Knot the One They Want (Claimverse Book 1)

I slam the door shut, the sound reverberating through the foyer like a gunshot. The investor’s car recedes down the driveway, taillights glowing red in the night. Another deal sealed, another success for Blackwood Enterprises. I should be satisfied.

But the taste in my mouth is bitter, not sweet.

Evie. It always comes back to Evie.

The perfect omega, the flawless jewel on my arm. The investor couldn’t stop fawning over her all evening—her grace, her charm, her impeccable manners. As if those are the only things that matter.

As if my vision, my drive, my ruthless pursuit of success are all secondary to having a trophy mate.

Fury coils in my gut, cold and sharp as a blade. The world sees omegas as status symbols, as prizes to be won. And I’ve been forced to play along, to parade Evie like a show pony just so people will take me seriously as an alpha.

Just so they’ll invest in my company, the empire my family built with blood and sweat and sheer force of will.

The more they praise her, the more I resent it.

Resent her.

Most of all for how the beast inside me coiled up like a serpent ready to strike every time that investor’s eyes traveled over to her tonight. I hate her for the protective instincts she stirs within me more than anything. I tell myself it’s only the half-formed mating mark on her neck, but somewhere deep down, I know it’s bullshit.

I know it goes deeper than my teeth in her flesh.

But even if it doesn’t, what does it matter if she refuses to run? I was expecting her to fold and run back home to daddy in a matter of days, weeks most, but she shows no sign of budging. I’m starting to think she’s even more stubborn than I am.

I’m starting to be afraid that when she finally does realize there’s no future for her here and she does run, I won’t have the strength to let her.

Lake’s voice cuts through the red haze of my thoughts. ‘Well, are you happy now? Dinner was a smashing success,’ he says bitterly. ‘Maybe it’s time you gave Evie the credit she deserves.’

I shove past him, jaw clenched. ‘The investor is a moron. Any omega with a pretty face could’ve had him eating out of her hand.’

Lake follows me, his footsteps echoing on the marble. ‘That’s bullshit and you know it. Evie is exceptional. She deserves your respect, not your scorn.’

I whirl on him, a snarl building in my throat. ‘Respect? For what? For smiling and nodding and playing the role she was born to play? I’m the one who landed that deal, Lake. Me. With my business acumen and my work. Not her.’

Lake meets my glare head-on, unflinching. ‘Your pride blinds you, Damien. Evie is our partner, not your pawn. The sooner you realize that, the better off you’ll be.’

I stalk away from him, my pulse pounding in my temples. He doesn’t understand. No one does.

I’ve sacrificed everything to build this company up even more, to step out of my father’s shadow and forge my own path. And now, at the pinnacle of success, all anyone can talk about is my omega.

An omega I didn’t even want.

He and the others may be content to forget about Daria, about the bond we forged and the promises we made, but that only means I have to be stronger. As usual.

Cole’s presence fills the doorway, his grey eyes flicking between Lake and me. The tension crackles between us like static electricity, ready to ignite at the slightest spark. He’s always been Lake’s shadow, the dark to his light, but now there’s a new wariness in his gaze. A silent question.

When did the balance shift? When did Lake stop being the calm voice of reason, the one to talk Cole down from the ledge of his temper? The answer burns like acid on my tongue. Since Evie. Since she waltzed into our lives and turned everything upside down.

Lake steps forward, his jaw set. ‘Damien, if you bring any more alphas into our home without discussing it with the pack first, we’re going to have a problem. I won’t sit at the dinner table and watch some stranger ogle our mate again.’

Our mate. The words hit like a punch to the gut. As if our mate isn’t two thousand miles away and in another alpha’s fucking bed.

‘Since when did you start acting like a caveman?’ I sneer, meeting his challenge head-on. ‘Puffing out your chest and marking your territory?’

‘You’re our leader, not a dictator,’ Lake fires back, his eyes flashing gold. ‘We have a right to a say in pack decisions.’

Cole nods, a silent wall of support at his twin’s back. United against me, their leader. The sting of betrayal is sharp and bitter.

I open my mouth to put them both in their place, to remind them who wears the crown in this pack, but Asher’s voice cuts through the rising alpha bark in my throat.

‘Has anyone seen Evie?’

We all freeze, the question hanging in the air like a held breath. I scan the room, suddenly realizing that her delicate floral scent has faded from downstairs entirely, no longer twining with the heady musk of angry alphas.

Lake’s anger morphs into concern, his brow furrowing. ‘She was in the kitchen just a minute ago…’

Unease prickles along my spine, a cold needle of dread I can’t quite make sense of. It’s not like Evie usually hangs around the rest of us, but they’re right. Something about her absence feels… different. Wrong.

‘I’ll check upstairs,’ Asher says, already moving toward the grand staircase.

Cole and Lake exchange a glance, a silent communication born of a lifetime together. ‘We’ll split up and search the ground floor,’ Cole rumbles.

They move off in opposite directions, leaving me standing alone in the foyer, my anger draining away like water through a sieve.

Is this what we’ve become? A pack divided, held together by the fragile thread of a single omega? The shame of it burns, hot and caustic.

I stand there for a long moment, a strange sense of foreboding creeping over me like a chill. It’s nothing, I tell myself. She’s probably just gone to her room to rest after the exhausting dinner. Omegas are delicate creatures, after all.

But even as the thought crosses my mind, I know it’s a lie. Evie is many things, but delicate isn’t one of them. She’s strong, resilient, a quiet force to be reckoned with no matter how pristine and perfect she appears on the surface. The uneasy feeling in my gut intensifies, a knot of dread tightening with each passing second.

Cursing under my breath, I stride down the hallway to look myself. I’m not worried, I insist to myself. I’m just… being thorough. As the pack leader, it’s my duty to ensure the safety and well-being of all its members. Even the ones I didn’t choose.

As I round the corner, I nearly collide with Lori, the young beta maid. She lets out a startled squeak, her gray eyes wide and nervous. ‘M-Mr. Blackwood! I’m so sorry, I didn’t see you there.’

I wave off her apology, my mind already racing ahead. Ellen, the head maid and my eyes and ears around the house, has mentioned that Lori and Evie have been spending a lot of time together lately, thick as thieves. A flash of irritation sears through me at the thought of my omega confiding in a servant rather than her alphas, but I push it aside. Just like I’d push her aside if she tried.

‘Have you seen Evie?’ I ask, my voice sharp with impatience.

Lori frowns, her brow furrowing. ‘No, sir. Not since dinner.’

Something in her tone gives me pause, a hesitation that sets my teeth on edge. I narrow my eyes, studying her face for any hint of deception. ‘What is it? If you know something, tell me now.’

She fidgets under my scrutiny, her gaze darting away. ‘I… I wasn’t supposed to say anything, but…’ She takes a deep breath, as if steeling herself. ‘My mistress hasn’t been feeling well lately.’

The words hit me like a punch to the gut, stealing the air from my lungs. Lake was right. Evie has been off, and I’ve been too blind to see it.

A thousand scenarios flash through my mind, each more dire than the last. Is she sick? Injured? Has one of the staff threatened her? The thought of anyone laying a hand on her sends a surge of possessive rage through my veins, hot and primal. I told Ellen to keep an eye on her, to make sure she doesn’t get too comfortable, but these things have a way of getting out of hand.

Asher’s voice rings out from upstairs, urgent and strained. ‘Damien! Lake! Cole! Get up here, now!’

My heart seizes in my chest, a cold fist of fear squeezing the breath from my lungs. I take the stairs two at a time, my pulse roaring in my ears. Asher never raises his voice, never loses his composure.

If he’s shouting now…

I barrel up the stairs, my heart pounding against my ribs like a caged animal. Lake nearly bowls me over in his haste, slamming into mine as he races past. Cole is hot on his heels, a blur of dark hair and coiled tension. I grit my teeth, annoyance flaring beneath the mounting anxiety. Always in sync, those two. Always rushing to Evie’s side at the slightest provocation.

A small, cynical part of me wonders if this is just another ploy for attention. Daria used to pull stunts like this, feigning illness or distress to make us dance to her tune. The memory leaves a bitter taste on my tongue, the sting of manipulation still fresh after a year.

But as I reach the top of the stairs, the scent of genuine distress hits me like a physical blow. Asher’s usual calm, soothing aroma is spiked with sharp notes of panic, underscored by the cloying sweetness of an omega in pain. My stomach lurches, a visceral reaction I can’t control.

I push past Cole and Lake, shouldering my way into the bedroom. And then I freeze, every muscle in my body locking up at the sight before me.

Evie lies limp in Asher’s arms on the floor of the en suite bathroom, her skin pale as marble and glistening with a sheen of sweat. Her warm hair spills over his arm, a stark contrast to the ghostly pallor of her face. But it’s the angry red marks on her neck that steal the breath from my lungs, along with a bloody coil of bandages resting on the tile, that send a bolt of pure, unadulterated terror straight to my core.

Our incomplete mating marks. They’re inflamed, like open wounds rather than the fading scars they should be by now, the skin around them swollen and puckered.

Asher looks up at me, his hazel eyes wide and haunted. ‘She’s burning up,’ he says, his voice cracking on the words. ‘I can’t wake her, Damien. I can’t…’

The rest of his sentence is lost in a choked sob, his shoulders shaking with the force of his fear. Lake and Cole crowd around him, their faces etched with identical expressions of horror and helplessness.

And I just stand there, frozen in place, my mind reeling with the implications of what I’m seeing. Evie, our strong, resilient, defiant omega, reduced to this. Lying unconscious and feverish, her body ravaged by the unfinished bond.

What have we done?

Someone, Lake probably, shouts that he’s calling an ambulance, but I stand there frozen as the chaos ensues around me. Only one thought ricochets through my brain. One question.

What have I done?