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BrokenVerse #4
Torment Me Knot
ESPIE
I was taken from Haven’s basement.
Chosen for experiments no omega should survive.
Wallace cut me open and called it science.
Pain was all I had. Every wound etched deeper. Hope vanished.
When the Facility fell, freedom didn’t come.
Wallace dragged me deeper into hell, until rescue found me.
But too late to save what he broke.
Sera is my rescue. A rare female alpha. My scent-matched mate.
To save my life, she takes me to the Omega Healing Centre,
giving me safety I can’t trust, promising healing I can’t imagine.
Everything changes with Aubrey.
An omega marked by the same monsters, haunted by the same fears.
I never believed omegas could be scent-matched,
but my body wakes for his.
Aubrey has mates of his own.
Three scent-matched alphas I’m too broken to let close.
I can’t flinch forever, not with pack and danger closing in.
Wallace is hunting me.
He wants his property.
He’ll destroy anyone in his way.
When Sera is taken, Aubrey and I have to fight—
not just for her, but for each other,
and for what hope we have left.
I was made to bleed. Made to break.
But for Sera, for Aubrey, for our pack, I won’t be a victim.
If pain is all I have, I’ll use it to carve a future no one can touch.
AUBREY
I was the stolen omega.
Property of a monster who broke me and branded me with scars.
I barely speak, barely breathe, afraid of my own scent-matches.
I can’t let Kevin, Ezra, or Lex close. Not when my body’s every instinct panics at the promise of love.
Hope is a threat. Trust feels like a weapon. Freedom is too big to hold.
Everything shifts with Espie.
An omega abused by the same monsters, and somehow, my scent-matched mate.
Ours is a bond the world says should never exist.
But she comes with tangled danger. A rare female alpha scent match.
There is not one without the other.
None of us know how to touch each other without flinching.
But Espie and I find a language beyond fear. Sera’s strength anchors us.
Together, we are something a patchwork family, traumatized, unwanted, and determined to fight for each other’s right to simply exist.
But Wallace isn’t done.
His ambition hunts us in the shadows. No place is safe.
When Sera is taken, Espie and I must face a past that nearly destroyed us and risk everything to bring her home.
I never thought I’d be anything but tormented.
I never thought I’d fight for love.
But for Espie, for our pack, and for every omega still shackled by the world’s cruelty, I won’t just survive.
I will fight.
If scars are all I am, I’ll use them to cut a new path to freedom.
What you’ll find between these
Scent-matched fated mates
Reverse harem/poly pack romance
Multiple mates (three male alphas, one female alpha, one female omega, one male omega)
I was taken from Haven’s basement.
Chosen for experiments no omega should survive.
Wallace cut me open and called it science.
Pain was all I had. Every wound etched deeper. Hope vanished.
When the Facility fell, freedom didn’t come.
Wallace dragged me deeper into hell, until rescue found me.
But too late to save what he broke.
Sera is my rescue. A rare female alpha. My scent-matched mate.
To save my life, she takes me to the Omega Healing Centre,
giving me safety I can’t trust, promising healing I can’t imagine.
Everything changes with Aubrey.
An omega marked by the same monsters, haunted by the same fears.
I never believed omegas could be scent-matched,
but my body wakes for his.
Aubrey has mates of his own.
Three scent-matched alphas I’m too broken to let close.
I can’t flinch forever, not with pack and danger closing in.
Wallace is hunting me.
He wants his property.
He’ll destroy anyone in his way.
When Sera is taken, Aubrey and I have to fight—
not just for her, but for each other,
and for what hope we have left.
I was made to bleed. Made to break.
But for Sera, for Aubrey, for our pack, I won’t be a victim.
If pain is all I have, I’ll use it to carve a future no one can touch.
AUBREY
I was the stolen omega.
Property of a monster who broke me and branded me with scars.
I barely speak, barely breathe, afraid of my own scent-matches.
I can’t let Kevin, Ezra, or Lex close. Not when my body’s every instinct panics at the promise of love.
Hope is a threat. Trust feels like a weapon. Freedom is too big to hold.
Everything shifts with Espie.
An omega abused by the same monsters, and somehow, my scent-matched mate.
Ours is a bond the world says should never exist.
But she comes with tangled danger. A rare female alpha scent match.
There is not one without the other.
None of us know how to touch each other without flinching.
But Espie and I find a language beyond fear. Sera’s strength anchors us.
Together, we are something a patchwork family, traumatized, unwanted, and determined to fight for each other’s right to simply exist.
But Wallace isn’t done.
His ambition hunts us in the shadows. No place is safe.
When Sera is taken, Espie and I must face a past that nearly destroyed us and risk everything to bring her home.
I never thought I’d be anything but tormented.
I never thought I’d fight for love.
But for Espie, for our pack, and for every omega still shackled by the world’s cruelty, I won’t just survive.
I will fight.
If scars are all I am, I’ll use them to cut a new path to freedom.
What you’ll find between these
Scent-matched fated mates
Reverse harem/poly pack romance
Multiple mates (three male alphas, one female alpha, one female omega, one male omega)
- GenresOmegaverseRomanceFantasy
410 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 30, 2026
About the author
Charmaine Ross
341 books308 followersCharmaine Ross has penned over 50 heart-pounding tales straddling everything from reverse harem sci-fi and paranormal excitement to omegaverse allure and contemporary romance charm. Known for her blend of steam, full spice and all-the-feels, Charmaine's stories are your ticket to heart-stopping romance and boundless adventure.
Living with her endlessly supportive husband who has become a sounding board for her galaxy of ideas, Charmaine shares her lively home with two adult children and a pair of predictably spoiled cats. When she's not spinning tales, she's indulging in Netflix and Chill sessions, secretly hoping that one day, a Black Dagger Brotherhood vampire will swoop in and whisk her away.
With a wit as sharp as her imagination, Charmaine Ross fearlessly turns dreams into page-turning realities, steadfastly capturing the hearts of readers one mesmerizing story at a time.
Key tropes include:
- Scent matches
- Fated mates
- Hurt/ comfort
- Touch her and die
- Enemies to lovers
Catch up with her latest news at: https://www.charmainerossauthor.com/
Living with her endlessly supportive husband who has become a sounding board for her galaxy of ideas, Charmaine shares her lively home with two adult children and a pair of predictably spoiled cats. When she's not spinning tales, she's indulging in Netflix and Chill sessions, secretly hoping that one day, a Black Dagger Brotherhood vampire will swoop in and whisk her away.
With a wit as sharp as her imagination, Charmaine Ross fearlessly turns dreams into page-turning realities, steadfastly capturing the hearts of readers one mesmerizing story at a time.
Key tropes include:
- Scent matches
- Fated mates
- Hurt/ comfort
- Touch her and die
- Enemies to lovers
Catch up with her latest news at: https://www.charmainerossauthor.com/
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
October 20, 2026
What makes this book so brutal for me is how much of the ugly reality of healing it gets right. The timeline is vastly accelerated compared to real life, but the trauma responses themselves hit painfully close to home. As someone who has actually survived that world, reading this was not simply emotional. It was recognition.
Both Espie and Aubrey display trauma responses I recognize because I have lived through them myself. The rocking. Going non-verbal. Touch aversion. Being afraid of comfort because comfort has been used to manipulate you. Dissociating so completely that you retreat into the darkness of your own mind because existing in the world around you is simply too much. Going catatonic. Not being able to trust food, not knowing what's in it, whether it's safe, or what accepting it will cost you.
And then there's the inability to trust kindness. The constant expectation that the other shoe will drop. The fear that people will eventually get tired of being patient and decide to take what they really wanted all along.
The hypervigilance, too. Tracking the exits, every person in the room, every hand, every tiny change in expression. Watching microexpressions because you need to know something has changed before the danger becomes obvious.
These aren't just signs that a character is frightened. They're what survival can look like when the world has taught you that you cannot afford to let your guard down. And getting somewhere safe doesn't automatically undo any of it.
That's one of the things I think this book does particularly well. It recognizes that knowing you're safe and actually feeling safe are two very different things.
You can be removed from the people who hurt you and still expect punishment for the smallest mistake. You can be surrounded by people who genuinely want to help and still struggle to believe that their kindness doesn't come with a price. You can desperately want comfort and be terrified of what accepting that comfort might mean.
One of the details that hit me particularly hard was Espie's relationship with food and the fear that follows even the smallest mistake. At the omega care clinic after her rescue, she's hesitant about eating, and when she spills something, she immediately starts over-apologizing, terrified of the brutal punishment she expects to follow.
That's what trauma can do. A spill isn't just a spill when you've learned that making a mistake can get you hurt. Your body reacts to the punishment you expect, even when the people around you have given you no reason to expect it.
That fear follows Espie into the house, too. But this time, Aubrey helps settle her while Sera simply cleans up the mess. Nobody punishes her. Nobody makes her earn their patience. The accident is allowed to be an accident.
I appreciated that the book didn't treat rescue as an instant cure. Espie may have been removed from the people who hurt her, but she's still carrying the expectations they taught her to live with. Safety has to become something she experiences repeatedly before she can begin to trust it.
And Aubrey's role matters here, too. The omegas have each other. They're not only learning to accept care from the alphas; they're also able to offer comfort and reassurance within their own bond.
That brings me to the alphas, because the patience Sera, Kev, Lex, and Ezra show is such an important part of this story.
They are so gentle with Espie and Aubrey that they've accepted the possibility that they may never have the kind of relationship with their omegas that they want. They may never get to hold them whenever they want. They might have to keep their distance, watch over them from across a room, and accept whatever little pieces of trust the omegas are able to give them.
And they are willing to do that. They will keep providing, protecting, and caring for them even if that's all they ever get to do.
There is something profoundly important about that kind of love when you're reading as a survivor. The omegas don't owe the alphas affection because they've been kind. They don't owe them touch because they've provided safety. They don't have to heal on anyone else's schedule to deserve to be cared for.
The alphas are willing to give them what they need without demanding anything in return.
They aren't waiting for the omegas to become easier to love. They're loving them while they heal.
Another thing I appreciated was that the alphas' patience felt consistent with who they were as people. Sera specializes in crimes against omegas, one of the men is a lawyer who takes cases for omegas even when they can barely afford to pay him, another is an English professor. These are people whose lives and careers already involve helping others.
Their patience with Espie and Aubrey doesn't feel like a performance designed to win the omegas' affection. They understand that vulnerable people need time, that trust cannot be demanded, and that helping someone doesn't mean you get to decide how quickly they recover.
Their professions reinforce that commitment, but what matters most is what they actually do. They allow the omegas to set the pace, even when that means accepting distance and uncertainty. Their willingness to keep caring without guarantees of physical affection or a particular kind of relationship is one of the strongest parts of this story.
They don't treat love like a transaction. They don't treat patience like an investment they expect to pay off. They simply keep showing up.
Sera is another enormous part of why this works. As the female alpha, she is less intimidating to the omegas than the larger male alphas. For someone who has been hurt predominantly by men, the presence of a woman can feel less threatening. I understand that personally, because I experienced something similar. Men were the people who hurt me, and women didn't carry that same immediate association with danger. It was easier to begin opening up when I didn't feel quite so threatened.
That doesn't mean women are automatically safe or that every survivor feels the same way. It means that sometimes, the person who feels least frightening can be the first person who helps you begin to believe that the world might not always be a terrible place to exist.
Sera provides that opening for the omegas. She helps make the possibility of safety feel real before they can fully trust the others. Watching that trust develop, slowly and gently, is one of the things that makes this story so meaningful to me.
But Sera's storyline added another layer that I didn't expect to hit me so hard.
She grew up being told that female alphas don't get packs or mates, that they live alone and die alone. Imagine being taught your entire life that belonging is something other people get, but never you.
Then she finds Espie. They're scent matches, and Sera is perfectly happy to build a life with her, even if it's just the two of them. She has found someone to love, and she thinks she knows what her future will look like.
Then a chance meeting brings Aubrey and the other alphas into their lives, and everything changes.
One of the things I found genuinely refreshing was the bond between Espie and Aubrey. I've read plenty of books with multiple omegas in a pack, but I've never encountered this particular arrangement before: the two omegas are scent matched to each other as well as to all four alphas. Espie and Aubrey are immediately inseparable.
Their bond isn't just a convenient way to put two omegas in the same pack. It's a connection in its own right, and everyone else has to figure out how to fit into this already-developing family.
But the male alphas are so focused on making sure the omegas are safe and cared for that they fail to recognize what Sera needs. They don't know what she's been told all her life. They don't realize she's pulling away, preparing to leave once the omegas are settled. They are trying so hard to do the right thing that they overlook the person who has been helping make it all possible.
It's a reminder that good intentions don't automatically mean you understand what someone else needs. Sera isn't just another person who needs to be useful to the pack. She needs to know she's wanted. She needs to believe that she has a place there, not simply that she is allowed to stay as long as she makes herself useful.
And Sera eventually does leave, going alone to hunt down the scientist who tortured Espie. She gets caught and becomes bait.
But what really stayed with me was the omegas' reaction when they get her back.
By this point, they've healed enough to be furious with her. How dare she leave? How dare she put herself in danger and make that decision without them?
The omegas healing enough to get a little feisty was absolutely adorable. Watching these two go from struggling just to exist to having opinions, getting indignant, and chewing Sera out for putting herself in danger was one of my favorite parts of their journey.
Because that's healing, too.
It's not just learning to accept comfort. It's learning that you're allowed to have opinions, to get angry, to want people to stay, and to tell the people you love when they're being idiots. They're finally safe enough to stop simply enduring the world and start participating in it.
When you've spent your life having your needs punished, expressing those needs can be even more dangerous. You learn not to ask. Not to want. Not to object. You learn to make yourself as small and undemanding as possible because having needs can make you a target.
Healing means getting to a place where you can want someone to stay. Where you can be angry because you care about what happens to them. Where you can tell someone they've hurt you instead of simply accepting it as something you deserve.
Espie and Aubrey aren't just learning to accept care. They're learning that they are allowed to need people, to want things, to have expectations, and to speak up when something matters to them.
And the fact that the alphas can handle their newfound feistiness without making their love conditional makes it even better. The omegas don't have to be perfectly agreeable, endlessly grateful, or easy to care for. They can be angry. They can push back. They can demand that the people they love make better choices.
They can be people.
And Sera, who spent her whole life believing she was destined to be alone, has to learn that she is allowed to belong, too.
The villain was a particularly believable kind of evil. He genuinely believes his research will benefit the world. In his mind, what he's trying to accomplish is so important that the suffering of his test subjects is an acceptable loss. These omegas aren't people to him. They're lab rats, resources to be used in pursuit of scientific advancement. Their pain, their fear, their lives simply don't matter as much as his research.
That's what makes him so disturbing. He doesn't need to believe he's evil. He's convinced he's justified. He's found a way to make the suffering of other people irrelevant to his own moral calculations because he's decided his goal is more important than their humanity.
And that creates such a stark contrast with the alphas. The scientist sees the omegas as tools to be used. The alphas see them as people whose boundaries, needs, and choices matter. The scientist believes the suffering of a few is an acceptable price for what he wants. The alphas are willing to give the omegas time, protection, and patience without demanding anything in return.
One side treats people as disposable. The other refuses to treat them as anything less than people.
For me, that contrast makes the story's portrayal of care and healing even more meaningful. Espie and Aubrey aren't simply escaping people who hurt them. They're discovering what it feels like to live among people who recognize their humanity and treat it as something worth protecting.
And then we get to the ending.
The happy family at the end is such an emotional payoff after everything these characters have been through. I was genuinely worried about whether Sera was going to make it, and the relief of getting to see them together afterward meant so much more because of that fear.
The ending isn't only a reward for Espie and Aubrey. It's the culmination of a journey for all of them.
The omegas had to learn how to feel safe. They had to learn that they could accept comfort without owing anyone anything, that they could have needs without being punished, and that they could trust the people around them without constantly preparing for the next terrible thing to happen.
Sera had a different journey. She had to learn how to feel accepted. She had to confront the belief that she was destined to be alone and discover that she wasn't simply useful to this family. She was wanted by them. She belonged with them.
The omegas needed to learn that they were safe enough to stay. Sera needed to learn that she was wanted enough to stay.
That distinction is what made the ending hit so hard for me. It's not just that everyone survives and gets a happy ending. It's that they finally have the emotional security to believe in the family they've built together.
The long scene of bonding in the omega nest, of the pack coming together and helping the omegas through their heat, gave us time to sit with that safety. After so much fear, pain, and uncertainty, we get to see them experience closeness and care without the threat of it being taken away or turned against them.
They get to be together. They get to be wanted. They get to have a home and a family that makes room for all of them.
And Sera finally gets to believe that she belongs there, too.
That is the payoff I wanted. Not just the absence of danger, but the presence of something good. Not simply surviving, but getting to live. Not only being rescued, but discovering that there is a life beyond what was done to you.
I went into this book expecting an emotional read. I didn't expect it to reach into places I hadn't fully found the words for myself. It brought up memories and feelings I hadn't shared with my husband before, and reading it was sometimes brutal in ways I wasn't prepared for. I ended up curled in his lap sitting in the bathtub until the water went cold.
But I also found something meaningful in that experience. The book gave me a way to recognize and put words to things that can be incredibly difficult to explain to someone who hasn't lived them. It hurt, but it also helped.
I think many readers will finish this book heartbroken over what Espie and Aubrey endured. And they should be. What happened to them is horrific. But I hope readers also pay attention to what comes afterward, because that is where so much of the story's emotional weight lives.
Healing isn't a pretty, linear progression where someone is rescued, receives enough love, and magically becomes whole. It can be ugly. It can be exhausting. It can mean being terrified of kindness, apologizing for an accident, or wanting comfort while being unable to tolerate someone touching you. It can mean learning the same lesson again and again because knowing something intellectually doesn't mean your body believes it yet.
It can also mean eventually becoming angry enough to tell the people you love that they're being idiots. It can mean wanting someone to stay. It can mean accepting that you deserve care even when you have nothing to offer in return.
And sometimes, it means watching someone else learn that they deserve a family, too.
It's a dark, painful story, but for me, its greatest strength is the way it puts so much emphasis on what happens after the immediate danger has passed. It shows the importance of patience, the power of consistent kindness, and the difference between treating someone as a person who needs time and treating them as a problem to be fixed.
As someone who has actually survived that world, this was hard to read. I cried through nearly every chapter. But this book also helped me put things into words that I haven't had words for before.
Both Espie and Aubrey display trauma responses I recognize because I have lived through them myself. The rocking. Going non-verbal. Touch aversion. Being afraid of comfort because comfort has been used to manipulate you. Dissociating so completely that you retreat into the darkness of your own mind because existing in the world around you is simply too much. Going catatonic. Not being able to trust food, not knowing what's in it, whether it's safe, or what accepting it will cost you.
And then there's the inability to trust kindness. The constant expectation that the other shoe will drop. The fear that people will eventually get tired of being patient and decide to take what they really wanted all along.
The hypervigilance, too. Tracking the exits, every person in the room, every hand, every tiny change in expression. Watching microexpressions because you need to know something has changed before the danger becomes obvious.
These aren't just signs that a character is frightened. They're what survival can look like when the world has taught you that you cannot afford to let your guard down. And getting somewhere safe doesn't automatically undo any of it.
That's one of the things I think this book does particularly well. It recognizes that knowing you're safe and actually feeling safe are two very different things.
You can be removed from the people who hurt you and still expect punishment for the smallest mistake. You can be surrounded by people who genuinely want to help and still struggle to believe that their kindness doesn't come with a price. You can desperately want comfort and be terrified of what accepting that comfort might mean.
One of the details that hit me particularly hard was Espie's relationship with food and the fear that follows even the smallest mistake. At the omega care clinic after her rescue, she's hesitant about eating, and when she spills something, she immediately starts over-apologizing, terrified of the brutal punishment she expects to follow.
That's what trauma can do. A spill isn't just a spill when you've learned that making a mistake can get you hurt. Your body reacts to the punishment you expect, even when the people around you have given you no reason to expect it.
That fear follows Espie into the house, too. But this time, Aubrey helps settle her while Sera simply cleans up the mess. Nobody punishes her. Nobody makes her earn their patience. The accident is allowed to be an accident.
I appreciated that the book didn't treat rescue as an instant cure. Espie may have been removed from the people who hurt her, but she's still carrying the expectations they taught her to live with. Safety has to become something she experiences repeatedly before she can begin to trust it.
And Aubrey's role matters here, too. The omegas have each other. They're not only learning to accept care from the alphas; they're also able to offer comfort and reassurance within their own bond.
That brings me to the alphas, because the patience Sera, Kev, Lex, and Ezra show is such an important part of this story.
They are so gentle with Espie and Aubrey that they've accepted the possibility that they may never have the kind of relationship with their omegas that they want. They may never get to hold them whenever they want. They might have to keep their distance, watch over them from across a room, and accept whatever little pieces of trust the omegas are able to give them.
And they are willing to do that. They will keep providing, protecting, and caring for them even if that's all they ever get to do.
There is something profoundly important about that kind of love when you're reading as a survivor. The omegas don't owe the alphas affection because they've been kind. They don't owe them touch because they've provided safety. They don't have to heal on anyone else's schedule to deserve to be cared for.
The alphas are willing to give them what they need without demanding anything in return.
They aren't waiting for the omegas to become easier to love. They're loving them while they heal.
Another thing I appreciated was that the alphas' patience felt consistent with who they were as people. Sera specializes in crimes against omegas, one of the men is a lawyer who takes cases for omegas even when they can barely afford to pay him, another is an English professor. These are people whose lives and careers already involve helping others.
Their patience with Espie and Aubrey doesn't feel like a performance designed to win the omegas' affection. They understand that vulnerable people need time, that trust cannot be demanded, and that helping someone doesn't mean you get to decide how quickly they recover.
Their professions reinforce that commitment, but what matters most is what they actually do. They allow the omegas to set the pace, even when that means accepting distance and uncertainty. Their willingness to keep caring without guarantees of physical affection or a particular kind of relationship is one of the strongest parts of this story.
They don't treat love like a transaction. They don't treat patience like an investment they expect to pay off. They simply keep showing up.
Sera is another enormous part of why this works. As the female alpha, she is less intimidating to the omegas than the larger male alphas. For someone who has been hurt predominantly by men, the presence of a woman can feel less threatening. I understand that personally, because I experienced something similar. Men were the people who hurt me, and women didn't carry that same immediate association with danger. It was easier to begin opening up when I didn't feel quite so threatened.
That doesn't mean women are automatically safe or that every survivor feels the same way. It means that sometimes, the person who feels least frightening can be the first person who helps you begin to believe that the world might not always be a terrible place to exist.
Sera provides that opening for the omegas. She helps make the possibility of safety feel real before they can fully trust the others. Watching that trust develop, slowly and gently, is one of the things that makes this story so meaningful to me.
But Sera's storyline added another layer that I didn't expect to hit me so hard.
She grew up being told that female alphas don't get packs or mates, that they live alone and die alone. Imagine being taught your entire life that belonging is something other people get, but never you.
Then she finds Espie. They're scent matches, and Sera is perfectly happy to build a life with her, even if it's just the two of them. She has found someone to love, and she thinks she knows what her future will look like.
Then a chance meeting brings Aubrey and the other alphas into their lives, and everything changes.
One of the things I found genuinely refreshing was the bond between Espie and Aubrey. I've read plenty of books with multiple omegas in a pack, but I've never encountered this particular arrangement before: the two omegas are scent matched to each other as well as to all four alphas. Espie and Aubrey are immediately inseparable.
Their bond isn't just a convenient way to put two omegas in the same pack. It's a connection in its own right, and everyone else has to figure out how to fit into this already-developing family.
But the male alphas are so focused on making sure the omegas are safe and cared for that they fail to recognize what Sera needs. They don't know what she's been told all her life. They don't realize she's pulling away, preparing to leave once the omegas are settled. They are trying so hard to do the right thing that they overlook the person who has been helping make it all possible.
It's a reminder that good intentions don't automatically mean you understand what someone else needs. Sera isn't just another person who needs to be useful to the pack. She needs to know she's wanted. She needs to believe that she has a place there, not simply that she is allowed to stay as long as she makes herself useful.
And Sera eventually does leave, going alone to hunt down the scientist who tortured Espie. She gets caught and becomes bait.
But what really stayed with me was the omegas' reaction when they get her back.
By this point, they've healed enough to be furious with her. How dare she leave? How dare she put herself in danger and make that decision without them?
The omegas healing enough to get a little feisty was absolutely adorable. Watching these two go from struggling just to exist to having opinions, getting indignant, and chewing Sera out for putting herself in danger was one of my favorite parts of their journey.
Because that's healing, too.
It's not just learning to accept comfort. It's learning that you're allowed to have opinions, to get angry, to want people to stay, and to tell the people you love when they're being idiots. They're finally safe enough to stop simply enduring the world and start participating in it.
When you've spent your life having your needs punished, expressing those needs can be even more dangerous. You learn not to ask. Not to want. Not to object. You learn to make yourself as small and undemanding as possible because having needs can make you a target.
Healing means getting to a place where you can want someone to stay. Where you can be angry because you care about what happens to them. Where you can tell someone they've hurt you instead of simply accepting it as something you deserve.
Espie and Aubrey aren't just learning to accept care. They're learning that they are allowed to need people, to want things, to have expectations, and to speak up when something matters to them.
And the fact that the alphas can handle their newfound feistiness without making their love conditional makes it even better. The omegas don't have to be perfectly agreeable, endlessly grateful, or easy to care for. They can be angry. They can push back. They can demand that the people they love make better choices.
They can be people.
And Sera, who spent her whole life believing she was destined to be alone, has to learn that she is allowed to belong, too.
The villain was a particularly believable kind of evil. He genuinely believes his research will benefit the world. In his mind, what he's trying to accomplish is so important that the suffering of his test subjects is an acceptable loss. These omegas aren't people to him. They're lab rats, resources to be used in pursuit of scientific advancement. Their pain, their fear, their lives simply don't matter as much as his research.
That's what makes him so disturbing. He doesn't need to believe he's evil. He's convinced he's justified. He's found a way to make the suffering of other people irrelevant to his own moral calculations because he's decided his goal is more important than their humanity.
And that creates such a stark contrast with the alphas. The scientist sees the omegas as tools to be used. The alphas see them as people whose boundaries, needs, and choices matter. The scientist believes the suffering of a few is an acceptable price for what he wants. The alphas are willing to give the omegas time, protection, and patience without demanding anything in return.
One side treats people as disposable. The other refuses to treat them as anything less than people.
For me, that contrast makes the story's portrayal of care and healing even more meaningful. Espie and Aubrey aren't simply escaping people who hurt them. They're discovering what it feels like to live among people who recognize their humanity and treat it as something worth protecting.
And then we get to the ending.
The happy family at the end is such an emotional payoff after everything these characters have been through. I was genuinely worried about whether Sera was going to make it, and the relief of getting to see them together afterward meant so much more because of that fear.
The ending isn't only a reward for Espie and Aubrey. It's the culmination of a journey for all of them.
The omegas had to learn how to feel safe. They had to learn that they could accept comfort without owing anyone anything, that they could have needs without being punished, and that they could trust the people around them without constantly preparing for the next terrible thing to happen.
Sera had a different journey. She had to learn how to feel accepted. She had to confront the belief that she was destined to be alone and discover that she wasn't simply useful to this family. She was wanted by them. She belonged with them.
The omegas needed to learn that they were safe enough to stay. Sera needed to learn that she was wanted enough to stay.
That distinction is what made the ending hit so hard for me. It's not just that everyone survives and gets a happy ending. It's that they finally have the emotional security to believe in the family they've built together.
The long scene of bonding in the omega nest, of the pack coming together and helping the omegas through their heat, gave us time to sit with that safety. After so much fear, pain, and uncertainty, we get to see them experience closeness and care without the threat of it being taken away or turned against them.
They get to be together. They get to be wanted. They get to have a home and a family that makes room for all of them.
And Sera finally gets to believe that she belongs there, too.
That is the payoff I wanted. Not just the absence of danger, but the presence of something good. Not simply surviving, but getting to live. Not only being rescued, but discovering that there is a life beyond what was done to you.
I went into this book expecting an emotional read. I didn't expect it to reach into places I hadn't fully found the words for myself. It brought up memories and feelings I hadn't shared with my husband before, and reading it was sometimes brutal in ways I wasn't prepared for. I ended up curled in his lap sitting in the bathtub until the water went cold.
But I also found something meaningful in that experience. The book gave me a way to recognize and put words to things that can be incredibly difficult to explain to someone who hasn't lived them. It hurt, but it also helped.
I think many readers will finish this book heartbroken over what Espie and Aubrey endured. And they should be. What happened to them is horrific. But I hope readers also pay attention to what comes afterward, because that is where so much of the story's emotional weight lives.
Healing isn't a pretty, linear progression where someone is rescued, receives enough love, and magically becomes whole. It can be ugly. It can be exhausting. It can mean being terrified of kindness, apologizing for an accident, or wanting comfort while being unable to tolerate someone touching you. It can mean learning the same lesson again and again because knowing something intellectually doesn't mean your body believes it yet.
It can also mean eventually becoming angry enough to tell the people you love that they're being idiots. It can mean wanting someone to stay. It can mean accepting that you deserve care even when you have nothing to offer in return.
And sometimes, it means watching someone else learn that they deserve a family, too.
It's a dark, painful story, but for me, its greatest strength is the way it puts so much emphasis on what happens after the immediate danger has passed. It shows the importance of patience, the power of consistent kindness, and the difference between treating someone as a person who needs time and treating them as a problem to be fixed.
As someone who has actually survived that world, this was hard to read. I cried through nearly every chapter. But this book also helped me put things into words that I haven't had words for before.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 22, 2026
So. Much. Potential.
I didn't have too many expectations regarding this book after reading the previous ones. I honestly believed it would be just more of the same as the last two books, but I was prepared to get through ot to finish out the series.
Once things started going, though, it seemed to go into another direction that I wasn't expecting. I have to admit that I was intrigued by the dynamic of 2 Omegas joining 2 "packs" as it were, and how things would go between everyone. I was very much enjoying it all until we got about halfway through.
After that, it seemed to revert back to the previous couple of books for a while. We got to the i love yous pretty quick, but I honestly feel like Sera was let down by the author. She could have leaned into her insecurities a lot more to make her leaving feel more believable. As it was, her pulling back and leaving just was awkward.
I am sooo glad that Wallace will get to go through some of what he put the women through. You don't get too see that enough in stories, since the evil people usually just end up dead or in jail.
I won't read the series again, and not sure if I'll read any subsequent books later. The author certainly left it open for more.
I didn't have too many expectations regarding this book after reading the previous ones. I honestly believed it would be just more of the same as the last two books, but I was prepared to get through ot to finish out the series.
Once things started going, though, it seemed to go into another direction that I wasn't expecting. I have to admit that I was intrigued by the dynamic of 2 Omegas joining 2 "packs" as it were, and how things would go between everyone. I was very much enjoying it all until we got about halfway through.
After that, it seemed to revert back to the previous couple of books for a while. We got to the i love yous pretty quick, but I honestly feel like Sera was let down by the author. She could have leaned into her insecurities a lot more to make her leaving feel more believable. As it was, her pulling back and leaving just was awkward.
I am sooo glad that Wallace will get to go through some of what he put the women through. You don't get too see that enough in stories, since the evil people usually just end up dead or in jail.
I won't read the series again, and not sure if I'll read any subsequent books later. The author certainly left it open for more.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 8, 2026
Book 4 in the BrokenVerse
2 Omegas and 4 Alphas
Too many cooks in the kitchen?
Genre: Omegaverse
Tropes: dark, Alpha/Omega/Beta dynamic, government conspiracy, traumatized FMC, traumatized MMC, rich MMCs, reverse harem, fated mates, mental health, MMFFMM, female alpha
Spice: 4/5 knotting, locking, heats
Content Warnings: medical experimentation, abuse, violence, sexual assault, neglect, trafficking
POV: 1st person POV, alternating between 2 FMC and 4 MMCs
Medium: read it on Kindle Unlimited
Sera is a law enforcement officer fighting for Omega rights. A rare female Alpha, she made peace with her lonely life long ago. A lead sends her into a warehouse alone, and she finds Espie the Omega, chained to a bed and barely clinging to life. She instantly knows that Espie is her scent-matched mate. She holds vigil next to Espie's hospital bed for weeks, waiting for her mate to recover.
We have been hearing whispers of Aubrey since book 1. Finally, we properly meet him. Aubrey is also in the Omega hospital. He has been catatonic for months since his rescue. His scent-matched Alphas wait helplessly at his side. When Espie and Aubrey cross paths, something miraculous happens.
What follows is about 500 pages of Omega whimpering and Alpha posturing.
This book was...Well, I should say that I was glad when I thought that book 3 was the final book in the series. And then I found book 4, and it intrigued me enough to give it a shot.
What did I LIKE about the book?
I liked the hurt/comfort trope. We had 2 traumatized Omegas and a touch-starved female Alpha, plenty of fodder for angst and healing.
I liked the deviation from the basic Alpha-Omega-Beta Dynamic. 2 Omegas. Female Alpha. Interesting!!
I liked the spice. It was explicit and plentiful. The male alphas were not crossing swords with each other, but we had every other combination.
My complaints? Well, same as the previous 3 books. Too wordy. We had descriptions of 6 scents and how each character's scent changed according to their emotions. Pages and pages of scent descriptions. 6 "Good mornings." 6 explicit requests for consent with every physical interaction. And I can't even count how many declarations of love and bonding marks were made. To be honest, by the time we got to the bonding orgy at the end, I was skimming.
I feel like this book focused on the wrong character. Unfortunately, we had the same format as the first three books, but with 2 extra people. 3 interchangeable Alpha-stereotype MMCs. Double the Omega trauma. And the plot twist that could have made this book amazing- the Female Alpha- was buried by the same old Alpha/Omega hurt/comfort format from the first 3 books.
I wanted Sera to be the star of the show. Instead, we rotated between all 6 characters. I wanted to crawl under her skin and feel her isolation, her "otherness." The opportunity was there, ready for epic levels of angst. Alas.
I will be seeking out other female alpha books. My curiosity has been piqued.
The series is left open for more books. More elusive scent-matches, more Alphas searching for and protecting Omegas, more government conspiracies. Please remind me to not read the next book. Could I pick up another book from this author? Absolutely yes. I am curious to see what she can do outside of this series format.
Oh, well. Onward!
2 Omegas and 4 Alphas
Too many cooks in the kitchen?
Genre: Omegaverse
Tropes: dark, Alpha/Omega/Beta dynamic, government conspiracy, traumatized FMC, traumatized MMC, rich MMCs, reverse harem, fated mates, mental health, MMFFMM, female alpha
Spice: 4/5 knotting, locking, heats
Content Warnings: medical experimentation, abuse, violence, sexual assault, neglect, trafficking
POV: 1st person POV, alternating between 2 FMC and 4 MMCs
Medium: read it on Kindle Unlimited
Sera is a law enforcement officer fighting for Omega rights. A rare female Alpha, she made peace with her lonely life long ago. A lead sends her into a warehouse alone, and she finds Espie the Omega, chained to a bed and barely clinging to life. She instantly knows that Espie is her scent-matched mate. She holds vigil next to Espie's hospital bed for weeks, waiting for her mate to recover.
We have been hearing whispers of Aubrey since book 1. Finally, we properly meet him. Aubrey is also in the Omega hospital. He has been catatonic for months since his rescue. His scent-matched Alphas wait helplessly at his side. When Espie and Aubrey cross paths, something miraculous happens.
What follows is about 500 pages of Omega whimpering and Alpha posturing.
This book was...Well, I should say that I was glad when I thought that book 3 was the final book in the series. And then I found book 4, and it intrigued me enough to give it a shot.
What did I LIKE about the book?
I liked the hurt/comfort trope. We had 2 traumatized Omegas and a touch-starved female Alpha, plenty of fodder for angst and healing.
I liked the deviation from the basic Alpha-Omega-Beta Dynamic. 2 Omegas. Female Alpha. Interesting!!
I liked the spice. It was explicit and plentiful. The male alphas were not crossing swords with each other, but we had every other combination.
My complaints? Well, same as the previous 3 books. Too wordy. We had descriptions of 6 scents and how each character's scent changed according to their emotions. Pages and pages of scent descriptions. 6 "Good mornings." 6 explicit requests for consent with every physical interaction. And I can't even count how many declarations of love and bonding marks were made. To be honest, by the time we got to the bonding orgy at the end, I was skimming.
I feel like this book focused on the wrong character. Unfortunately, we had the same format as the first three books, but with 2 extra people. 3 interchangeable Alpha-stereotype MMCs. Double the Omega trauma. And the plot twist that could have made this book amazing- the Female Alpha- was buried by the same old Alpha/Omega hurt/comfort format from the first 3 books.
I wanted Sera to be the star of the show. Instead, we rotated between all 6 characters. I wanted to crawl under her skin and feel her isolation, her "otherness." The opportunity was there, ready for epic levels of angst. Alas.
I will be seeking out other female alpha books. My curiosity has been piqued.
The series is left open for more books. More elusive scent-matches, more Alphas searching for and protecting Omegas, more government conspiracies. Please remind me to not read the next book. Could I pick up another book from this author? Absolutely yes. I am curious to see what she can do outside of this series format.
Oh, well. Onward!
June 13, 2026
3.5
My main problem with this was how disappointed I was in the w/w relationship. It's rare to find solid w/w representation in the omegaverse, so I was excited to find it here...only to have it very quickly overshadowed by the w/m and m/m relationships. It felt like a real opportunity was missed.
Also, I was anticipating someone strong and protective in the female alpha. I wanted her to be badass and devoted, but she spent the entire book running scared once the male alphas entered the picture.
There were a few portions where the conversations didnt make sense. For instance:
Alpha: "I wasn't ready for this. "
Omega: "Like what?"
Also transitions between referring to one person, and then another, without specifying they had switched.
And commonly accepted norms of the omegaverse being discarded.
I noticed an increase in such issues as they book neared it's end.
I definitely didn't dislike the book. The overall story, the characters and the pacing were all well done. I think I mostly just felt it could have used a bit more editing and beta reader input.
My main problem with this was how disappointed I was in the w/w relationship. It's rare to find solid w/w representation in the omegaverse, so I was excited to find it here...only to have it very quickly overshadowed by the w/m and m/m relationships. It felt like a real opportunity was missed.
Also, I was anticipating someone strong and protective in the female alpha. I wanted her to be badass and devoted, but she spent the entire book running scared once the male alphas entered the picture.
There were a few portions where the conversations didnt make sense. For instance:
Alpha: "I wasn't ready for this. "
Omega: "Like what?"
Also transitions between referring to one person, and then another, without specifying they had switched.
And commonly accepted norms of the omegaverse being discarded.
I noticed an increase in such issues as they book neared it's end.
I definitely didn't dislike the book. The overall story, the characters and the pacing were all well done. I think I mostly just felt it could have used a bit more editing and beta reader input.
June 1, 2026
Raw,heart-breaking and emotional!
This is the story of Espie, an omega saved from years of captivity and experimentation by Sera ,a rare female alpha fierce,determined but also with a deep sense of unworthyness.
They learn they're scent matches but there's a ton of traumas and insecurities.
Then the unexpected happens ,they met Aubrey and the bond clicks...
I loved all the books in the series.but Torment me knot is a emotional whirlwind that pulled all my strings.
Espie and Aubrey's past is so heart breaking that it was hard to read what was done to them.
And curiosly it was Sera that I felt deeply such a hard exterior and so many conflited emotions inside.
Have to praise the author for the depht in her characters ,they felt real and relatable and couldn’t stop feeling empathy.
🤍broken and damaged omegas
🤍protective and caring alphas
🤍A rare female alpha
🤍trauma recovery and healing
🤍 touch-her-and-die vibe
🤍 found family
🤍emotional hurt/comfort
🤍Dark omegaverse
🤍 HEA
This is the story of Espie, an omega saved from years of captivity and experimentation by Sera ,a rare female alpha fierce,determined but also with a deep sense of unworthyness.
They learn they're scent matches but there's a ton of traumas and insecurities.
Then the unexpected happens ,they met Aubrey and the bond clicks...
I loved all the books in the series.but Torment me knot is a emotional whirlwind that pulled all my strings.
Espie and Aubrey's past is so heart breaking that it was hard to read what was done to them.
And curiosly it was Sera that I felt deeply such a hard exterior and so many conflited emotions inside.
Have to praise the author for the depht in her characters ,they felt real and relatable and couldn’t stop feeling empathy.
🤍broken and damaged omegas
🤍protective and caring alphas
🤍A rare female alpha
🤍trauma recovery and healing
🤍 touch-her-and-die vibe
🤍 found family
🤍emotional hurt/comfort
🤍Dark omegaverse
🤍 HEA
June 6, 2026
I knew before I started this one was going to be an emotional one. I mean the other 3 in the series were heartbreaking enough but Espie and Aubrey were there longer and through so much more. From the start I knew these two had a special connection and my heart broke when they embraced for the first time. Like nothing else mattered. The healing was slow and written perfectly.
This story has trauma but it also has survivors. It has heartbreak and hope. Patience and perseverance. It has love and found family. It has alphas and omegas.
I loved the way Charmaine weaved the story with little flashbacks of the hurt while blending in the comfort and healing. The story had multiple POVs which was nice to see all their thoughts.
I suggest reading books 1-3 to get the full effect of this story. But is not necessary as it’s still can be read as a standalone. And I’m excited for more books in the series.
This story has trauma but it also has survivors. It has heartbreak and hope. Patience and perseverance. It has love and found family. It has alphas and omegas.
I loved the way Charmaine weaved the story with little flashbacks of the hurt while blending in the comfort and healing. The story had multiple POVs which was nice to see all their thoughts.
I suggest reading books 1-3 to get the full effect of this story. But is not necessary as it’s still can be read as a standalone. And I’m excited for more books in the series.
June 19, 2026
Aubrey and Epsie (spoiler)
I feel like it took forever for this book to be released but it didn’t disappoint. I was so invested in Aubrey I couldn’t wait to read about his story but then we get Epsie and Sera too. This books focus on traumatized, tormented omegas who are rescued by their scent matches and are trying to navigate how to feel safe to welcome an alphas touch again without associating it with hurt or punishment.You also get a female alpha who doesn’t know her worth because she’s never been desired by anyone who’s wanted to keep her. She self sabotages and gets herself into some danger. The pack that these omegas scent matched to was perfect and they also helped the female alpha understand that she was needed just as much as the omegas. The ending ended on a thought lol. We do get a next book I’m hoping it comes out sooner than later.
I feel like it took forever for this book to be released but it didn’t disappoint. I was so invested in Aubrey I couldn’t wait to read about his story but then we get Epsie and Sera too. This books focus on traumatized, tormented omegas who are rescued by their scent matches and are trying to navigate how to feel safe to welcome an alphas touch again without associating it with hurt or punishment.You also get a female alpha who doesn’t know her worth because she’s never been desired by anyone who’s wanted to keep her. She self sabotages and gets herself into some danger. The pack that these omegas scent matched to was perfect and they also helped the female alpha understand that she was needed just as much as the omegas. The ending ended on a thought lol. We do get a next book I’m hoping it comes out sooner than later.
June 26, 2026
I was very much looking forward to Aubrey’s story and it was just as dark as I’ve come to expect with the BrokenVerse. It was filled with so much fear yet so much healing in spite of it. I adored the omega/omega relationship and how that helped with healing, but it did significantly reduce the hurtxcomfort aspects as they relied so heavily on each other that there wasn’t a ton of interaction with the rest of the pack. It was difficult to conceptualize the time passage throughout to understand the development of intimacy within the pack. The angst felt pretty anticlimactic as it was resolved so quickly, but I was absolutely cheering for the just desserts being delivered at the end, and of course it leaves it open for the next story that I will absolutely be waiting for on the edge of my seat! A big pack with a rare female alpha and two omegas made for the most unique pack in the series so far!
June 1, 2026
needs another round of edits but god it’s so good
I truly love the story, however it needs some revisions. There are some plot holes & errors that made the story difficult for me to enjoy fully. Sentences are fully repeated & we know Sera has two dogs because she tells us yet she simply doesn’t have any further mention of them. We never see her go to her apartment and get her dogs. She doesn’t bring them with to her new living space & it’s almost like the author forgot about them. Aside from these minor issues I loved the story so much & I cannot wait for the next in the brokenverse series.
I truly love the story, however it needs some revisions. There are some plot holes & errors that made the story difficult for me to enjoy fully. Sentences are fully repeated & we know Sera has two dogs because she tells us yet she simply doesn’t have any further mention of them. We never see her go to her apartment and get her dogs. She doesn’t bring them with to her new living space & it’s almost like the author forgot about them. Aside from these minor issues I loved the story so much & I cannot wait for the next in the brokenverse series.
October 30, 2026
Beautiful
The pain, the love, the patience and the healing. The characters were well developed and when the story ended I just wanted more. I can't wait for Levi's book.
Charmaine Ross is amazing. I love this author and all her books. I can't wait for the audio books for this series. That way I can enjoy them anytime while working, driving and doing other house things like housework.
The pain, the love, the patience and the healing. The characters were well developed and when the story ended I just wanted more. I can't wait for Levi's book.
Charmaine Ross is amazing. I love this author and all her books. I can't wait for the audio books for this series. That way I can enjoy them anytime while working, driving and doing other house things like housework.
June 13, 2026
Sensational, I could not put the book down. It grabs you from the beginning and doesn't let go. Very emotional. After horrendous years of unimaginable abuse, two Omegas are rescued. Four Alphas want to be their everything, with one not sure she belongs. An epic emotional journey for all. I an looking forward to the next book. This book is a great addition to the series. ARC
June 28, 2026
amazing book
I honestly forgot this book was coming out. I read the other three and throughly enjoyed them. This one was a little darker in story and to have a female alpha enter the picture didn’t see that coming or two omegas in the same pack. I really enjoyed the book and look forward to more stories ahead.
I honestly forgot this book was coming out. I read the other three and throughly enjoyed them. This one was a little darker in story and to have a female alpha enter the picture didn’t see that coming or two omegas in the same pack. I really enjoyed the book and look forward to more stories ahead.
September 23, 2026
Felt this viscerally
Author has an uncanny ability to connect the reader emotionally to the characters and this one was a doozy... I'm how deep the feelings were in this very unusual pack... the lengths that they went to for each other and again the dark depths that certain individuals went to for power was mind boggling.
Author has an uncanny ability to connect the reader emotionally to the characters and this one was a doozy... I'm how deep the feelings were in this very unusual pack... the lengths that they went to for each other and again the dark depths that certain individuals went to for power was mind boggling.
June 1, 2026
felt rushed
Past books felt more done, this book felt rushed thru the trauma being over and very few triggers like they magically woke up and it was gone and everything was fine
Past books felt more done, this book felt rushed thru the trauma being over and very few triggers like they magically woke up and it was gone and everything was fine
June 1, 2026
3.5 stars
July 23, 2026
love love love
So in love with her books and all the alphas and omegas. Can’t wait to read another of her books
So in love with her books and all the alphas and omegas. Can’t wait to read another of her books
July 27, 2026
I didn’t love it, I didn’t hate it. It really picked up about 2/3 of the way through, and that’s what saved it for me.
November 3, 2026
DNF'd within the first 30%. Had such high hopes for Aubreys story, but this fell short quickly.
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