11. Chapter Eleven #2
The quartermaster, returning fire from behind a stack of poorly arranged crates, is shot. He crumples onto the crate, still and lifeless.
Four more civilians die within our line of sight, and Halley makes a whining sound of distress.
I hit four headshots as silent retribution on my Omega's behalf.
The enemy advances, spilling from the treeline and, as always, there are hundreds of them. The encampment will be overrun soon, especially with the lack of resistance from Zero's soldiers.
The air is choking with the scents of fear, blood, fuel, and gunpowder.
It should steady me, because this is familiar ground. Chaos, screams, incoming fire, enemies advancing from the trees. This is where I belong, facing the fight head on with my rifle raised and my orders clear. This is what I was made for.
A Prime Alpha does not pull back because the odds turn ugly. He holds the line. I have spent my entire life training for battles exactly like this one, and Pack Scorch has never run from a fight. We fight until we can't fight anymore.
Then Halley’s dead body flashes through my mind.
My grip tightens around my rifle until my hands ache.
If we stay, one of them could fall.
Retreat is the safest option. The only option that will ensure our Pack is out of danger.
"Mount up," I give the order.
No one hesitates.
Viper pivots first, already moving to the passenger side, rifle still up as he backpedals. Blaze stays planted for half a second longer, putting two more shots into the closest targets, then he slings his rifle and dives into the back. Shade shifts out of his way before slamming the door shut.
I throw myself into the driver’s seat, breathing hard under the weight of adrenaline and guilt. Every part of my training rebels against this, and my Alpha snarls to turn around, plant my boots, and make the enemy pay for daring to come this close.
But I cannot risk my Pack.
Gunfire hammers against the truck, each impact ringing through the metal.
The engine roars to life under my hands, and I wrench the gearstick into first. My fingers reach for the handbrake, ready to drive us toward safety, because it's the only choice my Alpha can bear.
Then Halley’s hand covers mine.
She has crawled forward from the back, wedging herself between the seats with her hair falling loose around her face and her eyes fixed on mine.
"Wait," she calls over the gunfire. "We can’t retreat."
A snarl rips out of me, dragged up by trauma, terror, and the memory of her lifeless eyes staring up at me.
The nerve of her! She promised she wouldn't rush headfirst into danger, that she'd let me keep her safe, and the first chance she gets, she breaks it.
"The Pass, Knox," she says, louder now, her fingers tightening over mine. "We can’t let them have the Pass."
"Fuck the Pass!" I shout, jerking against her grip.
Halley squeaks, but she doesn’t let go.
Her hand stays locked over mine while gunfire batters the truck around us. I glare at her, ready to snarl again, to wrench the brake free and drag every member of my Pack behind Blackgate’s walls if that’s what it takes to keep them alive.
But her words reach through my stormy emotions to the stoicism trained into me as a child.
She's right to make me stop.
My struggle against her grip falters.
I drag my free hand over my face, pressing into the scar over my nose until the sting cuts through the panic.
I get it now.
The rut-damn fucking Pass has to be the priority.
Zero isn’t abandoning the camp because he doesn’t care. He’s falling back because the Pass is the thing that matters most. If the enemy takes it, they pour straight into Blackreach Province, and every settlement beyond the mountains becomes a slaughterhouse.
If the Pass falls, the Demi-human race is finished.
"Fuck!" I slam my hand against the steering wheel.
Retreat was never an option. I just wanted it to be because Halley is warm beside me, breathing and alive, and every instinct I have is screaming to drive until the gunfire is miles behind us.
But that isn’t who I am. It isn’t who we are.
We're Pack Scorch. We're soldiers, defenders of our species, and Halley, my Omega, my mate, the woman I just got back from the dead, might be the only weapon strong enough to stop this.
The thought makes bile climb the back of my throat.
I release the handbrake before I can change my mind.
Halley threads her fingers through mine, her thumb moving over my knuckles with a tenderness that feels impossible in the middle of battle.
"This is what we’ve been training for," she says.
I pull in a breath, let her scent settle the worst of the panic, and force myself back into command.
"Shade," I call. "Talk to me."
I know my Beta Specialist. While I spent this skirmish panicking and drowning in an existential crisis, he will have analyzed the attack.
I twist my head. Shade is staring through the thick-paned glass in the back, eyes fixed on the treeline. His voice is steady, which means he has already found the cleanest path through this mess.
"The Humans won’t stop unless their Unit Leader orders them to," he says. "He’ll be behind their front line, close enough to direct the assault, far enough back to stay protected. We find him, take him alive, and restrain him."
My jaw locks.
"Once he’s restrained, Halley Commands him to order a full retreat from the Pass," Shade continues. "If the Command comes from their own chain of command, their soldiers should obey long enough for Zero to hold the Pass and for reinforcements to arrive."
"I won’t put Halley behind enemy lines," I snap.
"We take the truck," Shade says, already expecting the objection. "The armor gets us through the outer ranks. Viper and Blaze clear the immediate threat. You and I restrain the Unit Leader. Halley stays inside until the area is secure."
"Can’t we just torture him into ordering it instead?" Blaze asks, the manic glitter of his battle-high making his eyes look wild.
Halley’s voice is strangely calm with a note of confidence I haven't heard from her before. "This is our chance to see if Omega Command can defend the Pass."
I'm still shaking my head. I can't do this, not this soon after…
Halley turns my face toward hers, rubbing her cheek against mine, scenting me with lavender and reassurance.
"I know I promised I wouldn’t go looking for danger again," she says, holding my face until the only thing I can focus on is her. "I’m keeping that promise. This isn’t me chasing danger to prove my worth or soothe my pride. This is war, and we’re soldiers."
"Princess," I warn, but her thumb strokes over my jaw.
"You’re my Prime Alpha, my mate, and I’m yours to protect," she says. "I’ll follow every order you give. You keep me in the truck until he’s restrained. One quick Command, and I'll be back in the truck in a flash. Think of it as the next step in my training, yeah?"
My grip bites into the steering wheel.
"And if I call abort?" I ask.
"Then we abort," Halley says immediately. "We retreat to Blackgate, and I don’t argue."
Another round pings off the truck’s body.
I look through the grimy windshield toward the Pass. The cut through the mountains sits open and exposed, with only a dozen unprepared Alphas standing between the Human army and Blackreach Province.
The enemy wants that opening.
If they take it, the settlement beyond the mountains will become a killing field.
I make a decision before doubt can stop me.
"Pack Scorch will hold the Pass," I declare. "We break through their ranks, find the Unit Leader, and force a retreat."
Viper checks his rifle with calm precision. Blaze bares his teeth, more than ready to use the battle as a way to work through all the violence still crawling through him. Shade’s focus locks in behind me, steady and immediate.
I point at him. "She stays inside until the location is secured. No exceptions."
"Understood," Shade says.
I lean closer to the Omega still latched onto my side, and kiss her. Then I lower my voice until the words belong only to her. "I love you, princess."
"I love you, too," she answers instantly.
My heart swells, overflowing with joy at hearing those words.
Maybe I should have waited until we weren’t under gunfire, with death clawing at the doors, and the Pack braced for another impossible fight. She deserved soft sheets and my mouth against her skin when I said it for the first time.
But all I can think about is the awful truth that I let her die without hearing those words from me.
I will never make that mistake again.
I brush my mouth against hers again in a brief and hungry kiss, then force myself to pull back before my Alpha decides the battle can wait.
"Also," I add firmly, raising my brow at her. "If you don’t listen to Shade, you won’t like the consequences."
Halley tilts her head, her breath warm against my mouth and still a little dazed from our kiss. "Consequences?"
"No sex for a month."
Blaze swears from the back and squawks in protest. "Boss, don’t punish the whole Pack."
Halley’s lips curve.
Then she presses closer, her breasts soft against my arm, her scent blooming warmer through the truck. Lavender, heat, and mine. Her purple eyes lift to mine, half-lidded and wicked enough to make my cock twitch behind my zipper.
"And if I’m good, Alpha?"
My hand tightens over hers.
"If you’re a good Omega, I’ll knot you the moment I have you somewhere safe." My voice drops lower, rough with filthy promises I don’t have time to make. "I’ll pin you down, fill that tight little pussy, and make sure you're properly rewarded for following orders from your Prime Alpha."
Her pupils blow wide, and her thighs press together.
"So be good for me, yeah?"
I hold her gaze, let the promise settle deep, and hope it’s enough incentive to keep her from acting recklessly.
"Yes, sir."