Viper slides his hands into his pockets, eyes locked on me with that quiet, relentless stare that makes my skin itch and my chest tighten. I bite my lip and look away.
"You broken, Omega Sparks?" The words are rough, and they slide straight into the hollow space inside me.
Frack. His rut-damnvoice.
It leaves me feeling shivery all over.
He’s taken my lead to be professional, using a military phrase. One the squad tosses around after a bad fall or a punishing hit in training. It means‘are you okay?’without asking anything so vulnerable.
"Not broken, LT," I mutter.
I drift farther into the cellar, fingertips brushing the curve of the barrels as I pass. The wood is cool and smooth. Solid in a way I’m not.
He follows. I feel it. That slow, silent gravity of him at my back. Always there. Always unshakable.
Andoh, it’s alluring. Just being close to him makes my primal instincts sing.
"Where?" he asks simply, but I know what he means. It's nice to see that some things haven't changed. Viper is still a man of very few words.
I interpret his question.‘Where did you go when you left us?’
“Here,” I reply. “I didn't get very far before the General caught me. Still haven't found the Omegas.” I hesitate. “You?”
"Front lines," he grunts.
I glance over my shoulder. That’s all he gives me. Just two words, but thanks to Rheamont, I know what they mean now.
Blood, fire, screaming, and violence that never stops.
I'm surprised they all came out unscathed. My eyes dart up to his healed forehead scar. Right. Not entirely unscathed.
"What did you do?"
"Whatever they told us."
His voice has gone flat like it was back in the truck.
I don’t like how it sounds on him. I miss the inflection he always adopted when speaking to me. An earnestness in each word that begged me to read further into each syllable, begging me to hear what he left unsaid. I want it back desperately.
"Is that why General Stone thinks you'll defect? 'Cause they're making you to do things you don't want to?"
He nods once.
I shift my weight. His stare hasn’t moved.
"Are you going to?" I ask. "Defect, I mean."
I doubt it.
Viper, Shade, and Blaze orbit Knox like moons around a sun. Their loyalty isn’t a question, it’s a law of nature. And Knox? He’s built from Fathim’s military code. It would take more than a miracle to unmake what shaped him.
Viper comes to a stop in front of me, so close that I can feel the heat radiating from his giant body. It's a stark contrast to the chill in the cellar.
Goosebumps rise.
I don’t move. I stay where I am, boots anchored to the stone floor, fists clenched tight.
I can feel thatpull.
