All the accolades. I just want to get out of here.

“Dissolution cases are public record. If you’re so concerned that you’re fucking with some other alpha’s property , look it up. You know what, I’ll even do it for you.”

Less than a minute. That’s all it takes to grab Connor’s phone, pull up the case on the county website and toss the device back.

“There you go, asshole. You can read the transcripts and find out just how shitty of an omega I am straight from my exes’ mouths.

Since you care so much about my mother’s opinion, you’ll get a kick out of what a disappointment of a daughter I am for walking away from them, too. It’ll be a real treat.”

I don’t remember standing, don’t remember how I got halfway across the room while the scent of our mutual distress burns my nose. All I know is the way my instincts scream to comfort and soothe. To fight it out and reconcile.

Screw that.

Why should I shoulder the world because men like Connor are too fragile to check their own behavior or try to see past their insecurities?

It’s his job as pack lead to have a level head and clearly, that’s not something he can manage.

The man needs therapy. No way will I do his emotional labor unpaid and unappreciated. Been there, done that.

He tracks the one tear I let fall, face twisting. “Daphne.”