Knot The One They Want

Lorali Pov

This has to be it now. It has to be. I feel myself bleeding out from all directions, the warmth of it soaking into my clothes, spreading across my skin. I lift my gaze to the night sky, the stars looming above me, distant and indifferent, as I bleed into the earth. If I’m lucky enough, I’ll bleed to death.

It would have been better if I had fallen onto the ground instead of into a rose bush. Then it wouldn’t be so painful. But whatever, whether it’s roses or stone, the ending will be the same. This is it. This has to be it. I can’t go on living like this.

I know it’s only a matter of time before the pain in my shoulder starts again. I don’t know why I don’t feel it now, and I don’t care to know. It’s only a matter of time before all of this ends, before I’m forced to return to my miserable life in the city, suffocating under Torin’s fake concern, living in a world where I am hated for reasons I still don’t even know.

It will only be a matter of time before Torin leaves, or grows tired of his own act, and the witch returns. And this time, she’ll finish the job. No. I’d rather die on my own terms, by my own peril. The one choice I get to make. My life is mine to take, not Spade’s.

Drowsiness washes over my body, heavy and consuming, leaving me more desperate for sleep than I already am. My eyelids grow heavy, my breaths shallow. I let it take me, closing my eyes, surrendering to the darkness.

I hope that this time it sticks. I hope I don’t wake up.

Arabella Pov

"Is she going to live?" I ask, my voice croaking, raw from exhaustion.

It hasn’t been long since we pulled Lorali out of the rose bushes, her body torn and bleeding, thorns embedded deep in her skin. The entire house is awake now, stirred by the commotion, and Ophelia is bent over her once again, checking her for the sixth time today. Luckily, when I barged into her room, shared with Susie, neither of them had been asleep, which made everything move faster.

Vanya, Cleo, Susie, and I gather around Lorali’s bed, watching her fragile body wrapped tightly in bandages, her wounds stitched and covered, her form almost mummified.

"She’ll live," Ophelia says at last, her tone grim, "until the next time this happens. I’m not so sure we can save her then. Her body is already overworking itself, trying to keep her alive. The bond we temporarily severed is still healing, her body is already working overtime, and now it must also heal her wounds." She sighs, shaking her head, her eyes shadowed with worry.~

"An omega’s body isn’t like the other designations," she continues. "It cannot handle such a great deal of pain. Even if she survives another episode like this, it will break her mind. She’ll either go mad, or her mind will go numb which will leave her dead but alive."

Her words hang in the air like a curse, pressing down on all of us. I stare at Lorali’s pale face, her chest rising and falling faintly beneath the bandages, and my heart twists. She’s alive, but at what cost?

I slowly at Lorali’s bedside, watching her chest rise and fall. Vanya leans against the dresser, arms folded tight. Susie sits on the floor, knees hugged to her chest, her eyes swollen from crying. Cleo paces near the window, her jaw clenched and hand on her belly.

For a long moment, none of us speak. The only sound is the faint chirps of the birds outside and Lorali’s uneven breathing.

Then Cleo stops pacing, her voice cutting through the quiet, finally having enough of the whole situation. "Alright. Who are we going to kill? Because it’s either him or Lorali. She needs to be freed from that bond."

Her words hang in the air for a while before Vanya exhales, rubbing her temple. "She’s not wrong. If the bond is what’s tearing her apart, then ending him ends it. It’s the only way. Ophelia already told us."

Susie bites her lip, hesitant but resigned. "I don’t like it... but what choice do we have? We can’t keep watching her suffer like this."

I feel my chest tighten, anger and despair colliding inside me. As I remember the look on Lorali’s face before she jumped, she looked done with this all. I don’t think simply killing the person who marked her will fix this but make it worse. "You think killing him will fix this? You think ending the man who marked her will magically undo the damage?" My voice trembles, rising. "Lorali doesn’t want to live. Don’t you see? Even if we kill him, even if we destroy the Spade pack, it won’t matter. She wants to die."

Cleo’s eyes flash, her tone unreasonable. "So what then, Arabella? We just sit here and watch her waste away? We do nothing while she begs for death?"

I shake my head, fists clenching. "No. But killing him won’t stop her pain. It won’t erase the bond’s scars. It won’t erase the pain she’s been put through. If we kill Spade for her, it will bring her no solace or justice from it. She’ll still be broken inside, Cleo. And unless she finds a reason to live, nothing we do will matter."

Cleo steps closer, her voice rising. "Then what’s your plan? Sit here and hope she magically decides life is worth living? That’s not a plan, Arabella. That’s denial." I meet her glare, refusing to back down. "My plan is to keep her alive long enough to find that reason. Which may be the revenge you are looking for, we can turn her pain into fuel to bring Spade down. Trust me, she will find Solace in making Spade from her own hands, we can help but we can’t do it for her."

The room falls silent again, the weight of my words pressing down. I know this would all end faster if we just kill her pack ourselves but it’s not going to do anything, to wipe her bad memories she must fill it with others, one which she controls not Spade. Vanya sighs, her voice softer now. "She’s not wrong, Cleo. Killing him might free her bond, but it won’t free her mind. If she’s already given up, then what’s left?"

Susie’s voice trembles, but there’s determination in it. "I don’t want to lose her. I don’t care how hard it is. I’ll do whatever it takes to keep her here."

Cleo exhales, her anger fading into resignation. "Fine. We’ll do it your way. But if she tries again... if she pushes us away... don’t expect me to sit quietly."

"I wouldn’t expect you to," I whisper.

The night stretches on, heavy and endless. None of us leave Lorali’s side. We sit in her room, watching her fragile breaths, Vanya curls up in a chair, her eyes fixed on Lorali’s face, her expression unreadable but her body tense. Susie still sits cross‑legged on the floor, her hands clasped in silent prayer, her lips moving though no words escape. Cleo leans against the wall, arms folded, like she’s ready to fight the world if it comes knocking.

And me, I stay at her bedside, marker still in hand, tracing the heart tattoo on her ankle again and again, as if coloring it red could keep her tethered to this world.

By dawn, none of us have slept. Our bodies ache, our eyes burn, but we remain. Because if she wakes, she must see us here. And if she doesn’t... she must know we never left.