Cause Ωf Death (Femme Fatale Freakshow)

Chapter 18

D ressed in a pair of comfortable, flowing bamboo pajamas and no longer in danger of becoming a slip hazard, I take my time to dry and brush out my hair. My skin is super sensitive right now, and I don’t like the tight way it feels when I pull my hair back into a braid or ponytail, so I leave it to tumble down around my shoulders in loose waves.

Multiple deep voices rumble from the other side of the house, which most likely means that Steve and Leslie have returned, and therefore so has Adam. I don’t want to go out there just yet, so I play with the ends of my hair for a few minutes before giving up and biting the bullet. I may as well get this greeting over and done with, because the longer I wait, the less time we’ll all have to discuss boundaries and the like. The last thing I want to do is make either Kieran or Adam uncomfortable, or coerce them into a relationship they have no desire to participate in.

I leave my feet bare as I pad down the hallway toward the main living area, distantly registering the toilet in the bathroom just around the corner flushing. My mind is completely focused on how I’m finally going to navigate a heat with Henley, so my awareness of my surroundings is pretty much zero and my reactions are delayed when I plow into a warm, hard body only to bounce off and almost fall to the floor.

Strong arms wrap around me, drowning me in the scent of warm leather, tobacco, and the dry, aromatic fragrance of wood smoke. My head spins—or is that my body?—until I’m resting up against a broad chest, the muscles heaving beneath my splayed hands. My reaction is so visceral that my knees grow weak, and it’s only this man’s hold on my body that prevents me from slipping to the floor in a wanton puddle of lust and hormones.

It’s him.

Adam Knight.

And he’s looking at me as if he wants to devour me.

One hand slides down my back, stopping just above the swell of my ass. The other slides up and tangles in my hair, tilting my head back so he can stare down at me.

“There you are. Your scent has been lodged in my nose for the past week, driving me to absolute distraction. I’ve been scenting you everywhere, yet could find neither hide nor hair of you. The number of times I’ve pulled the Royal Tower security footage from that day, hoping for a glimpse of your face to help me track you down…” Adam’s voice is low and hoarse, thick with frustration and arousal. Each tensely spoken word spears straight to my core, sending my hormones into overdrive.

“Wisp, is it? Well, Wisp, you have no fucking idea how many times I’ve jerked off to the idea of you, the guilt tearing me up inside because I felt as though I was betraying Kier. How many times I thought I was going insane, imagining your scent following me and Kier around. And now, I find out that you fucking were haunting us, that I wasn’t, in fact, imagining things. That there is a very real possibility—nay, probability — that I can bury my cock inside you, fuck you, knot you, and brand myself on your soul so you’ll never escape me again.”

Adam’s words have me so aroused that my slick has overwhelmed the pad lining my panties. Moisture trickles down my thighs, causing my pajama bottoms to cling to my skin, and my stomach cramps as another wave of my pre-heat crashes over me.

Adam closes his eyes and inhales deeply, sucking my scent into his lungs and then exhaling with a purr.

“Ooh, you like the sound of that, don’t you, omega? You’re perfuming so sweetly for me, I can taste you on my tongue. Do you want to get on all fours and present, to take my cock, knot, and cum until your belly swells with it all? Will you beg me to stuff my cock down your throat, to fuck your face, and then swallow down everything I give you like a good girl? You want me to fill every hole until you’re overflowing with my seed, until it’s oozing from your pores, to mark you as mine for all the world to see?”

I whimper, lost in a haze of desire so thick that I can’t see anything but Adam’s gray eyes staring into my soul, can hear nothing but the sound of his voice, the harsh pants of my breath, and the rapid thrum of my heartbeat. I’m surrounded by his scent, by his arms, and my hands clutch at his undershirt, the white fabric thin and soft from use. It feels like silk under my fingertips, and I want to strip off the now-stifling fabric of my pajamas and replace it with his shirt.

“Adam! Hand Wisp over to Leslie and get your ass into the dining room, now!” Henley’s alpha bark jolts me from my haze as we’re suddenly surrounded by other bodies.

A desperate whine rips from my throat as I’m forcibly removed from Adam’s arms, his signature masculine scent replaced with another, this one redolent with bitter dark chocolate, succulent black cherries, and cognac so opulent only the incredibly wealthy can afford it.

“It’s alright, Disa. Come with me, my darling, let’s get you all cleaned up again while our alphas have a little chat. I don’t want to have to restrain you, so will you do as you’re told, and be a good girl for me?”

Those two particular words, even uttered in Leslie’s smooth tenor, have me teetering once more on the edge of reason. A guttural moan rises from my chest and echoes through the hallway, but I don’t fight Leslie’s gentle yet firm grip as they lead me back to the master suite. They don’t allow me to turn around or deviate, not even when the argument between the two alphas descends into wordless snarls and growls.

“You’ll be okay, Disa. Kimmy has Kieran safely tucked away for the moment, and although they might be a little miffed over Adam’s inability to wait before setting you off, neither Henley nor Steve will hurt him. They just need to shake some sense back into him and lay down some ground rules. While they’re doing that, Kimmy will find out what Kieran wants, and we will discuss your limits. But first, another shower.”

Gentle hands help me undress then guide me under the lukewarm spray, steadying me as I slump to the tiled floor. The unwavering stream washes away not only my slick, but the remnants of Adam’s scent from my skin. Although I feel the loss keenly, its disappearance allows me to regain my senses, clearing the fog of my oncoming heat from my head.

“Are you back with me yet, my love?” Leslie croons as I blink water droplets out of my eyes. I peer up at them from between my lashes, a wan smile trembling over my lips.

“Yeah, Les. I’m back. Not sure for how long, but I’m no longer a soggy puddle of hormones and reckless decisions,” is my weary response. I feel as though I’ve been dragged through a stone maze backwards, having slammed into every wall and corner on the way.

“Good to hear. Now, while you’re coherent and able to give consent, let’s go through your wants, your needs, your limits, and your safe word.”

I chuckle tiredly, letting my head slip back to rest against the wall.

“My wants? I want to be stuffed full of as many cocks as possible, to have my nipples and clit sucked, to be tied up and fucked over and over again until my heat breaks. I want to be coated in cum, have it seeping from my every orifice, my belly stuffed full and swollen from the sheer volume of it all. I want to ride faces and cocks and be ridden until I pass out, and then be ridden until I wake up again.”

Leslie smirks at me as they whip out their phone, tapping away at the screen, no doubt recording each and every word for later posterity.

“As for my needs? Well, they’re simple. I’ll need food and water, because hydration is important. I’ll need to be knotted multiple times, in multiple ways. Most of all, I’ll need to be bitten and bonded by Henley, and I honestly won’t turn Adam away if he decides to bite and bond with me, either.”

“Good to know, good to know,” Leslie hums as they make further notes, then waves their hand for me to continue.

“My limits? I don’t know if I really have that many. I don’t mind being bound, blindfolded, or gagged, as long as my circulation isn’t cut off. I enjoy being spanked, a bit of rough sex, and some pain with my pleasure, but not to the point of a beating. The only blood I want to see is from a bonding bite, so no knife-play or the like. I’m probably going to pass out from either pleasure or exhaustion several times, so during the heat I consent to being fucked and knotted while asleep or unconscious, as long as they’re gentle with me. No biting or claiming while I’m unconscious, though. Hard limit on any form of coprophilia or urophilia. No thanks, that’s not a kink I enjoy. Same goes with hardcore degradation. I don’t mind being told I’m a greedy little whore while begging to be fucked, but nothing over the top. And I’m happy to use the traffic light system for my safe word.”

I sigh as I come to the end of my list, wanting nothing more than to curl up and take a nap. But that’s a fantasy I won’t be living today, so I dredge up the tattered remnants of my flagging energy and wash myself down for the umpteenth time today, twisting off the faucet once I’m done. Leslie is there waiting for me to exit the shower, a fluffy towel open and ready in their hands.

“This is a good list. While you haven’t gone overboard with requests or restrictions, there’s enough here to give us some good, concrete guidelines to follow. I guess there’s really only one other question to ask you,” they say, wrapping me up like an omega burrito then briskly rubbing me down to dry me.

“Is there anyone here today that you don’t want to sexually interact with? Would you prefer if one or more of us kept their distance, perhaps only becoming available for cuddles while clothed, or for tending to your nutritional needs?”

I wriggle my arms free of the towel, wrapping them around the delta and tugging them into my body. I nuzzle into their chest, the warmth of their body settling the heat-fueled flames building in mine to a low flicker, rather than a blazing inferno.

“You know me, Les. You and Kimmy and Steve have all been on hand with my heats at one time or another. I trust you all with my body and my heart, because you’re my family. I know Hen has been waiting until I was ready. The truth of the matter is, I’ve been waiting for him to come home, permanently. I wanted him to decide, to be ready to take on the role of Pack Alpha, and not just throw his career aside on my say-so.”

My heart aches as I think of the years we’ve spent apart, but I also know that they were necessary for both Henley and me to grow into our designations. It’s one thing to be born an alpha or an omega; it’s yet another to become a Pack Alpha or Omega.

“As for Kieran and Adam? I’ve been attracted to them—no, that’s wrong. I’ve been fucking obsessed with them from the moment I laid eyes on them. Until I found them, I didn’t realize that there was an empty space inside of me, one that only they can fill. If they decide they don’t want me, so be it, that’s their choice and I’ll honor and adhere to it. But if they want me? I don’t want to diminish how important you, Kimberly, Steve, and Henley are to me, because you’re my family and I love you. I’d be nothing but an empty shell without you all in my life. But if Adam and Kieran agree to join our family, and to share me with all of you? Then I’ll finally, finally be whole.”

The tenderness in Leslie’s touch is almost my undoing as they cradle my face in their palms, a touch of vulnerability shining through their expression as they stare into my eyes, into my very soul.

“Disa, my darling, never apologize for wanting everything your heart desires. Omegas are built differently to the rest of us. Some of them only want to be surrounded by alphas. There are others that refuse to have anyone of the same sex as part of their pack. Then there are those who only want a single beta, there to serve them as and when required. But you? No,” they press a soft, reverent kiss to my lips, imbuing me with the sense of being cherished and adored.

“You, Disa, have opened your arms and your heart to not one, but two alphas. Your betas are a mix of designations, genders, and sexualities. You want another omega as part of your pack, and as an equal part to boot. Your accepting heart and giving nature make you a treasure among all other treasures. You aren’t a diamond, as they are fairly common despite their value. You aren’t even like tanzanite, which is a thousand times rarer than diamonds. No. You are the most extraordinary and rarest of them all; painite. And I am grateful to be one of the people you allow to help you shine.”

I choke back a sob, not wanting to spoil Leslie’s poetic description of me with tears, blotchy skin, or the inevitable drips that would accompany an outburst of emotion. Instead, I hug them tightly to me, squeezing as much love and gratitude into them as possible, before letting go.

“I guess I’d better get dressed and then get back out there, before either Kieran or I spiral into the next stage of our heat,” I chuckle, casting about for a clean set of clothing. I don’t envy the betas their jobs this heat, as they’ll be in constant rotations between sex, sustenance, and laundry. As it is, there’s already several sets of my clothing ready and waiting to be cleaned. Luckily for Kieran and me, the soiled bedding from this morning has already been laundered, and there’s a lovely pile of fresh towels, sheets, and blankets ready and waiting for our use. There’s also a small pile of clothing that Leslie has “donated” to the cause put to one side, as we don’t know if Adam brought any of Kieran’s clothing with him.

“Love you, Disa,” Leslie murmurs as they help me into my clothes.

“Love you back, Leslie,” I reply, and mentally prepare to face the others.

Our exit from the master suite’s bathroom is interrupted by Kimberly yelling, her bellowed, “ HENLEY! ”, sending both Leslie and me into a spiraling panic.

There’s only one person right now in Kimberly’s care, only one person who could be the cause of such urgency and concern.

Kieran .