Cause Ωf Death (Femme Fatale Freakshow)

Chapter 25

S trolling over to the bound and seated alpha, I note that Adam is right on my heels. Henley, though, wanders over to the massive rolling toolbox, leaning back against the wall to watch me work.

I hope seeing me like this doesn’t change his opinion of me. A pulse of assurance and affection washes through my bond with Hen, soothing away my anxiety.

I guess if he hasn’t left due to my line of work by now, he won’t be leaving at all.

I shrug off my uncertainty, as it has no place in the room at this moment, and instead allow my… other … persona to come forth.

“Now, Tomas, I’m going to let you know what your options are here, tonight. Right now, you can see me standing before you, but that’s not always the case when it comes to my particular… shall we say, skill set? I can make it so that I disappear completely from your view while still standing directly in your line of sight. I can make it so you can see and brace for the incoming hits like you already have been, or to ramp up your anxiety and fear before striking an invisible blow. Do you want to go out like an alpha, facing down your foe even as fear invades your soul, or do you want your end to come with you as a sniveling, quivering lump of flesh on the floor? The choice is yours, but only one comes with the slightest shred of mercy.”

“You have no idea who I am, who my friends are!” Tomas spits back at me, defiance embedded in every strand of his being. “I can make a single call, whisper your names and this address, and then sit back and watch as every single one of you comes to a painful, bloody end. Your threats need work, little girl. Go back to your dolls and playhouse and leave the menacing and punishments to the adults.”

I lean back and scan over Tomas Biggs with a speculative eye, Adam is a solid wall of warmth against my spine. I tilt my head and glance over to Henley, seeing the same questioning gleam in his gaze.

“Do we have Tomas’ cell? I’d like to hear him make that call, see just who he thinks will come and save him. I mean, we have overwhelming evidence that he paid Pyotr quite a lot of money to rape Kieran on camera, and some of the requests he made would have most people washing their hands of him altogether. Then there’s the how of Tomas being able to front so much money, especially as we can’t find any trace of him earning a legitimate income, let alone working for a reputable employer. Not for the last decade or so, at least. I wonder why that is?” I muse, smiling up at my alpha gratefully as he passes over a smartphone that had been left on top of the enormous toolbox at the back of the room.

It has facial recognition, which I use to unlock the phone and start scrolling through Tomas’ contact list. The names don’t really tweak my curiosity, so I move over to his messages. It’s the name on the third one down that grabs my attention, partly due to the first letter of the first name, and partly because I’m not an idiot. Even I can interpret what Frigidus Manus Mortis means, despite not being fluent in Latin.

Cold Hand of Death .

A little extra snooping and I’ve got him dead to rights. I look down at Tomas, the grin parting my lips shows no hint of kindness. Nor is it friendly or designed to put a person at ease. No. It’s cold, hard, and brutal, flashing with a lethal gleam in the dark.

“I never told you my name, did I, Tomas?” I purr as I hand his phone over to Adam, who swears a blue streak as he reads the messages contained within. Unfortunately, Adam won’t get to play with Tomas tonight after all. I will, in fact, have to deny him Tomas’ death at his hands.

Because the information and instructions in the messages on Tomas’ phone have sealed his fate at my hands.

“Let me remedy that for you. My name is Disa Mariah Aloft, and by day I’m a pastry chef for a patisserie in Modesto. However, that’s not my true calling. No. That’s something else entirely. You might have heard of my other name, though. I’m known as The Wisp.” I lean in close as Tomas’ eyes go wide and his skin blanches with fear.

“Ah, yes, I can see you know exactly who I am, now. And let me assure you, Tomas, that my employers made sure that your contract landed in my lap because I do my own research . They won’t come to save you, they are not minions milling around to do your bidding. They really don’t like being misled or lied to, either. In fact, the moment your heart ceases to beat, they will pay me for the pleasure of ending your life. I’m an initiate of the Femme Fatale Freakshow , and you will meet your demise at my leisure.”

It’s funny—and a little disappointing, if I’m honest—just how quickly Tomas’ bluster disappears after my introduction. He sings like the metaphorical canary, answering Adam and Henley’s questions with barely any hesitation or defiance.

The biggest surprise, though, is discovering Tomas’ rationale behind Kieran’s contract.

“Hang on, let me get this straight. After refusing to accept a fucking teenage omega’s refusal—during his first ever heat, no less—and attempting to force him onto an unwanted knot and bond, you pitched an epic bitch-fit because your employer—who is also the said omega’s fucking father —canned your rapist ass.” Adam paces back and forth in front of Tomas, absolutely apoplectic in his fury and disgust. He spins and looms over the restrained alpha, the murderous intent shining clearly in his eyes.

Henley quickly steps forward, tugging Adam back several paces to allow me to take over the questioning.

“I get it, Tomas. Kieran is a fucking unicorn for someone like you—not only is he an omega, but he requires constant care and supervision due to both his health, and his family’s wealth and position. He’s sweet, funny, gorgeous, and has the most beautiful ass on top of all that. But that doesn’t give you, or any other alpha the right to claim him without his consent.” I crouch down on the cold, blood-spattered concrete in front of the alpha, staring him in the eye.

“There are two things that have me really puzzled, though. Perhaps you can enlighten me?” I probe, smiling coldly at the man’s wavering nod.

“Firstly, what made you wait until now to put out the contract on Kieran? Why wait over a decade?”

Tomas clears his throat and darts a look over toward Adam, before coming back to me.

“I… I heard rumors that he was no longer fully under his parents’ protection. Before then, it would have been too difficult to get to him. Plus, the contract itself wasn’t cheap. It costs a lot to hire someone to take out someone of Kieran’s wealth and stature without it looking like an actual hit. I didn’t want people to look for someone who might have a reason to harm him when he died, which was part of the reason why I said it was to look like natural causes.” He once again darts a glance over to Adam, then gives me an entire bunker of ammunition against Darla Prince and Taylor Pinter.

“Plus, I knew his mother used to make money off him as a child. She’d film and photograph him in the bath, in his bed, playing with his toys… I discovered she’d created an entire site dedicated to Kieran and amassed a whole following of viewer subscriptions on the dark web based on the material she provided. When I approached her about it all, she said that since nobody was actually touching him, there was no harm done, and she’d pay me royally—no pun intended—if I kept my mouth shut. I learned later on that Taylor—Edgar’s business partner—was neck-deep in the same muck as Darla. In fact, he was her first subscriber. They paid me very well to keep my mouth shut and stay off the radar, even after I was fired. Then, all of a sudden, they cut me off. I wanted to ruin their lives just as much as they’d ruined mine, so I thought I’d slaughter the golden goose, and maybe drag their precious name through the mud at the same time. Make him into the monster that they accused me of being. After all, dead men can’t defend themselves.”

Hearing those words falling from Tomas Biggs’ mouth ignites a rage inside me I’m not sure I can ever extinguish. At least not while Kieran’s abusers are still breathing. I stalk away from my position in front of the interrogation chair and stop, taking several deep breaths in order to calm myself. I count each one while mentally ordering my body to unclench, reminding myself that there are still questions that need asking before I can end this pitiful creature’s existence.

Another calming breath and I’m ready to continue.

“Thank you for that information, Tomas. It will come in handy when I’m ready to deal with both Darla Prince and Taylor Pinter. I only have one other question for you. Why did you “buy the right” to knot and bite Kieran from Pyotr, knowing that you’d already had him marked for execution? Why tether yourself to him in such a manner, when you already knew the supposed end date?”

Tomas’ face contorts into a grotesque mask of petulant fury.

“Because he should have been mine!” he snarls, straining against the cable ties restraining him. “I’ve wanted to own that ass since before his balls fucking dropped, before I even knew he was an omega! Part of my agreement with Darla was that he’d be mine when he was finally old enough. But then he went into heat unexpectedly, and that fucking moron Brody had to interfere, get Edgar involved, and out the door I went. So, when I heard that Darla was actually selling him, I made sure that mine was the winning bid. I’d already decided that if I couldn’t have him, then nobody could, and this was my last chance to make him mine!”

Nodding my head, I step back once more, finally satisfied. I’ve no more need for Tomas Biggs, and he’s outlived his usefulness. He’s given me all that he knows, I’m sure of that. His fear of me and what I can do outweighing his need to stall and force us to torture it out of him.

While I can feel Henley’s relief at not having to dole out any violence—which let me tell you, is both weird as fuck as well as really sweet and heartwarming—a blind man would be able to see Adam’s frustration and fury at having to hold back. He needs an outlet for his pent-up emotions, and I have the perfect solution.

Well, two of them.

Henley leaves after a whispered instruction from me, happy to leave Adam and me to it while he goes and fills Kimberly and Leslie in on the pertinent details. Tomas watches the both of us warily, knowing his end is coming yet not sure which direction it will come from.

“Adam,” I stroke along the alpha’s jawline until he turns his head to look at me. “I can’t give you Tomas’ death, I’m sorry. If we want the contract on Kieran to be considered completed, I have to dispatch either the target or the client, nobody else can do that. But if you need to let off some steam, I’ll happily wait for you to make him bleed first,” I stretch up on my tiptoes to whisper this next part in his ear, “and then you can drag me into the nearest shower, strip me down, bend me over, and fuck the rest of your aggression out. I’ll be ready for a little rough-and-tumble after everything’s all said and done.”

The fires that leap in Adam’s intense gaze have my thighs clenching together in an attempt to stop the new gush of slick from overflowing the pad and running down my legs. His hands fly out, one tangling in my loose braid, the other gripping my hip as he yanks me in close. His lips are hard and uncompromising as they devour mine, the thrust of his tongue determined and overwhelming as he invades my mouth like a victorious conqueror. I moan in pleasure, rocking my hips so my lower belly rubs along the thick shaft of his erection, his jeans doing nothing to disguise or contain the swelling flesh.

I’m left panting and needy when Adam finally releases me, his movements a blur as he spins and literally tears Tomas from his chair, despite his injured arm. The other alpha cries out in startlement, then pain, before belatedly attempting to defend himself.

Yeah, good luck with that.

I lean against the garage wall to watch the very one-sided fight. The time I allocate for Adam to vent his frustrations passes far too quickly, and before long Tomas is a broken lump of battered, bloody flesh begging for mercy on the floor.

“Alpha,” I call out, stepping forward and gently pulling Adam away, carefully directing him toward the garage door. A click of a button sees the door lifting thanks to the hydraulic motor, revealing Henley and Leslie on the other side. Leslie’s looking a little more rumpled than usual, with a self-satisfied smirk on their lips.

It looks like they’ve had some fun of their own while we’ve been busy with Tomas Biggs , I think to myself, glad that my family is finally coming together. I just hope that it also included Kieran, because unlike me, the poor omega currently doesn’t have anything else to channel his heat-induced urges into other than sex.

“Make sure he hasn’t exacerbated his injury while I finish up in here, please?” I bat my eyes at Hen and Les, gently nudging the irate alpha into their keeping.

Leaving Adam in their capable hands, I stroll over to Tomas, squatting down to meet his blackened, bloodshot eyes.

“Tomas, this next part isn’t going to feel very nice for you, but it will be fast. If I’m being honest with you here, I’d love to make you writhe on the floor in agony for hours, but I have better things to do. Such as having both of my alphas fuck and knot me and my fellow omega through our heats.”

With that I melt my right hand into thin air, my left reaching out to grip Tomas’ head, fingers tunneling through his hair before tightening my hold to keep him still. I plunge my non-existent right hand through his skull, ignoring the distressed whimper coming from the alpha below me, then solidify it once more.

I don’t know how to describe the sensation or texture of crushing a living brain with my bare hand. Despite what movies and television shows would have you believe, the brain is actually very soft. Plunging my hand into it is like shoving my hand into a bowl of jello, or squeezing a ball of burrata cheese in my palm. There’s a slight resistance, and then it collapses from the pressure, oozing in clumps and strands between my fingers.

Tomas’ body convulses, and clear liquid streams from his ears and nose. His eyes—pupils unevenly dilated—roll back into his head and then he stills. With a grimace I withdraw my hand, glad that the act of dissolving and then reforming the appendage removes any brain matter that would otherwise cling to my fingers.

There’s no outward sign the Guild has accepted that my contract is complete, however that’s not to say that it’s still outstanding. Like exiting out of a program, the various lines of information pertaining to Kieran’s contract shut down, moving to my brain’s “archive” in case I’ll ever require the information, but no longer at the forefront of my cerebral cortex. The relief at knowing there’s no longer a target on Kieran’s back is immense, relaxing me enough for my heat to take advantage of the state of play and come roaring back into being.

My steps are slightly uneven, and I have to brace myself when another incoming torrent of lust pours through me as I make my way back to my alphas. Leslie takes one look at me and shoves Adam in my direction, snapping to Henley, “Get her inside with Kieran. Steve and Kimmy have been keeping him occupied, but now that this whole clusterfuck is handled, Disa’s going to go under, and fast.”

They’re not wrong. I can feel my grasp on my control slipping, the lure of my heat too powerful for me to resist for long. I honestly have no idea how I’ve managed to stay on top of it all. How I’d managed to protect Kieran and myself while remaining reasonably coherent, and then putting Tomas through the wringer to obtain the answers we need. My best guess is that the fury and adrenaline, combined with Henley fucking, knotting, and biting me in the back of the SUV, have all aided in retaining my lucidity.

Adam sweeps me up into his arms despite my protests over his injuries. He carries me bridal style, back into the house, Henley close on our heels. I let all thoughts of Tomas Biggs, the alpha trafficking network in Reno, and the instigators of Kieran’s sale slip away, and instead I welcome the hunger and all-consuming need coursing through my veins.

It’s been a while since I’ve experienced a full heat, and something tells me that this time, I’m going to enjoy every moment of it.

I pass out for a short period between the garage and the nest. One minute I’m in Adam’s arms, then next I’m clean and undressed, lying on my side surrounded by the soft decadence of cashmere, silk, fine cotton, and the velvety warmth of several hard, naked bodies. It takes a moment for my eyes to focus properly, and when they do it’s to a most salacious display.

Henley is lying on the floor with Kieran on top of him, Kieran’s back pressed to Henley’s chest. Kimmy is riding Kieran’s face, his fingers digging into the fleshy globes of her ass, with Henley’s dick buried up to the knot inside Kieran’s ass. Kieran’s rocking Kimberly back and forth while she’s simultaneously sucking off Leslie, who’s standing with legs splayed above Henley and Kieran’s heads, their hands buried in Kimmy’s hair as they fuck her throat. Henley’s mouth is pressing sucking kisses to Kieran’s shoulder, and from the lack of blood present I don’t think he’s bitten him yet. Steve is kneeling between Henley’s and Kieran’s parted legs, eyes rolling in his head as he moans out his pleasure, alternating between swallowing Kieran’s cock and sucking his and Henley’s balls into his mouth. It’s beautiful in its eroticism, and I ache to join them.

“He’s exquisite, isn’t he?” Adam purrs from behind me, and it’s then that I realize that he’s not only holding my naked body to his chest, but my leg is resting on top of his, leaving me spread open and available for his use.

Which he’s taking full advantage of.

Adam’s cock is thick, the length stretching me deliciously as he smoothly glides in and out of my drenched pussy. He hasn’t knotted me yet, but his even strokes and constant movement has my arousal increasing in a steady wave of bliss. One hand is cupping my pussy, his long fingers strumming over my clit, playing me like a master with his instrument, and the other is cupping one of my breasts, pinching and plucking at my nipple.

It’s a hell of a way to wake up.

“I was hesitant to fuck you while you were out of it, but the others reassured me that you’ve already given prior consent for Henley and me to fuck you while unconscious. Disa, you have no idea what it means to me to know that you not only accept Kieran and me as part of your pack, but that you want me— actually want me —to be your alpha as much as Henley is.” Adam’s voice is soft and full of reverence as he continues his smooth thrusting inside of me, with each stroke of his cock or pinch of his fingers pushing me closer to the edge. I hold my orgasm back, though, because if this is leading to where I hope it is, I’m not going to come without Adam’s knot and bite.

“I know it’s not unheard of for an omega to have multiple alphas or betas, but for some reason, our circumstances feel different. You’re including another omega into your pack, willingly sharing your chosen family, and are offering us an equal standing even though you barely know us. I know our scents likely play into this, as does all the information you were given when you took on Kieran’s contract, but still… it means a lot.”

My brain scrambles to make some sort of response, to say something, anything , but all I can do is moan as my core tightens. Adam chuckles darkly into my neck, his pace picking up so that his smooth glides become harder thrusts.

“Is this what you want, omega? You want me to fuck you? Then what? My knot? My bite?” Adam leans forward even more, nipping at my throat as his fingers pinch down on both my clit and nipple synchronously.

“How about my cum? Open for me, omega, and take all that I have.”

Adam’s bark, so soft and seductive, shoves me over the edge into the abyss. I cry out as he thrusts once more, his knot slipping inside and wedging itself just behind my pubic bone, the walls of my pussy rippling and milking the swollen bulge. A brief flash of pain and then even more pleasure floods through me as Adam bites down. Then it’s not just Henley and me in my head, but Henley, Adam, and Kieran. Kieran’s connection is a bit fuzzy at first, as though it’s slightly out of range or not quite in tune. It suddenly becomes crystal clear, and I can tell by the joy and pleasure sweeping through each of our links that Henley has bitten Kieran.

My belly cramps and I imagine it stretching, inflating from the sheer volume of alpha cum being spurted inside me. The growing ache and pressure have me coming again, the walls of my pussy clenching down around Adam’s knot, drawing even more of his cum into my bloated abdomen. Thanks to my trapped slick and his cum, I have a feeling the moment Adam’s knot deflates, the size of our subsequent wet patch will rival Lake Superior.

My pleasure gradually fades away, leaving a contented exhaustion in its wake. As much as I want to get up and celebrate the bonds between Henley, Kieran, Adam, and me, my body has other plans.

Which involve me slipping into unconsciousness.

Dammit.