'That's not the threat you think it is.'I bite my lip and hold his gaze as heat blooms between us.
The bond crackles and fizzes. It’s similar to the one I share with Viper, yet somehow different. I’ve had to figure out how to separate our communication channels to talk privately to each of them, but I think I have the knack now.
'Are you sure about that, baby girl?'Shade asks me, his voice deepening as he leans in, his brown eyes flashing with desire and his smile wide.
"You look handsome when you smile, Daddy." I blow him a kiss and wink.
‘Such a brat.’
Viper smacks my ass as he passes. "Don't go riling him up, pretty girl. We've got work to do."
He deposits a heavy-looking cache of camera equipment into the truck, and Shade makes another sound of interest.
I giggle.
This side of my Beta is new, and I find it very endearing. Sometimes I forget he’s a technology nerd underneath all of that well-defined muscle. I lick my lips, scanning him from head to toe. He certainly doesn’t look like a stereotypical geek.
"Okay, yeah, I’m a bit excited. It's been a while since I’ve had proper gear to play with," he explains.
I grin at his excitement. "Well, it's all yours now. Go wild."
Shade's smile broadens as he hoists himself into the back of the truck and starts rifling through the bags, inspecting the equipment inside with an enthusiastic but critical eye.
"Field trip! Woop!" Blaze declares at full volume while skipping towards the vehicle with an armful of suspicious-looking weapons.
I do a double-take.
This is a peacekeeping mission, and... is that a fracking grenade launcher?
I whirl around, anxiously seeking out Knox like a child about to tattle on their sibling.
He's on the other side of the gate, beside the guard tower, talking to another Alpha. I recognize the classic appearance of a Prime Alpha. Stiff posture and an aura of authority. I’ve seen this soldier about before, but kept my distance. He strikes an intimidating figure with a deep scar bisecting his right cheek and a permanent scowl.
Whatever the two are discussing, it looks serious. They're barely emoting, but it's obviously some kind of dick-measuring contest judging by their puffed-up chests. It ends with Knox pointing at the truck Viper is still loading and then the front gate.
He strides back towards us, his nostrils flared and his jaw set tight. I peek behind him and squeak as I accidentally make eye contact with the other Prime Alpha. He’s staring at me. His face is blank, but a pair of searing rust-colored eyes scream anger and something I've become very familiar with... lust.
I gulp and take two hurried steps into Knox’s embrace. He doesn’t hesitate to smoothly wrap his arm around my shoulders and pull me into his side, walking us behind the truck, where we’re hidden from view.
"Knox?" I ask, pulling my face out from his delicious smelling uniform. "What did that other Prime want?"
For a moment I think he's going to respond how he used to and tell me it's not any of my business, but he exhales, leans down and plants a kiss on the top of my head.
"He's bitching cause we put his soldier in hospital."
"His?"
"He's the Prime Alpha of the little runt that attacked you."
"Oh."
As a Prime Alpha, shouldn’t he be apologizing to me because he couldn’t keep his soldier in line?
I assumed stiff pride in duty was a Prime Alpha thing, but maybe I had it wrong. Maybe it’s a Knox thing. He has such high expectations of himself, and he expects others to meet their own potential as well. Any failure, and not just his own, hits him harder than anyone else I know.
"And he…fuck, he questioned our ability to protect you."
I lean back and look up at him. Unlike before, when he was talking to the other Prime, Knox's emotions are written all over his face. He’s not hiding his frustration and anger from me and it makes me feel… vindicated?
