Chapter 6
SIX
Kieran slams the lounge door open, fury twisting his features into something monstrous.
The idiot pack jumps backward, eyes widening when they spot the blood that is still on his shirt.
I would’ve thought he’d have changed by now, but Kieran does love a touch of drama.
“Gentlemen,” he snarls. “Am I correct in hearing that you have abused my hospitality and attempted to assault one of my employees?”
Tyler takes several steps back, clearly realizing he’s also in danger of Kieran’s wrath. Crystal slumps over in the chair, whining loudly, and the sound freezes everyone in the room.
A drugged-up Omega, in a manufactured heat spike, whining in a room full of on-edge Alphas, four of whom have an artificial rut brewing?
Yeah, this won’t end well.
“Get her out of here,” Kieran says through gritted teeth as I lift her from the chair and hold her bridal style to my chest.
“Already on it, boss.”
She doesn’t need to see the carnage that is about to unfold.
Crystal starts to buck in my arms as we leave the lounge. “Down, you big oaf. Put me down.”
I snort and squeeze her closer to my chest. “Shut up, Crystal. It’s not safe for you to be here.”
We garner plenty of looks as I take the staff stairs down to the first floor, but no one stops me. It worries me that they can see me carrying a drugged-out Omega and not say a word because of who I am.
It worries me, but it doesn’t surprise me, considering what happens here.
In any other situation, a Black man carrying a kicking and screaming white woman would get the cops called immediately.
Is this what privilege feels like?
“Mmm,” Crystal moans, rubbing her nose up my throat. “Smells so good.”
“It’s the drugs, Queenie,” I remind her, trying to jostle her head away from my pulse points.
Trey sees me coming and stands in front of the door, trying to make himself appear larger. “Move, Trey.”
“What happened to Queenie?” He cranes his neck to get a look at her. She meets his eyes with her unfocused ones, and he swears. “She’s on fizz. She swore she’d never touch the stuff.”
“Some subjects drugged her. We’re unsure how – she’s not exactly forthcoming with anything right now.”
“Cute Beta, no smell,” she says, pointing at Trey. “Not pack, no smell.”
Trey gasps and clutches his chest as if he were shot. “Way to break my heart with an audience, Queenie.”
“I’m taking her home,” I tell him, and he opens the door. “Kieran knows, but please send Ricky up to her lounge to assist him.”
“Got it, boss.”
Trey may be an annoying little shit, but he’s loyal and a hard worker. I never have to worry that he won’t do what he’s asked.
Gently, I lower Crystal into the passenger side of my two-door sports car, tucking her legs under her. She grabs me by the front of my shirt, pulling my face close to hers.
Her hazel eyes are clouded, and her face is flushed as she practically purrs, “Knot.”
I groan painfully, scrubbing my hand down my face and ignoring the way my cock swells in my pants. “Crystal. You’re on drugs. Keep it together. I can’t help you there.”
She whines again, and I slam the door, walking as slowly as possible to the driver’s side. This will be a colossal test of my patience.
* * *
I kick open the door to Crystal’s townhome, my arm banding around her thighs to keep her slung over my shoulder.
“Home sweet home,” I mutter to the horny and grumpy Omega. On the drive here, I had to pull her hand out of her skirt three times and stop her from removing her clothes twice.
I should get a medal for my restraint.
“Let’s get you to your nest. You have toys, right?”
She whines again, trying to wiggle out of my arms. “Don’t go in. Just leave me here.”
It’s the most coherent she’s been since I found her on the lap of that slimy Alpha.
“It’s fine. I’ll get you settled and head out.” I flip the light switch in the foyer.
Nothing happens.
I flip it again, and still, nothing.
“Is your fuse busted?” I ask, pulling out my phone and turning on the flashlight. “I can take care of it.”
“Not the fuse,” she mutters, wiggling on my shoulder as she rubs her thighs together. “Power’s off. Nest, please.”
“What do you mean the power is off?” I heave her off my shoulder and set her in front of me, holding her tightly by the upper arms.
She whines, her knees going to jelly as she tries to slide out of my grip. “Didn’t pay the bill.”
I shove the Omega into a chair in the dark room, holding my flashlight on her like an interrogation. “Why not? Aren’t you paid well?”
Her head lolls on her shoulder, and her hand drifts between her legs. I can tell this conversation isn’t going to be productive in the least, but I have to figure out what to do with her. I can’t let her stay here in the dark by herself.
“Fuck,” I swear, stepping away. I know what I have to do, but I really don’t want to. “Let’s go, Queenie,” I mutter, throwing her back over my shoulder.
“Nest!” she cries, reaching out towards her hallway and trying to wiggle out of my arms. “Please!”
“No,” I snap, popping her lightly on the ass when she tries to jump out of my hold. She moans filthily, and it takes everything in me to ignore it and continue. A man only has so much restraint. “It’s not safe for you to be here, by yourself, on drugs, in the dark.”
I lock up behind me, and then we’re in the car, headed back to Prism.
She’s a complete mess by the time we make it there, the drugs reaching a fever pitch that she’s not going to come down from for hours. I couldn’t stop her from sliding her fingers into the tiny black lace panties Kieran picked out for her to wear tonight.
She propped a foot up on the dash as she gently rubbed her clit, and I had to say the alphabet backward in my head to tune out the sounds of pleasure she was making.
I’m pretty proud of myself for keeping my hands to myself.
When I kick on the door and Trey opens it up, he gapes at the writhing, whining mess of an Omega hanging over my shoulder.
“Why are you back?” he asks, stepping aside and letting us in.
“Her place has no power. I couldn’t leave her alone, drugged, and in the dark.”
He trails after me as I walk down the hallway towards the stairs. “Where are you taking her?”
“To the pleasure dens, Trey. I don’t know what else to do with her. You know what fizz does to Betas, and she’s a fucking Omega. She thinks she’s in heat.”
He practically screeches to a stop. “You can’t bring her there. Kieran will lose his mind.”
Does he think I got to where I am now by being a Goddamn moron? Everyone knows that Queenie is special to Kieran.
“Not to take a client, asshole. I’m going to lock her in and let her have fun with all the toys. She’s too vulnerable like this.” The answer seems to please Trey, even though I am not looking for his approval, and he backs off while I carry Crystal several floors underground.
Jacques, a massive Alpha with the attitude of a bulldog with a hangnail, staffs the employee entry to the dens. When he sees me coming, he opens the door with no questions asked.
I’m barely two steps in the door, and Tati is on me, in all her domme glory.
“What the fuck happened to Queenie?”
“Someone drugged her,” I say, shoving past her. “She’s feral. Is there an open room I can leave her in for the night? I tried to take her home, but…”
“Yeah, I know about her power. Let’s find a place for her.” Tati circles me to lock eyes with Crystal, although she’s barely there, completely lost to a synthetic heat haze. “We got ya, Queenie. We’ll get you taken care of.”
“Knot,” she whines, and I damn near drop her when she humps my shoulder. “Please.”
“Can’t do that,” I remind her. “But Tati has some toys for you, don’t you, Tati?”
“Oh yeah, the best money can buy.” She opens the door to one of the smaller dens. Inside is a well-dressed bed with low, warm lighting and a dresser with three drawers. A bathroom is off to the side. It’s simple but looks like something you’d find in someone’s house.
“This is one of the girlfriend experience rooms,” Tati tells me quietly. “It’s made to feel like it’s her room. There are tons of toys.”
I gently sit Crystal down on the bed and force myself to back away. Tati starts opening drawers and pulling out dildos with massive knots on the ends and little vibrating bullets. “Alright, Queenie, this should be enough to get you started,” she says kindly before turning her back to the Omega.
“I’ll check in on her,” she tells me quietly as we walk out. I glimpse Crystal stripping out of her clothes before the door closes behind me. “Thanks for bringing her here. You’re a stand-up guy. Others would have taken her home.”
“Don’t thank me for doing the bare minimum. Keep me posted if things go bad. Oh, and,” I dig into my pocket, pulling out two half tablets of Fizz in a little bag. “Have her take one when she wakes up. She always tells her subjects to do it this way to stave off the worst of the crash.”
“Got it, boss,” she says, taking the baggy from me.
Climbing the stairs is hard, my legs heavy, as I walk away from Crystal. I can’t shake the feeling that I need to be there with her, to protect her.
But that’s not my job.
That’s never been my job.
My phone rings.
“Is she okay?” Kieran asks before I can even say hello.
“She’s okay. Her power is out at her place. I couldn’t get a straight answer, but she said something about being unable to pay her bill. I put her in a pleasure den.”
“You did what?” He screams so loudly that I have to pull the phone away from my face.
Why does everyone think I’m eager to toss Queenie into a brothel?
“By herself, boss. Tati set her up with some toys. She thinks she’s in heat.”
“Right, right. Okay, good. Thank you for taking care of her.”
“And the assholes that drugged her? Are they taken care of?”
“Of course. I don’t take kindly to someone touching what’s mine.”