Fuck, I recognize the expression on her face. Her jaw clenched, eyes narrowed, nostrils flared. It’s the same look she’d get during training when her body was begging to quit, but she’d refuse to back down. Stubborn, determined pride.
She spins back to Zero. "I'll do it."
"Like fuck you are," I snarl down at her, copper saturating my taste buds, probably staining my teeth red. She flinches but doesn't break eye contact, challenging me to stop her.
Here she goes. Leaving again.
"I'm going, Blaze. I can't turn my back on these people when they need me."
"Then we'reallgoing with you."
Prime Alpha Zero shakes his head. "Any sign of an Alpha or soldier, and they'll spook."
Halley studies my face, searching for something in my expression. Whatever she sees, her fury softens.
"Blaze is good at staying hidden. The best. He can come and play bodyguard from the shadows."
Zero's eyes flick to me, and he gives a curt nod. "I'll allow it, so long as Blaze doesn't interfere with your mission. Your goal is to get the civilians to the processing camp, understood? If you can convince them to relocate to a settlement it will save their lives. "
"Yes, sir."
He nods in approval, his eyes lingering on Halley's face, studying her. I know what he sees. A beautiful idiot, easily manipulated by her big heart.
"Okay. It’s too late to set off today, so prepare to leave first thing tomorrow morning," Zero instructs, turning to Blaze. "Can I trust you to keep your Omega safe?"
I bare my teeth at him.
“Fuck you.”
Of course, I can keep my Omega safe! I'll kill anyone who even looks at her funny and burn any evidence of their existence to ash.
Until the moment she rejects us again, I’ll keep her safe.
Chapter Forty-Six
Halley
I’m a coward and don’t tell the others about the trip until the next morning as I slip my arms through the loops of my backpack.
I sway in front of them with my boots laced up and ponytail secured tight.
“You can’t go,” Shade says with a firm shake of his head. He’s standing with his arms crossed over his chest, his nostrils flared in outrage. “It’s too dangerous.”
“It’s the right thing to do,” I counter.
Viper’s face is a mask of cold fury. His jaw clenched and eyes narrowed. He refuses to look me in the eye and, as if he is incapable of sentences due to rage, he simply repeats the same word down our connection again and again.
‘No. No. No.’
"Our people are in trouble. If I can help, I have to," I say, trying to explain, but they’re having none of it.
Knox snarls, pacing back and forth, fists curling and uncurling. “Who the fuck does Zero think he is? You’reourOmega, not his soldier. You’re not going.”
The retort burns on my tongue. I want to tell him I am not anyone’s possession and I do not need his permission. Instead, I swallow the words and my shoulders sink.
I get it. They’re scared.
I hate that I am the cause, but I can’t change who I am. My instincts will not let me turn away from the vulnerable any more than theirs will let them stop guarding me. I am built to protect the vulnerable. They are built to protect me. None of us can change what we are.
