Page 14 of Cause Of Death

“Kier, I’d only worry about that if she suddenly develops telepathy. Until then, internalize away with your parental loathing and disdain.” Adam finishes his mug and moves over to the sink, washing it out before setting it on the draining board to dry.

“However, back to the matter at hand. Darla is protesting your decision to go out and mingle with the unwashed masses this weekend. She’s citing a spike in the latest virus going around as the reason why you should be kept locked up.” Adam rolls his eyes derisively, and I don’t even bother biting back my smirk.

“She obviously doesn’t believe or want to hear how the freakingmedical professionalsare happy with your current medication regime, or how keeping you isolated like this is actually detrimental to your health. I swear that the woman is still pissed you weren’t born a girl, especially with your designation. While I have no doubt that she sees all other females as competition, having an omega for a daughter would be quite the feather in her cap.”

I grunt in acknowledgment. I’m no stranger to my mother’s cruelty and spite and I have learned to ignore the multitude of petty jabs she’s made over the years regarding my designation.I can’t remember a time when the oppressive weight of her disappointment wasn’t a burden for me to carry, that I wasn’t a delicate young daughter she could mold in her image and dress up like a doll. Her disgust at my frailty as a male, my ongoing health issues, and then the revelation of my designation only cemented her hatred of me.

That’s not even considering the trauma she put me through as a child that I’ve suppressed to the best of my ability. While I might not rememberwhyshe threatened me to stay silent when I was a small child, I can easily recall the dread she incited. Children should be able to trust their parents to care for them, not fear that they’ll turn on them and cast them aside.

I shove those memories back into the airtight box I normally keep them in, refusing to allow them to take up any more space in my head for the moment. One day I’ll drag them out into the light, expose every taunt and abuse, but it won’t be until my mother is out of my life completely.

A guy can hope, after all.

“I take it you educated her, then?” I ask, slyly glancing over at Adam.

He gives me a deadpan look before dryly responding, “No. I told her I’d turn you into a bubble-wrap burrito and suspend you from the ceiling.Of course,I did.I’m not one of her minions, I don’t answer to her. For fuck’s sake, Kier, I wouldn’t do that to you.”

Adam sucks in a deep breath, and I recognize the action as one he’s used often to calm me down when I’ve been stressed and anxious. Breathe in for the count of five, hold for three, then breathe out for the count of five. But instead of the expected calm infusing him, he instead tenses up further, taking more and more deep gulps of air.

“Can you smell that?” Adam whispers to me, his eyes darting around the space as though searching for an intruder.

“Smell what, Adam?” I reply, sucking in a deep breath of my own.

All I can smell is the expected: the signature leather, tobacco, and wood smoke scent of Adam; the mouth-watering blends of the teas; my own citrus and spice fragrance; and the calming scent of the new vanilla air freshener.

“I… uh, well…” he stammers, and I do a double take. Adam is always so controlled and self-assured, I’ve never really seen him discomforted in this way.

Taking a step forward, I reach out toward the alpha. He flinches at my touch, so I immediately freeze and drop my hand. Pain lances twofold through my heart at the rejection; as someone who’s had a crush on the man for a decade, and also as an omega being spurned by their chosen alpha. I turn away, masking my expression so he doesn’t see just how much his recoil has affected me and tuck my emotions into another airtight box.

“I can’t smell anything out of the ordinary, Adam, nor can I sense anyone else here other than you and me. I don’t know what it is that’s triggered you, but I need to go and get ready for the day. Dad wants to meet with me and talk about this new treatment he’s heard about and see if it’s something I might be interested in trying.” I wash out my now-empty mug and place it next to Adam’s on the drying rack, then turn on my heel and head back to my suite. I ignore the way he calls me back to him, my name an apology on his tongue.

I need to get over this stupid fucking crush of mine, and maybe start looking toward the future. While it won’t necessarily mean I’m cured, if this new treatment pans out then it means that I’ll have more options available to me.

Including a pack of my own.

The instant I slide out from underneath Kieran Prince’s door and observe his suite, I know that I’ve been lied to. Not just me, but the Guild as well. This man isn’t some sort of criminal mastermind, preying on the most vulnerable in our society and then inducting them into a way of life no decent person would condone. No, if anythingheis the victim, and of the worst kind of betrayal possible.

Kieran Prince is an omega. If the mounds of cushions and bean bags scattered throughout the cavernous room aren’t a dead giveaway, then the enormous blanket fort built into one corner of the room is. And if those two indications aren’t blatant enough, then Kieran Prince’s appearance and behavior cements his designation.

In one corner of the room a wooden balcony extends out of the wall about five feet off the floor. A low railing encloses the space, only opening for the set of narrow stairs leading up to what looks like the most perfect reading nook a person can ask for. Bookshelves line the walls, leaving the rest of the spaceopen. A large bean bag is tucked in one corner and a desk faces out and overlooks the room. There are more items dotted about, but beyond a cursory glance I don’t pay much attention to the layout.

No, my attention is reserved for what liesbeneath.

Blankets spill down over the sides of the balcony, draped in such a way that they block out most of the room and the light beaming through the windows. The interior space isn’t dark, though. No. Tiny fairy lights have been attached to the rafters and supports of the platform, and by their soft light I can make out other blankets falling from narrow railings mounted high beneath the balcony. Shelves jut down from the rafters between the blanket walls, holding an assortment of candles, more pillows and blankets, various sex toys, books, and handheld games. An enormous mattress takes up the floor, and piled high along the edges of the bed are pillows and blankets, creating a perfect hollow in the center. Nestled in that hollow and bundled up like a burrito is my target.

I drift over to the blanket fort and hover in the opening, eyeing my prey with a blend of curiosity and bewilderment. Anybody with a working brain would figure out the moment they laid eyes on Kieran that what he’s being accused of is blatantly false. There has never, in the history of known designations,everbeen an omega who has hurt children. We are hardwired to bear them, nurture them, and above allprotectthem, enough that even a feral alpha will think twice about coming between an omega and a child, no matter their relationship.

The entire fort is redolent with the scent of cinnamon, nutmeg, and orange, and it makes me nostalgic for the years I spent in the orphanage. Every holiday season, the leaders would bend over backwards to make it memorable for us kids, doing their best to provide us with every holiday stereotype we could imagine. I’d always enjoyed trimming the tree while a pot full ofmulled wine or spiced oranges simmered merrily away over an open fire.

The omega burrito moves and another wave of holiday scent smacks me in the face. I watch with avid attention as he unfurls himself, throwing the blanket off and away from his body. He crawls out of the fort—his version of a nest, I guess—and stretches, allowing me to take him in.

Kieran Prince is slender, delicate almost, his skin porcelain pale and almost translucent in the light. While he’s not short like me, neither does he tower like Henley, Steve, or Adam. In fact, I’ll beverysurprised if he matches Leslie’s height. I think he might be a tad shorter.

Dark brows and long, sooty lashes frame yet another giveaway of Kieran’s designation—gold eyes. Every omega I’ve ever encountered either has gold or violet eyes, and I’m no exception to that rule. I tend to wear colored contacts during my everyday life to conceal my true nature, not that I need the visual assistance. They’re for cosmetic purposes only.

There’s something ethereally…prettyabout Kieran Prince, an aura that makes you want to coddle and protect him, to do anything that will make him smile. Part of it is his appearance, but a lot of it is likely due to the omega pheromones we all unconsciously pump out. Normies don’t tend to react to them all that much, as they don’t have the sensory abilities to discern or decode their meaning. Other designations, though? Our pheromones are a road-map to what we are, and how to best navigate our moods when in our company.

I continue to observe Kieran as he greets Adam, and then follow them both to the kitchen. While they’re having their morning cup of tea, I take the opportunity to further explore the penthouse, mentally salivating over the space. There are another two enormous bedrooms with their own attached bathrooms, two additional powder rooms, a fully contained laundry, butler’spantry, and even a home gym with yet another attached bathroom with a king-size shower instead of a tub. I’m surprised to find an interior stairwell leading to the floor below, but I don’t venture down there. I don’t want to lose track of Kieran or Adam, not when I’ve got the perfect opportunity to observe them both.

---