“Baby girl, where are you going?” he calls after me.
I don’t answer.
I just bolt out of the training room, down the hall, towards sunlight.
Embarrassment crashes over me the moment the cold air hits. My pheromones are sending my emotions haywire. I can barely keep up with them, so the others have no hope.
I behaved so dramatically, leaving poor Shade behind.
Shamed, I hurry around the courtyard, navigating through the hallways that weave around the building, and avoiding the gaze of the passing soldiers.
A prickling sensation runs down my spine as I sense more eyes on me than ever before. A silent, scrutinizing crowd.
They can smell something has changed within me.
Before the Pack came, General Stone’s Alpha soldiers never paid me much attention, even actively avoiding coming near me. I smelled like an Omega in mourning. Sour, brittle, dormant.
Looking back, it’s clear I was grieving the loss of… well, everything.
In the blink of an eye, I lost my sanctuary in The Omega Division. The only place I’d ever felt safe. No more nests or creature comforts. No more fun games or hobbies for the simple sake of joy.
I lost my friends, my found family, my closest confidants. They think I’m dead, murdered in a violent attack. And I failed in my efforts to reach them. To protect them from whatever fate has befallen them.
On top of all of that, I’d lostthem.My Pack.
I pass a group of three Alphas with rifles strapped across their chests. Their uniforms are clean and their boots spotless, but they’re heaving with countless weapons. They’re likely about to deploy.
Their faces subtly shift towards me, nostrils flaring.
I’m not invisible anymore. I smell unmated.Breedable.
"Halley! Halley, wait up!"
Shade rounds the corner at a jog, and I'm suddenly enveloped in a tight hug.
"Where are you going, baby girl? You can’t leave like that, not alone…” he trails off, not needing to elaborate.
He’s right. I know he’s right. Even with my Command ready at the tip of my tongue, the fortress isn’t safe for me anymore. After all, there are plenty of ways to keep me from using a Command.
I bury my face in his chest and breathe in the smell of pine, dark chocolate, and sex. He smells like my slick, a wet line on his thigh, and it calms me marginally.
MyBeta.
“Are you hurt?"
"No," I say, my words muffled against his shirt.
"Then what's wrong?" he asks, and I hear the concern in his voice. "Did I go too far? I thought you were okay with doing that in the training room... oh rut, did I—"
"No!" I shout, and cringe as the group of nearby Alphas tense. I pull back and shake my head emphatically, lowering my voice. "No, nothing like that. I liked...lovedwhat we did."
I give my Beta a watery smile and sigh. "Thank you for always being there, Shade."
"You're my Omega. Of course I’ll always be there to take care of you. Always. I'll do whatever it takes to keep you happy. If that's giving you orgasms whenever and wherever you want, that's a responsibility I will gladly shoulder."
I chuckle and push at his chest, and he smiles back at me, cupping my chin, his thumb stroking my cheek.
A tingling awareness reminds me that a group of Alphas are still watching our interaction. Feeling exposed, I grasp Shade’s hand and duck down a narrow hall to a balcony on the outskirts of the fortress. It's deserted and rarely occupied. I used to go here sometimes when I needed to be alone to cry and sort through my thoughts.
