A spark flares deep inside, sizzling through my numb veins. The power swells, hot and alive, curling tighter and tighter until I can almost taste ozone crackling on my tongue.
“Let’s go out with a bang, yeah?” Maddie says softly, right beside my ear, and she adjusts the gun.
I want to live.
But if I cannot have that, then I will finally prove to myself that I was always more than a defective Omega. I will be more.
I am a soldier, and I will die with courage, fighting.
I roll my head back, look over my shoulder at the woman I once tried to save, and lock eyes with her.
“Release me,”I Command.
Chapter Fifty-One
Shade
I feel the moment our girl throws her weight into the fight.
It’s like the ground itself tilts as a vortex of influence shifts in the air. A pulse of heat, sharp and electric, abruptly emanating from our Omega. Pure power. More than we’ve ever felt from her before.
My heart slams against my ribs, pride and raw relief flooding me. She’s doing it. She’s burning through whatever fight is left in her veins, and it’s working.
Knox feels it too. I hear him hiss through his teeth, “That’s our girl.”
Halley’s eyes are molten amethyst, locked on the Beta holding her. Her lips move, and though I can’t hear the word, theforceof it hits me like a shove to the chest. My breath stutters.
Omega Command.
Maddie’s shoulders twitch violently under the Command, her arm lowering the gun, but the Command hits too hard.
Her body spasms, every muscle clenching, including her trigger finger. The muzzle’s still inches from Halley when it goes off.
The sound punches through me.
Blaze fires a heartbeat later, his bullet tearing through Maddie’s thigh, her scream blending with the ringing in my ears. Halley stumbles free, blinking like she doesn’t understand why her legs aren’t working.
Then I see her hand come up, slow and unsure, pressing against the side of her neck.
Red blooms between her fingers.
My body moves before my mind catches up, my boots hammering the ground. The world narrows to the sight of her swaying on her feet, pupils blown wide, the glitter in her eyes dimming.
She whimpers softly.
Crimson spills between her tiny, delicate fingers, and she collapses.
I can't hear anything but my heartbeat in my ears, and the guttural howls from my Pack.
We're at her side in an instant.
Viper catches her before she hits the ground, dropping to his knees, cradling her in his arms. Knox unbuckles her bite collar, shredded by the bullet, and immediately presses his hands to the wounds, trying to staunch the flow.
“Medic! Someone get a medic!” I shout, my voice cracking.
The sharp, metallic tang of blood taints her scent. I can't stop the tremor in my hands as I rip off my sleeve and push the fabric into Knox's hands to use as gauze. The fabric soaks through in seconds. My chest heaves as I struggle to breathe. I tear off my other sleeve and push it against the wound on her back.
I'm unprepared for the severity of the wound. It's a big jagged hole pumping out blood. It’s a miracle she’s been standing so long, and I groan at the thought of the pain she’s endured.
