Chapter 32
THIRTY-TWO
He went too far.
I knew it would happen eventually, but I hoped I’d be here to intervene.
Instead, I’m left cradling the sobbing Omega to my chest, trying to pull my eyes off the rapidly darkening purple bruise around her throat.
Kieran knows about her pack.
I don’t know how, but that doesn’t matter anymore.
He knows, and none of them are safe.
Especially not her.
I softly rub my hand down Queenie’s side, but she winces away from my touch. I try to touch the same spot again, and she whines.
“Don’t, it hurts too much.”
“Did he…” My voice gets caught in my throat. Fury churns in me, leaving my hands shaking as I pull her even closer to me. I can’t bring myself to say the words I know to be true.
“He kicked me.” Her voice is so small and broken, making me ache.
“I never thought he’d go this far. I truly thought you weren’t in any real danger from his hand.” I pray she believes me. “I would’ve gotten you out if I thought he’d hurt you. I would’ve tried my best, would’ve figured it out.”
Fuck the plan.
Fuck what I’m here to do.
For her, I would’ve risked it.
For her, I would risk everything.
But it’s too late.
He knows.
He knows about her pack and is probably putting together the pieces and realizing that she’s figured out his game.
Kieran threw me out of his office two hours ago after he got a phone call that left him fuming, and I didn’t think much of it.
Who called him?
What was said?
Whatever it was, it’s made him reckless.
“C’mon, Queenie, we gotta get you out of here and cleaned up,” I say softly. I gather her in my arms and stand up. I shake out the legs of my jeans from where they bunched up and take her from the scene of her trauma.
She’s shaking, low, quiet, whines the only sound escaping her, as I head down multiple stairs towards the dressing rooms.
Trey stops me.
“Puck, what happened to Queenie?”
He reaches for her, and I feel something inside me crack. “Get the fuck away from her,” I snarl. “Now. Back the fuck up, Trey.”
He jumps as if I threw hot water on him. “Puck, man, what the fuck? Put her down.”
“You cannot take her from me,” I growl.
Trey gulps in fear, and I watch the way his throat bobs. My vision narrows, and I want nothing more than to rip his throat out for trying to take my Omega from me.
My Omega whines louder, burrowing deeper into my chest, and I feel the dam in my chest break open. I take off at a run, down the stairs, and to the pleasure dens.
It’s the only place I can think of right now where I can lock us in and keep anyone from getting to us. I don’t want anyone to look at her, to see her so hurt.
I couldn’t protect her, which is on me, but I will do everything possible to make up for my mistakes.
She needs me.
My Omega needs me.
Someone yells at me as I burst through the doors, but a growl is enough to keep them at bay. I keep up my harried pace until I get into one of the girlfriend experience rooms and gently place the Omega on the bed.
She curls up in a tight ball and doesn’t look at me.
Locking the door isn’t enough. I have to barricade it. I have to keep anyone from getting near her.
She will never hurt again. I will make sure of it.
It takes just a few moments for me to drag an end table and some chairs in front of the door, wedging the back of one under the doorknob. It may not keep someone out forever, but it will for long enough that I won’t be surprised and can keep her safe.
I pull off my shirt before climbing into the bed and cuddling her up against my bare skin, pushing her face into the crook of my neck.
The buttery, sweet scent of shortbread cookies overwhelms my senses as a purr rumbles my chest.
The meds burned off.
Rebecca warned me this could happen. She said if I met my scent match, there was a chance they would no longer suppress my Alpha nature.
I knew, or suspected, what Crystal was to me after that night in her nest. I felt on edge like I had been off the meds for days, and it must’ve been obvious to everyone but me.
But I lied to myself. I told myself there was no way I was complicit in how my scent match was treated. It was bad enough that I stood by as it happened to any Omega, but my scent match?
That would be unforgivable.
But there is no more denying it anymore.
Crystal Manson is my Omega.
And I have failed her, over and over, for four years.
I feel like I’m going to jump out of my skin. My body aches, and my instincts are going haywire. She’s here, in my arms, but it feels like someone is going to take her from me at any moment.
That she is still in danger.
Her body shudders, and then she looks up at me, blinking hazy eyes. I watch her nostrils flare, my scent registering, and then her eyes widen.
And she practically throws herself out of my arms.
“No!” I snarl, snagging her and holding her tighter to my chest. “No, no, no. Not safe,” My voice is unrecognizable. “Stay.” My purr is a little aggressive, but it still loosens her body. “Dangerous.”
She pushes her hands against my chest to look directly into my eyes. I can practically taste the betrayal she feels in the air. “Alpha,” she says with disdain. “You’re not just an Alpha, though, are you? You’re my Alpha? And you… You stood by all this time.”
“I didn’t know.” I have to force the words out through broken glass. “You have to believe me.”
“Didn’t know you were an Alpha, or didn’t know I was yours?”
I can tell the answer matters to her, but I know the truth isn’t what she wants to hear. “Didn’t know you were mine. I… there are meds. Experimental, not tested here, that can suppress Alpha nature. I’ve been taking them.”
“Why?”
Grief swells in my chest, but I push it down. “Later. I can’t… I have to take care of you.”
My hands run down her body. She winces again at my touch to her ribs. Fury fills me, and I rip through the laces at the back of her corset. As she spills out of it, my eyes zero in on the massive purple bruise on her ribs.
Darkness creeps into my vision. My body is rebelling against the damage done to my Omega, and I am at war with myself.
Comfort or kill.
Comfort or kill.
Comfort or…
Kill
Kill
Kill
Kill
Kill
Kill
Kill.