I couldn’t stop, even if I wanted to. The shimmering surge of authority settles along my shoulders and chest. Confidence flows through me, and any concerns flutter away in the wake of my O-space.
I feel myself turning vindictive and cruel. I don’t want to hurt them, but my instincts tell me if I don’t shove them as far away as possible, I’ll crumble. “If you need to go crawling back to the military like a bunch of good little spineless soldiers, then go! But don’t you dare try to stop me.”
Knox looks like I’ve pulled a knife on him, his eyes flashing a vibrant red. “We can’t just walk away from our duty, Halley.It’s our careers, our lives. We’re soldiers and we go where our country needs us.”
“They think you’re dead, Knox! They think Viper killed me. They’re not going to welcome him back with open arms. They’ll shoot him on sight.”
Knox shakes his head like I’ve slapped him. His brow furrows into his trademark scowl, and Prime Asshole is back. He sneers down at me with contempt, as if I’m a threat he let slip through the camp borders.
Shade steps forward, hands raised as if he means to gentle me. He wants to smooth this over, change my mind, make me compliant. Not this time.
“Back off.”I pin him with a glare. My muscles bunch with tension as the Command flows from me with ease. He complies immediately, taking two rapid steps backwards, eyes wide with alarm.
Satisfaction surges through me. These soldiers, these warriors, are listening to me. Following my orders.
It feels incredible to have such a power.
There’s a vibration beneath my skin, skittering along my nerves and firing at a frantic pace.
When I fled to The Omega Division, it wasn’t because I wanted to, it was to save myself from a worse fate. When I joined the squad for training, it wasn’t because I volunteered. I was ordered. This time, it’s my choice. I’m choosing my friends, my found family, and no one is getting in my way. Even the four soldiers standing before me.
Even the four men I’ve grown to…
I refuse to finish that thought. Thinking more about my feelings for them isn’t going to save my friends. The squad can take care of themselves. Dazz, Ember, and Flicker aren’t so lucky.
“We need to regroup and find out exactly what’s going on. If the military has collapsed, and there’s nothing for us to do, then we can reassess,” Shade says in his even-toned, sensible voice. He’s talking rationally. His logic is sound, but I know in my heart that if I hesitate now, I’ll lose my friends forever.
There is something cosmic, otherworldly, that is pressing me onward. It’s insistent. More than an instinct, it’s knowing.
I’m shaking, my hands balled up in tight fists. They’re not listening. “You’re not hearing me. You can do what you like, but I’m leaving.”
“Leaving?” Viper asks in a quiet voice, and I hate myself for what I’m about to do.
“I’m going. You’ll have to trust you trained me well enough I can defend myself, or at least run from danger.”
Knox growls. “Omega Sparks, you won’t last a minute in Blackreach Province. It’s crawling with unmated Alphas, criminals, and rapists. It’s where the Alphas who don’t make it in the military are sent. The ones society rejects.”
He isn’t calling me his ‘princess’ anymore, and it hurts more than it should.
I shrug. “That’s fine, Knox. I’d rather die than abandon my friends when they need me most.”
He glares at me, as if I’ve accused him personally of being a coward, and I briefly wonder if our Prime Alpha has ever left someone behind in the heat of battle.
I spin on my heels and push through the undergrowth until I find the ragged dirt mountain road. If I follow it down, I heard Knox mention a small town at the foot of the hill that they’ve been keeping an eye on during patrols. I’ll have plenty of time to consider my next move on the hike. I have to get moving. The strong impulse in my gut is tugging me forward, and I know it’s to them. To my brother and sister Omegas. No one else will save them unless I do.
“Stop!”
It’s an Alpha Command, the strongest I’ve ever felt. It stabs through me, making my legs freeze.
Knox stomps in front of me, his nostrils flared and a snarl on his handsome face. “You’re not going anywhere. You’re under my command and I’m giving you an order to stay with Scorch Squad-1, Omega Sparks.”
His Alpha Command is a hot poker to the brain, tearing through my resolve and making my eyes water.
I look up at the man I’ve come to care for, and am overwhelmed by the betrayal flashing in his vibrant red eyes.
He thinks I’m a traitor to the squad. He’s wrong. I might have deluded myself into thinking I’m one of them, but my allegiance is, and always will be, to the Omegas.
“No,” I grit out between clenched teeth. The taste of iron is thick on my tongue and I know I’ve bitten through my cheek. I swipe my tongue over my teeth, licking the blood off them.
