Page 78 of Knot All is Crystal
Her knees give out, and she collapses on the floor, tears falling down her face. The men all clamor around her, touching her and whispering soothing words. But she doesn’t look at them.
No, she’s only got eyes for me.
“I’ll never pay back my debt, will I, Puck?”
My chest twists like I’ve been wrapped in a vice. Breaths stutter out of me as I gaze into her wide, clear eyes. The skin around them is puffy and red from crying, and it’s only getting worse with the tears that are flowing freely down her face.
She’s beautiful. Otherworldly, like a fairy. Small but powerful. Unassuming. Some morons might even call her forgettable. Easy to underestimate, and hard to break.
Everything anyone could want in an Omega. What every Alpha desires.
“Will I, Puck?” she asks again, and I know I can’t avoid answering this time.
“Oh, Queenie, there was never a debt.”
TWENTY-EIGHT
“Oh, Queenie, there was never a debt.”
I lose my delicious dinner all over the floor of the foyer.
His words repeat in my head, loud and clear, as if he were saying them on a loop. They start to overlap each other, like one of those children’s songs you sing in a round, starting once the person before you is a few words in.
“Oh, Queenie, there was never a debt.”
“Oh, Queenie, there was never a debt.”
“Oh, Queenie, there was never a debt.”
My vision goes spotty, and my body weightless.
Not weightless. I’m being carried.
Crème brûlée.
Emmanuel sits down on my couch with me in his arms, purring up a storm. Maverick wedges in beside him, hands on my legs, and Gage sits on the floor, his hand on my ankle again.
“Hell of a first date, huh, Crys?” he says quietly.
An inappropriate laugh bubbles out of me as Emmanuel kicks out at the Beta. “Shush, Hiccup.”
“Don’t call me Hiccup. I’m not a little boy anymore!” His whine is a little childish, but I suppose a childhood nickname will do that to you.
“Is this the time to argue over an adorable childhood nickname that I’m going to beg for the story of sometime soon?” Maverick asks, shifting my weight so I’m lying across him and Emmanuel. “Our Omega just got some pretty traumatizing news.”
“Sorry,” Gage says with a wince. “I was trying to help, but I’ll be spitting out toenails for weeks.”
“What?” Maverick can barely get the word out through his laughter.
“He means he put his foot in his mouth.” I adjust on top of the Alphas with a groan. “I told you last time that it’s a gross joke.”
“Got you smiling,” he says smugly.
I turn my head and see Puck on his knees, silently cleaning up my vomit. His shoulders are hunched in the black t-shirt that stretches tightly across his body. His gun is tucked in a holster under his arm.
“How long have you known, Puck?”
He freezes but doesn’t say anything.
