"Blaze. Release him." Halley shouts over the chaos. It's not an Omega Command, but Blaze obeys her anyway, releasing his victim and snarling viciously like a wild beast denied its kill.
Halley limps toward us, and I can almost feel her determination to stand on her own, to keep going. But I see the tremble in her legs and the sweat on her brow. She's in pain and exhausted, but the scent of sweet Omega perfume permeates through the fortress courtyard.
We inhale deeply, our bodies leaning towards her scent. It’s an unconscious pull, primal and dangerous.
Is she perfuming because she liked Blaze defending her honor, or was it because he called her our Omega?
She turns to another guard. "Tell General Stone Scorch Squad is here to see him." Her voice is raspy, but firm, and the guard snaps into action. He steps aside and murmurs into his radio.
She turns to face us and smiles sadly. “They’re not going to let you in without clearance from the Commander In Chief, but I know Everlyn will insist on treating Knox as soon as possible.”
She hesitates. Her fingers twitch, like she wants to reach out and touch us. She takes a deep inhale, and I watch as she rolls her shoulders back, like she’s strengthening her resolve.
“I hope you get the closure you're looking for from the General.”
Is that what she thinks we’re here for?
A debrief?
I blink slowly and watch as our Omega walks away on the arm of another man.
Fuck.
Chapter Eleven
Blaze
She smells the same.
Lavender and lightning. Sweet and sharp and dangerous. It hits me like a punch to the throat and suddenly I can breathe for the first time in months.
She’s filthy from the battlefield. Still coated in blood — part Knox’s, part hers. Still real. Not polished or fake or a hazy hallucination where her face melts and her voice comes out like static.
Nope. This one has warm skin and a pulse. I checked. Twice.
I follow her. Quiet as a ghost and fast as a shadow. This fortress is made for someone like me. So many hallways and alcoves. Plenty of places to disappear from sight.
The soldiers escorting us don’t even realize I’ve vanished. My brothers are lost in their heads. When they discover I’m gone, it’ll be too late to find me.
The Beta male, Jason, she called him, steers her with a reassuring hand on her upper back. The way he touches her sets my teeth on edge. She’s nothisOmega.
The female Beta doctor, Everlyn, checks her thigh wound. It’s pretty, shiny, and pink. New flesh stitched together again. I wonder if it’ll scar. I hope it does.
“And you say this happened a few hours ago?” she asks my Omega, a brow raised.
“Yeah. Think my Omega magic kicked back in.”
“Does it have something to do with the murder brigade you showed up with?” Jason quips.
She purses her lips, but responds anyway. “Probably.”
“Murder Brigade?” Everlyn exclaims, pausing in her thorough examination.
“They…” Halley swallows and scrubs her red-stained hands over her face. “Scorch Squadwas there. They rescued me.”
“Well shit. How did that happen?”
“I dunno. One minute I was alone, the next they were there saving me.”
