Page 79 of Knot All is Crystal
My voice gets firmer as I snarl, “I said, how long have you known that there is no debt?”
Sighing, the big Beta sits back on his heels. “I found out three years ago. Kieran let it slip after you asked him how much longer you had on your agreement. I was trying to find out what was left to see if I could do anything to get you out of there. He was very proud of himself for coming up with the scheme.”
“Why me?” My voice is small, so I clear my throat and ask it again. “Why. Me?”
I was targeted. There’s no other explanation. They showed up at my brother-in-law’s funeral, approached me first, and Kieran was quick to agree to let me take my sister’s place.
Looking back, I’m unsure why I didn’t question it more.
“I don’t know.” He rubs his hand over his bald head. “Truly, I have asked him so many times, and he just says you’re the Omega he wanted.”
“But I never met him!” I try to hop to my feet, but my Alphas shove me back onto their laps and kick their purrs up again. Gage starts to massage my feet from his position on the floor. “How could he want me if he never met me?”
“I don’t know, Queenie, but you can’t ask him.”
“The hell? Of course I’m going to ask him!”
He rises to his impressive height and stalks over to the couch. He’s easily the biggest of the men here, with his broad shoulders and rippling muscles. I’d be intimidated if I were smarter. “I am the only one who knows this. What are you planning on doing, going in there and saying that I told you, and you need to know why? He’ll throw my body on top of your pack’s in the ditch after he bleeds us fucking dry.”
I wriggle out of my guys’ hands and stand as close to chest-to-chest as possible with the enforcer. “You’ve kept me prisoner for four years.”
“Look around, Queenie, we’rebothprisoners. Do you think I woke up one day and decided I wanted to get tangled up with the likes of Kieran Cobb? Do you think that this is how I saw my life going? We’ve all fucking lost something because of Kieran Cobb. Be glad yours is just your freedom.”
I stumble back a little, my eyes narrowing. “What is that supposed to mean?”
He exhales loudly and turns away from me, swearing under his breath. “Nothing, Crystal. All I’m saying is this is our lot in life. Some people are the Perfect Omega, and some are the Queen of Prism. We can’t change the path that’s been paved for us - we just have to try our best to get to our destination alive.”
I struggle to tear my eyes away from the handsome Beta in front of me. In all the time I’ve known Puck, I’ve seen him in many different forms.
But this may be the first time I’ve seen him look so vulnerable.
“Queenie, the last thing I want for you is this life. I wish you could take these Alphas and your Beta and run off without concern about your sister or niece being cared for. But I don’t live in a fantasy world. There is no other life for me, and even though there is one for you, Kieran will never let you have it.”
My body aches. This day has spanned years. I rub the back of my neck, wincing at how tender the bite feels. It never feels like this, except when it’s fresh.
Emmanuel takes my hand off my neck and lowers it, gently lacing our fingers together. “We’ll figure this out, mi amor,” he says softly.
“I’ll call my Pops,” Maverick says from behind me.
Puck freezes. “Who are you calling?”
“One of my dads works for the LCPD. He’s been part of the task force looking to take down the Conglomerate.”
The enforcer takes Maverick’s phone from his hands and tosses it across the room. “Getting the cops involved? Are you fucking serious right now?”
“What? If we can get him thrown in jail, you’ll both be-”
“We’ll never be free!” Puck yells. I quiver at the tone, a whine slipping out.
“What don’t you get? If Kieran goes down, so do I, and Crystal does too.” The Beta scrubs his face with his hand. “Getting the cops involved is probably the worst thing we could do.”
“Crystal isn’t there by choice! How could she get in trouble?” Gage asks, echoing my thoughts.
Puck’s laugh is hollow. “There’s no debt. Nothing in writing. It’s her word alone. Do you think they’ll believe the fucking Queen of Prism was there involuntarily? She’s just as synonymous with the Conglomerate as Kieran is!”
Maverick swears, pacing in front of the couch. “Then what are we going to do? How can we keep her safe?”
“I’m doing the best I can,” Puck insists. “You have to believe that. I am trying to keep you safe, but Queenie, there’s something you gotta know.” He lowers his voice, barely able to meet my eye. “Kieran was trying to acquire a male Omega for payment to get a new manufacturing facility. But the Omega… Well, he didn’t get a male Omega. To save the deal, he either needs another male Omega or to give them something more valuable.”
