“Yes, Omega Specialist Sparks,” Stone nods in answer to a wordless question, amusement dancing on his features.
Halley releases a shuddering exhale. Twice. Then, so softly even my enhanced hearing barely catches it, she speaks.
“Omega Command. The weapon is my Omega Command.”
Stone smiles. A slow, satisfied thing that makes my stomach turn. “Precisely so, Omega Sparks.”
Halley sinks lower in her chair. She looks so small in the room filled with large soldiers. Has she always been so tiny? My mind is so consumed with her that she always looms larger than life, a constant, vivid presence.
“You were so close,” Stone sighs. “So close to becoming everything I spent years building.”
He clicks his tongue. Disappointed. Like a teacher scolding a student who didn't finish her homework.
My teeth grind together so hard my jaw aches.
“But the silly little Omega ran before she could learn discipline.”
Halley flinches, and I nearly snarl.
"I’ll admit,” Stone continues. “I didn't have high hopes for her contribution to the project from the beginning. Too naive. Too old to mate. Not formally educated. But that spectacle she put on in the hospital with Lieutenant Viper? That was something, wasn’t it?"
Viper's growl fills the silence.
I hate how he talks about her, like she’s a thing, a burden, and is only useful because he swooped in and gave her a purpose.
“I could have locked you in a room with her during her heat and let you claim her. Forced the bond. Maybe I should have. ”
Rut have mercy. I can’t even fathom how horrendous that would have been. I don’t want to think about the damage a forced bond would do to an Omega… to us.
Halley shakes. Deep tremors. The scent of her panic bleeding into the room.
She’s not just scared. She’s ashamed. Humiliated.
“But before she gained unfathomable power, she needed to be leashed. To learn obedience, structure, and discipline. To become a soldier who follows orders without question. What good is a weapon if it refuses to fire?”
A low growl rumbles in my chest, joining Vipers. My hackles are up.
“Watch your mouth,” I say, slow and deliberate, leveling the old Alpha with a glare, no longer caring about disrespecting my superiors.
“Still,” he continues, lifting a hand like he’s presenting us a gift, “I fixed it. You’re here now. And you can finish what you started.”
That phrase.
Finish what we started.
Shade's hands flex at his sides, barely restrained fury in every line of his body.
“My men reported that Omega Sparks performed well on her mission to Rheamont. Despite her objections, her Omega Command is indeed still viable and far more advanced than projected. It’s raw and uncontrolled, of course, but that’s what you’re here for.”
Blaze flicks his lighter and holds the flickering flame.
“In hindsight, I acknowledge that I should have provided you with additional details during her previous training. Perhaps you would have broken her in faster. Alas, no matter. This time you will know why you must bring her to heel. Teach her how to obey, to follow orders without resistance,” Stone says plainly.
He makes it sound like she’s a pet that we let run wild. What does he want us to do this time? Put a shock collar on her?
I swallow. I certainly won’t be voicing that thought; the fucker would probably agree.
“Once she is under your control, you’ll mate her. Tie her to your Pack. You must claim her with a bite during her heat for the best chance of a strong mating bond. Without it she’s unstable. The Command inside her is too much for an unmated Omega. If she keeps using it as she is, it’ll tear her apart from the inside out.”
