Page 46 of Pretty When She Breaks

Inevitable.

A dark bond—a twisted, forbidden link that could not be refused by an omega.

I was being shackled, and an image of my father burst into my mind, how outraged he’d be over this moment. All his plans, all his primping and prepping so I could be given away as a prize, all for nothing. A bitter surge of messed-up triumph overwhelmed me as I embraced the feeling.

The bite was released.

My legs gave out, and I hit the ground hard, the alpha letting me go.

I screamed as my scent blazed out of me like a bonfire.

My side burned, and shadows lurked in my mind, one faint and two filled with a burning hatred.

“What did you just do?” snarled the skinny alpha, leaping forward.

I flung myself at the alpha rushing toward me. He said something harsh, pushing me off him, and then it hurt to touch him, and I sank to the floor, my whole body hot and my throat raw as I continued to scream.

Someone else here was shouting, too, and I could feel his pulsing rage through the bond, matching mine.

Hands were grabbing me, and then growled words cut through everything. “Get to your room.”

I tried to stay, but a burning, prickling pain built under my skin until I staggered away. The shouting behind me didn’t stop, and I heard something heavy hit the floor.

When I made it to my bedroom, I slammed the door closed behind me.

I took a breath, and the screams morphed into hysterical laughter. I’d never been destined to be free. Even though my fucking father wasn’t the one to take this last piece of me, it had been taken, anyway. What a joke that I thought I’d escape all this.

That I might be able to get something I wanted.

I wanted Jule.

I wanted to beme.

I continued laughing until I was spent, curled on my bed, my cheeks wet and my head pounding.

Now I was just so, so tired.

TWENTY-FIVE

OCEAN

I sat on the hard floor, taking deep breaths and trying to stay calm. The blindfold was tight, digging painfully into my skin, and it was disorienting not being able to see. I could feel the hard floor beneath me and how cold it was on my hands. The air in here felt still and stale, and the scent of a hundred alphas’ sweat and blood curdled in my nose.

It was quieter now than it had been so far. My eyes felt heavy, and I wasn’t sure what time it was, but it must be late. The sounds of deep breathing had replaced the banging and growling that had peaked when I’d been dragged down here and thrown in this cell.

I had been keeping my ears open for any other hint of the woman who’d been crying, but there had been nothing since that one incident.

I was trying to focus on what I could control, and right now, that was pretty limited. So, I was trying to remain calm in my bond.

My pack was…unusual, to say the least. When Kaos had come back and collapsed on our doorstep all those years ago, half dead, he was far from the person we’d known growing up.

He’d always been wild, passionate and argumentative, pushing boundaries all the time. He and I didn’t have the best family lives, and we’d found ourselves taken in by Finch’s parents when we were six and seven.

They hadn’t questioned it when a small, serious Finch arrived home with us in tow and announced we were his pack now; they just made room at the table.

We’d been so integrated with his family, his mother had given us family names. Mine was Haejoon, a deep ocean, because of my empathy and ability to remain calm amidst storms. Her little ocean with the blue eyes. She’d given Kaos the name Jaehwan, a brilliant mind. Brilliant, but often wild. It’s where our pack names had come from—Ocean and Kaos.

Finch’s birth name was Saehwan, enduring renewal, one who would be able to carry others through life’s challenges. Though we'd often tease him, saying he was so serious and careful. He was like a little bird that checks every direction before pecking at a seed and rushing back to the bushes. Plus, he’d been tiny before he hit puberty. So, we’d called him Finch, and it had stuck.