~Sky~
I woke up before the sun even thought about showing its lazy face, curled up on Daniel's bed like I belonged there, which let's be honest, that was the whole point.
His shirt still smelled like him: very expensive and classy perfume, I wasn't rich but I was smart enough to know this was at least $5000, that sharp alpha edge tpo that made my head spin in the best way. I pressed my face into the collar for a second, breathing it in, then sat up fast because if I stayed there too long I'd get stupid and start purring or something embarrassing.
The apartment was quiet except for his snoring from the other room deep, even, the kind that says this man sleeps like he's dead after a twelve-hour shift. Cute and annoying.
I padded to the kitchen on bare feet, found his phone charging on the counter. It had a passcode but isn't it dumb for Cops with this level of scrutiny to allow pop up messages? Anyways I looked down at it.
Jax: "You good? Lena's losing her mind. Says you ghosted after the warehouse call. What the hell, man?"
Lena: "Voss if you're dead I'm selling your desk to the new guy. Call me."
Marcus: "Kid, check in. That tip was too clean. Smells like bait."
I snorted so hard I almost choked. Bait. Yeah. They were half-right, the idiots.
I scrolled up. The team group chat was a goldmine.
I grinned so wide my cheeks hurt. Closer now. Damn right.
They were scrambling, tripping over each other like clowns in a burning circus, and the best part? They had no idea the clown who set the fire was currently wearing their lead profiler's T-shirt and making his coffee.
I put the phone back exactly where I found it, then started breakfast. Eggs. Toast. Nothing fancy. Just enough to make him think I was domestic and harmless. The kind of omega who cries at sad commercials and needs protecting. Soft and weak, typical, I learned early on how to extract money from these big guys. Al you needed to do was act like a little cute omega who needed saving.
When he shuffled out hair a disaster, eyes half-shut, wearing nothing but sweatpants that hung low on his hips I almost dropped the spatula.
"Morning, hero," I said, voice all sugar. "Coffee's ready. Black, right? You strike me as a black-coffee-and-regret kind of guy."
He blinked at me like I'd grown a second head. "You're… cooking."
"Wow, detective skills on point. Yes, I'm cooking. Sit before you fall over."
He sat. Rubbed his face. "You didn't have to."
"I wanted to." I slid the plate in front of him. "You saved me. Least I can do is not let you starve."
He stared at the eggs like they might bite him. "Sky… about last night."
I leaned on the counter, chin in my hands, batting my lashes like I was auditioning for innocent. "What about it?"
"The note."
My heart did a little flip. He'd found it. Good. "What note?"
He pulled the folded paper from his pocket, slid it across. I pretended to read it for the first time, widening my eyes just enough.
"Oh my God," I whispered. Voice cracked on cue. "How did it get here?"
Daniel watched my face like he was trying to peel it off. "You tell me."
I let my lip tremble. Just a little. "I don't know. I swear. I was asleep. I didn't hear anything."
He sighed. Longand tired. "Yeah. Okay."
I reached across, touched his hand. "You think I had something to do with this?"
"No," he said too fast. Then quieter, "I don't know."
I pulled my hand back like he'd burned me. "Wow. Okay. Great. So I'm one of your crazy admirers now? After you carried me out of that warehouse like some fairy-tale prince? That's cold, Daniel. I'm not that cheap. "
"I didn't say that."
"You didn't have to." I turned away, started scrubbing the pan harder than necessary. "I get it. Big bad profiler. Can't trust the scared little omega you dragged home. Makes sense."
He stood up so fast the chair scraped. "Sky… "
"No, it's fine." I laughed. "Really. I've been called worse. Just… don't pretend you're the good guy if you're already deciding I'm the monster."
He grabbed my wrist gently, but firm. Turned me around. His eyes were wrecked. "I'm not deciding anything. I'm just… trying to figure this annoying stuff out ."
I looked up at him. Let my eyes go big and wet. "Then figure it out without looking at me like I'm a creep."
He let go. Stepped back. "I'm sorry."
"Yeah. You are."
We stood there. Awkward and tensed . Him looking guilty, me looking hurt. Perfect little play.
Then his phone buzzed. Loud. Insistent.
He glanced at it. Face went pale.
"What?" I asked.
"Another body. They want me at the scene. Now."
I nodded slow. "Go. I'll be here."
He hesitated. "You sure you'll be okay alone?"
I rolled my eyes. "I'm not a toddler, Daniel. I'll lock the door. Promise."
He grabbed his keys. Stopped at the door. "Don't open it for anyone."
"Cross my heart."
He left.
The second the door clicked shut, I dropped the act.
I laughed, quiet and mean, this kind of laugh tasted like victory.
They were so close. All of them. Jax sniffing around the warehouse like a bloodhound. Lena digging through CCTV like it owed her money. Marcus grumbling theories over the phone like an old man yelling at clouds. Even that new detective Sofia cold bitch with the sharp eyes was already asking about "the rescued omega" in the group chat.
They wanted me bad. Wanted the Dollmaker so bad they could taste it.
But none of them were as close as Daniel.
Daniel, who carried me home.
Daniel, who slept in the next room.
Daniel, who found the note and didn't call it in.
Daniel, who looked at me like I was something precious and dangerous at the same time.
I went to the bathroom, locked the door, pulled the small burner phone from the tampon box I'd hidden under the sink. Texted the number I'd memorized and informed them.
Reply came fast.
NightQueen.
*Good. Keep him hooked. The next one's ready. You want me to handle the grab?*
I typed back: *No. I'll do it. Need it personal.*
*You sure? Cops are swarming.*
*That's the point.*
I deleted the thread. Flushed the evidence. Washed my hands.
Back in the living room, I sat on the couch, hugged my knees, stared at the door.
The reason I picked these omegas… God, it wasn't random. It never was.
There were two groups of omegas I targeted. For the first group every single one of them, came from places like the one I crawled out of. Orphanages. Foster homes. Streets where alphas bought you for an hour and left you broken. Where you learned early that being soft got you hurt, so you got hard instead. Or you got dead. The second group was different.
But with the first group, I didn't hate them. I loved them. In my own fucked-up way.
I took them because they were already dying slowly . Eyes dull. Smiles fake. Bodies waiting for the next bruise. I just… sped it up. I made it beautiful. Posed them like dolls so they'd never have to feel another hand that wasn't kind. So they'd be perfect forever.
And if Daniel ever caught me if he ever really saw I hoped he'd notice.
I hoped he'd see the pattern. See the scars on their wrists that matched mine. See the way I whispered to them before the end: "No more pain. No more selling yourself. Just rest."
I hoped he'd understand why.
Because if he understood… maybe he wouldn't hate me.
Maybe he'd keep me anyway.
I heard his key in the lock hours later.