3. Zayden
Chapter three
Zayden
“I ’m so sorry, Zayden.”
Her bittersweet words repeat in my mind over and over as I lie in my nest, heartbroken and defeated.
What did I do wrong? I treated her well.
I made her happy… right?
So, why did she leave and betray us? Why did she try to kill the governor?
None of it makes sense. That is not the Opal I know.
Sure, we were still strangers, I guess, but I know it in my heart.
Opal is a good person.
I don’t care if she is a Rogue. She was the warden's puppet. It’s goddamn obvious.
Opal is innocent. And I will be glad to prove it.
Just after I finished moping.
My Alphas don’t know what to do with me. I’ve not long come out of heat. So, I am still feeling the aftereffects.
Opal’s scent still lingers, and getting over her is going to be hard.
I never let my mind wander too far; I was too afraid to get too close to her at first, just in case I was wrong, but sometimes… her scent made me feel lightheaded, and I think… I think she may have been my scent match this whole time.
Maybe.
I just don’t know.
My squad has been texting and ringing me since, but I don’t want to see anyone. Least of all my happy, coupled-up squad mates.
They found their happy ever afters.
It’s not fucking fair.
It wasn’t supposed to be this way.
Shit.
Someone knocks at the nest door, and I groan, grabbing a pillow as I cover my head.
“Zayden, it’s important. Come downstairs.”
That was Levi, and he’s just used his pack lead voice.
So, it must be very important.
“Go away!” I shout like a petty child.
I just want to curl up and forget about the world.
It has crossed my mind that Opal’s days are numbered. Honestly, I don’t think I can live in a world where she no longer exists.
Fuck... It hurts.
Everything. Every moment we have spent apart feels like an eternity.
It can’t end like this.
“Zayden!”
With a snarl, I get up and stomp toward the door. I open it to find his violet eyes.
They're burning with anger.
You know it’s serious when Levi is pissed, and I roll my own eyes. “Guess I will find my pants.”
I’m stark naked after all.
When I find my pants, I pad across the nest and follow him down the stairs where the other two are waiting.
Magnus looks just as hollow as I feel. He, too, thought we had a good thing with Opal.
But it only turned out to be an awful lie.
Reed is ominous as usual, his white eye glowing and trained on me the whole time I make my way downstairs in nothing but a pair of pants.
Who needs clothes when you're heartbroken?
“Sit,” Levi orders, and I throw up my palms.
“Okay, Mr. Boss Man.”
I lay on the sarcasm thick, and I hope they understand…
It’s just my Omega.
Levi clenches his jaw, deciding to say nothing.
Once we’re all accounted for, he speaks. “I’ve just finished speaking to my boss. Opal has decided to talk.”
My head shoots up when I hear the name, and for the first time in days, I feel a glimmer of hope.
It's a beautiful thing, and I will hold on to that radiant glimmer.
Levi looks at me when he says, “If she is prepared to work for us, then she will live.”
Tears prick my eyes, but I force them back, gathering my composure. “She lives…”
It's more of a statement.
Opal will live if she decides to work for us and forsake her old master.
My fists curl.
No.
Opal will live regardless of her choice.
Because one nagging thought has occurred to me in all this. Something I pushed to the back of my mind because it was too much to handle due to the shock, distress, and grief.
Opal could possibly be carrying my child.
I wasn’t exactly subtle during my heat, and I barely let her out of my sight.
Her own body was close to heat, too. Her fertility would only increase at such an intense time.
A raspy chuckle escapes me, one that gets the attention of all my Alphas. “Oh, she will live all right.”
To quote my Omega: Opal is mine.
I will tear up any asshole who tries to keep her away from me, be it the warden or even the governor.
They will not take her away from me.
I move towards the stairs, making up my mind.
“Where are you going?” Magnus asks.
I grit my teeth. “To do what I should have from the moment we got the call that she had been arrested. I am going to get my Omega back.”
The guys don’t speak. They stare at me, dumbfounded, as I make my bold declaration.
I mean every word. I will have her back in my life, no matter what it takes.
Even if I have to go up against my superiors, so be it.
I refuse to exist in a world without Opal.
Levi rushes after me. "Now, Zayden. Think this through. Don't do something you will regret."
"The only thing I will regret is letting her go. This is happening, Levi. Whether you like it or not. You can't stop me."
I stop halfway up the stairs, gazing back at him. He lingers at the bottom steps, and I can tell by the slope of his shoulders that he is already giving up the fight.
He may be my Alpha and pack lead, but I am his Omega.
And they say a happy Omega makes a happy life.
They will honor my wish.
Magnus makes no protest.
However, Reed's blind eye glows as he stands in the corner of the living room, and I huff out a breath. "Got anything to say?"
We all know he hated Opal from the moment she arrived here.
He hasn't said it, but I know he is thinking it.
"I told you so."
Reed grunts. "Yes. I am coming with you."
My eyebrows rise. "Why? You hate Opal."
Reed flinches slightly at the H-word, and it appears I have wounded the big Alpha.
He shows his teeth. "I never hated her. I just never trusted her, and it seems my hunch was right. Never take the word of an Acute for granted."
Magnus scoffs. "What do you want? A medal? Get a grip."
Reed snaps his teeth at the other Alpha. I roll my eyes.
Enough of this.
"Come with me or don't. I don't care. Just be quick about, Reed."
He nods. "Duly noted, Omega."
Just as I depart, I hear Levi whisper, "Make sure he doesn't do something stupid like getting himself court-martialed. He worked too goddamn hard to make it into Oliver's squad."
"Aye. You can count on me, sir."
Honestly, I don't care what happens from here on out.
So long as Opal is back in my life.
She is all I need.
Time to reunite with my Omega.
"Opal, I'm coming for you."