Their Secret Obsession (A Reverse Harem)

Lottie POV

Seeing Knox on the floor, his face a mottled landscape of bruises and his lip split, I felt a surge of nausea. The healing process had begun, his supernatural nature knitting skin and bone back together, but it was slow, and the damage was extensive. His one eye swollen nearly shut, a deep shade of purple spreading like a storm cloud under the thin skin, and there were cuts that looked deep enough to have hit bone. It was clear he'd been in a brutal bar fight, one I knew he had started himself.

Dick!

"Or is it to get attention." Sage inserted moodily. But I knew she was forcing it; she was worried about him too because despite everything-the lies, the hurt he'd caused me-seeing him like this twisted a knot in my stomach. I couldn't enjoy his suffering; it just made me sick, and I knew she to felt the same; I could sense it.

With legs feeling like they were made of jelly, I walked over to him, each step shaky as my heart hammered against my ribs.

"What are you doing?" Liam seethed from my side. I didn't bother responding. My eyes focused on Knox's body, needing to get closer to him.

"Be careful, Lottie. Havoc is close to the surface." Sage's voice echoed in my head, her tone urgent while Liam's demands ebbed away to the back of my self-consciousness.

Knox's wolf, Havoc, was feral and wild, a stark contrast to the more composed Rolo. He'd always called us 'kitty', a term that irked her but amused me. Now, as Knox's sleepy eyes flickered open, the dangerous glint of Havoc's presence shimmered in his gaze, and I could almost feel the raw power emanating from him.

"Sage, wait," I murmured under my breath as an unexpected connection sparked at the back of my mind.

Could it really be Havoc? His primal consciousness surged forward, his presence a chaotic storm that raged through my psyche.

"My mate." He screamed through the bond I thought had been severed, his voice desperate and possessive, clawing at the edges of my heart.

"We are not your mates anymore," Sage countered fiercely, her anger tangible, a fiery barrier against his claims. But his words set off a tumult in my chest; if he still believed we were mates, did that mean there was still a thread of connection, a sliver of hope for reconciliation?

"Are you that stupid?" Sage's roar reverberated in my head as tears welled up in my eyes, each drop reflecting the shattered pieces of my heart.

"No, just in love," I whispered softly to myself, a confession that felt like a betrayal of my own wounds.

"I love only my Kitty. It's all a game, a trick... please, Kitty," Havoc pleaded, his voice rough with emotion, shredding through me like a knife. The idea that all our shared moments, the depth of what I felt, could have been mere pieces in a cruel game was devastating. It broke through me like a storm, ravaging my soul with both anger and an unspeakable hurt.novelbin

"A game?" I uttered, my hand instinctively resting on my belly in a protective gesture as much as a search for solace from the tiny lives within me.

"Yes, a silly game." Havoc replied quickly, hope lacing his tone. Although for what, I wasn't sure.

"Do not trust him." Sage cautioned, but the realisation that Havoc might still see our connection as valid, combined with the manipulative games he confessed to, was overwhelming. It felt like a physical blow, each word from him a strike against the fragile hope that had started to bloom despite my better judgement.

"It's not that easy." I groaned; the pain of his betrayal, mingled with the heartbreak of our separation, left me reeling. I felt angry, hurt, and utterly furious, the intensity of my feelings making it hard to breathe, as if each breath was a battle against the tide of despair that threatened to pull me under.

In that moment, caught between the past's shadows and the uncertain future, the weight of his deception felt as tangible as a yoke around my neck, heavy and suffocating. As I processed his words, the reality his treachery not only tainted the past but also darkened the path ahead, leaving me to navigate a maze of pain and betrayal with no clear way out. The change in my mood seemed to alert Havoc as Knox's once beautiful blue hues looked at me, tinged in red. Pain painting his features.

"No!" Havoc hissed as Knox's body twisted around angrily, and I knew without a doubt that Knox was not present right now.

"Lottie, be careful. I can't take over if things go wrong." I understood that; now, I was heavily pregnant, it was down to me to protect us.

"I will be fine." I sighed despite Sage's confused and alarmed warning. Feel her scratch at the edges of my mind for some control, I shook my head slightly, more to myself than her, and whispered back,

"He won't hurt me. If he still believes

I'm his mate, he won't harm a hair on

my head." Ast approached, the murmurs of the crowd filled the air a collective intake of breath and nervous shuffling marking my progress. Liam, tense and watchful, started to follow but was abruptly stopped as Havoc, peering out from Knox's bruised face, let out a low, menacing growl.

The bar fell into a hushed silence, every pair of eyes fixed on us. Whispers turned to gasps as the tension thickened, the patrons ready to intervene at the slightest sign of aggression. Knox's battered form on the floor crawled towards me the red flicker in his eyes, and my determined approach drew a vivid picture of the dangerous dynamics playing out before them.

"What are you doing?" Liam seethed, the nervous edge to his tone enough to make me smile.

"What I have to do. If Havoc flips out now, how many will suffer? I can handle him." I reminded Liam without looking back. "But I need you to trust me and stay back." I demanded, my voice taking on an authoritative tone that had Havoc's eyes lifting to mine with intrigue. "After what he just said, you still want to help him?" the Sage asked, confused by my decision.

"I am not helping him; I am helping them." I muttered back as my eyes flickered to those around me in the 'danger zone' should Havoc lose his shit... again.

"Ok." She sighed, half believing me- but that was enough for now.

"Are you going to be good Havoc?" I asked as I stepped closer, reaching out a hand tentatively; every sense heightened as I prepared to reconnect with a part of my past that was both painful and dangerously unpredictable.