Chapter 25
TWENTY-FIVE
ROGUE
I woke with a pounding headache to the sound of clinking chains.
I pushed myself from the floor, wincing as my cheek painfully peeled from the dried blood and hardwood, reopening the split skin Knox had left me with. Still, I stifled the growl and stayed silent, curious to see what was going on in the room without me.
By the scents, which I could only just catch through the lingering tang of iron, Knox had passed out in bed with her. A low, burning wave of fury swept over me as I made the room focus.
He’d climbed into my mate’s bed while I was still fucking here…? That fury became a torrent, almost uncontainable.
That was until I saw what a huge mistake he’d made.
My perfect little Omega was hanging from the bedpost as she slipped around it like an exotic dancer before crawling back onto the bed, tugging gently on the chain around her neck to check to see how much leverage it had. She’d spun around the post enough times that it didn’t budge, and she nodded to herself, seeming rather pleased, before her eyes scanned the bed again.
I dared shift just enough to see what she was doing, which gave me away because I choked on a laugh I absolutely couldn’t contain.
Thistle was possibly one of the most psychotic creatures I’d ever come across. Wild, violet eyes snapped up to me, her gaze finding mine as I sat up properly, examining her work.
Knox—the fucking idiot—was still on the bed, out like a rock, with her chain wound around his neck and wrists before it circled tightly around the bed post.
If he woke, he wouldn’t be able to move without choking himself.
Thistle watched me cautiously as I staggered to my feet. When I leaned against the bedpost and tugged my pack of cigarettes from my pocket, she shifted forward—though her restraints weren’t giving her much leverage. She’d removed her top at some point in the night (it was tangled up on the chain), and the sight of her was downright sinful.
She was still in that skimpy black lace, and my erection jumped to attention as the chain caught and she lowered her cheek to the blankets, lifting her hips and tilting her head, showing me her neck and body like an offering.
A possessive growl rumbled to life in my chest, and it took everything in me not to reach for her and claim her right now.
“That’s a pretty offering,” I said, instead. “But you, Kitten, are playing with fire.”
By the look of that chain around his neck, she would be in enough trouble already.
I lifted my lighter with a grin and my brain reluctantly flickered to life as I inhaled the nicotine, waiting to see what she would do next. Only one violet eye was visible right now, but it became wounded as I took a drag and didn’t move.
I almost cracked as she shifted lower, back arching further, and neck even more exposed.
Fuck, she was beautiful, with porcelain skin and raven hair scattered and wild around her.
“Can’t touch you, Kitten. You know that.”
Touching her is what got us in this mess in the first place, and, considering he might fully off me if we had to go another round too soon, it would be her ass on the chopping block.
A half growl, half whine slipped from her, and she straightened. Her brows were perfectly creased in shock as I took another puff of my cigarette.
She cocked her head, eyes dropping to my crotch, and her frosted moonflower settled as she saw how hard I was. I exhaled a laugh with a plume of smoke as she chewed on her lip and returned her analytical gaze to me.
Knox groaned, shifting in his sleep and grabbing both of our attention.
I watched in satisfaction as the chain clinked and his body stiffened.
Just paying your dues —that’s what he’d tell me. This was all penance , just like I deserved.
Sure, sure.
And I couldn’t exactly argue when he reminded me I was a massive fucking prick.
Just didn’t change the fact that he was, too.
His eyes blinked open, and he tried to sit up before letting out a choked snarl, hands seizing the chains at his neck. His gaze darted around the room in fury for a moment before snagging on the two of us.
“What the fuck is this?” he demanded, voice rough.
Thistle looked back to me, and I realised it was a gift, and she was waiting for me to take it. Or do something.
Unfortunately, no amount of metal around Knox’s jugular would unseal my fate, so instead, I took another drag, leaving the ball in her court.
I was completely fascinated by her, and Knox knew that, so I had nothing to hide. What I didn’t want Knox to know was the trickle of warmth in my chest, a slow drip that was defrosting a long-encased heart.
She was something precious, and I didn’t get to keep anything worth more than dirt.
But I’d seen the feral fury in Knox’s eyes when he’d caught us on the staircase. He’d tempered it, directed it at me, but that wasn’t a madness I was willing to risk her safety with.
He’d bought her with the intention of taunting me, but that had been a claim in his eyes, and there was nothing more dangerous on the planet than an Alpha chained by a claim he didn’t want. Even last night, when she’d asked to take my punishment—asking him to do the unthinkable—I’d never seen him freeze like that.
The problem was, even if he fell for her as hard as I was, it didn’t matter. I didn’t believe my destruction was intended to be contained, and he was barrelling toward it as fast as I was.
Truthfully, if the damned device in my neck ever blew, I don’t think he’d survive much longer. And I don’t think that reality bothered him.
“Little Doll,” Knox rasped when she didn’t move. “I’m going to fucking skin you.”
We both saw it happen. Her pupils dilated at the threat, and the faintest, strangled chirp of pleasure slipped from her chest.
One more time, her eyes darted to me, but when I said nothing, she shifted closer to him, one hand creeping up his chest as she nuzzled against his chained neck.
I couldn’t deny they looked damn good together. They were opposites. Her pale skin to warmth of his, her raven hair beside ice-blond.
And of course, Knox—the twisted fucker that he was—had been hard since the second he’d fought with the chains.
His eyes flashed, landing on me, and he opened his mouth to demand I free him, but bless her little Omega heart, she instantly clamped a hand over his mouth, a growl rising in her chest.
His eyes held mine, burning with fury as that chain made it hard for him to move, but I just took another drag with a shrug as if to say: No command? No action .
I was a bit of a coward when it came to my own demise, but this…? This was easily worth dying for.
Thistle’s violet eyes flitted between us curiously as if trying to figure out what was happening.
God, she was too much, all black lace and porcelain skin as she clambered over Knox, hand still clamped over his mouth as she scanned the room.
Finally, she tugged a nearby pillow free of its case but seemed to run out of steam. Around her were nothing but blankets and pillows.
She needed a little help.
I tugged my pocketknife out and tossed it to her.
The next part was hilarious, psychotic, and adorable, as she—one handed, fought with the pillowcase, sometimes taking it between her teeth, and tore it to shreds. Every time it would get too difficult, she’d let out a hiss of annoyance. And if Knox tried anything, she’d slam her weight on the chain and press the knife to his cheek.
He didn’t make many attempts.
She gave me a show, shimmying her lace underwear off.
I was almost painfully hard as she re-mounted him, and I caught a glimpse of my mate’s pretty little cunt which was glistening with slick.
I let out a bark of a laugh as she scrunched the lace up and shoved it into his mouth–knife back at his neck when he tried to resist. His growl was wild, but she ignored it, grabbing the shreds of black silk pillowcase and finally getting it tightly around his mouth.
By the time she finished, my cigarette had long been a stub between my lips, but the show was far from over.
Satisfied that Knox was secure, she looked back at me.
“I want him,” she declared.
“That,” I said with a grin, “Is quite evident.”
“You won’t hate me?”
“I’ll even stay and watch, Kitten.” Technically, it wasn’t touching.
“Really?” Her smile was dazzling. “You don’t mind?”
I raised my eyebrows, surprised by the question. Knox’s eyes slid between us. I probably shouldn’t feel quite this vindicated as she handed me that power, but I still felt sticky blood on my face and neck.
“Wait,” I said, remembering something she had told me yesterday. “He hasn’t fucked you yet?”
“Nope.” She popped the ‘p’ eyes dancing with mischief as she wriggled against him.
Well… damn.
How could I deny her this?
The fucking idiot had waited this long, and now she got to have it her way. It gave me a stake in what he would steal from me anyway, in the most glorious way.
So, I crossed toward them both, not touching, but settling on the floor beside the bed so I could see them both.
“Wreck him, Kitten,” I said. “And bra off,” I told her. “I want to see all of you.”
She reached back, unclipping the bra, and I swear I saw a flash of vulnerability as it came apart. She held it at her chest, and the way she glanced at Knox was almost as if she needed reassurance.
Even with heaving breaths, he, too, was watching her intently, pupils blown wide.
Was she insecure about the way she looked?
Her lip got caught in her teeth as she finally lowered the fabric, cheeks flushing as she shot me a glance.
She was naked, but for the golden collar and chain around her neck, and it was, without a shadow of a doubt, the most beautiful moment I’d ever had the fortune to witness.
Her breasts were small, a subtle curve of pale flesh that matched her tiny frame.
I sensed the sudden shift in her scent, lust dulling a bit for anxiety, and she looked hunched, as if she wanted to fold her arms around herself again.
“My moonlit goddess,” I told her. “I don’t want you hiding anything.”
Her eyes went as wide as saucers, and her cheeks heated up more as she stared. Then she sank against Knox, turning her head so she faced away from me as she clutched him.
“Did you hear that?” Her voice was the barest whisper, and I wondered if she was asking Knox or her bunny.
When she pushed herself up again, she chewed on her lip more aggressively. Her hair hung loose, tumbling in front of her face just a little.
She kept darting violet glances through down tilted eyelashes, lip wobbling with a small smile as she returned to straddling Knox.
Good.
I loved everything about her, from the dark contrast of her raven hair against deathly pale skin, to how small she was. I loved wondering what sounds she would make when her body had to adjust to me.
If…
Not when.
If I ever got to claim her.
I shoved that thought away, focusing instead on how small she looked even mounted on Knox, so ready for the show I was about to get.
“Go on, Kitten.”
I was surprisingly comfortable watching as she tugged his rock-hard length from his sweats.
I was a viciously possessive Alpha. Always had been—it’s part of what had landed me here in the first place—but Knox had long been an extension of that. He let out a deadly growl, but her scent of frosted moonflower became downright sinful as she positioned herself over him—she didn’t even flinch.
She was completely naked, and he was at her mercy.
So was I.
Her perfect body was the most tempting thing I’d ever seen, but I could live with this.
Her eyes drifted to me again, and she looked heady with lust, eyelids heavy as she flattened her palm against Knox’s chest, back arching as she shifted over his length.
She wiggled her hips and Knox’s groan sounded involuntarily as she sank over the tip of his cock.
I don’t think I’d seen anything in the world as sweet as my Omega’s tight little cunt stretching over Knox’s length as she lowered herself down onto him.
At my own low, rumbling growl she loosed the sweetest trill, ignoring Knox’s snarl as she adjusted herself half-way down.
He was fucking rabid—snarls vicious as he strained against the chains. He couldn’t do much, as any movement or drastic shift, tightened the chain at his neck.
“Mmm…” Her eyes rolled back as she settled right down against his knot, lip caught in her teeth as she bobbed over him a little.
That was the hottest thing I’d ever seen.
I resisted the urge to palm my own shaft, which was stiff as a rod, but I didn’t want the spotlight taken from her.
So instead, I just watched, all but in a trance.
His breathing was short and sharp, but he couldn’t do anything as she fucked him like a sex toy. The hottest sounds rising in her chest every time she sank down over him just the right way.
She was clearly taking her time, and every time he tried to shift his legs—a dangerous game for how tight the chain was—she would growl, and the knife edge found his cheek.
Again, she sank right down to his knot with a breathy sound, eyes dazed as she rested there. Knox’s chest was heaving, his eyes as blown as they were wild.
“You’re so pretty, taking his cock all the way to his knot.”
She let out a low moan, eyes locked with mine at the praise, hips bobbing up and down, and eyes crossing with pleasure. Slick dropped down her thighs, and her cheeks heated, breaths coming shorter and sharper as she tumbled over the edge.
It was a beautiful thing, watching her climax, body shuddering, cheeks pink as she sagged against him.
It wasn’t until she’d pushed herself back up that she realised that Knox had, somehow, managed to hold out. Likely in pure, rageful stubbornness if I knew him at all.
His eyes were fixed on the ceiling, and it must have taken every ounce of willpower he had not to finish with her, which I imagine he did out of pure spite.
Thistle, however, didn’t react well.
When she came down from her high, she fixed her gaze on him, eyes narrowed as she adjusted, trying to feel if he was still hard—which he definitely was.
Her lips were drawn in a snarl, and, with the knife back in her fist, she shifted down. She gripped his shaft with one hand, and with the other, positioned the knife near his thigh. The proximity of the sharp object to his crown jewels was enough to tear his furious gaze from the ceiling.
Very obviously offended that he hadn’t finished with her, she began to run her tongue up his length before she slid her lips over his girth.
Fuck me, she was a siren, taking him all the way to the knot without much trouble and holding there for a moment before drawing away and going again.
Finally, when Knox was rigid with an orgasm he still valiantly fought, she drew back, turning her head and catching his length between two little pointed Omega canines.
The growl Knox let out was feral, but her knife pressed tighter in threat.
She wasn’t…
Oh.
Fuck me.
A bark of a laugh escaped my chest. No fucking way.
Knox’s gaze darted between us, and he was fucking manic with fury now.
Thistle was playing with him, canine grazing his cock, digging in just a little at a time and by the way her eyes glittered, she loved every breath of fury—and also terror—that slipped from Knox’s chest.
“Knox, mate,” I crooned, tangling my fingers in his hair, tilting his neck so he couldn’t see her anymore. “Why are you still hard?”
I was, quite literally, dead. The stupid little device stuck in my neck would detonate by the morning.
But I would die a happy fucking man.
He jumped violently as she grazed her teeth along his length again, but he was also shaking—with restraint, I realised, not fear. I grinned, unsure of what seized me as I curled my fist around the chain and held it steady before sliding my gaze down to her. Her chest was heaving, and for a second I think she was caught between sinking those cute fangs into Knox’s flesh, and diving for me.
She stayed, though.
She pinched her tongue between her teeth, then settled them back around Knox’s thick cock. He was panting by now, wide eyes fixed on the ceiling.
Her fist squeezed his knot, and he groaned as her teeth dug in. I couldn’t rip my gaze from my mate as she sank her petite Omega fangs into the dick of the Alpha who had stolen my freedom.
I leveraged the grip I had on the chain around his neck, and to my delight, Knox let out a feral snarl and climaxed.
Thistle whined with delight, taking it in her stride, scent hazy with lust. She drew back from the blood trickling down his length. Some of his cum caught her cheek and eye before she wrapped her lips around his cock and took it down her throat, blood and all.
Knox bucked, his sounds wild now, jamming his weight against the chains as his climax was unwillingly dragged out.
Seeming rather pleased with herself, she kept up a light grip on his length, sliding it up and down as she clambered up to mount him again.
She hadn’t taken his knot yet, and it wasn’t long before he was hard again, though his body was trembling from the release, the tanned skin of his torso glistening with sweat.
I grinned.
He’d battled hard not to get off from her, and not only had she won that battle, but she wasn’t done.
“Are you going to take his knot, Kitten?” I asked, as she remounted, dazed eyes still hungry. Her gaze snapped to me as she sank back over him with a blissful sigh.
“Show me how well you can take him.”
She moaned at my words, raising her hips and sinking down, breathing speeding up.
Knox groaned, whole body tense as she used him again. “I want to see that tight little cunt stretched and stuffed with his knot.”
She sank lower, and I could see she struggled a little, fists balling against Knox’s chest, lips parted as she tried to stretch over him. She let out a huff of frustration, bobbing back up and impaling herself a few more times before going again.
“Good girl, go slow. If you can fit his knot, you can fit me.”
Though, I wasn’t so sure about my whole cock at this point.
She let out a whine, the violet in her eyes drowned by inky black as she lifted her hips again, desperate sounds slipping from her chest as she worked herself up, drawing up and down his length before a little shudder rolled through her body.
She sank down once more, body all but giving out as she used her weight to take him this time. It was fucking hot, the way she whimpered as her tight little pussy was finally forced to take his whole knot.
Knox growled, going tense again, and I was pretty sure she’d just wrung a second orgasm from him.
She was panting, rocking her hips back over him as bliss swept over her features, her body shuddering with ecstasy once more.
“You’re so fucking beautiful, Kitten,” I told her.
A lazy smile slid onto her face as she curled up, wriggling around to get comfortable.
When she was, she took her time, tugging a few pillows in around them both and sitting Bunny up. Then, with dazed eyes, she propped herself up, elbows digging into Knox’s abdomen.
Finally, she turned to me.
“Are we gonna be alright?”
“Alright?” I asked.
“You’ll fit, right? I don’t usually have uh… issues. I can make it work.”
I snorted. “Ace wasn’t that impressive, then?”
“Ace was!” She pouted. “But he was usually the one doing the… fitting. Not the other way around. Which is fine! I’ve just never uh…” She glanced down at Knox.
Ridden an Alpha before? I wondered.
“Maybe you should be on top. More weight.”
I grinned.
“Are you… doing okay?” she asked.
“What, this?” I waved at my cuts. “Just a scrape.”
Her eyes traced the cuts, and the blood that was still oozing down my neck.
“Wanna know a secret?” I asked.
“Uh huh?”
“Didn’t feel a thing.” Well. It was half a lie. I’d felt the unpleasant sensations of my body getting turned to mulch.
“What do you mean?”
“I have… defective pain receptors.”
Her eyes went wide. “You don’t feel pain?”
“Nope.” Knox fucking hated it. It’s why he went so hard—so I’d at least have the scars to take away.
“No way,” Thistle whispered, eyes wide.
“Yup.”
She reached out, still with that stunned look on her face. “Can I…?” I held my arm out to her, shifting forward so it was within reach. I was expecting her to poke at a cut, but instead, she grabbed my knife and flipped it in her grip.
It was probably a bit of a tip-off to how goddamned obsessed with her I already was, that I didn’t even pull away as she drew a little cut along my arm.
She glanced up at me, eyes narrowed.
“Woah…” She looked excited, but froze when I drew away. “Uhh…” She reached after me, a little panic wobbling her voice. I handed my arm back to her. She seized it with a focused expression as she positioned the knife next to the little cut. Then she glanced up at me for a flicker, guilt on her face before she quickly dug in another line, then another. Finally, she let go of my hand, shoving the knife behind her as if pretending it hadn’t happened.
I turned my arm, peering at it and letting out a little chuckle as I found a messy little heart carved into my skin.
“Sorry—!” She began, but cut off as my purr rumbled to life before I caught it, which never happened to me.
Her eyes sparkled and she let out a happy little sigh as she shimmied back a little on Knox’s knot. Knox’s growl was fainter than it had been, as if his heart wasn’t quite in it.
I froze, something occurring to me. “Are you on birth control?”
Fuck me, we did not need that complication in this situation.
She barked a laugh. “Ohhhh yeh.” She mimed jabbing a needle into her arm. “Big time. Ace doesn’t want no babies with me.”
“Really?” Weren’t Alphas like him all about lineage and shit? And she was his scent match.
“Well no. I told him I don’t want babies. What am I gonna do with a baby?”
“And he listened?”
“What’s Ace gonna do with a baby?” She snorted. “Eat it?”
My gaze snapped up to her so fast I got a crick in my neck. There was a broad grin on her face as she watched my reaction, though, which told me everything I needed to know.
“You wanna know what I did to him, just like everyone else does?” she asked.
“Only if you made him suffer.”
She paused, cocking her head. “You don’t like him?”
“I didn’t particularly… care for him.”
Knox let out a snort of derision.
Thistle glanced between us, a cute pout on her face as she tried to work us out.
“Guess I could tell you a little…?”
I raised an eyebrow, admittedly quite desperate to know—especially after what I’d woken to this morning. She was a little devil. I hoped she’d peeled his skin from flesh and fed it to him while he was still conscious.
Thistle picked up Bunny, nuzzling against the worn plushie, sweet smile on her face. “I made him mine. Forever.”
Well.
That was… dark.
I narrowed my eyes at Bunny, slightly concerned.
Was there… something in that thing that would start rotting?
Something about her responses scratched at the back of my mind. She’d lived with Ace for years, hadn’t she? What might that have looked like? He was madder and crueller than anyone I’d ever crossed.
Was this madness a result of her time with him?
Was I looking into a mirror—another who’d been destroyed by him?
Something twisted up my insides at the thought of it, which drew me up because there were very few things in this world that twisted me up when it came to others.
And it wasn’t just me.
I noticed Knox had even given her a funny look, eyes more intent than furious, now.
It was becoming harder and harder to ignore the fact, that Thistle might truly be beginning to mean something to him—beyond, even, the power he gave her over me.