My gland throbs beneath my bite collar.
When I open my eyes, Jason is watching me with a peculiar expression.
"Another thing, General Stone wants to see you," he says.
I groan.
I'm sick to death of the crusty old General meddling with my life and want nothing more than to tell him to frack off. Except, I have to oblige. He has my life and the lives of those I love in the palm of his hand. He dangles the location of my Omegas in front of me like a carrot on a stick, teasing me with the promise of reuniting us. I’m not a prisoner here, but I can’t leave either, not when that asshole is my only lead to finding them.
"Great. What does the old toad want?" Everlyn snorts, rolling her eyes.
The Betas at our table shift uncomfortably, shooting her warning glares. Most people in Blackgate Fortress are unyieldingly loyal to the General and won’t hear an ill word about the aging Prime Alpha.
Everlyn just shrugs. She's the only doctor here, and it grants her freedom to say what she wants without reprimand. They need her.
"When?" I sigh.
"After breakfast," Jason replies.
“Great,” I mutter. “He’s gonna make me late for my shift.”
To keep busy, I work long hours managing the fortress supplies. Warehouse operations is my area of expertise after a decade working in them at Barkrood Base. It’s familiar. It’s safe. The kind of mindless, repetitive work I can disappear into.
After the initial week of intrigue surrounding the new Omega among the troops, most of the soldiers stopped paying attention.
It suits me fine. The last thing I need right now is some nosy soldier getting into my business.
The odd part is, the Alphas don’t even look at me.
Given the horrifying alternatives, I’m not about to question that particular miracle.
Everlyn rolls her eyes again and turns to me. "Good luck with the chief asshat. Meet me in the medical bay after, I need tocheck your pheromone levels, they’ve been tracking lower each day."
On General Stone’s orders, Everlyn has been monitoring my health. Daily blood tests, physical assessments, and mental health evaluations are all compiled in a daily report he pores over. We both hate it and think it’s insanely creepy, but it’s still helpful to see how my body is reacting to the separation from the squad.
Each day, my strange abilities fade away.
I nod silently as I watch Everlyn kiss Jason goodbye.
A pang of fear stabs my heart. Something inside me knows that whatever Stone has summoned me for, it won’t be good.
Chapter Three
Halley
On the cold, hard bench outside the intimidating door, a sense of déjà vu hits me as I remember the first time I sat in a waiting room to see the General. It seems a lifetime ago when I was sent for training with a squad of super soldiers who later became my…
No. I won’t keep thinking about them.
I can't.
The office smells like the rest of Blackgate Fortress, damp stone, old mold, a rot that clings to everything. Yet beneath that, threading through the air like a siren’s whisper, is the subtle tang of paper and ink. Clean and sharp. My breath catches.
Ink and spice.
Knox.
It’s not him. It’s just a stack of handwritten notes sitting atop a rusting filing cabinet. But the scent snakes up my nose and lodges behind my eyes. My body reacts before my brain can drag me back to reason. My thighs press together, instinctively tryingto ease the throb radiating from my core. My mating gland pulses from beneath my bite collar.
