Believe It or Knot: Part One (Runaway Omega, #1)

by Harper Wylde

“Because you’re all so nice and smell so good. Gonna make it harder to leave,” I mumbled. My lashes fluttered closed, the Avengers avenging in the movie playing softly in the background. Just before I fell into a deep, comfortable sleep, I could’ve sworn I heard Leo purr, “Then don’t.”

“I want to keep her,” I murmured, gently playing with the ends of her hair. Thane huffed a laugh. “She’s not a pet.”

“We need to show her how much better her life could be with us as her pack.” “Shouldn’t be that difficult. Her old pack sounds like a bunch of limp-dick fuckers to me,” Hades growled.

“I want the chance to get to know her.” Thane leaned forward, bracing his elbows on his knees, cupping one hand over his closed fist. “Everything in me says she’s ours. Gods, no one has ever smelled as good as she does to me. She makes my Alpha stand up and pay attention.”

We need to handle this situation carefully, but I’m willing to take the risk if you all are. She needs protection and a pack to show her that not all Alphas are assholes. We could be that pack. And if our scents draw her in as hers does for us, I think the rest will fall into place naturally as we get to know each other. I want her to stay, and I want to help her escape the pack she’s clearly afraid of.”

“She didn’t want me to call the OMA when I found her. I think she’s worried they’ll force her to go back,” I told them. Truthfully, I was worried about that reality myself.

Why didn’t Demi tell the OMA what was going on? Why doesn’t she trust them? There’s got to be a reason she felt she had no other choice but to run. There’s more to the story we don’t know.”

Eli was the kind of man who had the power to heal with a touch, a kiss. I wanted to experience that magic firsthand.

“I’m just realizing I might be more broken than I realized,” I whispered. Eli made a distressed sound, and before I knew it, he was back in front of me. Dropping my hand, he gently cupped my face. “You’re not broken, Love.”

“We can be your glue, Demi,” Eli vowed. “We’ll hold you together, even when it feels like you’re falling apart.”

There were thousands upon thousands of Alpha packs across the United States, and we sure as fuck didn’t know them all. But we knew this one. Thane and I had grown up in elite circles, attended the best schools and colleges. We’d mingled with high society all our lives. Anton Aster ran in those same circles, and though he and his pack lived in New York while we lived in Vermont, we ran into each other from time to time at East Coast events.

No wonder she’s been abused. Anton had probably put her under his thumb and tried his best to kill her spirit.

“How could she be courting a pack if she’s not registered as an Omega?” He let that question hang in the quiet of the office before glancing toward Leo. “She didn’t want you to call the OMA, right?” He hummed in confirmation. “You think she’s afraid of the organization?” “It’s possible.” My eyes narrowed in concentration. “It’s also possible the OMA might have nothing to do with it. I don’t know her father, but Anton Aster is powerful, persuasive, and richer than the gods. I wouldn’t put it past him to pull off something shady. Despite the rights she should have as an Omega, maybe she doesn’t feel like she can say no.”

I used to be a vibrant woman with friends and a social life. Growing up the rich daughter of a real-estate tycoon had guaranteed I’d been surrounded by people. There was rarely a day spent alone. I used to thrive under that kind of attention, but once my mother died, I realized how many of those friendships were opportunistic—only out to reap the benefits my money and connections provided. Tragedy was the great equalizer. Turned out, none of those friends cared enough to stick around while I grieved. Instead of partying and enjoying my youth, I’d pulled into myself, becoming introverted and quiet.

Alone and betrayed, I’d convinced myself Anton’s words were true. I was worthless. Not good for anything other than trying to please my Alphas. “Be a good little whore, Demi, and spread those thighs for us.” It was Huck’s voice this time, and I whimpered as a tear trailed down my cheek to mix with the falling water. “You don’t deserve my knot, but I’m going to watch your pussy take it anyway. Hold her down and spread her wider for me.”

Like a dragon with her hoard, I brought everything to my bedroom and curled up in the center of my nest. Surrounded by blankets and pillows, I burrowed under the covers, hugging the guys’ items to my chest, inhaling their combined scents.

“I don’t understand, Baby. You’re going to have to give me more to work with. Why would you think you’ve done anything wrong? Because I can assure you, you haven’t.” “I must have.” Her arms wrapped around her middle, a move I’d seen her do on numerous occasions in the short time she’d been with my pack. “Everyone’s been so… distant.” Shoulders shrugging, her eyes fell to the tangle of blankets.

I hadn’t thought we were acting any differently, but Omegas were overly perceptive, and if she felt something was off, it probably was.

“Listen to me,” I told her gently, dipping my head to capture her gaze and holding her captive. “You’re not broken. You might be bruised, but you’re strong. A survivor. A fighter.”

“From one survivor to another, you’re stronger than you know. You fought back and got yourself out of a shitty situation. That takes guts.” Her head was shaking, her lip wobbling. “It wasn’t soon enough. If you knew… If you knew the things they did to me. The things they said.” “Whatever they said to you, whatever they did, it doesn’t define you.

It took me a lot of years and a good pack to realize that life isn’t inherently bad. People make choices, and those choices have consequences.

“You’re mine, Baby Girl,” Hades declared. “You’re ours. I know it the same way I knew Leo was pack. Or Jamison. Or Thane. Or the others.” His lips moved to hover against my cheek, each breath making me shiver. “You’re it for me, Demi Leigh. I want to spend the rest of my life getting to know every little thing about you, but I know everything I need to know to put my claim on you. You’re mine. I’ve never been so sure of anything before.”

Underneath his intimidating, hardened exterior, Hades was a cinnamon roll—sweet, delicious, gooey, and irresistible—and this experience was so vastly different from any I’d had before.

“Anton may not be able to go directly to the police and file a report.” “Why not?” Leo asked, and I felt him move closer, though they all stayed back, giving me my space. Swallowing hard, I turned to face them. “Because then it might come to light that he purchased me illegally.”

“My father sold me to Anton through back channels. When I presented as an Omega at eighteen, he reported me to the OMA and they struck some kind of deal. He kept me locked away at home until I was twenty-two and then announced he’d found me a match. He’d made some kind of business deal with Anton, effectively selling me off like one of his properties.”

“If she’d gone to the OMA when she presented, she would have had a chance to go through the scent cards. She would’ve found ours and…” He choked out a sad, strangled laugh. “Fuck. We were waiting for you, Darling. Long before we knew your name or had seen your pretty face, we dreamed of having an Omega and a family. If you hadn’t run and somehow ended up in our little town, we never would’ve found you. If that isn’t fate, I don’t know what is.”

“Scent cards?” “Yes.” Eli, who was still standing, sunk into an empty seat with an agonized expression. “Omegas are presented with binders of scent cards for the various Alpha packs registered with the OMA and awaiting an Omega. You’d have gotten a chance to go through all the scents and pick out the ones that called to you. We have scent profiles on file and have been waiting to be chosen by a compatible Omega.” “Not just any Omega. You,” Jamison added, staring so intently it was like he wanted to brand that sentiment into my heart so I understood his devotion. “You were waiting for… me?” “Our entire fucking lives,” Hades swore with so much feeling, I wanted to run to him and wrap my arms around his waist.

Which meant we needed a way forward. A legal way forward. But entrusting anyone other than my own pack with Demi’s future felt terrifying, even for me. Her father would be a force to be reckoned with, and Anton’s pack wasn’t known for backing down from anything. Demi’s unique situation presented a challenge, and I doubted they’d concede once they learned she’d taken up with us.

“If you’d like, we’ll come directly home afterward and snuggle the rest of the day away.” I pretended to consider his proposal. “Only if you promise to purr for me some more.” His grin was like the sun. It brightened my entire world, chasing the remnants of the shadows away. “It’s a deal.”

“But right now, I’m done talking, Love. You look like a goddess, and I’m ready to worship at your altar.”

Right. Because that wasn’t awkward at all. You’re invited to come fuck my brains out for the next three to five days. Please RSVP and don’t forget to check whether you’d like the chicken or the steak to be served during our intermittent food breaks.

“Yes! Just like that. Gods. You’re so big. You stretch me so well.” Demi rained praise down on me, and I fucking shook. Was this a thing that I liked? Yes. Yes, it fucking was. She cooed to me, mumbling how much she liked the way I fucked her.

“So fucking sweet. I knew you were ours the moment I laid eyes on you. I told you you’d take my Alphas to their godsdamn knees, and look at them now. So fucking gone for you.”

“There is no way that’s going to fit. And ohmygods, it’s pierced?” He had a fancy peen, with a row of piercings on the underside of his shaft and one through the top glans. A Jacob’s Ladder and a Prince Albert piercing? An involuntary shudder swept through me.

My thighs clenched, trying to hold them both in place. Hades slammed his knot home and I evaporated. I was glitter, pretty and shiny and fucking everywhere at once.

Stepping out from under Anton’s clutches had taught me just how strong I was. I was Demi Leigh. Omega. And believe it or not, I’d find a way to rescue myself.