“Theo,” I whined.
“My alpha thinks I should lock you in that room until everything’s over so you’ll be safe,” he said, nodding at the weapons room. “But I know that if I did, you would just break the lock and come out guns blazing.” A smile tugged at his lips. “Just because I want to protect you doesn’t mean I don’t think you’re capable, and you’ve proven you’re more capable than all of us combined.”
I blushed. “Not sure about that,” I said, pressing my face into his chest.
“I also don’t want to be separated from you,” he said, squeezing my ass. “We need to get you some protective gear, though.”
He tilted his finger under my chin, placing a feather-soft kiss on my lips before bringing me over to the clothing racks.
“There aren’t any uniforms your size,” Grant said from the other side of the clothing rack. His arm brushed mine as he fished out the tactical gear. He walked around the rack and held up a uniform in front of my body, invading my space. Pink stained his cheeks, and I realized that perhaps my perfume had been more than a distraction to just my mates.
I stiffened, immediately assuming he was critiquing me for being too big for an omega. But then I looked at the gear and realized it was all massive alpha-size.Huh. First time in my life, I was too small for something.
“We’ll figure something out,” Theo growled, pulling me back behind his body. A slight growl in his tone had Grant ducking his head, and warmth pooled in my stomach at his overprotectiveness.
Grant gave Theo a curt nod before heading to the corner of the main room with Oliver and River, where a table was set up with the facility schematics Ben had gotten from Charlie.
“Here, beautiful. Try on this vest,” Ben said, slipping the smallest bulletproof vest over me and tightening the straps as much as they could go. It didn’t fit perfectly, but my boobs held it in place well enough.
“Why don’t you get Cam to give you a weapon?” Theo suggested.
“Okay,” I said, tugging his skin-tight shirt back from his neck enough to press a kiss to his bond mark. I grinned as he groaned quietly, arousal shooting through the bond. Theo turned to make sure none of the other alphas were looking before he smacked my ass and sent me on my way to Cam.
I entered the weapons room with a pep in my step. It didn’t matter if the other alphas didn’t think an omega had any business on this mission. None of this would be happening if it weren’t for my intel. I had earned my place on this team and would be there to help the other omegas.
Cam smiled widely as he glanced over his shoulder, the bond alerting him to my presence. I took a moment to admire his ass before he turned around and pulled me to his side.
“Theo says I need a weapon,” I said, fighting the urge to undress him immediately.
Cam looked down at the guns laid out on the table and then back at me.
“Maybe… a taser?” he suggested.
“Why not a gun?” I asked, biting the inside of my cheek to keep from smiling.
“Oh, well…” Cam hedged, clearly remembering my disastrous time at the shooting range but not wanting to hurt my feelings. He glanced around the room as if looking for someone to rescue him from this situation.
“I’ll have you know—I shot a guard when Genevieve and I escaped,” I said, pressing my finger to his chest. “So basically, I’m an expert gun shooter person now.”
I’d meant for my statement to land as funny or teasing, but I should have known better. I felt a pang of Cam’s agony through the bond, mixed with regret and pride. He pulled me flush with his chest, arms holding me tight.
“You did that?”
I nodded, an unexpected wave of emotion flooding me.
“Fuck. So proud of you, baby girl.” He held me close and a lump rose in my throat. “Did you feel okay after? You didn’t feel guilty, right? Because you did the right thing.”
I tightened my hold on Cam. How did he know that moment had haunted my dreams?
“I got him in the side. Genevieve said he would probably be fine,” I responded, my voice hitching.
“You did exactly what you needed to get yourself to safety. And then you saved us.” His voice was hoarse with emotion. “But don’t think I didn’t notice how much you left out when you told us what happened when we were apart.”
I met his gaze, biting my lip guiltily.
“When this is over, you’ll tell us everything.”
It wasn’t a question, but I nodded anyway.
