Halley giggles as the child snuggles into her chest, nose nuzzling and seeking out Halley’s soothing lavender scent. Her natural pheromones calming the child effortlessly.
Something inside me clenches at the sight.
The Beta woman is right. This is written into Halley’s biology. An instinctive need to nurture and protect her own.
I never understood why Halley emphasized her infertility so much when she announced she was leaving. She stood in front of us, shaking like a leaf, and said the words like we’d recoil. As though the bond we’d been building would instantly sever from our disgust.
To us, it was no loss at all. Barely a passing issue. We were all expecting to die on a battlefield somewhere with no one to grieve us, certainly not to have a child. You can’t mourn something you were never meant to have.
But to Halley, she wasmeantto have it. A child. A family. And its absence is her deepest wound.
That day, when she left us on the side of the mountain, she was pointing right at that wound, begging us to see the lifelong pain. The insecurity and shame. The reason she had to leave.
And we did not understand.
Today, watching her rock the little child in her arms, I finally get it.
She is an Omega who cannot do the one thing her designation is built for.
But our girl. Our brave girl. Whether she realizes it or not, didn’t let that stop her. She might not have had babies of her own, but she certainly has those she loves as fiercely as her own flesh and blood.
Her Omegas.
Like a mother, she sacrificed herself to protect them. She endured my grueling training regime because General Stone threatened them. She changed fundamental elements of herself, piece by piece, in the hope that it would be enough to spare them.
Then, when she heard they were in danger, kidnapped as the world fell apart, she left her Pack behind for them. She endured months of the General’s manipulations in the hope of finding a clue to rescue them.
Like a mother, she is still doing everything in her power to keep them safe… even preparing to stand against an entire army with a power she can barely control.
Halley kisses the top of the baby’s head, eyes crinkling as she gently passes the child back into the young girl’s arms.
No, Halley will never give birth.
But she was born to be a protector.
Chapter Forty-Five
Blaze
I’m supposed to be on guard duty. And I am.
Just… not where Prime Alpha Zero told me to be.
We’re not in the army anymore, which means I don’t have to follow orders I don’t like. I’m a free agent now.
Well… not exactly free. I have a new master, and she can do whatever she likes with me. I’ll happily follow her to the ends of my existence.
Viper was dispatched to help unload a fresh supply drop, leaving Halley's sweet ass unattended. So, I took it upon myself to keep an eye on her. She's busy helping civilians, her smile bright and her scent soothing.
I'm lounging on a stack of supply crates, watching her. I've got a clear view of her from where I'm perched, and I can monitor the goings-on of the camp from here too. It's a win-win. I get to watch my hot Omega work while also keeping her safe.
Ah, yes. It’s a good day to be Blaze.
Halley is smiling, and she has another babe on her hip, bouncing it to keep it from crying. The pups flock to her, and she loves them all in return. She doesn't seem to be able to stop touching them, pressing her nose to their cheeks, kissing them, and scenting them. It's adorable.
The pup stops crying, soothed by her scent, and she hands it back to its father, a Beta who bows at her like she's a monarch gracing him with her presence and expresses his thanks profusely. It makes my girl duck her head and blush.
She's too fucking perfect.
