Page 137 of Knot All is Crystal
“What about with her scent matches?” Maverick asks. “Would that make a difference?”
The doctor looks at the four of us, wrinkling his nose. “Potentially, yes. You and Mr. Ortega are her scent matches, I presume?”
“And me,” I bark. Walter pales as he looks me up and down. “I’ve been using an experimental Alpha suppressant. She’s my scent match.” I can feel that it’s mostly burned off and know that if I got close enough to Crystal, I’d smell her sweet shortbread scent soaked in the metallic tang of blood.
“O-okay then. It appears she’s going through a fracture. Her Omega is untethered from repeated unreciprocated bonds. And is that…” He points at the back of Crystal’s neck, where a new, gaping wound rests, barely visible through her blood-slicked hair. “I believe that is a fresh bond.”
“Motherfucker,” Manny snarls. “What are we supposed to do?”
“She needs to burn off this bond, and she needs a real one to tether her back. It’s the only possible way to reunite her Omega and conscious mind.” He watches my Omega as if she were a science experiment.
And maybe she is.
I doubt this is a common occurrence.
“She has to go into heat to burn off the bond,” Gage says thickly. “She’s been having spikes, but she’s not there yet. Is she going to be like this for six weeks?”
“No, she won’t.” Maverick spins to face us all, eyes wild. “She won’t. Fizz. We’ll give her fizz. She told me that it made her bond fade faster, and maybe she’s close enough to her actual heat that if we give her a big enough dose, it can bring it on for real.” He rushes Walter, grabbing his hands roughly. “Will that work, Doc? Can it work?”
Walter blanches, trying to step back from the wild Alpha, but Maverick holds him tight. “Maybe. Combined with the bite of a scent matched Alpha, it may be enough to push her into full heat. But, if it works, it won’t be an easy one.”
“It’s our only option, isn’t it?” Emmanuel whispers. “Taking her choice away from her to get her back. We’ll be no better than him, bonding her without her consent. Inducing her heat. She can’t consent to being with us, and she’s going to be in so much pain.”
“Maybe once the heat hits and the bite goes through, she’ll be lucid enough to consent?” Gage hopes.
“I don’t think she’d be upset with any of you three,” I say quietly. “She trusts you all implicitly. She loves you. She’ll understand.”
“Us three?” Maverick asks. “Are you not included in that?”
“You know I’m not.” It’s not self-loathing, it’s a fact. Crystal and I aren’t there. The trust doesn’t exist between us yet.
And it may never after what I have to do.
“Omega,” I say gently, pushing a small amount of bark into my voice. “Sweet Omega, you’ve done such a good job.” She whips her head towards me, cocking it to the side as she watches me approach slowly. “A perfect little Omega, taking care of your pack. Did he hurt your Beta?”
She whines, a pitiful broken noise, and my chest cracks open. “Your Beta is okay. I’ve got him right here. Gage, can you tell her you’re okay?”
“I’m okay, Crys. I’m right here.”
A purr stutters from her chest, and hope blooms within me. Maybe we can reach her. Maybe we can get her out of this without a bite and a heat.
“See? He’s okay. But we need to get you cleaned up, Omega. We need to get rid of the bad Alpha who hurt your Beta. Can you come with me?”
She looks down as if noticing Kieran for the first time, and a snarl rips from her throat. The ornamental letter opener in her hand is slammed into his eyeball before I can stop her.
Maverick retches but quickly gets under control when she looks at him.
Gage reaches out, murmuring low, and takes Crystal’s bloody hand in his. He guides his father’s murderer from the scene of the crime gently. “Where are we taking her?”
“Pleasure dens,” I say roughly, stepping around him to lead the way. “They’ll have fizz there.”
Quick steps have me tracking Walter Talbot’s attempt at a sneaky escape, and I snag him by the front of the shirt. “You were never here. This never happened. You saw nothing, Walter. You know nothing. As long as that stays true, you are done with the Conglomerate.”
“Understood,” he says sharply. “I was never here.”
The club is in chaos, with shouts and yells echoing throughout the building, but not yet near us. All signs point to Lupine and the Hawks beginning the process of clearing this place out.
When we get to the pleasure dens, I’m a little surprised to see all of the doors to the rooms swung wide open and the place empty. I didn’t think Sebastian would have been here yet, but I’m glad all of the Omegas got out already.
