Page 136 of Knot All is Crystal
“He is,” I say through tight lips. “And if you don’t want the same fate, here’s how things are going to go. I like you, Trey. You’ve always been good to Queenie. I don’t know how you got tangled up in the Conglomerate, and I don’t care. Do you want out?”
His shoulders droop as he stares at the floor. “More than anything, man, but I can’t.”
“You can now. Here’s what’s going to happen. Crystal’s Alphas are outside the club. You’re going to get them here. You called Walter like I asked?” The Beta nods tightly. “Get him up here. You’ll tell no one what you’re doing or what you saw in this room. Once you’ve gathered everyone up for me, you’ll leave any tech or equipment the Conglomerate ever gave you, and you’ll walk out the door, get in your car, and drive. You can’t stay in Lunarcrest, just to be safe, but I won’t be telling anyone you existed.”
He gapes at me, mouth opening and closing like a fish desperate for water. I grab his shoulder. “Do you understand me?”
“Yeah, I do,” Trey whispers. “Are you serious? I’m free?”
“I am. Shit is about to change at the Conglomerate.”
Resolve strengthens his features. His eyes sweep over Crystal’s naked and blood-splattered body. “Good. I’ll go get everyone and be back in a few.”
The Beta leaves without fanfare, and I give Crystal my full attention again. But she’s not looking at me. She’s staring at Gage as if she saw a ghost.
That’s when I pull my head out of my ass and realize the problem.
“She must’ve thought you were dead,” I tell him. “Kieran probably said he killed you. Her Omega claimed you, so that trauma must have caused her to … become this.”
At the mention of his father’s name, Gage’s vision narrows in on the broken body on the floor. “She killed him? For me?”
“I don’t think she would’ve done it for herself. That’s not who she is. But for someone she loves?” My chest aches. After all I’ve done to her, will she ever care for me like that?
“She doesn’t love me.” He shakes his shaggy auburn hair, the cracked and dried blood on his face flaking off with the movement. “She can’t.”
“All signs point to her being told you’re dead and becoming,” I gesture at our naked and panting Omega, who stares at Gage with wide, hazy eyes, “whatever this is so that she could avenge your death.”
He tries to take a step towards her, and she hisses, shuffling backward, nearly tripping over Kieran’s corpse.
Ten minutes later, Trey returns with Maverick, Emmanuel, and Dr. Talbot in tow.
“Go now, Trey.” I wave him away.
“Will she be okay? I need to know she’ll be okay.” His voice quivers a little, and a snarl rips out of my throat.
“She’s not yours to be concerned about!”
“She’s my friend!” he snaps. “At least tell her I said goodbye. She’s important to all of us, and you’re a moron if you haven’t noticed it. Everyone in here would put themself on the line for that Omega. Tyler is downstairs, about to go feral.”
Tyler again. What the fuck is he doing here? I wave Trey off. I don’t have time to argue with him. He can stay or go. It doesn’t matter at this point. Manny and Maverick are taking slow steps toward a snarling Crystal.
Tears run down Maverick’s cheeks, his nose red and eyes swollen. He reaches a shaky hand out towards her like she’s a scared dog. She stares at it but doesn’t move closer.
Emmanuel turns towards Dr. Talbot, who seems shocked to see him there.
“Mr. Ortega,” he stutters. “I don’t know what you think is happening here…”
“Can it, Walter,” I snap. “He’s her Alpha. He knows exactly what’s happening here and your role in it all.”
Walter winces and turns away with a reddened face. “I didn’t have a choice,” he mutters.
“None of us did, not really,” I remind him. “Now, we need your help. Crystal has been living with a blighted bond from Kieran for four years.”
“That’s impossible!” he shrieks. “A blighted bond disappears after a heat.”
“It’s possible because he bit her again after every heat.” Gage stutters around the words. “Seventeen times.”
Walter wrings his hands together as he watches the cagey way Crystal has begun to pace the room. “That’s incredibly damaging to her body. There is a chance she won’t be able to take a regular bond at all.”
