“A little lower,” Dr. Hampton said, making a note in her journal. “A few inches below your brand is where we’ll get the most accurate reading.”
I didn’t move. If my shirt slipped any lower, I would be exposed. They had all seen the rose branded below my collar bone, and the scars across my back, but I knew what hid lower, curving along the slope of my breast. Knox watched me, sensing my hesitation. An alpha purr slipped from him as he reached for the neckline of my top.
Knox shifted the fabric, sliding it down just enough to place the sensor, exposing the subtle top curve of my breasts. Soft flesh was marred by an ugly, deep scar on the left side. Only the start of it was currently visible, but it traveled all the way down, bisecting my nipple before ending at the lower curve.
Marco had lost control that time, carving my left breast as a reminder that I belonged to him. He wanted me to think of him every time I looked at it.
For a moment, Knox didn't even notice it, as his heated gaze scanned my exposed skin. All his usual restraint dissipated, eyes drawn by instinct before control could intervene. Alphaarousal filled the air.
Then his gaze caught on my scar.
His expression changed instantly, the tension in his jaw hardening into rage. Raw fury flooded his features.
“Who did this?” he demanded, voice violent. “Was it Marco?”
Knox's hand closed around my arm before I could react, fingers gripping too tight and too sudden. I squealed and tried to pull away.
"Who did this?" he barked this time. His alpha bark was coarse and demanding, tugging at the edges of omega instincts I had buried. The urge to answer him filtered through my mind, but I pushed it down, remaining silent.
I shook, trying to rip my arm away, but his fingers locked even tighter.
Fear spiked, as his grip grew painful. Painful enough to serve as a reminder.Thiswas what alphas were capable of when restraint slipped.Thiswas the violence I had learned to survive.
“Special Officer Mercer.” Dr. Hampton’s voice cut sharply through the room. “Step back. Now.”
He barely registered her, his face still twisted with a scowl as he stared at my scar.
“You’re upsetting the omega,” she continued, unwavering. “Let go of her.”
A low growl rumbled out of him, his focus remained narrowed on me until even Silas stepped in.
“Knox, you’re scaring the little mute.”
I whimpered, trying to pull my arm free. The movementfinally broke whatever hold my scar had on his attention.
Knox’s grip loosened immediately, his hand tearing away as if burned. He stepped back, chest rising and falling sharply forcing himself back under control. His gaze flicked to his brother, something silent passing between them before both looked back at me.
“Sorry,” Knox muttered, the word rough and uneven. Then, softer, “I’m sorry, Lena.”
He reached for the sensor again, trying to move past what had just happened and continue applying it, but when he got close, I flinched.
Confusion flickered across his face, quickly replaced by regret. He stilled, then dropped into a crouch, lowering himself to my level.
His ice blue eyes met mine.
“I shouldn’t have grabbed you like that,” he said, voice lower now. “I didn’t mean to upset you. I…” He paused, searching for the right words. “It just caught me off guard. I didn’t know…” His voice trailed off as his eyes lingered on my scar then back to my face as he watched for my reaction.
Knox looked… ashamed.Genuinely so.That kind of regret I had never once seen from Marco or any other alpha. They never questioned their outbursts, or cared how they affected me.
My fingers tightened in the fabric of my shirt before I lowered it slightly, a small, tentative signal that I accepted his apology and he could continue.
Knox’s movements were even more careful when he reached for me again, as he finished placing the sensors, his eyes stayed fixed anywhere but my exposed skin.
Despite his apology, the echo of that brief loss of controlstill lingered in my bones, a reminder that safety with alphas was always conditional.
Evenwith Knox.
Once the sensors were in place, Dr. Hampton began her tests. She asked me to complete a series of puzzles, each one increasing in difficultyfor anyone but me.
