Page 103 of Knot Their Soldier: Part Three

He abandons the frying pan and begins his attempt to free Halley from Blaze's clutches. It results in Blaze trying to feed Viper a fistful of bacon, and the laughter and banter from all three of them rises to a dull roar.

I find myself laughing harder. It's a deep belly laugh that makes my eyes water and my sides hurt.

Astonishment is too small a word.

Halley catches my eye over Blaze’s shoulder, smiling around a bite of egg, and the bond between us hums quiet and sure.

Mine.

Ours.

I look at all of them, one by one.

Shade’s quiet laughter is barely contained behind his mug as he watches Viper blink in confusion, cheeks ballooned full of bacon. Blaze has egg in his hair and doesn’t care because he’s too busy staring at Halley like she’s the only thing in his world that’s ever made sense. Halley sits primly back in her chair, serene and smug, like she didn’t just wrestle two Alphas into submission and win.

This is what I almost lost.

What I still have to lose.

I’ve let myself be selfish in this cabin. Foolish, even. For a little while, I shut off the part of my mind that measures threats, calculates losses, and prepares for the next fight. I let myself think only of Halley in heat, of my Pack within these four walls, and of the impossible pleasure of having them alive and close.

My old self would be apoplectic if he could see me now.

But the heat is over.

It’s time to face what waits outside this door.

Strategy is where I shine, and I’ve been running through our options since Halley's heat broke. Our next move will determine whether we have a future with lazy morning breakfasts like this. If we have a future at all.

General Stone is dead.

For better or worse, his plans for Halley died with him, and so did the chain of command holding this place together. He didn't see Halley as an Omega who needed protection and comfort. He saw her as little more than a weapon and wanted her on the front lines. Whoever takes his place could want the same thing, or worse.

Jason has briefed me on the chaos spreading through Blackgate. The officers have failed to select a new leader, and the infighting is brutal, with the army close to collapse. A new General must be chosen before the resistance tears itself apart from the inside.

Blackgate needs a leader.

Halley needs someone in command who will never see her as a tool first and a person second.

I’ve been thinking about who that person should be. Prime Alpha Zero has the rank, the experience, and the respect of enough soldiers to make a claim. There are others who might try, too. Officers who will posture and bargain for a title they want more than the responsibility that comes with it.

I already know what must happen.

It has to be me.

The thought is beyond arrogant and a little delusional. Stepping forward as a candidate for General after my Pack killed Stone is the most dangerous move I could make. There are soldiers here who would have marched into an inferno for him, and they will not easily fall in line behind the Pack who killed him.

It’ll be practically impossible to convince them, and holding the army together when half of it wants to tear us apart may be even harder.

But I won’t put Halley’s fate in another General’s hands.

I make my own luck.

I look at Halley’s smile, Blaze’s devotion, Shade’s steady hands, and Viper’s unswaying tenderness. The vow settles into place with brutal certainty.

I will keep this life.

I will keep them.