Page 119 of Knot All is Crystal
I can hearthe fear in the quiet, frantic mutterings between Gage and Crystal.
It’s too late to get him out.
I hope, for Crystal’s sake, he finds a fucking good hiding place.
The call disconnects just as I turn onto her street, and I screech into park beside Kieran’s sleek sedan.
I don’t bother knocking when I get to her door, and it’s a good thing I don’t. After being left alone with Queenie for just two minutes, Kieran has already pinned her against the wall by her throat.
Her whines fill my ears and threaten to break all of my composure.
Gage is nowhere to be found, thankfully, but I can barely spare a moment to think about him while my Omega is at the mercy of a deranged criminal.
My Alpha instincts are going wild, proving that the meds are burning off alarmingly fast. Rebecca warned me they wouldn’t work if I kept being around Crystal, but I couldn’t go without them or avoid her. But I know I cannot continue like this for much longer.
There is an expiration date for Puck the Beta, and Kieran Cobb needs to be dead before I reach it.
“What’s going on here, boss?”
He turns to look at me, fingers flexing on her delicate throat, with wild, dilated eyes. “Nothing’s wrong, Puck, just here to talk to Queenie about her new job.”
The Omega looks at me with wide, pleading eyes, and my heart nearly cracks. I take several steps closer to them until I stand near the other Alpha’s shoulder. “She’s got a new gig? Finally leaving the Clinic behind?”
He rolls his eyes at me. “Of course not. She’s about to become the ambassador to the Conglomerate. A welcoming committee, if you will.”
Crystal inhales sharply and starts desperately trying to free herself from his grasp. “I don’t know what that is, but fuck no,” she snarls.
“When will you learn?” he roars, spittle flying into her face. “You don’t have a say here, Queenie. I own you. Body, mind, and soul, you belong to me. In the eyes of the government, I get to decide what is best for you. Are you fucking stupid? You continue to fight me, to pretend like your life is going to be worth anything other than your service to me, and for what? What kind of life awaits you if I let you go? What kind of pack would want a ruined, cheap Omega like you? A drug dealer who whores herself out?”
“I don’t whore myself out!” she yells, causing me to flinch. I don’t know what’s happening with Kieran, but talking back to him isn’t wise right now. His energy feels off somehow.
“Now you fucking do.” His face is a few centimeters from hers as he lands the final blow. “And you will because otherwise, your pretty little niece will take your place. So many men like them young. She won’t be a hard sell.”
Crystal cries out in protest and pain as he throws her against the floor. Her body thumps loudly as she crashes on the tile. In the corner of my eye, a flash of auburn has me swearing under my breath.
Gage.
If I saw him, there is a chance Kieran did too. I know I couldn’t resist coming out to defend Crystal in his shoes, but the Beta needs to keep it together because Crystal would sacrifice herself for him any day of the week. I don’t need to know the intricacies of their relationship to know that.
She loves fiercely and selflessly.
And that’s how she ended up on the floor of her townhome.
Kieran stares down at her like she’s shit on his shoe. It’s a far cry from how he used to look at her, with obsession and adoration. Now I wonder if there was ever a part of him that cared for her at all.
But who am I kidding? Of course, he didn’t.
You can’t care about someone you want to own.
She was his property and nothing more.
“The timeline has changed, Puck,” he says without looking at me. “Queenie needs to get ready for the next phase of her life. Let’s go.” He leans down, wrapping his hand around her ankle, and begins to drag the kicking and screaming Omega out of the house.
I’m frozen, unsure what to do.
There is a plan. A plan is in place to prevent this from happening.
But we’re not ready.
