Chapter 8
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.
Bare your throat.
Don’t stifle your whine, but don’t enhance it either. Too much of a whine can irritate their instincts, but a low level can show how upset you are that you displeased them.
He hums, temporarily satisfied with my prostrating, and waves his hand towards the door. “Go get dressed. You’ve got an empty suite tonight, so I need you to be available to hold court.” He casts his attention on the quiet, hulking Beta lingering in the room. “Puck, ensure she doesn’t go whore herself out.”
I slowly rise to my feet and start to back towards the door. Puck slips out in front of me, and as I pull the door shut behind me, Kieran’s voice, calm and clear, reaches me.
“While you are under my employ, you belong to me, Queenie. You’ll do well to remember that.”
* * *
The leather shorts and bustier top are surprisingly conservative for what I usually need to wear on a night I hold court.
And by hold court, I mean selling drugs on the main floor of Prism.
Kieran loves his royal euphemisms.
I pin a few pieces of my colorful hair behind my ears. While I keep it loose at the back to hide the bite mark on my nape, I’m surprised to see it has already faded some this morning.
Is it possible the fizz had done that? Or maybe it was being around my scent match.
I throb between my thighs at the memory of Maverick.
My Alpha.
Of fucking course, I’d meet my scent match in this hellhole. I’m not sure what it says about him that he was there seeking a pleasure worker, but I was down there, seeking a John, so I’m not going to judge him for it.
And he smelled so good.
How am I supposed to forget about him?
Now that I know he exists, every piece of my body is aching for him. But if Kieran finds out about him, that is one more person he can use to keep me in line.
If he lets my Alpha live.
Kieran has made it very clear that I belong to him, and a bonded Alpha would mess with that image.
Puck pushes off the wall outside the changing room as I exit.
“Still on babysitting duty, huh?”
His eyes roll in their sockets as he scoffs at me. “Of course I am after the stunt you pulled.” He rubs his dark eyes with the heels of his hands. He looks exhausted. When he finally looks at me, his expression is surprisingly gentle. “What the fuck were you thinking, Queenie?”
Gentle expression, harsh words. Damn. The dichotomy of Puck Bellamy.
“Like I told Kieran. I was horny.” I pretend not to notice that Puck almost stumbles with my words. “I don’t see why it’s such a big deal.”
“It’s a big deal because, like it or not, you’re the Queen of the Conglomerate. What do you think Kieran’s enemies would do if they knew all they had to do to get to you was to find you in the pleasure dens?”
“Aw, if you keep that up, I could almost believe you care about me, big guy.”
“You have no idea how much I care, Queenie,” he says so quietly that I almost miss it. The Beta ducks his head as we pass a few employees before wrapping his massive hand around my upper arm. “Did you have no other options for a quick lay, Crystal?”
“When would I have the chance to date, Puck? I work two jobs. When I’m not here, I’m at the Clinic. When I’m not there, I’m sleeping or checking to make sure Kieran didn’t go back on his word and harm my family.” I rip my arm away from his grip, my lip curling. “So no, I don’t have someone I can call to fuck the fire out of me, despite what you may think about me.”
I push past him towards the employee stairs to take me to the VIP floors. “And besides,” I call over my shoulder, “I seem to remember offering you that position. Don’t be upset that someone played with the toy you put down.”
Fingers band tightly around my wrist, and I hop to avoid falling down the stairs. He spins me, pushing my chest against the wall and crowding my back. This close, it’s impossible to deny that Puck smells good. It’s not like other Betas or the strength of an Alpha’s pheromones, but it’s appealing.
It’s hard to describe.
What else is hard? The massive fucking cock that is wedged against my lower back as he presses me into the wall. His plush lips brush over my ear.
“You weren’t asking for me, Queenie. You were asking for a knot. I can’t give you that.”
He ghosts his lips across the curve of my neck. The warmth of his breath causes my skin to pebble as a shiver wracks through my body. My breaths are coming out in little pants, and a soft whine builds in the back of my throat.
I’ve never had this kind of reaction to Puck before.
I don’t think he’s reacted like this to me, either.
But as I start to arch my back to rub against him like a cat, he pushes off the wall, grumbles, “When you’re ready to ask for me when you’re not out of your mind, then we can talk,” and stomps off, nearly ripping the door to the stairs off the hinges.
“Okay, cool, good chat, Puck,” I mutter, stalking behind him.
We end up on the second VIP level, where a bachelor party is just getting started. A selection of Betas from the pleasure dens are here, draped across the men’s laps.
I can’t tell which one is the groom, which is too gross for words. It should be clear which one is in a committed relationship. It doesn’t matter that these guys have so much money that they can rent out a VIP floor.
They’re still trash.
“Is this the Queen?” one of the guys slurs, pushing to his feet. “You have the party favors?”
“I can get you a glass of bubbly if you like,” I offer sweetly.
Being a high-end drug dealer is weird.
I can’t just straight up come out and say, “Hey, want some illegal drugs that’ll make you want to rut anything that stays still long enough?” You never know who might be undercover looking to trap you.
Instead, I have to play coy and speak in riddles that give me plausible deniability.
“A whole bottle, if you can spare it,” the man says to my tits. “You can join us.”
“Ah, the Queen does not deign to associate with the peasants,” I say with a fake little laugh. I cross to Red, the bartender working the room, with Puck tight on my heels.
Tonight, the drugs are stored in a pouch that Puck is carrying. Whenever I’m mobile, whoever is guarding me holds onto them to reduce the likelihood of someone trying to jump me.
Not that it hasn’t happened before, regardless.
After we get the bachelor party set up for a night of debauchery, Puck leads me out of the room and to the suite on the other side of the club.
“You’ve got another audience requested,” he says lazily. “Some DJ. He was on TV or something.”
“Okay, cool,” I say, reaching into my bustier and pulling my tits up a little. Puck raises an eyebrow, and I shrug. “We all know why Kieran picks outfits like this out for me.”
The Beta pushes open the door and steps in first, placing himself between me and the man sprawled out on the leather sofa.
My heart catches in my throat.
Maverick stretches his long arms out on either side of the couch, his eyes flashing mischievously. Without the haze of the drugs, I can appreciate his lithe build—so rare for an Alpha—and his crooked smile.
“There she is,” Maverick says in a smooth purr. “My Omega.”
Puck immediately steps in front of me entirely. “What the fuck did you say?” His voice is nearly a growl, which is an impressive feat for a Beta.
“Queenie is my Omega. My scent match. I’m her Alpha.” His voice is full of pride, and his chest is puffed up.
My Alpha.
The sound of it is a dream.
Fuck. He can’t be here, or that dream will quickly become a nightmare.
It’s not safe for him.
“Queenie doesn’t have an Alpha.” Puck’s words brook no argument, but Maverick does not seem deterred.
“Tell him, Queenie. We met in the pleasure dens last night.” My Alpha is on his feet, voice growing distraught, pleading for me to confirm his story.
“The Queen doesn’t work the pleasure dens,” Puck says through gritted teeth. “You’re mistaken.”
“No, I’m not! Just come here, Queenie. I know you scented me, too!”
“I’m sorry,” I say roughly. “I think you have me confused with someone else. I don’t work the pleasure dens. I don’t have a scent match.”
The lies threaten to rip my throat into shreds.
“What are you talking about? You smell like cotton candy!” His voice is shrill with emotion, and my chest aches. I want nothing more than to go to my Alpha and purr to soothe him, but I can’t.
I’m selfish, sure, but in the way that I’m going to grab the bigger slice of something we’ve cut in half.
I am not so selfish as to let him get wrapped up in this.
“Come, Puck.” I’m surprised at how level my voice sounds when it feels like I’m speaking through glass. “Let’s go. It’s clear he was expecting someone else.”
“Please!” Maverick begs as we turn our backs. “Please, I just found you. You can’t do this to me. I know what you are to me. Why are you lying? Why are you doing this? Why don’t you want me?”
I bite my lip, steeling myself to turn around. When I do, the devastation on his face almost knocks my feet out from under me.
“Look, you seem like a very nice Alpha, and I am sorry I am not who you think I am. You’ll find the right Omega for you one day.” I swallow around a sob that threatens to spill from between my lips. “I’m so sorry, but it can’t be me.”
I tuck tail and run, unwilling to spend another minute in the room with the Alpha that is supposed to be mine.
Puck takes my hand and pulls me into a supply closet, wrapping his arms around me and squeezing tight as I bury my face in his chest and sob.
“You did the right thing,” he whispers into my hair. “I know that was so hard, Queenie, but you did the right thing. He wouldn’t have been safe.”
Puck never outwardly acknowledges the danger I’m in working for Kieran, and I appreciate him admitting that there is something Maverick needs to be protected from. It’s validating to know that it’s not all in my head.
“It’s not fair.” My voice cracks as I bury my face in his shirt, my tears soaking through it. “I didn’t ask to live like this. I was just trying to protect my sister and niece. Kieran will never be done with me. He’s never going to let me go. I could have a normal life with a pack, and a dog, and a yard with a stupid fence! I could be happy. That’s my Alpha!” Emotion curves my spine as I slip from Puck’s arms into a puddle on the floor. “That’s my Alpha, and I have to pretend he’s nothing to me.”
Puck clamors to the ground with me and pulls me into his lap. He clears his throat several times and softly strokes my hair while murmuring empty platitudes.
He can’t tell me it will be okay and mean it.
Because we both know Kieran is never going to let me go.