Chapter 13 - Quinn

Chapter 13 - Quinn
He’s young. That’s the first thing I notice.

The guard can’t be older than twenty-five—barely hardened, still stiff with protocol. A little too tall, a little too clean, the kind of man who tries to make up for his nerves by squaring his shoulders and pretending his eyes aren’t flicking toward my legs every time he thinks I’m not watching. He’s been posted outside my cell for three days now, and in that time, I’ve caught him staring more than once.

Kieran, in all his divine paranoia, must’ve thought it wouldn’t matter. That my cuffs would be enough. That I’d be too tired to play games. That even if I tried, no one would dare touch what he’s already claimed.

He doesn’t know I built this world.

And I know exactly what kind of man Kieran doesn’t bother to vet.

I wait until nightfall. The dungeon quiets the way it always does after midnight, falling into the heavy silence that coats the air like fog. The other guards fade into background posts. This one? He lingers near the bars, glancing too often. Adjusting the strap of his armor like it’s choking him. Like I am.

I draw a breath deep into my lungs and let it out slowly, angling my hips just enough to shift the fabric of my dress. The thing still clings to my body like it was sewn on by sin itself. Kieran didn’t change me out of it before he chained me up. Probably liked the look of me bound in lace. Probably liked the idea of his Omega on display like a promise he never plans to let anyone collect.

Which makes this next part even sweeter.

“Something wrong, Officer?” I ask sweetly, keeping my voice low, smooth, laced with the warm smoke of heat that hasn’t quite bloomed. I shift slightly, dragging the curve of my hip against the stone, letting the movement stretch my body in a way that makes my scent spike. “You’ve walked past this door how many times? And tonight you stop?”

He frowns, but it’s hazy—confused. The scent’s already making it hard for him to think. Omegas weren’t meant to weaponize their chemistry like this, but then, most Omegas weren’t shackled by their own creation.

“I just…” His voice falters as his eyes drop to my mouth. “You smell different.”

“I smell like what you want,” I murmur, letting my gaze drop to his belt, then slowly, back to his face. “But you’re too good to take what’s offered, aren’t you?”

His jaw tightens. His fingers twitch toward his hip, where the key ring hangs.

Gotcha.

“You don’t understand,” he says, voice low. “If he finds out—”

“You think he’d care?” I press, voice lilting. “I’m nothing to him, right? Just a stray Omega with a silver tongue. That’s what they’re saying outside these walls, isn’t it?”

I let the words curl out of my mouth like poison wrapped in silk. I wrote this world. I wrote him. I know what triggers obedience and shame in the ranks. I know that every Alpha guard under Kieran’s control fears only one thing more than Kieran’s wrath—his attention.

The man hesitates. He’s sweating now. His hand grips the bars, knuckles white.

“You want a taste?” I whisper, and this time I let the scent pour out in a slow, sticky wave—sweet, musky, warm as honey. My pupils dilate. My thighs shift. I let out a breathy sound, soft and encouraging, like I’m already halfway there without him.

He unlocks the door. The click echoes like a bell tolling for someone’s death. Just not mine. He slips inside like he’s walking into fire, eyes never leaving my face. I keep it soft, I keep it needy, I keep it just short of desperation, enough that every part of him forgets I’m the one holding the match.

His hand touches my waist first.

It’s awkward. Hesitant.

I lean into it like it makes me tremble, like the heat of it singes my skin. I make my breath catch and drag in a shiver. I arch against the wall, wrists tight in the chains, and let my head fall back with a gasp.

“You’re beautiful,” he whispers.

Of course I am.

I lean into it like it makes me tremble, like the heat of it singes my skin. I make my breath catch and drag in a shiver. I arch against the wall, wrists tight in the chains, and let my head fall back with a gasp.

He groans. “Fuck, you smell so fucking good—”

“Touch me again,” I whisper, “and I’ll—”

It happens fast. The air in the dungeon turns from thick to electric. From heat to fury.

The guard barely has time to turn.

Kieran’s on him in two strides. His hand wraps around the man’s throat, lifting him clean off the ground. There’s no time to speak, no time to beg. Bones crunch. Flesh tears. The sound is wet and final.

By the time the guard hits the floor, his throat is pulp. Blood spatters across the stone, across my chest, across Kieran’s bare torso.

And Kieran… Kieran looks at me like he’s starving.

His breath is ragged, chest heaving, body lit with that terrifying restraint he only pretends to have. He steps toward me, still high on the kill, still drunk on possession. His hands tremble at his sides. Not from weakness. From fury.

He stops inches from me, eyes narrowing as he searches my face for something I won’t give him. “What the fuck,” he growls, “did you do?”

I shrug. “You left me alone.”

His jaw tics. His hands curl into fists.

“Don’t look so surprised,” I add, tone sharpening with each word. “You chain up an Omega and leave her dripping scent in a dungeon with guards who think with their cocks—what did you expect?”

“I expected you to know better.”

“You expected control,” I snap, lifting my chin despite the ache in my arms. “And that’s your mistake.”

I smile, soft and slow. “You should remember this moment.”

He says nothing. Just breathes hard, eyes locked on mine like he’s waiting for me to explain myself.

“I made you lose your mind while strung up in chains. You think you’re the one playing me?” I laugh again, tasting the blood in the air, watching his nostrils flare at the scent of it—mine, his, the guard’s. All mixed together now. “I’ve had you wrapped around my scent since the moment I woke up here.”

He steps close, too close, his hand coming up like he’s going to strike me—but it doesn’t fall. It hovers. Trembles. And I watch his knuckles whiten, his jaw flex, his pupils blow wide.

“Don’t tempt me,” he warns.

“I already did,” I whisper. “And you killed for it.”

I lean in, licking the blood off my lower lip with a slow, deliberate swipe. “Tell me again how I’m powerless.” I lift my chin.

“Who owns who now, Alpha?”