Forget Me Knot (PoisonVerse #2), page 23
I cut off as King caught my arm. I dared a glance at him.
“What are you doing?” He looked wounded.
“I… put Ice in danger.” My voice was weak.
“That’s not—” Arsenal sounded shocked. “You aren’t responsible for the years of crap our pack never managed.”
“Then… What?”
What other issue was there to discuss?
King tugged me back down to my seat, shifting closer as if scared I would run.
“It’s about him.” Arsenal waved a hand to the alpha on the bed.
“What about him?”
“He dropped his bike off to the garage for repair yesterday,” Malakai said. “Then, he followed Ice to the pawn shop in the middle of the night.”
I stared at them. “What?” I didn’t understand, glancing around. No one seemed to want to say it.
“He’s been…” Malakai winced. “Watching us.”
My lips parted. “You think…?”
“It adds up, Onyx.”
I was on my feet in a moment. “No.”
“Just think—”
“No!” My stalker had killed Devin. “Viper would never—” I cut off, silence ringing in my ears.
“Viper?” King asked, staring at me.
Yellow eyes.
I stared at the bed where the alpha slept. He hadn’t woken, yet I knew what he looked like.
Piercing yellow eyes held mine in shimmering rain.“Take the princess bond.”
My nails dug into my handbag as those words echoed in my head. “He’s uh… He was…” The words wouldn’t come, my mind suddenly feeling as though it were on fire. “I…”
“Onyx.” King was before me, trying to lead me back to the seat. He looked worried.
“We need to figure out if it was him.”
But I was staring at the man in the bed. “I need…” I swallowed. “I need some space.”
I was burning. Nothing… Nothing made sense.
“Okay. Um, this is a pack suite, right?” King asked, anxiety lacing his tone.
Malakai crossed the room in a moment, opening a door to a side room. Within was a small space, private and cosy with warmer light and a door to the hallway beyond. A round bed took up most of the floor. It was covered in pillows, and even had a soft duvet.
A nesting room.
“Is this alright?” King’s brow was furrowed, concern etched across his face. I nodded, handbag still clutched at my side, my breathing coming easier.
King stood a little awkwardly. I glanced at him.
“I’ll… leave you.”
I just stared at him, my mind still scattering in a million directions.
I had to pull it back.
Rein it in.
King took a step back toward the door before turning to me. “Onyx…” He swallowed, and I was caught by the pain in his emerald eyes. “Please don’t… leave us.”
I swallowed, panic taking flight in my chest. But he went on. “I think I, uh… I fell in love with you the first time I saw you.”
I couldn’t speak, and he winced, cupping the back of his neck. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I shouldn’t have… I just need you to know… you’re wanted here.”
I nodded, mouth dry, but King backed toward the door and I was left in silence.
Arsenal
A few hours passed before much happened. Nurses bustled in and out, changing fluid bags and checking vitals.
Ice was still curled up, sleeping on Viper’s bed. I hadn’t recovered from any of it. Not the rut. Not from the moment in which it had been possible I might never see Ice again. Not from the haunted look on Onyx’s face, her golden skin ashen as she watched Ice and Viper.
I couldn’t take my eyes off of either of them, and the early hours of the morning fatigue didn’t touch me. It wasn’t right that she wasn’t in here with us.
King and Mal were the same as me. Exhausted, worn thin, and too in shock to even consider sleep.
We had almost lost him.
Years fighting for him, and we’d almost lost him in one night.
Finally, a woman in a white coat walked in, the tell-tale dry air scent around her that spoke of too many scent dampeners. Her hair was pure white, short, and cropped at her chin. One of her eyes was red, one blank white. She was a seer—someone who could visualise auras and bonds, which meant she was either an alpha or an omega. Betas couldn’t be seers. “Dr. Rover, Arkologist.”
“That’s… aura shit, right?” King asked, blinking fatigue out of his eyes.
She nodded. “I’m going to ask you some questions. You’ve probably heard them before.”
I nodded.
“Viper untethered his aura, then bonded your pack?”
“Yeh.”
“How is the pack bond?”
Malakai snorted. “Like someone just jammed a bunch of knives in it and now they’re being ripped out one by one.”
Dr. Rover nodded her head sympathetically. “Would you describe the discomfort as progressively getting worse, staying the same, or getting better the more time passes?”
I glanced at my brothers. “Probably… better.”
“And that experience is the same for all of you?”
The others nodded.
“Has your omega left his side?”
“No.”
She scribbled something down on her notepad, then got to her feet. “Good, good.”
“Is it?” I asked.
“What your pack just did is never guaranteed. I’m going to monitor for another few hours. As long as the bond continues trending this way, there should be no need for further treatment. Viper will be exhausted. He burned through much of his own body’s energy, but it was only just reaching the point of organ damage when he bit in. Give it time, but there shouldn’t be any lasting effects. And best he doesn’t try to tap into his aura for a while, the experience may be… excruciating.”
I nodded.
“I’ll let his doctors finish with the fluids. That gives us a few more hours to make sure the bonds are stable, then you can take him back to the nest. Come back if anything changes in the bond, but so long as your omega stays with him for another day or so that shouldn’t be an issue.”
“The… nest?” I asked.
She glanced over at Ice. “His nest.”
“Right. Of course,” I said.
Well. Shit.
Dr. Rover departed and I was left looking awkwardly around at my brothers. Even if it was a good idea to put Viper into Ice’s nest—which it wasn’t—he was unlikely to fit.
“We’ll ask Onyx when she comes back,” King said, confidently. “Do you think…? I should check on—”
He cut off at a shout.
“Sir!” I heard another saying. “Please, it’s a private room. You aren’t supposed to—”
But the door burst open anyway. The man trying to enter was tall and well put together. Silver flecked hair was combed back neatly, and the black suit he wore was expensive. He was an alpha; I knew because his aura was out, something wild in his expression.
“Viper—”
I was on my feet, blocking the his way. “Who are you?” I asked.
“Me? Who are you?”
“This is my pack’s room.” I told him, my alpha instincts dragging up an unreasonable amount of defensiveness. I grabbed the door, shutting it and forcing us both out before he disturbed any of them.
“Bullshit,” he spat. “That’s my son! He doesn’t have a—”
“He bit in.”
“Bit in…?” The man took a step back. “But he… refused…”
“He untethered his aura. Our omega bonded him to save his life.”
That drew the alpha up. His aura vanished from the space as he stared at me, every determined edge on his face cracking beneath something horrified. “Untethered…? No. He wouldn’t. I was sure… if she was still…” He looked like he was going to throw up.
“He saved our omega. Our omega saved him.”
“Saved… him?” Finally, he focused on me.
I nodded.
“I…” The man shook his head. “Alright. And he’s safe?” he asked.
“Stable for now,” I said.
“Pack…” The man’s tone lowered. “What’s your pack’s name?”
“St. James. And we could do knowing his last name, too. They’ve been asking about registration.”
“Oxford. Viper Oxford.”
“Oxford?” My tired brain sparked to life. You have got to be kidding me? Did Ice just bite in a billionaire playboy?
“I’m Kenneth Oxford.” The alpha held his hand out, a tremor in it. “Will there be any issues with integration?”
“Uh…” I rubbed my chin. “What?”
“Do you want him?” the man asked bluntly.
I opened my mouth, then shut it, stalled by that. He drew out a card and pressed it into my hand. “Anything— Anything at all your pack wants, I can make it happen. But don’t tell him he wasn’t wanted—”
“We want him,” I said before I could catch myself. But it was true. Viper had saved Ice. I didn’t care who he was. He was pack.
“Oh.” Kenneth nodded. “Still, if you need anything, please reach out. And don’t tell him I was here.”
“You’re leaving?”
His father’s expression tightened. “Me and Viper… don’t get on. He won’t want me there when he wakes.”
Ice
Mint and mist tangled with a dreamless sleep that faded in and out. My purr rumbled in my chest.
My alpha.
I’d never felt this before. Useful. Needed. And at the same time, guilty, because I felt the weight of their hurt.
I knew why. I knew the truth now, the truth I was so far from ready to face.
That they loved me. They had this whole time. And I… I clung to Viper, needing to see him through, not ready for anything else until that was done. The monsters on the other end of this, they had to wait.
When I woke at last, I realised there was something missing.
“Where is she?” I asked groggily, the purr in my chest stuttering out. The room was full of all scents but one. The lavender and brownies was missing.
“Sleeping in the next room.” Arsenal looked exhausted. The raven hair that usually tumbled haphazardly into his eyes was pushed back as if he’d been running his fingers through it too much.
“No.” That wasn’t right. “She has to be here.”
Nothing was right if she wasn’t here.
Malakai and Arsenal glanced at each other. King was asleep in the corner.
“I don’t think she feels welcome,” Malakai said quietly. He usually wore his long hair up in a bun, but right now most of it was hanging loose, pitch black waves framing his lean face. I’d never seen him so tired.
“What did you tell her?” I asked, straightening.
“Nothing,” Arsenal growled. “We told her we wanted her here. But she… We think she knows him.”
“She does. He was her scent match.”
Malakai looked uncertain. “When she saw him… it was like… I don’t know, like she’d seen a ghost.”
“Where is she?” My voice was strained. “She just watched me curled up with her mate, and you guys let her walk?”
“She’s in the nest room. She wanted space.”
I was getting to my feet in a moment, but Arsenal was at my side. “Doctor says you have to stay with him.”
“Go and get her.”
He scowled and, for a moment, I felt a flutter of relief at seeing that some of our communication was intact. What had just happened between us… I couldn’t unpack it right now.
Arsenal nodded and crossed the room to the door.
I settled back on the edge of the bed. She’d left?
Dammit. There was room for both of us. She had to know that.
Silence.
Arsenal knocked again, and then cracked the door. “Duchess?” he asked.
There was a long pause, then he peered in.
“Fuck.”
Malakai and King were on their feet in a moment.
“What?” I demanded.
“She’s gone.”
Arsenal
I found Onyx alone on a roof garden under a gazebo. She was surrounded by windows looking into hospital rooms, huddled up in her black coat, emerald handbag clutched close as she smoked. The sky above was blood orange, the sun just cresting the horizon over the city. We were at a Westside hospital I’d never been to. I had tried to argue with the ambulance—pure instinct, since larger hospitals could cost—but Onyx had shut it down and told them to take us wherever he needed to go. She’d also upgraded us to the private pack room, which I’d never had before.
“Gave us a fucking heart attack, Duchess,” I grumbled, sitting at her side, ignoring the goosebumps lighting on my bare arms. I tugged my phone out of my pocket and texted the others that she was okay. They were frantic. I had been too, my mind shaken images of her stalker finally stealing her away. Every instinct was in overdrive. The cold early morning air was probably what I needed to settle my frayed nerves.
She looked up at me, insecurity written all over her face. “I’m sorry.”
“I’m just glad you’re alright,” I said, tugging her into a quick hug. She flinched at my touch and I withdrew. “Ice woke up.”
She nodded, looking as if she was trying to sort out her expression. “That’s good.”
“He won’t settle until you come back.”
She glanced at me sharply. “I don’t belong. You know it as well as I do.”
I snorted. “I might be pack lead, but I’m not the authority on that. If Ice says you’re pack, you’re pack.”
She swallowed, hugging herself as her eyes fell again on the pack inside the nearest window. Two men were fawning over a baby in a mother’s arms.
“I can’t…” I saw a flash of fear in her eyes as she glanced at me. I’d never seen her nervous like this before. “I can’t give you that.”
“Give us… what?” I followed her gaze once again. “A… baby?” Well, I hadn’t meant it to sound so incredulous. She shrunk, though.
“I should have told you before I even turned up at your door.”
“Uh… That’s what this is about? You don’t want kids?”
“I can’t have kids.” Her voice shook. “Never. I found out during the tests when I perfumed. Omega’s curse.”
“Okay?” I asked. But… shit. Omega’s curse was a rare condition. The same part of an omega’s aura that usually made them hyper fertile, instead did the opposite. I knew it could be detected by seers when they examined auras. “And you… want kids?”
She breathed a shaky laugh. “No, but it doesn’t matter. I’m an omega.”
I snorted. “Four other people in this pack—five if you add playboy-billionaire-charity case—why the fuck would it just be on you?”
“Because I’m—”
“Ice is an omega. Maybe blame one of us for not having a cunt.”
She choked on a drag of the cigarette she’d been so desperately huffing.
“Why do you think we want something like that?” I asked.
“Why wouldn’t you? I’m supposed to assume just because you’ve been in the system, you don’t want normal things?”
“Christ, Onyx. Why do you think we never wanted an omega?” She stared at me, uncomprehending. “Because we can’t do that.” I waved at the window.
“What do you mean?” Her voice was low, her eyes darting between mine.
“I killed one of my pack fathers, not that it’s a secret, but he was an awful man. Every goddamned day of my life, I worry I’m turning into him. Every time my aura isn’t stable, every time I go into a rut too soon… It’s bad enough worrying about it with the pack. I don’t want to bring a kid into that. And neither do the others. Mal won’t ever shake the Harpies—not really—and King won’t shake what people see when they look at him. That—” I nodded toward the window once more. “That’s not our dream, and we knew most omegas…” I rubbed the back of my neck. “That’s their dream. One we can’t deliver.”
She didn’t meet my eyes as she finished her cigarette, dropping it to the floor and staring at it where it smouldered. “Tell them for me?” she asked.
“What?”
“I don’t want to say it again, but they need to know.”
“I don’t think—” I began, but she cut me off.
“When I went to the Institute,” she added, “I requested packs who would be okay matching an omega like me, but that also didn’t want another omega.”
“Why?” Was she… disappointed we had Ice?
“I didn’t want to risk… being the extra. The side piece, if what they really want is…” She nodded her head toward the hospital window. “That’s… all I’ve ever been.”
Oh. It all fell right into place.
She wasn’t jealous. She just wanted to be sure she was valued for who she was. “Alright.” I nodded. “I’ll tell them. But Ice wants you to know you're wanted. We all do. None of this changes that.”
Still, she said nothing, hugging her bag close. She was independent, and I knew if she truly decided to walk away right now, I couldn’t stop her. “We… also have a problem the rest of us are unqualified to deal with, and we need your help with it.”
“Oh?”
“He’s going to be discharged. Doctor said he needs to be taken back to Ice’s nest.”
THIRTY-ONE
Arsenal
I knew the moment I stepped foot through the door that something was wrong. I held out my hand to Onyx, who was just behind me.
“What?”
“Wait here.”
Malakai was at my back in an instant.
The garage was destroyed.
Couches were ripped apart, their insides dragged everywhere. Chairs were knocked over and the wall hangings were torn down and smashed. Kitchenware was shattered across the space.
“Shit…” That was Onyx’s whisper.
"Mal,” I growled. “He could still be here.”
Her stalker. I knew it to my bones.
Mal was at her side in a moment.
