Page 25 of Rest In Knotty Pieces

When was the last time I had a muffin?

“Daega! Where are you now?”

I flinch, but Rolly moves in front of me. The light glints off his golden hair, making it shine. If one is an angel, the other is a knight.

The one thing they could never destroy about me was my ridiculous imagination. These alphas will destroy me, and here I am daydreaming about being rescued by knights and angels. Inside, I’m laughing, coldly, cynically.

Another alpha walks into the kitchen but stops short when he sees me.

“Merle!”

I cringe, getting smaller and smaller. I know him. His scent of roses and sandalwood is unmistakable and, again, mine. The alpha hero, I’ve seen him in newspapers, I’ve seen him come to my world and walk with a golden glow on him.

Why are they all together? Is this another trap?

He comes closer, but I slide off the counter and circle it, glancing at the doorway that isn’t blocked by alphas.

“Merle, wait!”

I ignore him, dashing in that direction, only to be brought up by the biggest, most muscled alpha I’ve ever seen in my life. He looks as if he could break me with one hand. But…his hair is blue. It’s the weirdest thing to notice about him, but it steals all my attention from his scars and the brutal force of him. He smells like wintergreen and rubbing alcohol.

A warrior.

The others move towards me, but I dash past him and then stop again, my feet absolutely going out from under me.

The alpha catches me as my knees buckle.

“Merle Kestrel, no one is going to hurt you in my house. There are rules.” He says it with absolute conviction.

I blink as I stare up at him. He looks exactly like he did the last time I saw him. Except for the strange black robe billowing around him. His hair jet black and long, his smile serene, and his eyes looked delighted.

This is the ghost. The one who did all the killing a year ago. He never saw me, but I saw him. Dancing as he dealt death. Killing everyone but the true evil who escaped.

My vision gets red and black dots, and I wonder if I’m going to pass out.

Who are these people?

I lick my lips and grip the alpha that is holding me hard, holding his wrist.

“King. It would seem that you and Pix are going to have the pleasure of ensuring that Merle gets used to our surroundings. Show her to her room and the bathroom. When she is cleaned up and feels more herself, she can come out, if she chooses, and eat or explore the house.”

Sage brushes past us and puts the muffin back in my hand.

“Off you go, King. Go and make sure she’s taken care of.”

“I don’t know how to take care of an omega,” King bursts out.

I peer up at him, seeing the panic on his face and, in a way, that soothes my own. He’s so worried about looking after me I actually, for the first time, believe that he’s not going to hurt me.

“Just be mean and make sure no one can get to her until she feels less like she’s going to jump out of a window to get away,” the knight says helpfully.

King shakes his head and mouths something I can’t understand.

“Off you go, I will send in Daega,” Sage says with a wink.

They don’t try to touch me. They don’t ask questions.

I don’t trust it.