Every alpha can enter this mode when protecting their mated omega, but only in one specific case do those additional traits appear…
An alpha protecting his fated mate.
This is too strange to process right now.
I turn toward the door.
Blue is standing there, staring between me and the man on the ground.
Something inside me surges like a rising wave. My instincts activate and take over my body and mind.
I turn toward him, but I don’t stand. I stay where I am, kneeling on one knee, bow my head, and say with respect,
"All I want is to serve you," and, as if it were not enough, my body does even more, making a weird show out of me…
An ancient, rarely used AO sound tears out of my lungs:a loyalty pledge!
Around me, I hear a murmur of astonishment.
Once, subordinates used to make these vows to their commanders, but hardly anyone uses them anymore. Most people see them as outdated, almost ridiculous, a relic of devotion to one’s superior.
And yet, in front of all the employees gathered here, I do it for Blue.
I’m almost certain he won’t respond with a corresponding sound. After all, he doesn’t have the glands that would shape the vocal cords and auditory system the way AOs develop them during late maturation, but… I’m wrong.
Blue lets out a thin, delicate sound, a barely there version of "I accept your pledge."
It’s fascinating.
The pledge has an actual energetic meaning. It would make me feel immense pain if I ever betrayed him, so it has a real power behind it, and people around us understand it, their low, astonished hum audible in the background.
I lift my gaze, and our eyes meet. His are wide, his sapphire irises almost eclipsed by his pupils.
Yup, I’ve made a spectacle of myself, but it doesn’t matter. It was inside me, and it had to come out.
"You’re hurt," he says, his tone unlike anything I’ve heard from him before, something soft yet… tender and firm at the same time, if those things can even exist together.
"Dimitri, bring a first aid kit. Before the elevators start working again, we need to treat this."
Dimitri disappears, and when he returns, Blue shifts his attention to the unconscious alpha.
"Jimmi, call Detective Arnold," he addresses another omega, whom I recognize as his administrative assistant. "And someone stay with him. Director Flanegin, please watch him," he gestures toward yet another man who looks a bit wary. "If he wakes up, he might start struggling. Secure the weapon. And you… come with me to my office," he adds, motioning to me.
Then Blue steps past the fallen attacker and heads toward his office, still under the stunned gazes of the employees.
But as always, he takes control and shows he’s the steady leader they need in a stressful situation like this.
I follow him, that strange power still buzzing through my body, that heightened focus, that sharp, restless edge of excitement.
We step into the office, and Blue moves toward his desk, setting the first aid kit down on its surface.
I stare at it for a second as it hits me what he’s about to do, he’s going to treat me himself.
Blue calmly pulls a chair closer, one that’s usually kept at a distance, and gestures toward it with his small hand.
"Sit, please."
"Do you actually know how to do it?" I ask, a bit unsure.
