Knot the One They Want (Claimverse Book 1)

My heart races as I sit at the dressing room vanity in the back of the meeting hall, staring at my reflection in the ornate mirror. I’ve changed into a more manageable gown—one I’ll be going home in soon enough.

Once upon a time, I would have been thrilled at the prospect of an outfit change. Especially since this dress is my favorite shade of pastel pink, with little beaded flowers all along the fitted bodice. Now that it’s actually happening, though, the dress feels unnaturally restrictive against my skin. Nothing at all like the second skin it approximated when I first tried it on. If nothing else, though, I’m glad to have a moment’s reprieve from all the dancing and smiling an pretending like my world isn’t crumbling around me.

The door clicks open and Vivienne glides in, her perfectly manicured hand resting on her hip. I brace myself for another lecture.

‘Evangeline, dear, I think it’s time we had a little talk.’ She perches on the edge of the chaise lounge, smoothing her designer skirt. ‘About tonight and what to expect…’

I hold up a hand, cutting her off. ‘I already know what’s going to happen, Vivienne. I had health class, remember?’

Her perfectly shaped brows rise in surprise. ‘Oh. Well, then.’ She seems relieved to be spared the awkwardness of this particular motherly duty.

For once, her icy blue eyes hold a glimmer of something almost resembling warmth. ‘You don’t need to be nervous, you know. The omega hardly has to do anything at all.’

I press my glossed lips together to hide a smirk. That certainly explains a lot about your marriage, I think wryly. I may play the ditzy blonde when it’s convenient, but I’m no fool. I see more than they realize and my father’s marriage is no paradise.

‘You simply present yourself to the alphas, just as they instructed in your preparatory classes,’ Vivienne continues breezily, as if discussing the weather and not the most pivotal moment of my life. ‘They’ll take care of everything else to complete the mark.’

My stomach clenches and I swallow hard against the sudden lump in my throat. ‘And… what if they don’t?’ I hate how small my voice sounds, how it betrays the fear I’m trying so hard to conceal.

Vivienne looks at me like I’ve suddenly sprouted a second head. ‘Of course they will,’ she scoffs, waving a dismissive hand. ‘Why wouldn’t they? You’re a Beaumont omega. Any pack would be lucky to have you.’

Lucky. As if I’m some prize to be won rather than a person with dreams and desires of my own. I turn back to the mirror, fussing with an errant golden curl. ‘Right. Of course.’

She stands, smoothing non-existent wrinkles from her dress. ‘Now, finish getting ready. And remember, chin up, shoulders back. You’re a lady, not a hunchback.’

With a final critical sweep of her eyes over my appearance, she turns on her stiletto heel and click-clacks out the door, leaving me alone with my spiraling thoughts.

I stare at my reflection—the angelic blonde curls that took the hairdresser two hours to finish, rosebud lips, and big blue eyes that have always been my greatest weapons. I look so… polished. You’d never know I was the human equivalent of an earthquake inside. And not in the giddy excitement way.

You can do this, Evie, I tell myself firmly. Smile, giggle, bat your lashes. Play the game you’ve been trained for since birth.

I square my shoulders, take a deep breath, and stand, the silk of my dress whispering around my legs. It’s showtime. I paste on my most dazzling smile and step out to meet my fate.

My heels clicking on the marble floor beat out an ominous rhythm as I make my way toward the ballroom for the second half of the reception. The muted strains of classical music and the murmur of voices grow louder with each step.

I pause at the grand double doors, taking a steadying breath. The attendants open them as I step back in. The room falls silent as I enter, all eyes turning to me. I feel their gazes like a physical weight, assessing whether I’m good enough to join the famous Blackwood pack. A mere omega who didn’t even have a coming out. I lift my chin, plastering on my confidence like a fresh coat of lipstick as I glide into the room, the picture of poised perfection.

My alphas may hate me, but the rest of the world doesn’t need to know that.

My new pack stands together near the center of the room, devastatingly handsome in their tailored tuxedos. Damien, Asher, and Cole wear matching expressions of cold indifference, their eyes hard and unreadable as they watch my approach. Only Lake seems different, his honey brown eyes holding a flicker of some unidentifiable emotion before he quickly looks away.

The orchestra strikes up a waltz and Damien is the first to move forward, holding out his hand in a silent command. I place my hand in his, suppressing a shiver at the contact as he pulls me into his arms. We move together across the dance floor, his lead firm and precise. But there’s no warmth, no connection. It’s like dancing with a marble statue.

Damien’s grip on my waist tightens as he leans in close, his breath hot against my ear. ‘You should have run when you had the chance, little omega.’

A chill races down my spine at the ominous words, but I force myself to meet his icy gaze. ‘Run? And go where? In case you haven’t noticed, I didn’t exactly have a choice in this arrangement.’

His lip curls in a sneer. ‘There’s always a choice.’

I barely suppress a bitter laugh. Of course he would think that. Alphas like him are used to taking whatever they want, consequences be damned. They’ll never understand what it’s like to be an omega—to have your entire life mapped out from the moment you present.

‘Easy for you to say,’ I retort, my voice saccharine sweet even as my nails dig into his shoulder. ‘You’re an alpha. Pressure is one thing, but no one is forcing you into a mating you don’t want.’

Damien’s eyes flash with something dark and dangerous. His fingers dig into my hip, hard enough to bruise. ‘Careful, pet. You don’t want to test my patience.’

White hot anger surges through me, momentarily overwhelming the fear. I lean in until our noses nearly touch, my gaze locked with his. ‘Or what? You’ll punish me? Put me in my place like a good little omega?’

I shouldn’t bait him like this. It’s reckless and stupid. But I’m so tired of playing this game, of smiling and simpering while alphas like him hold all the power.

For a moment, I think he might actually strike me right here on the dance floor. I don’t know what he’s capable of, after all. His jaw clenches, eyes blazing with barely restrained fury. The tension between us is a living, breathing thing, ready to ignite at the slightest spark.

But then he spins me out and reels me back in with a snap, the movement so sudden it steals my breath. I collide against his chest, his arm like a steel band around my waist.

‘Behave yourself, Evangeline,’ he warns, his voice a low growl that resonates through me. ‘You belong to us now. Your daddy can’t save you from that.’

Tears of frustration sting my eyes but I blink them back furiously. I won’t give him the satisfaction of seeing me cry. ‘I don’t belong to anyone.’

The words are a lie. We both know it. As an omega in this society, I’m little more than a prize to be won. But it’s the only small act of defiance I have left.

Damien’s answering smile is cold and cruel, a slash of white in the dim light. ‘We’ll see about that.’

As the song ends, Damien passes me off to Asher without a word. Asher’s touch is slightly less cold, but there’s a distance in his eyes, a wall I can’t seem to breach no matter how brightly I smile up at him. Like he’s trying to keep his distance.

But why? Why go through this, why propose, if they’re going to treat me like something being forced on them?

Cole is next, his grip just shy of bruising as he whirls me around the room, but I don’t get the feeling that he’s trying to be rough. If anything, I think he doesn’t realize his own strength.

There’s a barely leashed violence in his movements, a simmering anger that sets my nerves on edge even if I get the feeling it isn’t directed at me. Every now and then, the murderous glance he steals at Damien confirms it. What the hell is going on there?

As much as I want to brush it off as not my problem, I’m their omega now, regardless of how any of us feel about it, so everything that goes on within the pack is, unfortunately, very much my fucking problem.

Finally, Lake takes my hand and pulls me close. His touch is gentle, almost hesitant. As we sway to the music, I search his face, trying to decipher the swirl of emotions in his eyes. There’s something unsettled about him, a disquiet that wasn’t there before. But beneath that, I catch a glimmer of the same warmth, the same kindness I felt when he bit me. A tiny spark of hope flares in my chest. Maybe I can reach him. Even if the rest of them loathe me, maybe I can have one ally in this den of wolves.

As the final notes of the waltz fade away, I step back and curtsy, my eyes meeting Lake’s for a fleeting moment. A silent understanding passes between us, fragile and tentative. It’s not much, but it’s something to hold onto in this sea of cold indifference.

I make my way off the dance floor, my smile never slipping even as my heart twists painfully in my chest. I can feel their coalition’s eyes on me, weighing and measuring, looking for any sign of weakness. I hold my head high, refusing to let them see how their alphas’ coldness cuts me to the core.

This is only the beginning, I remind myself. I have time. I can win them over, thaw their icy exteriors. I have to.

Because the alternative—a lifetime bound to alphas who despise me, who see me as nothing more than a trophy, a breeding mare—is too terrible to contemplate.

So I’ll keep smiling, keep playing the perfect omega, keep hoping that someday, I’ll find a weakness in their armor. That someday, I’ll have a true place in this pack.

A place to belong. A home.

Even if I have to carve it out myself, one painful step at a time.