Page 86 of Queen of Diamonds

“We are—were,” I said. “Kind of still, but it’s mostly passed.”

“Yeh…” Kyan said. “Banging an Omega for ten hours straight will do that to you…”

Ten hours?

But it was four a.m., and we’d only quit a few hours ago.

Well, fuck me.

“Where were you?” Knight demanded of Kyan.

“Clearing my head,” he said. He seemed calmer than earlier, but his expression was a bit tight. “Where’s Glade?”

“She’s…” I looked at the cell, frowning. “She’s in the room.”

“Why?” Kyan asked, affronted.

“Something’s wrong,” Knight growled. “She’s lying about something.”

“No shit.” I turned on him. “We know that. We didn’t put a collar around her neck because she’s trustworthy.”

Knight was tense, though. “Nothing adds up, not even a little. We keep treating her like she’s a freeloading bitch who left us for a better chance?—”

“Because she did—” I began, but Knight cut me off. We couldn’t just forget that because we’d had sex with her.

“Then why is she trying to get away from us?”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Ace kicked her out. He’s not an option anymore. We’re literally offering her protection, and all she wants to do is escape.”

“Wait.” I held my hand up. “That’s what I was saying the other night, and you were telling me it was bull?—”

“And then I told her about Kyan,” Knight snarled. “I thought she was going to throw up?—”

“Now you’ve changed your mind because she cares if her mate literally kills himself, that doesn’t mean?—”

“She’s touch-starved,” Knight interrupted.

I froze, and a strange silence followed his words.

“What does that mean, exactly?” I asked at last.

“I think she’s had heats without drugs or Alphas. I think that’s why it’s different when we touch her.”

I frowned. “Different?”

But I knew what he meant. There was a comfort to any moment my skin brushed hers, like… well actually, like there was a sickness that needed fixing.

“Why would any Omega choose to have heats without drugs or Alphas?” I asked, something incredulous in my voice.

But it took about one second. One beat before my smile vanished, and the blood drained from my face.

“They… wouldn’t.” Kyan’s voice was low. “Not by choice.”

My heart hammered in my chest. It was… frightening how easily puzzle pieces slotted into place the moment you removed Glade from the equation. I could see the shadow that lurked behind, just as likely a culprit. A shadow that had haunted me for so long…

No…

---