Behind us, a boot scuffs quietly against stone. Knox. I don’t turn, but I feel him trailing the group steadily.
The boys keep the conversation moving, and I let them. Let them banter back and forth and argue about what ‘E’ is for, while I pretend not to notice that one voice is missing.
Shade falls into step beside me again, close enough that his knuckles graze mine. I lick my lips. Will I always feel a bolt of desire run through me at his touch, or is it because our bond is so new?
‘Think you’re up for another training session today?’he asks through our new connection with genuine concern in his tone. I know if I told him I needed more time to rest, he’d give it to me. But I can’t sit still and hope the approaching army will go away. I have to use every moment we have left to train.
“Yeah,” I say, but it comes out thinner than I meant.
“General Stone has put us on the guard duty roster, so we’ll take turns training with you.”
Viper cuts in. “Some bullshit about us earning our keep. Fucker.”
“I can’t wait for some one-on-one training with Sparkles,” Blaze says, waggling his eyebrows. “Getting ordered around by our tiny tyrant? I’mveeeryinto that.”
I roll my eyes and shove his shoulder, but I can’t stop the laugh that slips out.
Seeing him like this is a relief. His dangerous edge can make my pulse race, but this version of him is easier to be around. Easier to trust.
The way the Pack moves around me, all casual touches and easy teasing, feels natural in a way nothing else ever has.
It feels like belonging.
Behind us, Knox’s footsteps remain steady and distant.
I think about looking back. Maybe asking him something. Anything at all.
But the words stay lodged in my throat.
So I keep walking and pretend it doesn’t hurt.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Halley
The training room is quiet, lit by sterile overhead lights that hum faintly and flicker as the ancient generator struggles to power the fortress.
I toe off my boots and step onto the sparring mat, rolling my neck.
The Pack forms a loose circle around me, casual in their postures but focused in a way that I’ve come to realize is reserved only for me. Today, we’re all less tense. Less formal. Our energy is warmer as we prepare for the session.
Hands brush against me as they pass. A touch at my waist, a hand grazing the small of my back, a kiss on the backs of my fingers before they’re carefully wrapped to protect my knuckles.
It’s just as hard a workout as yesterday.
Sparring against super-soldiers stillmajorlysucks.
But today, they’re more playful and it’s sending me wild.
It’s as though a switch has been flicked and I couldn’t stop thinking about sex if I tried.
My fast healing means I don’t ache between my thighs, but it’s as though I can still feel the imprint of Shade’s cock inside me and the heat of Viper and Blaze’s come on my skin.
“Focus. You’re telegraphing your right-hand hook again,” Viper quips, ducking under my feint and grabbing my shirt to yank me off balance. “Getting sloppy.”
When did Viper get so cocky?
“Can you blame me?” I don’t bother to pull away. Instead, I let my gaze rake over him, slow and deliberate, to where those rut-damn tactical pants hang low on his hips. I let the corner of my mouth twitch into a smirk. “You in those damn pants? It’s distracting.”
