Not because I’m in pain. Which I am.
Or because we’re under fire. Which we are.
Not even because I’m still bleeding. Which I definitely am.
I freeze because I know that face.
Blood-streaked. Dirt-smeared. A little more worn than the last time I saw it. But it’s him.
Knox.
Scorch Squad’s Prime Alpha.
MyPrime Alpha.
The one who made me a bespoke uniform from his own clothes, even though he pretended not to care. Who pushed me to the edge of who I was, then shoved me off the cliff to become something more. The Alpha who I thought hated me, but actually loved me just as fiercely as the others.
And now he’s here, chest heaving, and bleeding out.
He protected me with his body. Took bullets meant for me.
My heart rate, already beating so hard it might bruise my ribs, kicks up.
I think I say his name. He’s heavy, so I’m not sure if it comes out as more than a whisper. Maybe he hears it. Maybe he’s too busy trying to keep his lifeblood from spilling out. But his eyes are open, wild and red, and he’s looking at me like he’s just found something he thought was gone forever.
Another sound escapes me, a strangled squeak.
Because if Knox is here… then—
My hands start to shake, and my teeth chatter.
There’s shouting. A voice barking orders like a blunt-force weapon.
“Covering fire!”
It’s deep and resonant, like it’s coming from someone enormous.
Viper?
No.
It can’t be.
Maybe this isn’t real.
How do I know what’s true anymore? My internal compass feels like it’s been ripped out by the roots.
My mind is playing tricks, because apparently that is what it does now. It deceives me. Makes me feel, say, and do things I don’t understand.
“Knox, you glorious idiot. You still alive?”
That sounds an awful lot like Shade.
“Oi! Fuckers! Who taught you to shoot? Ya nana?”
Blaze.
No one else would heckle something so ridiculous on a battlefield.
