Chapter 20 - Kieran

Chapter 20 - Kieran
I shouldn’t be doing this. That’s what everyone will say when they see me walk in with her.

She trails behind me barefoot, drowning in one of my black shirts, the collar loose enough to slip off her shoulder and the hem grazing the tops of her thighs. She’s not even trying to look like she belongs in a room built for war. She’s yawning. Yawning. Her Omega scent is clinging to the stone corridor, coiling around my instincts and needling my self-control with every step she takes. 

Her wrists are free, even though she’s been nothing but chaos since I dragged her into this world. I could’ve left her chained to my bed. I should’ve. Instead, I open the double doors of the war room, and the air changes.

My brothers are already inside, seated around the table that stretches from one end of the chamber to the other. Maps, territory disputes, and bloodied reports. It’s all sitting there as if the second I walk in with her, any of it still means a goddamn thing.

Every head lifts when I enter, but it’s Killian who speaks first, of course.

“Well, fuck me,” he says, dragging his boots off the edge of the table where they never should’ve been in the first place. “You brought her in here like a guest? You feeling alright, big brother? Or did she bite you in your sleep?”

Quinn stops beside me, folding her arms under her chest. “Is that how you flirt here? Because it’s giving little brother energy.”

Killian’s brows rise as a slow grin spreads across his face, and I can already feel the storm coming. “Nah, I don’t flirt with Omegas. Especially not the kind who look like they’d shiv me in my sleep.”

“Only if you asked nicely,” Quinn mutters, sweet as sin.

I don’t stop the smirk that twitches at the corner of my mouth. She’s ridiculous; reckless and impossible. And still, I want to see what happens when she gets pushed too far.

“Enough,” I say, not bothering to raise my voice. It slices through the tension like a blade, anyway.

Killian looks at me, lips twitching in a smirk he stole from the devil himself. “So what is this, then? You showing off your toy?”

“She’s not a toy,” I answer coldly. “She’s mine.”

The word lands heavier than intended. Mine. Not just in scent or claim, not just in bond. I mean it deeper than that, and my brothers know it. It’s why Kellan stops drumming his fingers on the table and actually looks at her for the first time like she’s something more than a mistake.

Killian, of course, doesn’t give a damn. “Oh, we’re doing the possessive Alpha routine already?” he says, cocking his head toward Quinn. “That must’ve been some heat you gave him, Omega.”

Quinn smiles the wrong kind of smile. “You’re cute. Do all your insults come with a side of little man syndrome or are you just special?”

Kellan coughs into his hand, smothering a laugh, while I glance at Quinn. “You were warned.”

“And you were warned I don’t play nice,” she fires back without looking at me.

Killian stands now, circling the table with lazy, predatory steps. He’s taller than her by at least a foot, broader, bulkier, soaked in violence and always looking for someone to bleed. He’s my younger brother in age only. In madness, he outpaces us all.

Quinn doesn’t flinch as he stops a breath away.

“You don’t scare easy,” Killian observes. “That’s cute.”

“I don’t scare stupid either,” she replies, lifting her chin. “Which puts me ahead of you.”

I could break the silence that follows, but I don’t. I let the room stew in it, in the sight of this Omega who’s been here for less than a week and already has Killian twitching. I know she’s doing it on purpose. She wants to see how far she can push me, and I’m letting her because I want to see what happens too.

Killian’s grin disappears. “You’re going to get someone killed with that mouth,” he says.

Quinn rolls her eyes. “Tell me you’re compensating without telling me you’re compensating.”

I step between them before he can move. My hand meets Killian’s chest with enough force to halt him, not enough to throw the room into bloodshed. “She’s under my protection,” I say, eyes locked on his. “Which means you don’t fucking touch her.”

Killian stares at me, something primal burning behind his gaze. “You’ve never brought anyone here before. Never once brought an Omega inside this room.”

“She’s not just anyone.”

“She’s dangerous.”

“So am I.”

Killian huffs, steps back, but not before flicking a glance at Quinn. “You better be worth the fallout.”

“I usually am,” she says, her smile never wavering.

I should be furious. I should haul her out by her hair and lock her back in the cell where I found her, just to prove I still have the reins. But my pulse is steady, and she knows it.

Kellan is the next to speak. “You’re changing the game, brother.”

“No,” I say, eyes still on Quinn. “I’m just choosing a new weapon.”

Quinn snorts. “A weapon? You really know how to make a girl feel special.”

“You want to act like you’re fire?” I ask. “Fine. Burn something for me.”

“Say please,” she replies, because of course she does.

The table erupts with muted amusement: Kellan’s smirk twitching wider, even Killian barking out a bitter laugh like he’s not sure if he wants to kill her or shake her hand. I move toward her then, closing the distance between us so fast her breath catches. She doesn’t back away, not even when I lean in and speak low enough for only her to hear.

“You don’t get to make a mess and act surprised when I put you back on your leash, Omega.”

Her lashes flutter, but she smirks. “I didn’t ask to be let off.”

“You begged for it in your sleep.”

Her smirk falters for a fraction of a second. Just enough for me to know I hit a nerve. I straighten again. “Get used to it. You’ll be at my side from now on. The rest of the world can learn to adapt.”

Kellan lifts a brow. “Including her?”

“She’ll adapt or she’ll burn,” I reply, not looking away from her.

Quinn’s lips curve into something between a smirk and a snarl. “You’re really bad at the whole endearing Alpha thing.”

“And you’re really bad at not provoking psychopaths.” We stare at each other for a moment too long. I can feel the bond vibrating beneath my skin, pulling taut, threatening to snap.

Then she turns away like she’s not rattled at all. “Do you at least serve coffee in this war room? Or is it just blood and dick-measuring contests all day?”

Kellan nearly chokes on his water while Killian stares at her like she’s a wildfire he wants to walk into. I just smile. 

She has no idea what she’s started, and I’m not going to stop it.