Knot The One They Want

Torin

The door of the guest room slammed shut with a deafening CRACK that echoed through the quiet hallways of the penthouse, shaking the art frames along the wall.

I stood in the center of the corridor, my hands shoved deep into the pockets of my suit trousers, staring at the painted white paneling. I could still smell the sweet, intoxicating scent of her vanilla aura clinging to the air, tainted heavily by the sour burn of absolute rage.

Yeah. She is really angry. I expected this outcome.

It hurt me almost as much as it annoyed me to see her in that club, with all those thirsty alpha’s looking at her. Her scent is only beginning to seep out now beneath the dissenting spray she had on but you don’t need an omega’s scent to know there’s an Omega, truthfully you just need to open your eyes to know.

When I flung her over my shoulder every instinct in my body had begged me to put her down, to fall to my knees, and to whisper apologies until my throat ran dry. But asking nicely wasn’t going to work, I know that for sure now. Apologies and begging mean nothing to Lorali.

I had begged for months. I had whimpered like a whipped dog, and she had only stepped harder on my neck. She wasn’t ever going to come with me if I asked her politely.

Rolling my shoulders, I turned on my heel and walked toward upstairs, down the hall.

I felt completely drained, a bone-deep exhaustion settling into my muscles. My neck was still stinging from where her sharp acrylics had gouged bloody tracks into my flesh, but I didn’t even care to clean it yet.

I really hope this plan of mine works, I thought, running a weary hand through my hair as I pushed my bedroom door open. Father said crazy wins crazy. If I don’t force her into my orbit, she’s going to drift away until she’s completely out of reach. I can’t lose her. I can’t.

1

I slipped my arms out of my suit jacket, letting the heavy cotton drop onto the foot of my bed. Just as I unbuttoned my collar, the bedroom door swung open without so much as the respect of a damn knock.

I flipped my head up, my jaw tightening as my eyes landed on the tall frame leaning against the doorframe.

Oracle stood there with his arms crossed over his chest, his eyes locked onto me with a mixture of disbelief and utter exasperation.

"That was really, really stupid of you, Torin," Oracle said, his deep voice carrying a flat, warning tone. "Lorali is definitely going to have a reaction for your action. You know that right?"

I let out a long, heavy sigh, picking up a clean towel from my nightstand to wipe the dry blood off the back of my neck.

"I know," I said, my voice quiet, devoid of the bravado I had pulled off in the parking lot. "That is why I did it. It’s better than being ignored by her."

Oracle let out a harsh, disbelieving laugh, shaking his head slowly. "I’ve spent a couple of days with her, Torin, and I promise being ignored by her was her mercy. Though I don’t like saying this about her, she is... well, she is a vengeful spirit."

No shit, Sherlock. I clenched the towel harder. Of course I know that! The girl literally put my mother in a wheelchair and almost ruined the company (Okay... that one maybe my fault). I know she’s a vengeful little spirit, and she has every damn right to be. I know exactly what I’m getting myself into.

"Don’t concern yourself with my matters, Oracle," I said aloud, keeping my face entirely blank as I tossed the towel aside. "I have everything under control."

Oracle pushed off the doorframe, taking a half-step forward, his expression darkening. "I’m just warning you, Torin. I have—"

"I do not need your warnings," I cut him off smoothly, raising a hand to stop his speech. Oracle paused, his jaw working as he stared at me. He shook his head again, turning on his heel to leave the room.

"Oracle," I called out before he could cross the threshold. He stopped, turning his head over his broad shoulder. "What?"

I swallowed hard, the tight knot in my chest twisting tighter. I looked down at my bare dress shoes, forcing the words out of my throat. "I am sorry for putting you in jail. I was wrong. You did not stab Lorali. Realizing now... I never quite apologized to you properly."

Though I may not convey it many times, I admitted silently, staring at the floor patterns, I do feel genuinely bad for sending him to jail. It was a complete disaster. But back then... back then it was just Lorali, Lorali, and Lorali. Nothing else mattered to me, and I was willing to throw old brotherhood and pack ties right off the cliff just so I could have a fraction of a chance at holding a piece of her heart. I mean, I’m still willing to do terrible things for her now... but putting him in a cell was evil of me, to put it simply.

Oracle stood motionless for a moment. The silence in the hallway stretched out until he finally let out a soft sigh and relaxed his shoulders.

"Oh well," Oracle said, offering a faint, weary shrug. "It’s okay, Torin. I deserved to be there anyway. If I never went to jail, I think I would have never found out why Lorali hates me so much, and why I don’t feel the bond between us."

My eyes snapped back up to his face, my brow furrowing in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

Oracle leaned back against the wall, staring at the ceiling for a second before meeting my gaze. "Well, you know what a venomous bond is?"

"Yeah, I know a little about the subject," I answered cautiously, leaning back against my wooden dresser. "I know a lot of it hurts her shoulder when she’s not near you. And those hideous little black veins that spread across her collarbone... I’ve seen them. And that mark on her shoulder isn’t one she got from a branding at the Omega auction. It was actually formed when you bit her. I know the basics of this."

"Yeah, you do," Oracle murmured softly. He rubbed the back of his neck, his tone dropping into something heavy. "Well, the bond on her shoulder is the reason why she didn’t leave. When I bit her... I rejected her right after. And she’s sort of like bound to me now. We are soulmates crying out to each other. Our souls are crying out to each other... we may not be crying out to each other, but our souls are now bound together in a toxic loop."

I stared at him, my heart doing a strange, cold flip in my chest. Jealousy, dark and ugly, flared in my stomach, but I forced it down. I know it’s nothing to be jealous of but, come on.

"So how are you going to fix this?" I asked, my voice dropping. "You can’t just let this go on."

Oracle sighed, running a hand over his face. "The only way to undo a bond like that is if one of us dies... or I do the bond again, but this time I must mean it. I must actually love her."

I looked at him flatly, my eyes narrowing. "So... am I going to have to kill you, or are you going to fall in love?"

Oracle’s eyes widened slightly, his posture going completely rigid as he stared at me in shock. A small, lifeless smirk pulled at the corner of my mouth, and I let out a low chuckle. "I’m joking." I don’t even know if I’m actually joking. I honestly can’t tell you if I’d hesitate if it came down to it.

"Good night," I said, stepping toward the door to end the conversation. "Thanks for telling me this."

Oracle nodded slowly, stepping back into the hallway. "Good night, Torin. And also... really, I’m not joking here. Lorali is not in the best state of mind. I am telling you to sleep with an eye open tonight. She’s not going to let it slide for what you did to her today."

"Again," I said, meeting his gaze with indifference, "I am expecting her to do something."

Oracle stared at me for one last second, then turned and walked away down the dimly lit corridor. I shut the door, locked it, and lay