Shattered trinket, p.1
Shattered Trinket, page 1
First Published by K.L. Moore 2024
Copyright © 2024 by K.L. Moore
All rights reserved. This publication or
any part of it
may not be reproduced or used in any manner
whatsoever without the express written
consent of the publisher except for
use of brief quotations in a review.
Edited by Jessica Gilly
Cover design by K.L. Moore
Contents
Playlist
Dedication
Content Warning
1. Prologue
2. One
3. Two
4. Three
5. Four
6. Five
7. Six
8. Seven
9. Eight
10. Nine
11. Ten
12. Eleven
13. Twelve
14. Thirteen
15. Fourteen
16. Fifteen
17. Sixteen
18. Seventeen
19. Eighteen
20. Nineteen
21. Twenty
22. Twenty-One
23. Twenty-Two
24. Twenty-Three
25. Twenty-Four
26. Twenty-Five
27. Twenty-Six
28. Twenty-Seven
29. Twenty-Eight
30. Twenty-Nine
31. Thirty
32. Thirty-One
33. Thirty-Two
34. Thirty-Three
35. Thirty-Four
36. Thirty-Five
37. Epilogue
A note from the author
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Playlist
Zombie(Acoustic)- Bad Wolves
Dance in the Dark- Au/Ra
Bulletproof- Godsmack
Far From Home (The Raven)- Sam Tinnesz
Black Sea- Natasha Blume
I Stand Alone- Godsmack
Looking Glass- Roses & Revolutions
Under Your Scars- Godsmack
Seven Devils- Florence + The Machine
STILL NUMB- Ryan Oakes
Jaded- Spiritbox
Favorite Song- Toosii
The Void- Spiritbox
Bubble Wrap- Precious Pepala
Doomsday- Lizzy McAlpine
Talk- Hozier
Whatever- Godsmack
Dancing in a Daydream- Roses & Revolutions, Weathers
Panic Room- Au/Ra
Start a War- Klergy, Valerie Broussard
Beautiful Things- Benson Boone
Lost Boy- Ruth B.
Dandelions- Ruth B.
Labour- Paris Paloma
Lost- camdenmusique
With You Til The End- Tommee Profitt, Sam Tinnesz
Killing Me Slowly- Bad Wolves
Heal You- Kevin Gates
I’m The Sinner- Jared Benjamin
The Resistance- Skillet
If You Killed Somebody- Abby Anderson
Under The Influence- Chris Brown
Kiss Me- Sixpence None the Richer
Prophecy- Remy Zero
I’ll Be- Edwin McCain
Give Me One Reason- Tracy Chapman
Bleeding Love- Leona Lewis
Time After Time- Cyndi Lauper
Comedown- Bush
Wild Horses- The Sundays
Something’s Always Wrong- Toad the Wet Sprocket
It’s Not Over- Daughtry
Broken- Seether, Amy Lee
I’m With You- Avril Lavigne
Iris- The Goo Goo Dolls
Dedication
To my amazing readers. You asked, and I hope I delivered. Just know, without you all, this book would never have been possible. I love you all!
Content Warning
For all intents and purposes, this book is very sweet and loving. That doesn’t mean that it’s without its possible triggers, however.
If you read Switch Heater, then you met Cozette at the end of Ripley’s book. If not, that’s okay! This book was written to be able to stand on its own feet, and I’ll tell you a bit about Cozy before we dive into possible triggers.
At the end of Switch Heater, Ripley is taken by a rather vicious alpha. People questioned why I did that a couple of years ago, and although I didn’t realize it at the time, I now know I wrote that in to introduce you all to Cozy. Poor thing has been through it. She was held captive by this alpha for over a year, abused and locked in a cage. He did terrible things to her, left her body scarred and her mind a jumble of terror. But Ripley saved her, and now, it’s time for her own happily ever after.
I truly hope you all love Cozy and her alphas. This is a reverse harem, so no sword crossing my sweet, smutty friends. It just wasn’t in the cards when these characters were speaking to me, and honestly, that’s okay. Because it just feels right for Cozy.
Now, lets get into these triggers!
*Therapy sessions
*Mentions of familial deaths
*Mentions of physical violence
*Mentions of SA
*Infertility
*Mentions of physical scarring
*Anxiety
*Panic attacks
*Relationship between patient and therapist
*DVP
*Cockwarming
Now, without further ado, I give you my sweet, lovely Cozette and her unruly bunch of alphas! Enjoy.
Xoxo, K.L. Moore
Prologue
Jeremiah
Months earlier…
I’m a spirit, an apparition, a phantom, a specter, unseen unless I make it so. My ability to get in and out of anywhere without being caught, vanishing without a trace—despite my size—is how I’ve survived, giving myself the security I’d always needed as a child.
In and out without detection. Guaranteed.
Children aren’t meant to be homeless, to know the gnawing hunger in the aching pit of an empty stomach. They shouldn’t know what it’s like to feel the freezing chill of winter deep in their bones as their too small, threadbare clothes hardly cover their bony frame where they sleep in an abandoned house. They shouldn’t be left alone to fend for themselves because no one in this world wants them.
But when that’s your upbringing, you develop a knack for adapting to any situation. You learn a valuable skill. One that others are willing to pay top dollar for, and you dedicate yourself to mastering it, surpassing all the competition as you grow. Because in the trenches of society, the more efficient you are, the more notable you are. And with notoriety comes financial stability, granting that once alone, terrified, and starved child a sense of stability and security.
The cold, hard truth is that the cast aside, forgotten, and lonely souls that reside in the darkest pockets of society are the only people that can truly attest to and understand that this world isn’t black and white as the rest believe. Which is why I’m comfortable in the ashy gray void I willingly walked into when I got tired of being cold and hungry.
Alone.
In the grand scheme of things, I’ve not only made myself indispensable thanks to how well I do my job, but I’ve also made sure everyone fears me so they can’t fuck me over. Dealing in secrets makes me a dangerous enemy, but a powerful ally, and I’ve made it a point not to be too particular about the jobs I’ve taken over the years for that very reason. Money is money in the end, and with a few exceptions, there aren’t many lines I’m not willing to cross.
Until now.
Victor Travis has been a frequent customer of mine in the last two years. A man used to getting his way. Whatever he wants, whenever he wants it. If I’m being completely honest, I find him completely intolerable, but I’ve taken the jobs he gives me solely for the chance of being able to see her, if only for a moment.
The shattered omega he’s kept hidden away in his house of despair and anguish, chained and locked in a cage like an animal.
When he first called me to get what he wanted, I didn’t give it a second thought. It’s not the first time I’ve been asked to bring a warm body to someone, and I’m sure it won’t be the last. This was just the first time I’d been asked to procure an omega for someone, but hey, how hard could it be, right? Without a thought, I said it would be done.
In my eyes, if I could give Victor the omega he wanted, then maybe Cozette could finally be safe.
Free.
Yes, I’d be condemning whoever the omega is to take Cozette’s place, but if it meant she’d know more than pain, that maybe she stood a chance at a normal life, then I could live with my conscience on that front. I could live with the demons tormenting me for what I forced on another if it meant Cozette could finally fly.
At least, I thought it’d be that easy.
At our first meeting, my eyes were instantly drawn to her. Victor had her chained to the floor beside him at his desk, a heavy metal collar wrapped around her thin, fragile throat, and all I wanted to do was take her away. To put an end to the suffering that I knew he was causing her, but I couldn’t.
Not then. And especially not now.
Now, I have to disappear like the ghost I am.
I’ve refused Victor, and not only that, but boldly told him I would be taking Cozette with me.
He doesn’t appreciate that, and before I can blink, a gun is pointed at my head.
I’m usually very good at anticipating what’s coming, yet he surprised me this time.
In the end, I have no choice but to leave without her.
It’s only temporary, though .
Cozy is mine.
She’s meant to be with me, and I don’t care if I have to tear the city apart and rip Victor’s head clean from his body when the time comes. I will have her, and no harm will ever come to her again.
I swear it.
One
Cozette
When Victor died, it felt like I was being ripped apart on the inside, but it also felt freeing. I may have been in excruciating pain as that terrible half-bond he forced on me died and withered to ash, but I had never felt freer than in that moment. As the chains that had bound me to him for over a year broke and theoretically clashed on the surrounding floor, my soul slowly felt lighter.
I let my alpha die, and I didn’t care one bit.
It didn’t matter to me.
Because he wasn’t my alpha.
Victor meant nothing to me.
He was my nightmare come to life. A true monster, something nobody warned me could exist.
But now I’m free.
All thanks to one crazy omega that refused to back down.
If it wasn’t for Ripley, I don’t want to think about where I’d be right now. My back still aches from the lashing Victor gave me before Ripley intervened, and it’s been a couple of months since that horrific day.
It turns out being malnourished and beaten for over a year really does some damage, inside and outside. I’ve had a lot of recuperating to do, with no real hurry to get out of here because once I leave, that’s it. I’m out in the world on my own for the first time in my life.
I don’t know how to be on my own.
Not really.
“Knock, knock,” a voice calls at my hospital room door, pulling my attention away from my grim thoughts.
When I raise my eyes, I see Micah—the therapist they assigned to me while I’ve been here—peeking in with a dimpled grin on his handsome face ,and my cheeks flush. He’s so classically handsome with his dirty blonde hair, honey brown eyes, and chiseled good looks. Every time he comes around, my heart flutters in my chest, and yet his scent somehow calms and soothes my battered soul. He smells like safety.
Baby powder isn’t a scent that most would find alluring, but I don’t know… I like it.
Now.
It makes me feel warm and happy when I get a hit of it.
“I hear you’re busting out of here finally,” he teases.
“So I’ve been told. They’ve gotten sick of me being here, and they’re kicking me out,” I tell him softly with a smile before looking down at my fingers in my lap.
“Nah, you’re our favorite patient. Well, you’re mine, at least. We’ll all be sad to see you go, but happy that you’re finally feeling better. I just wanted to pop in and check on you before you’re gone.”
He walks farther into my room and takes a seat in the chair by my bed, something he couldn’t do in the beginning. I sit up farther and fold my hands together.
Micah wasn’t the first therapist they assigned me when I got here, but the beta woman that came the first few times ended up having to go on maternity leave suddenly, and he was the only other therapist they had available for a few weeks. It wasn’t easy in the beginning, and his scent reminded me of Victor’s the first time I’d gotten a hit of it, nearly sending me into a panic. Not that they were similar, just that Victor’s was so misleading, so what if Micah’s was too?
I remember I’d held my breath until my chest was screaming, cowering away from him at the head of my hospital bed like a wild, caged animal ready to attack. It only took a few minutes for me to deduce Micah was nothing like Victor after he left and came back covered head to toe in a hazmat suit—completely masking his scent from me—and sitting as far away as he could while still being able to speak softly to me.
I didn’t talk to him, barely even glanced in his direction, but I listened. After his first visit, Ripley stayed with me for our sessions until I felt more comfortable around him.
Micah’s great at his job though, and something about his personality says he’s one of the gentlest souls, which is surprising to me with his alpha designation. He’s been wonderful at helping me work through some of my fears, reminding me that Victor doesn’t hold any power over me anymore, and helping me learn how to move forward after everything.
Now, after all these months spent talking with him while I’ve recovered, I can’t help but feel eased whenever he stops by. I suppose it helps that he’s quite possibly the sweetest man I’ve ever met.
“I’m fine. Ripley will be here soon with her pack to pick me up.”
“And how does that make you feel? Are you okay with being around Ripley’s alphas now?”
I think about that for a minute.
Initially, being around them was really difficult, but I’ve had the opportunity to get to know Ripley’s pack over the course of my time in the hospital. True to her word, the crazy omega hasn’t left my side for a second. And if she’s here, then one or more of her mates is with her.
In the beginning, it was always River or Kian that would come with her, until I felt capable of meeting the others. Her entire pack, as well as her parents, have been incredibly kind to me, and because I trust her wholeheartedly, that trust is being extended to those connected to her as well. I’m making a conscious effort to re-establish my trust in people until I’m given a valid reason to doubt them.
“I… It doesn’t bother me. Her pack is nice, and I trust her. So, if they have her confidence, they have mine,” I tell him resolutely with a nod.
Micah just grins at me, his dimples popping out.
“Good. That’s good. I’m extremely proud of your progress, Cozy. You’ve made excellent strides since we started our talks together. I think you’re going to be just fine out there.”
My brow furrows.
“Will we not have our sessions anymore?”
He pauses, looking unsure at first before he answers me, his tone cautious.
“No, I figured you’d be on the lookout for a more permanent therapist once you left here. I even put together a list of some great beta psychiatrists as well as one who’s an omega in the area, so you can check them out and see who you think you’d have an easier time talking to.”
“But—” I stop, biting my lip.
He raises his brow, but he doesn’t interrupt me, instead waiting for me to say whatever I want to say.
That’s what I really like about Micah. He gives me patience, grace, and the space to get my thoughts out, something I’m not used to.
Victor barely let me speak, preferring not to hear my voice at all unless I was screaming or crying.
I mentally shake that thought away.
We’re moving forward now.
No more looking back.
Victor doesn’t hold all the cards anymore, and he no longer wields any power over you, a voice whispers in the back of my mind.
I don’t want someone else to talk to. I’ve already had to start over when Micah came around, and I’ve shared so much with him. Even still, we’ve barely scratched the surface. Not to mention, I’m already comfortable with him. If I have to start over with someone new, I could backslide or have an even harder time opening up to them than I did with Micah.
During the first few sessions, I barely spoke to him. In fact, he talked during those sessions, giving me the chance to warm up to him. That’s why I could finally open up and talk to him. He made me feel so comfortable by telling me about himself without me having to say anything. He treated me like… a person.
Not property.
Not an omega.
Just… me.
Cozette McClain.
“Can’t I just keep seeing you? I’m comfortable with you, and you already know most of my history.”
My fingers twist together, anxiety over more change flooding through my system.
I hate change so much now. It stresses me out that I don’t know exactly where I’m going from here, other than to Ripley’s parent’s house.
But for how long? When will they get tired of catering to the strange, broken omega their daughter saved and thrust upon them?
I’ve met Valley, Ripley’s mom, and all three of her dads, and they seem like wonderful people, but surely they never thought a random stranger would move in with them. Much less one that’s got a heap of emotional baggage in tow.
Everything is changing again, and it’s terrifying.
I just need consistency somewhere in my life!
