Chapter 27
TWENTY-SEVEN
I’m trying very hard not to remember the last time I was here. The way Crystal looked writhing beneath my palm, her sounds that filled the air.
It’s been on a loop in my head. Every night, when I close my eyes, it’s like I’m here with her again, getting my restraint tested.
But I held firm.
I’m still waiting for my trophy for that.
Of course, getting a dose from Rebecca has helped keep me in check. I don’t know what I would’ve done without it. It’s never been that bad before. I’m lucky I even made it to her in time before I spiraled out of control.
It’s been a few days since that night, and Crystal and I have avoided each other while at the club.
I’m unsure who feels more uncomfortable when we think about that night.
At least she has an excuse for her behavior.
That was all me.
I’ve been standing here for at least five minutes, trying to convince myself not to do this. Not to knock on her door. Not to come clean to her, to tell her everything. It’s not a good idea. We were never supposed to grow close to one another. In fact, I worked hard to keep her at arm’s length for a long time.
Why has it been that recently, I’ve yearned to show her who I really am, wanting her to know the me behind the mask?
I’m not sure when it happened, but one day, she went from being the Queen of Prism, an off-limits Omega that I needed to keep out of trouble, to being Queenie, the gorgeous Omega with a smart mouth and big, sad eyes.
I shouldn’t be here.
And yet, here I am, staring at her door.
When I first recruited her to work for Kieran, I thought she’d be gone quickly - that I’d barely see her around the club.
And then Kieran bit her.
I pretend like I don’t know about it. Which probably makes me a grade-A cunt, but it’s not like I can do anything to make it better. He’s going to keep doing it.
I did try to stop him after the first time it happened.
* * *
“Boss, please tell me you didn’t just bite that girl.”
Kieran scoffs as he pours himself a glass of scotch. “Of course I did. After what those animals tried to do to her? I needed to make sure everyone knew she was under my protection.”
“Even I could’ve told you those were not the Alphas to send a pretty little Omega in with!” I clench my fists, centering myself with the pain that bites my palms.
“What your fucking tone, Bellamy. I give a lot of leeway, but I’m still your fucking boss, do you understand?”
I drop my gaze, my fists clenching. “Understood. But do you even know the side effects of a bond like that?”
“A blight bond? Of course, I do.” He sits at his desk and pulls out an envelope and his ornamental blade letter opener. Sometimes, I think he pretends to read paperwork to have something to do with his hands. “Is there anything else, Puck?”
“Just… this was just a one-time thing, right?”
“Naturally.”
* * *
It wasn’t a one-time thing, of course.
Every time she came back from her heat, he bit her again.
Now, I know a bit about bonds. I know that if it’s not cemented in heat, it won’t last, which is why everyone says you can’t bond outside of heat. However, what I didn’t know, and what I discovered after researching the term’ blight bond’ online, is that it refers to an unreciprocated or forced bond.
The side effects ranged from none to severe.
In the four years since, I’ve monitored her for the symptoms.
And unfortunately, I think she’s starting to have some.
I knock on the door.
No answer.
I knock again.
I hear the lock snick, and the door slides open. But it’s not Crystal that stands there. It’s a tall, slim man with deep olive skin and black hair, squinting at me.
“Can I help you?” he asks cautiously.
Who the fuck is this man in Crystal’s house?
“Where’s Crystal?” I try to keep my voice level, but aggression bleeds into it.
He closes the door some, leaving it open only a crack. “Who are you?”
“Crystal!” I bellow before shoving hard against the cracked door. The man hits the wall, shouting and swearing.
Crystal slides into the room in just her underwear, her face red and swollen like she’s been crying.
“What did you do to her?” I snarl, heaving the other man up by his shirt. “Crystal, get behind me.”
“Puck!” she shouts. “Put him down!” She rushes me, pulling on my arms. “Stop, he didn’t do anything!”
The man narrows his eyes at me, his face otherwise blank. Does he not realize the danger he is in under my hands? “Puck, huh?” he spits.
As soon as the words are out of his mouth, two more sets of feet slide into the entryway. One is a red-haired younger man with tattoos, and the other is –
“The Alpha from Prism?” I say, immediately dropping the man I had pinned to the wall. “Crystal, we talked about this.”
“Yeah, so did we,” the DJ Alpha from the club snarls at me. “And she’s worth whatever bullshit your boss will try to put us through.”
“Us?” I look at the three men, all quite different in appearance, before rubbing my face. “Did you form a fucking pack, Queenie?”
Why does the thought of that make my stomach hurt?
The man I had pinned against the wall slides between us, a growl much bigger than his slight frame filling the air. Alpha, then. “It’s none of your fucking business what my Omega does.”
“It’ll be my business when I’m the one sent to collect you for Kieran,” I tell him, stepping closer into his space. “It’ll be my business when I’m the one carving you up.”
“You could just not,” the DJ says. “Like, you could just forget you ever saw us here.”
My head fucking hurts.
I turn to Queenie, trying to talk some sense into her. “Look, I know, these are your Alphas, and you’re lonely. But this won’t be forever.”
“He’s a Beta.” She points to the tattooed man.
“Huh?”
“This isn’t just about me being lonely or drawn to my Alphas. He’s a Beta.” Something stirs in me at the words.
So she’d accept a Beta into her pack?
Interesting.
“Regardless of designation, if Kieran finds out, they’re dead, Queenie. You know that.”
Crystal steps towards me, and it’s a battle to keep my eyes off her legs, to keep my mind from running back to how she looked with them spread. “Why don’t you help me escape, Puck? Hell, let’s get out together.” She reaches towards me and then drops her hands as if she thinks better of it. When she speaks again, her voice is quieter for only me to hear. “I know that this enforcer persona is not you.”
“You know we can’t do that, Queenie.” I can’t keep the despair out of my voice.
We’re getting dangerously close to the things I came here to tell her. But seeing her with these men reminds me that I can’t.
There is no safety for Crystal Manson.
A King will always hunt his Queen.
Even if the Queen begs for freedom, she’s shackled by her crown.
“You know that’s not how this story ends, Crystal,” I tell her gently, reaching out for her hands. She slides hers into mine, and I squeeze them. “Do you think this is truly the life I want for you? But Kieran will never let you go. Not now, not ever.”
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.”