Prologue
Halley
Guilt eats me alive with every heavy step I take away from Scorch Squad.
I shouldn’t have left that way.
The second I used the Command on them, something inside me broke.
A fragile internal thread, already strained, suddenly snapped. When I reached for a part of me that only exists when they’re near, I found emptiness. My vision blurred for a moment. My nose bled. I wiped it away and told myself it didn’t matter. But itdid. Something shattered that I can’t ever get back.
Using my Omega Command to stop them from following me was dirty, underhanded, and cruel, but I can’t think of another way they’d let me go.
Knox will never go AWOL. He’d never desert his duty and come with me to find the Omegas. And the others… well, I know what it’s like to be torn from your loved ones. The four soldiersare deeply bonded and I won’t force them to sever those ties. So, I made the decision for them.
They’re better off together.
Better off away from me.
I can’t be what they need and it was foolish to string them along.
I did the right thing.
As the afternoon wears on, the ache in my chest deepens as the realization I’ll never see them again settles in my soul.
They’ll be fine. They have each other, their little found family.
And me… I have to find my own family. Dazz, Ember and Flicker are out there waiting for me.
The trees thin the lower I hike into the valley. Short, spindly branches provide no cover or protection from the wind. It howls over the exposed plains, buffeting me with force, whipping the steadfastly rebellious stray hair around my face in a frenzy.
The town isn't far now. I can see the warm glow of lights spilling from a jumble of buildings on the edge of a river. The sun slips behind the mountain, casting long shadows and leaving the land in an eerie twilight. Cicadas trill loudly, creating a miasma of white noise, drowning out my loud thoughts.
I pause, looking at the lights in the distance, and sigh.
I don't want to go into the town. The idea of being surrounded by strangers makes my skin prickle in warning. I doubt there is an Alpha living in such a small outpost, but if Shade taught me anything, it’s that Betas can be just as lethal.
I have to avoid crossing paths with anyone.
I'll take a page out of Blaze's book and become a ghost. If I wait until the cover of darkness, sneak into the outskirts of town, I might be able to find a car to steal.
Ideally, I'd use the scope on the sniper rifle strapped to my back that I swiped from Viper to find my target before engaging.
Never go in blind.Knox’s voice echoes in my mind, drilled into me during one of his many, many theoretical lessons.
But with the dwindling light, it'd prove fruitless.
Adapt and overcome.A mantra Shade would calmly recite whenever I'd reach a roadblock in training. ‘We might not be as strong as an Alpha, but we’re smart and there's always another option.’
My backpack straps creak as my fists tighten around them, and I weather another wave of guilt and longing.
It’s barely been a few hours and, already, I miss them so much it hurts.
They're ingrained in me. Every lesson, every touch, every training session resides within me like a living thing.
I roll my shoulders as if I can slough off the ache of loss.
I've got this. I just have to apply the theory and training to this practical experience.
