‘You’re a jackass,’Viper snarls to me, but he doesn’t refute a single thing I’ve said.
There’s a massive bulge in his pants that tells me he’s very,veryeager to make that promise a reality.
She’s noticed it too and is staring at it with a mix of apprehension and desire.
Finally, I spin her to face me, and I release her hair. I stay crouched, and she holds my gaze like I'm still physically restraining her.
"And me? Well, you ripped the floor right from under me. Made me question everything I ever knew and believed in. Suddenly, none of it made sense. I changedfor you, but you weren’t there and left me without a purpose or a cause.”
These last few months have forced change on all of us. I’m not the same man I was before she left. Losing our Omega did something to me. It rewired my thinking, and the world doesn't divide so easily anymore. I used to believe in absolutes, but now I see all the space in between. Every decision I make, I doubt. Not because I doubt my strength, but because I don’t trust the old rules anymore. The rules we were trained to follow without question.
“I'll give you everything you need to survive using your Omega Command. I'll be your teacher again, princess. I'll make sure you’re strong enough to face whatever battle is coming. But as a mate? Well, I'm a hard fucker to please.”
I smile, and it's a predatory expression, one that I've perfected. It shows all my teeth, and I know it both scares and thrills the daylights out of her.
“If we create our Pack, princess, you’ll learn that I don't do things by halves. I'll take everything you have and demand more. Are you prepared to give it all? Every broken piece, every good, bad, and downright dirty bit of you?"
"Yes," she says. Her voice is choked by her tears, but I’m surprised and impressed she responds without hesitation. A determination glinting behind her lavender eyes.
"Yes, what?"
"Yes, Prime Alpha Knox," she utters. "No more running. No more choices made in the dark on my own. I’ll give you all every part of me and I’ll earn my place. I swear it."
“Tell us you’re not going to be a bad Omega anymore.”
Phase two: complete.
Chapter Twenty
Halley
Hold on.
A bad Omega.
The words catch in my throat like dry toast, scratchy and impossible to swallow.
Am I a bad Omega in their eyes?
I don’t know why it’s bothering me so much. Maybe because I tried so hard to be exactly the opposite. A good, obedient, and useful Omega.
I followed Knox’s orders, even when they didn’t make sense. Sure, I might have asked questions to understand why he wanted me to complete a task, but I always followed through. I did what he asked. I adapted. I bent to his ridiculous rules.
Viper even said I was a good Omega. Perfect. His word, not mine.
‘Viper, I’m good, aren’t I?’
Silence.
He doesn’t respond. Just keeps watching his Prime Alpha push me down under the weight of his new expectations. Like he’s just waiting for me to fall back into line, exactly where I left off, ranked right at the bottom of the chain.
“You’re our mate, Halley Sparks, but I won’t let you break our Pack again.”
The words land like a slap.
Break the Pack?
Suddenly I’m wide fracking awake.
