Page 40 of Knot All is Crystal
He jerks his head up when he hears me enter. “Puck. What happened?”
“Your contact fucking lied to you, that’s what happened.” I slump down in the chair across from him, taking the offered handkerchief to wipe the blood from my face. “He wasn’t an Omega. He was a Beta hopped up on fizz and synthetic pheromones.”
“Fuck!” Kieran swore, jumping to his feet. “How did this fucking happen? I can’t afford to burn another contact!”
“Well, they didn’t care about burning you, boss. When I called them out, they attacked me.”
“And? Is the problem taken care of?”
I lean forward and prop my elbows up on my knees. My body aches, and I long to go home, soak in the bath, and wash today’s results from my flesh. “It is. No survivors.”
“Good, good,” he mutters, starting to pace. “But the fact still stands that I need to provide an Omega to gain access to these manufacturing facilities! I need to find another male Omega and fast.”
Wincing, I cross my arms over my chest. “You may need to change their expectations. Where else will we find a male Omega on such short notice?”
Male Omegas are even rarer than the female ones. They’re coveted and cherished due to their unique biology. There are many men, Alpha and Beta alike, who are not attracted to women and seek a male Omega over other designations so they can have the opportunity to have biological children.
“I have a few more contacts. I cannot lose this facility. Fizz is growing in demand, and I need another production line that can perform to the standards I require. I’m not about to ruin my reputation now and potentially blow this deal after everything.”
For the past few months, Kieran has become increasingly volatile. He’s still the consummate professional he’s always been to everyone else. But after years in his employ, Kieran has begun to show me his cracks. I’ve seen behind the mask he projects as the leader of the Conglomerate.
Kieran Cobb is losing control of his organization.
It started small, with his dealers taking unauthorized subordinates. Then, his employees at Prism began to grow wise about what this place is hiding. They slowly started pulling out, and he had to replace them with people in his debt. He’s down to only one manufacturer of fizz, which must be why this deal is so important.
And I guess now his Omega supply chain is falling apart.
He doesn’t know who is responsible for it, but it’s causing him to make choices he never would’ve made years ago.
I’ve tried for years to figure out who runs his trafficking ring. I have no idea who maintains the circuit, sets up the sales, or even where the Omegas go after they’re processed through Prism and sent for seasoning.
My side of the business stops and ends at Prism unless Kieran pulls me in deeper. Which he does frequently, especially for the drug side.
But he holds the flesh trade close to his chest.
If I can tell he’s desperate to maintain his place at the top, I know others can, too.
It leaves him vulnerable.
So far, no other criminal organization of this magnitude has been able to survive in Lunarcrest, but if word gets out about how things are going, someone is going to move in, and we’ll be looking at a turf war.
“What do you need me to do, boss?”
“I need you to find me a male Omega. If not, we’ll have to offer something of higher value, so they feel like they’re getting something over on me.” He runs his fingers through his hair, the stress of the situation getting to him.
I can feel in my core what he’s about to say before he opens his mouth.
“I’m going to have to offer them Queenie.”
My stomach twists. The little Omega has never been on offer before. She’s too important to Kieran. And she doesn’t know it, but without her, fizz use at Prism would drop. Part of the draw is its exclusivity, and how you see into the organization when you meet with the Queen. Only about a third of the people who request court get it, keeping demand high.
I wonder if this was always his plan. To make her so off limits, such an elevated figure, that she’d become a rainy day fund.
Because anyone who was promised a male Omega but received one with Queenie wouldn’t dare to complain, knowing just how important she is to Kieran.
“Queenie won’t go for that,” I say measuredly. I don’t want to reveal to him how much she means to me, what I would do to ensure her safety.
I’m barely willing to reveal it to myself.
