Knot Your Problem

Knot Your Problem Pack Origins - Book 2 L.A. Clyne Copyright © 2023 L.A. Clyne All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher or author, except as permitted by copyright law. All characters in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. ISBN: 978-0-6456117-3-1 (digital)Cover art: L.A. Clyne Reach me at: www.laclyne.com Join me at: L.A. Clyne’s Tribe (private Facebook group) Follow me on: Facebook www.facebook.com/l.a.clyne.author Instagram www.instagram.com/laclyne_author Pinterest www.pinterest.com.au/laclyneauthor My son couldn’t pronounce great grandma when he was little, so my grandma became GG to us all. GG gave me a box of her old Harlequin / Mills & Boon books for my thirteenth birthday. I’ve been a voracious romance reader ever since. In all its forms, from classic literature and sweet contemporary, to paranormal fantasy with an occasional side visit to erotic taboo (I mean, who hasn’t taken that trip, right?). So, this one’s for you, GG. See what you did. I blame you for this book. xxx This is a sweet, reverse harem, omegaverse romance written with multiple points of view. It features growly, protective alphas, a silver fox beta, and a feisty omega. Each book in the Pack Origins series will focus on new packs, and has a happily ever after, while continuing the apocalyptic background story of the Crash. They can be read as standalones, but it is recommended to read in order to get the most out of the series. If you are reading as a standalone, check out the catch-up chapter. The story contains MFMMM steamy scenes, with some light MM interactions, and the heroine doesn’t have to choose between her men. While this is not a dark romance, there are references to past institutional abuse and domestic violence, including historic deaths. There is no abuse within the packs or the community they have built. If any of the above makes you uncomfortable, this may not be the book for you, and that’s okay. Take care of yourself and enjoy your day. Otherwise, happy reading. Are you jumping into the Pack Origins series with this book, or has it been a while since you read Knot Your Princess? If so, here’s a quick explanation of how this omegaverse world works and a recap of the Crash, the Omega Palace, and what went down with Maia and her pack (they pop up a lot in this book, more than I intended, like those pushy relatives who get all up in your business but you can’t turn away because you love them so much). If not, go ahead and skip this part. You’re good. I won’t tell anyone. If you’re still with me, here goes. We’ll start with the basics. In the Pack Origins omegaverse world, everyone has a designation as either a beta, omega or alpha. Betas are the most common designation and have no unique traits. The world considers betas to be ordinary. The first sign someone is an alpha or omega usually presents in their early teen years, alongside puberty, when a distinctive scent forms that is unique to each alpha or omega. Omegas are generally shorter than betas, curvy and incredibly attractive. They are usually female, male omegas being incredibly rare. Omegas crave touch and naturally give off pheromones that enthrall alphas. Even betas aren’t immune to their charms. Omegas were prized once upon a time, but are now treated as chattel to breed. They cannot own property or live independently. Traditionally, omegas were highly fertile, but fertility rates for female omegas have been dropping for decades, along with the numbers of newly presented omegas and alphas. A female omega almost always has an omega or alpha child. Betas can as well, but it is much rarer. Alphas are incredibly strong, highly dominant and display animalistic traits. They have a tendency to growl and have a dominance bark that can make a beta, omega and even a weaker alpha submit to them. Alphas can express their bark through a growl, a word, or a sound. Beta society frowns upon alphas using their dominance bark, so an alpha will usually be stealthy or discrete about doing it. It mostly happens in dark spaces, during dark deeds. Regardless, betas revere alphas, and they usually end up in the military or as leaders in the upper echelons of society. While omegas are taken from their families as soon as they present, sometimes forcefully, and sent to the Omega Palace, where they are trained on how to please an alpha. The Omega Palace promotes themselves publicly as an elite finishing school, but in reality, it’s more of a mandatory boot camp that brainwashes omegas into believing they are submissive. Secret, forced submission is common for any omegas who don’t comply with their teachings. After an omega turns twenty-one, the Palace presents them to society at a series of glamorous balls and parties, originally designed to let an omega find her mate. Now, it’s a barbaric free for all, where alphas pick their favorite scented omega and bark their chosen into submission, usually after money has changed hands. To the outside world, omegas appear to live like princes and princesses at the Palace, but they have no freedom or choice. Forced omega matings rarely result in pregnancy. Despite that, the Palace persists. Once forcefully mated, an omega’s scent changes and they are no longer recognizable to their true mate. Alphas and omegas who are true mates recognize each other by scent, but true mates have become little more than a legend in modern times. Once upon a time, groups of alphas also often lived together as a pack with an omega, until it became considered dangerous, as they were too powerful. Packs are now outlawed by the government, with the backing of the Palace. Prime alphas, highly dominant alphas who could dominate more than one person at a time, and kept other lone alphas in check,