I reach out and grab his shoulder, giving it a comforting squeeze. I can’t convince him it’s not his fault because I’m not sure I’m not to blame either. Somewhere we failed our Omega.
It’s the truth. As a Pack, we failed to keep her safe.
Blaze twists in my arms and stiffens. He releases his tight hold on me and slowly rises to his feet.
“It's not our fault...”
He whips his head to the side and pins a piercing glare on the killer, restrained by soldiers a few feet away. She screams and curses, thrashing against her captors.
“Shedid this," he snarls.
There is a darkness creeping over us, a shadow of putrid anger that mixes with our sadness and creates a foul creature. Except this time, it doesn’t just belong to Blaze.
"You," Blaze prowls closer, his voice low and dangerous. "You took her away from us. Our Omega. She's gone because of you."
Knox answers Blaze's call for retribution. He staggers to his feet and joins Blaze as he circles the bound woman.
Her thigh and shoulder are already bandaged, the blood loss minimal. It feels like a slap to the face. How is it fair that she lives while our girl…
I feel numb. My heart, my body, and my mind are frozen in place, like a statue. I can't move. I can't speak. I can't do anything but watch my brothers turn into monsters before my eyes.
Maybe they’re just returning to who they were before Halley. Even when she left us, her influence remained. A trickle of her essence lingered and held us accountable.
But she’s gone now, and there’s nothing stopping us from tearing this world to shreds.
Blaze pulls his pistol from its holster and cocks it.
The guards scatter, making themselves scarce to avoid what must happen. It’s an unwritten law that simmers in all Demi-human blood.
An Omega was murdered and vengeancemustbe taken.
Blaze doesn't hesitate or flinch. He puts a single round into the same wounded thigh.
"Ahh!" She screams, thrashing on the ground. "You Alpha bastard!"
Knox crouches down beside Halley’s killer, pinching her cheeks together as he forces her to look at Halley’s limp body.
“You see her?”
She struggles against his hold.
“Ah, ah, don’t look away. Fucking look at her.”
She looks at the dead Omega in her catatonic Alpha’s arms.
Viper's eyes are blank, the red veins around them still vibrant and pulsing, his Blood Lust suspended by his broken heart. He rocks Halley back and forth, pressing kisses to her hair, whispering nonsense to her like he can convince her to come back to him, but she remains limp in his hold, her head lolling to the side.
“Do you know who you just killed?” Knox asks her softly, tapping his forefinger against her cheek.
She squeaks but doesn’t answer.
“No? Well, let me tell you. She was our mate. Ours. A fucking miracle that we didn’t deserve but fate gave to us anyway.” He squeezes her face harder, his nails digging into her skin. “She meant everything to us and you took her like she was nothing.”
Blaze crouches down on the other side of the killer and cocks his head.
“We want what you took from us.” His voice is husky and broken. “Give her back.”
“I… I can’t. I don’t… She’s dead, I can’t bring her back,” the woman sobs, stammering with wide fearful eyes. She’s finally comprehending what she’s done.
