Knot The One They Want

WALTER POV

Keion and Walter were fated to Lorali. Keion and Walter were fated to Lorali. KEION AND WALTER were FATED TO LORALI.

The words I cannot believe keep ringing in my ears again and again, pounding like war drums inside my skull. My chest tightens, my breath stutters, and I feel the ground tilt beneath me. My eyes darted between Torin and Augin, both staring at me with wide, guilty eyes. I was never meant to hear this.

"W...Walter?" Augi stammers, his voice trembling as he pulls his hands away from Torin. He rushes toward me, stumbling over a pillow on the floor before catching himself. His panic is written across his face. "What did... what did you mean by me and Keion being fated to Lorali?" My words tumble out, broken and desperate.

I laugh nervously, though inside it feels like I am being rammed by a train over and over again. My ribs ache with the weight of it. "Walter..." Augi says slowly, stalling, his eyes flicking around the room as if searching for an escape. Finally, he places his hand on my shoulder, his touch hesitant "Umm... you are close to your heat, you are unstable. Now is not the time to be speaking of this. Perhaps we should talk later."

"Perhaps not. Speak. What do you know?" My voice snaps like a whip as I flick his hand off my shoulder.

"I did nothing. I knew nothing," Augi blurts quickly, his words tumbling over each other. He points toward Torin, who sits stiffly on the edge of his circular bed, his silence heavy. "It was Torin. It was all Torin. I do not know why he hid it. He is not talking." His voice quivers, his fear bleeding through.

"Use your words. Tell me. What are you hiding?"

"Lorali told Torin... she’s fated to Kei and... you." Augi’s voice cracks, and the sound feels like the floor beneath me is being sucked away. My lungs seize and my breath falters. I heard right. I was not dreaming about it. "Torin told her to keep it from everyone. He has yet to tell me why."

Torin finally speaks, his voice croaking and sounding broken. "I did not want any of you to know because it would ruin my plan of becoming her savior. I wanted Lorali to rely only on me."

I cannot bear to look at him. Not now. Not with my entire world shaking apart. "Are you insane?!" Augi shouts, his voice sharp as he moves away from me and closer to Torin. "What is wrong with you?! Is that truly your reason?" His fury fills the room, but I blur out the rest of his words, my mind drowning in chaos.

I stumble through the hall, my chest heaving, tears burning down my face. My throat feels raw, my body trembling with every step. How didn’t I know? How didn’t I feel it? How could I be fated to Lorali and never sense it, not once, not in all the months I was near her? The goddess must be laughing at me.

I am destroyed. My heart feels like it has been ripped out, stomped on, and shoved back into my chest.

I press my hand against the wall, sliding down until I am crouched on the floor. My sobs echo through the empty corridor, each sound a knife twisting deeper. Every breath feels like punishment. I whisper to myself, broken and hollow, "I was blind. I was cruel. I was everything a mate should never be."

I raise my head, blinking through tears, and realize where I am. My stomach twists violently. This hallway. This cursed hallway. One of the many places where I made her life hell.

PAST WALTER POV - FLASHBACK BEGINS

"Aren’t you such a cutie," I coo at the dog, rubbing the spot beneath her collar. It’s Stef’s dog, and she’s leaving for a shoot in Thila or Fila, I can’t even remember which country exactly, only that it’s somewhere far away and she’ll be gone for a long time. She entrusted me with her dog, a white pitbull named Coco. I know pitbulls are widely considered dangerous, but Coco is nothing like that. She’s a gentle princess, spoiled beyond belief, raised by Stef to be soft and sweet. Coco wouldn’t hurt a fly unless they have her snacks.

"I’ve never seen a pitbull in pink frills before," Yurena mutters, standing tall beside me while I stay crouched on my knees, scratching beneath Coco’s collar. Coco refuses to move unless she’s scratched, she’s stubborn and demanding, but I don’t mind.

"You know... I have an idea," Yurena sings in her mischievous tone. I look up at her, lifting a brow. "What is it?"

"Let her loose on Lorali," she whispers, her voice dripping with venom. "I bet a dog will be able to drive her out of here if not us."

I am ashamed to admit it, but the idea strikes me as clever. A grin spreads across my face, nasty and smug. "That’s genius. She won’t see it coming."

Yurena nods, laughing, and I smile with her. I can already see that witch leaving, finally gone. It doesn’t take long before the two of us sneak upstairs, keeping Coco close. Lorali is kneeling, scrubbing the floor, her hair falling into her face. She looks pathetic, like a servant who doesn’t even deserve to breathe the same air as me.

"Go, Coco. Snack there," I whisper into her ear, pointing at Lorali.

The dog charges, barking wildly, claws scraping against the floor as she leaps onto Lorali. Lorali falls back, startled, her hands flying up to shield herself. Coco loves snacks, she goes crazy for them. Stef often jokes it’s the only human word Coco truly understands. She doesn’t respond to "stop" or "get off," but the word "snack" sends her into a frenzy.

"Perfect," I mutter under my breath, watching from the shadows. "Bite her nose off. Tear her apart." I don’t mean it. I just want her gone. I can’t live like this, not with her here. What is wrong with this girl? Why does she stay? Does she really think she’ll take my pack from me? Never. She only got lucky with Oracle—he’s gullible.

Yurena laughs beside me. "She’ll leave now. She won’t survive this." Lorali gasps, struggling beneath the dog’s weight. Her voice trembles, breaking. "Stop... please... don’t bite me..."

Just when we think we have her cornered, she does something, something subtle, a movement behind Coco’s ear, that causes the dog to collapse flat against her. My vision floods with red at the sight. Did that witch hurt Coco?

I storm out from the shadows, fury burning through me, and stride down the hallway. I lift Coco’s heavy body off her chest, my arms straining. "What the hell is wrong with you!" I shout, glaring down at Lorali.

She looks up at me, her eyes wide, heartbroken, shimmering with something I don’t want to name. That look burns into me, searing deeper than I expect. A sting pierces my chest, but I force myself to ignore it.

"If Coco has so much as a scratch because of you, your life will get a lot harder." My voice is sharp, cruel. I turn away, walking off with Yurena, keeping Coco close to me.

But the image of Lorali’s glossy eyes keeps flashing in my mind, haunting me. I push it down, burying the twinge of guilt that rises in my heart. I feel nothing for her. Nothing. Especially not guilt.

Flashback Ends

The memory burns through my mind like a flame. I stagger forward, clutching my chest, sobbing harder. My lungs ache, my throat feels torn. We used Coco seven more times to scare her during the month I had her, and each time was worse than the last.

"Why did I do that? Why did I want her hurt?" My voice cracks, echoing in the empty hall, bouncing back at me like judgment.

More memories of the cruelty I inflicted on Lorali in this very hall flash through my mind, each one sharper than the last. I can’t take it. I try to escape, rushing downstairs, but the kitchen looms ahead. And the moment I see it, another memory attacks me. This one hits harder than the last, slamming into me with unbearable force.

Flashback Begins

I hardly notice as Lorali slides the tea cups across the island—one in front of me, the other in front of Yurena—before disappearing off somewhere to continue her pathetic chores.

"I got a role in some film. I’m going to be in my first ever film," I gush, my voice brimming with pride. "Next year this time I’ll be on the big screen. Even though I lost the biggest deal of my life this year, I thought my career was going nowhere, but it’s the opposite. I’ve taken off. If I keep this pace, I’ll win best model."

Yurena claps her hands, congratulating me. I bask in it, sneering in my head at Lorali. Who is she to compete with me? I’m a star. She’s nothing.

I sip too quickly, burning my tongue. "Shit, this is hot. My tongue’s burned," I groan, sticking it out, the cool air soothing the sting.

Yurena explodes. "Lorali!" she screams, her voice echoing through the house like thunder.

Lorali comes running, her clothes wet and wrinkled from laundry. Yurena slides off the kitchen stool and stomps toward her, yanking her into the kitchen. She drags her to the other side of the island, right in front of me. I do nothing but watch, still sticking my tongue out, enjoying the relief of the burn fading.

"Stand there!" Yurena commands, forcing Lorali toward the sink. She grabs a kettle of boiling water, her face twisted with rage, and stalks back to her.

Lorali’s eyes widen, her lips trembling. "Please... don’t," she whispers, her voice fragile, breaking.

Yurena ignores her. She forces Lorali’s hands out and pours the boiling water over them.

Lorali screams, the sound piercing, raw, echoing through the kitchen walls. Her cries slice through me, sharp and merciless, but I sit there, silent, watching her pain, watching her crumble.

FLASHBACK ENDS

I collapse against the wall, sobbing, my body shaking. "Why did I just sit there? Why did I let it happen?" The screams echo in my head, louder and louder, until I can’t breathe. I bolt, running outside, desperate to escape.

But then I see the pool. And the third memory drags me under.

Flashback Begins

"How is it you’re still able to pull off a swimsuit at your age?" I ask, complimenting Yurena. For some reason, Torin’s mother can still pull off a swimsuit with ease. I need to get her skin care and gym routine so I don’t age the same way, because I think she’s somewhere in her sixties and yet doesn’t look a day over forty.

"I will take that as a compliment," she laughs as she walks down the stairs. Today feels like the perfect pool day, the sun is out, the air is warm, and for once I don’t feel upset with the world.

"Lorali! Open the pool!" she commands suddenly, her voice loud, sharp, carrying like a microphone. Lorali appears almost instantly, rushing to the balcony in front of us. By the time we reach the balcony, she is already standing at the edge, watching the electronic pool cover slide back, uncovering the glittering water.

We move to the infinity balcony pool, the surface shimmering under the sunlight. Yurena smirks, her eyes gleaming with cruelty, and before I can even process it, she suddenly shoves Lorali into the pool from behind. The act is so sudden that even I am shocked.

"Get my ring!" she shouts, her tone commanding. "It fell to the bottom. Retrieve it!"

"Go get it, Lorali," I mutter, watching as Lorali gasps, her body sinking. She dives down, desperate, searching for a ring that probably isn’t even there.

"Close the pool lid," Yurena orders, her voice urgent. I obey. My hand presses the button, and the cover slides across the water, sealing her inside.

Lorali screams, her voice muffled beneath the lid, her hands slamming against it, her body thrashing beneath the surface. The sound is horrific, a nightmare made real.

I stand there, frozen, watching, my heart pounding, my mind twisted. I let it happen. Can’t believe it.

Flashback Ends

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