“Ignorant cockwomble?” I provide with a shrug.
“…cockwomble,” she repeats with amazement, nodding like I’ve provided her with a grand prize rather than a nonsense insult.
I agree, it’s a stupid word, but it doesn’t warrant the fascination flashing on her face.
“O-kay.” Blaze pulls a face like she’s acting ridiculous. Like he’s one to talk, the psycho.
Halley isn’t paying attention. She’s fixated on our Prime Alpha.
Not on his face, but his physique, studying his shape with squinted eyes before asking slowly, “Where did you hear that word?”
Knox still looks utterly bamboozled, but slowly replies to her strange request. “I had an Alpha on my team who was a pain in my ass. No other way to describe him but a fucking cockwomble.”
“Hey!” Blaze shouts, his arms widespread.
Yeah. The phrase cockwomble was created to describe Blaze. It still fits.
Such a cockwomble.
He was a lot goofier back then, before the trauma of our jobs piled up. Despite being an absolute liability, he was a perfect fit for the squad. He adds a levity that breaks down our barriers and makes us laugh even in the grizzliest of circumstances. Blaze has changed over the years. He’s still a liability, a pain in our asses, and a fucking cockwomble; but he’s also my brother-in-arms. I can’t imagine a life without him by my side.
Halley’s features are a whirlwind of emotions, each one flickering across her face.
Silence stretches through the glade, broken only by the sound of the thundering waterfall and creaking trees.
“It wasyou,” she finally whispers, frowning up at Knox.
“Me?”
She licks her lips and nods. “Did you… I mean, were you a drill instructor at Barkrood Base a few months ago?”
We move around so much I can’t even remember where we were a month ago. It was before our posting at Dunefold Fortress. Before everything went to shit.
Shade pipes up. “Yeah, Knox did a week stint while Viper and I sorted out a weapons shipment and Blaze was on that fucked up mission with—” he cuts himself off from sharing classified information.
A wicked excitement shivers through Blaze. “Oh yeah! That was a lot of fun. It’s been a while since I got to see so many severed—”
“Nope. Not another word.” Shade gives him another clip behind his ear.
Blaze pouts.
“Itwasyou,” Halley repeats.
Knox sits back on his haunches, utterly perplexed. “Halley, we’ve never met. I’d definitely remember meeting you.”
“He’d have gloated mercilessly if he got to meet such a pretty unmated Omega,” Shade agrees.
Halley suddenly looks chagrined, her lower lip slipping between her teeth, and she gnaws on the plush flesh. It quickly turns a pretty deep pink and I remember sucking on it as we frantically kissed in the ICU.
I grunt and adjust the front of my pants.
“We didn’t meet,” she mumbles. “Not exactly.”
“Hmm?”
“We— I mean, I thought you looked familiar, but I’ve only ever seen you from afar before.”
When she’s met with more furrowed brows, she stumbles through the rest of her explanation. “There’s a spot on the roof of The Omega Division that has a direct line of sight to the base training field.”
