Page 24 of Knot All is Crystal
And tonight is all I’ll have with him.
He falls asleep in my arms, and when his knot deflates, I slide off the bed quietly, careful not to wake him. I am starting to feel the melancholy that comes with a fizz crash, made worse by the knowledge that when I walk out of that door, I will never see my Alpha again.
I have to get out of here before he wakes and realizes it’s not the drugs making him think we’re matched. I get dressed, scribble a note on a pad of paper that I find on the nightstand, and slip out the door.
It takes considerable effort not to look back as I escape through the employee exit and leave behind my soulmate.
EIGHT
“What were you thinking?”Kieran snarls, slamming his hand on the desk. “Do you have any idea how reckless that was?”
I narrow my eyes at the irate Alpha. I know I shouldn’t antagonize him, but holding my tongue is hard.
What did he expect me to do? Masturbate until my fingers were waterlogged when there were willing dicks right outside the door?
He should know better than anyone what his drugs will do. How desperate they make you feel.
Puck leers in the corner behind him, arms crossed over his broad chest. His sapphire blue shirt, tightly stretched over his massive chest, looks simply beautiful against his deep Black skin.
“Well?” Kieran prompts again. “What were you thinking, Queenie?”
“I was thinking that I was horny, Kieran.” I scrub my hands down my face. “I was thinking that I was drugged and made to believe I was in heat, and I wanted a knot. There was a very willing Alpha right outside the door, and I got my needs taken care of.”
“You do not work the pleasure dens,” he snarls, and the edge of a bark bleeds into his voice, making my breath catch in my throat. “How does it make me look if my Queen is on her back?”
I can’t do this. I can’t listen to him berate me for this when all I have of my scent match are the probably still dirty sheets on that bed. My skin is crawling, an instinctual part of me knowing that I’m supposed to be in Maverick’s arms.
But instead, I’m being berated by Kieran Fucking Cobb like I’m an errant child.
“I am not a reflection upon you, Kieran, and I didn’t ask to be Queen.” I can see Puck wince and grit his teeth at my words.
He raises a brow at me before relaxing back in his chair. A frustrating calm washes over his face as he steeples his fingers in front of his chest. “Ah, is that it? You’re done being my Queen?” The clicking noise from his tongue makes my eye twitch as he shakes his head. “Fine, I will appoint another Queen, and you can head back to the dens and work off your brother-in-law’s debts there.”
Well, that attitude backfired.
“That’s not what I-”
“Oh no,Crystal,” he interrupts, a sinister grin on his face. “You have made it very clear that you’re unhappy with this arrangement. I thought I was doing right by you, but if you’d prefer to spread your legs to earn your keep, I know several packs of Alphas looking for an Omega to break in. They have offered me a significant fee if she’s in heat. I doubt they could tell if it was fizz-induced or not.”
My stomach falls out of my ass, and I push myself as flat against my chair as I can. A whine builds in my throat as fear snakes through my veins at what he’s suggesting.
I have always known that Kieran participates in the flesh trade, but he’s never threatened me with it before.
And now he’s ensuring I know he’s happy to sell me off to the highest bidder.
I have to fix this. I can’t let him do that to me. I can’t. Who will I become if this final piece of humanity is stripped from me?
What will there be left to live for?
“Kieran, I’m sorry I-”
“I know, Crystal. I do. You mistakenly thought that you had a say in your life because I was kind to you.” He shakes his head and picks up a half-empty glass of whiskey. “But this is my kingdom. And you are my Queen until I have no use for you.” He peers at me over the glass, eyes narrowed and full of venom. “Are you useless, Crystal?”
Gulping and shaking my head, I rush to convince him of my loyalty. “Of course not! I am so sorry, Kieran. It won’t happen again. It was a lapse in judgment.”
The teachings from the Omega Academy are surging at the forefront of my mind.
When an Alpha is mad, avert your eyes.
