Chapter 152: Noah’s dirty sneakers

Elias’s POV

Noah’s dirty sneakers swing as I walk down the hall with them in my hand. My face is set in a neutral expression. My mouth is pressed in a thin line. And my blood feels icy cold.

Murder.

That’s the only thing on my mind.

Someone dared to disrespect the omega who wears my ring right under my roof. That person is still walking around with their head intact. And I had no idea my husband was disrespected.

The guards stationed at the dining room open the door as I approach. I walk past them with my eyes focused and with the shoes in hand. My mother, the man with the keenest sense of smell, wrinkles his nose almost immediately.

"What is that?" he asks and I lift the shoes to show them to him while Damien chews his bread.

"Why is there a pair of dirty sneakers in my dining room, Eli?" he lifts his teacup to his lips and takes a small sip.

"I need your permission to kill two employees" I say flatly and he raises a brow.

"Permission?" he asks and I nod. I’m still keeping that straight face and Damien is looking from my mom to me with amusement.

"Since when do you ask for permission to spill the blood of my workers, pocket watch? Sit down" he jerks his chin towards the chair next to him, and when I take a step forward, he gestures for me to put down the shoes.

I drop the shoes unceremoniously to the floor, avoiding Damien’s eyes and cocky smile as I sit next to mom.

I guess my older brother’s early morning riding and taunting didn’t give him the unholy amount of dopamine he craves.

"Eat, baby" mom says and passes his own food to me. I automatically follow his instruction, and he follows my movement with gentleness in his eyes.

"What happened?"

"Someone spat on Noah" I say and the atmosphere in the room changes. The mocking smile drops off Damien’s face and Mom’s eyelid twitches.

"Who did that?" he asks.

"I’m not sure. I suspect the driver I left him with last time and the assistant gateman"

"He’d be innocent. The gateman, I mean. I know he’s tongueless because I ripped out his tongue myself" mom says and Damien whistles with admiration.

Our mother rarely involves himself in our impulsive violent acts, yet when he does something, it remains the most memorable artwork for years to come.

"Eat your breakfast, pup. You’ll need your energy to play" he murmurs and Damien leans on the table. "Mom, why’d your take out the man’s tongue?" he asks with interest in his eyes.

"He didn’t cry out for help when his wife was being murdered by an enemy clan" he says and I nod.

My mother’s love for the helpless runs deep. He was once forced into a state of helplessness before he pulled himself up. He knows what it feels like to be powerless while having no one to fight on your behalf.

"You’re a fucking legend, Mom" Damien says with stars in his eyes and the corner of mom’s lips twitch as he tries to hide his smile.

"What did I say about curse words?" mom asks and Damien cringes.

"You married a freaking sailor; it’s no surprise all three of your sons curse like one" Damien says and Mom raises his butter knife in warning.

"Geez, momma bear. I was only joking" he says and I watch them expressionlessly.

I have more pressing matters to attend to. I don’t know why the fuck I’m sitting here. As if sensing my thoughts, my mom turns his head to look at me.

"Go ahead, Eli. Make him pay" he says and I get out of the chair, pushing it back and letting it fall backwards.

"I’ll be with him, Momma. Love you!" Damien announces as he follows me out the door.

I pick the dirty shoes and walk like a programmed robot in the direction of the stairs. Damien, only ever thoughtful when I’m in this state of mind, starts to throw orders.

I don’t hear his words, but I know he’s giving instructions for the driver to be brought out to the front of the building. He’s excited to see blood.

"Weapon of choice, baby brother?" he asks and I don’t respond, my fingers only tighten around the shoelaces.

"Psychopath" he mutters under his breath and when we walk through the main door of the Deus house, I find the driver standing next to the mute man my mom made tongueless.

No pleasantries. No explanation. No introductions. Only business. "This" I say, lifting the shoes for him to see.

"I...I don’t recognize those, sir" he lies and the tongueless one looks at him. The man opens his mouth to say something but shuts it when he remembers his lack of a tongue.

"I don’t tolerate lies" I say in a quiet voice and the driver laughs awkwardly. "I mean...they belong to an omega" he says.

"My omega" I correct him in a flat tone, and he rubs the back of his neck. The man looks around at the small crowd gathering around us to see what would happen next.

"The omega was being rude, sir. He’s a very unfaithful one, that one. He was begging to suck me off" he spews the garbage in his head, and my older brother reacts before I do.

"Oh the nerves on this one" Damien growls as he attacks the man. He gives the man a bone-cracking blow to the nose and the man falls to the floor screaming.

"That is my brother-in-law you’re lying against. I’m the only bastard allowed to do that shit" Damien says, grabbing the man by his hair and making him kneel before me.

He’s the enforcer in our mad mafia clan.

"Beg him for mercy" I say and take a step closer to the driver.

"I’m sorry, sir!" he yells with his eyes on Damien, and I growl at the back of my throat. "No, not him. Beg my omega for mercy" I say, and his face morphs into a look of horror.

"In f-front of everyone?" he asks and I keep walking towards him.

"Beg. My. Omega" I repeat.

"Sir...please...I’m an alpha and alphas aren’t...mmghh" his words stop coming out as I put one of the shoelaces on his mouth like a muzzle.

He seems to be confused about what a single shoelace is meant to do; I let him have that thought before pulling it tight around his head.

"Argghh!" he screams as the small, braided rope tears through the corners of his mouth.

"You’re a sick motherfucker" Damien laughs with sadistic pleasure.

"Beg for Noah Deus’s mercy" I snarl and he tries to beg. But because of the bleeding corners of his torn mouth, and the shoelace pressing on his tongue, he is unable to let out any coherent words.

Perfect.

"Still won’t beg?" I ask.

"AAHHG" he screams as I pull the ropes harder. The rope completely tears the side of his mouth and stop by his mandible. My chest is rising and falling as blood pours to the floor.

An acrid smell fills the air and I look down. He’s urinating while fighting for his life. Blood and urine mix on the floor as Damien continues to laugh.

With the man’s mouth now torn open to its limit; I let go of him. He falls into his own puddle of body fluid, begging for his life with wordless sounds.

"Did it feel good to spit on what’s mine?" I ask and lift him again.

"This is a warning to everyone here. Touch my mate..." I pause and shove the toe of the dirty shoe into the man’s mouth, "...and die a worse death than this" I say and jam the shoe down his throat.

If he doesn’t die from bleeding, he’ll die from suffocation. If he doesn’t die from suffocation, he’ll die from dehydration.

I wipe my hands clean on the mute man’s shirt, ignoring the way his pants are also wet.

He’ll live for today. I’ll let him live. But fuck...when is Noah coming back to me? it’s been seven-thousand three-hundred and sixty-two seconds since he left.

I can’t fucking cope.