33. Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Three
Knox
Day Six
I’ve commanded Alphas in blood-soaked trenches, through city sieges, across borders that no longer exist on any map, and I have never seen a force like the one marching toward Blackreach.
Thousands of bodies. Far too many for our small rebel army to hold them back for long.
"That ridge won’t hold if they fire artillery up the eastern climb," I say, bracing both hands on the map table. "We can't have soldiers stationed there."
Prime Alpha Revik bares his teeth at me from across the room, shoulders locked, scent thickening with challenge.
"And station them where? The whole fucking mountain is unsafe," he clips.
Two days ago, he would have pushed the issue until one of us put the other through a wall. Today he just swallows his instinct to challenge my authority and averts his amber eyes in a show of submission.
A low growl rolls through the room from somebody’s throat.
Nobody bothers to hide our Alpha instincts anymore to be polite.
We are all too tired, territorial, and close to the edge to bother with niceties.
The other Prime Alphas crowd the table with their hackles up, each one built to command, none of them built to yield to another Prime Alpha.
Under different circumstances, this room would be a bloodbath.
Instead, they listen.
Partly because I'm Halley's Alpha and the respect they have for her is extended to me, but also because they know I’m right. Whatever instincts are tearing at them to fight me for command, survival is more important than their pride, and my Pack and I are the best chance we've got.
Halley’s Omega Command bought us time, but that's all it did. It's not a permanent defense, and the army is on its way, marching toward us with a single-minded focus.
Unlike General Stone, I don't base my strategies on a single Omega. A miracle like Omega Command is what you use when strategy has already failed, and I'm not ready to call it quits yet.
I point to the southern approach. "We choke them here, in the entrance to the Pass where it narrows.
The road up to Blackgate is behind that, so it will remain clear to run casualties up and supplies down.
We force them to thin their offensive to level the odds. Rotations every forty minutes until…"
I trail off.
I haven't gotten that far yet.
The issue is that the Humans will not stop coming. There are too many of them. They forced us to retreat time and time again over the last few months not because they were better fighters or smarter at strategy, but because there are just so many of them. They're expendable.
Nobody else prompts me to answer what happens after that because no one else has an answer either. A room full of Prime Alphas, decades of experience in combat and leading troops, and not one of us can see a way we come out of this.
By the time I step out of the command room, I am wound tight with stress.
I find Halley in the courtyard near the piles of supplies being sorted into each vehicle to ferry down the mountain to the front line. She's speaking to Jason with a datapad ledger tucked under one arm. Every instinct in me narrows on her.
'Mine.'
The word slips from me and down the bond before I can stop it. Halley perks up in response, instantly scanning the crowd. When her eyes find me, they light up.
I'm drawn in by how vibrant she looks compared to the bleakness of the fortress, and I cross the space quickly to reach her. My hand comes up to the back of her neck, fingers spreading there and squeezing lightly, thumb brushing the soft edge of her hairline.
Fuck, she's so beautiful. She's far beyond anything I could have dreamed of for a mate. Her brown hair is plaited into little braids at her temple, and it makes her look more severe, like a pretty war maiden ready for battle. It makes my cock throb.
Her purple eyes search my face. "You okay?"
I don’t lie. I've learned that hiding anything from my Omega isn't worth the damage it does to our connection. "Not really."
Jason’s gaze flicks between us. He mumbles something about checking the inventory, then makes himself scarce.
The courtyard is packed, soldiers and supply runners moving in both directions with crates, rifles, and shouted orders.
Far too many prying eyes and ears for my taste.
I keep my hand on the back of Halley’s neck and steer her away from the flow of traffic, down a narrow side corridor just off the courtyard.
There’s a recessed alcove cut into the stone beside an old storage closet no one uses.
It sits deep in shadow, hidden from the main path unless someone steps right into it.
I guide her into the space, then move in after her, backing her gently to the wall and planting myself in front of her so my body blocks her from view.
Only when I’m sure no one passing will catch sight of her do I let some of the tension ease out of me. I brace one forearm on the wall above her head and lean in, crowding her with my body.
"Hi," I murmur, smiling down at her.
"Hey," she breathes back.
My gaze drops to her mouth just in time to catch the quick flick of her tongue over her lower lip. Heat rolls through me, and I don't bother holding it back.
I kiss her, slow and thorough, reveling in how our bond sings at our touch. She arches into me almost immediately, lips parting in silent invitation, and satisfaction cuts deep through my chest.
Mine.
I can touch her like this now. Kiss her whenever I want. Hold her without restraint and know that she will accept me as I am.
I draw in a steady breath as the alcove fills with her scent, lavender and lightning threaded through with the unmistakable trace of our Pack. The bond gives a soft, hungry quiver in response.
"What’s brought this on?" Halley asks when I pull back.
I keep one hand at her jaw, my thumb stroking over her cheek. "I wanted to kiss my Omega. Is that wrong?"
She hums, though the sound carries more suspicion than amusement. Her head tips slightly as she studies my face, taking in far more than I want her to.
"You’ve all been looking at me strangely all morning."
"Strangely?"
"Like you’re thinking about snatching me up and hiding me in one of the fortress towers."
Bullseye.
That is exactly what I’ve been thinking of.
I spent a lifetime doing my duty without a single selfish desire getting in the way. Now I want to be selfish. I want to sweep her into my arms and lock her behind a set of thick, heavy doors until it's safe for her to come out.
The urge is so ridiculous that it almost drags a smile out of me.
"Well," I say, letting my hand settle firmly at her waist, "you are my princess, and princesses belong in towers."
A laugh slips free, so unexpectedly sweet it cracks straight through the stress sitting densely in my chest.
I stare at her, a little stunned every time this happens. I am not the Alpha who makes people laugh. I never have been. That has always belonged to Blaze, or Shade with his dry wit, but Halley laughs for me these days, and I swear it feels better than that first cup of coffee in the morning.
I sigh and pull her into my chest, wrapping my free arm around her and holding her close.
"Is it any wonder I want to keep you safe now that you’ve got my bite on your pretty neck?"
Her arms slide around my waist, holding me back. "Mmm. Sure. And before your bite, I was just some random woman to you?"
She pokes my side.
I grunt like she’s actually wounded me. "Exactly. Barely noticed you. Certainly didn’t think about you constantly or lose sleep over you."
Her head tips back so she can stare up at me. "Lose sleep?"
I lower my mouth to her ear. "Princess, this body has been tormenting me for months."
My hand slides down to cup her ass, squeezing hard and earning a sharp little inhale. I groan against her skin, filthy on purpose.
She shivers as a sweet spike of her arousal cuts through the air between us again, and satisfaction flashes hot in my chest.
She sighs and suspicion creeps in under the heat in her eyes.
"Don’t think I don’t know what you’re doing, Prime Alpha."
I drag my thumb over the curve of her plump bottom and give her my most innocent look. "Can’t an Alpha appreciate his Omega’s ass?"
"He can," she says, but her fingers close around my wrist before I can touch her again.
The playful warmth lingers in her eyes, then fades as she pulls my hand away from her body.
"Just not when he’s clearly using it to avoid a conversation."
My amusement dies with hers, and I step back, putting space between us. "I’m not avoiding anything."
"No?" Her chin tips up, frustration entering her voice. "You’re scared, and you don’t know what to do next. That’s it, isn’t it?"
I say nothing.
She has her answer.
Halley folds her arms over her chest, watching me too closely. "You think I don’t know how bad this is? I’ve seen Shade’s numbers. I’ve sat in those meetings with you and the other Prime Alphas. Tell me the truth. What has you so rattled, Knox?"
A bitter laugh rips from me as I rub at the scar over my nose.
"You want the truth, Princess?" I ask. "Fine. Here it is. Your Omega Command is the one advantage we have left, and I hate that it’s come to that."
Her face shifts, surprise cutting through the heat.
I let out a short, humorless breath. "I took this position because I thought being in charge would mean I could keep you safe and away from the fighting."
"Knox."
"I told myself I could out-think this. Build something smarter than what Stone came up with.
That my strategy would be cleaner." I reach up, aiming to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear, needing the contact, but stop myself before I touch her while I'm so riled up, in case I hurt her.
"Instead, I spend my days deciding which soldiers will die first, and knowing the woman I love is going to end up in the middle of it. "
Her eyes soften, but I keep going.
"I cannot be both your Alpha and the commander this fortress needs without failing one of those roles."