5. Reed
Chapter five
Reed
“Z ayden!” Oliver Hart exclaims as my Omega storms into the office, eyes trained on the one who betrayed him.
Opal.
That Rogue…
I bite back a growl the moment I see her, and all I feel next is anger mixed with hatred and… something else.
Affection? Relief?
Fuck. Am I relieved to see the Rogue again? After she tried to kill our head of state?
Opal belongs behind bars. She is not to be trusted.
For all we know, the warden could still be pulling her strings.
“Opal! I’m so glad you’re okay!”
Zayden drops to the ground by her feet, and I roll my eyes, palming my face.
This is going to get embarrassing.
That Rogue doesn’t deserve him. But when I look up and see the shock and sadness in her eyes, I pause.
I’m not an idiot. I know she isn’t inherently bad. Yet she is highly dangerous.
We can’t trust her.
Oliver comes around the desk, yanking my Omega up to his feet. “Get up, Gold. Have some dignity. Nothing has happened… yet.”
Zayden grips his superior’s uniform, eyes widening in desperation, and I should put a stop to this before he gets himself court-martialled.
I promised Levi after all, and I won't disobey my pack lead's order.
Zayden worked so hard to join Oliver’s squad; I won’t have him screwing it all up for a Rogue.
Oliver raises an eyebrow at his soldier, and he has so much patience. I commend him.
There’s no missing the threat in Zayden’s eyes, and I remain on guard, ready to swoop in if he tries anything.
He proclaimed on the way here that Opal is his mate and scent match, and he will wreck the whole world if anything happens to her.
He will go Rogue himself.
Zayden is losing his mind over Opal, and I refuse to see him destroy himself.
She is not worth it.
She wouldn’t do the same for any of us.
Still, when I spy her gazing at Zayden behind the governor, the very Alpha she was tasked to kill by none other than the enemy, I falter.
So much grief and regret in that single gaze alone, and my Alpha just wants to go over there and shield her away from the world.
He wants to tell her that no one will hurt her ever again and that she is finally safe.
So, she was bitten by sheer force. I suppose I should have suspected as much, but sometimes the most obvious explanation eludes you the most.
My Alpha growls when I think about the warden sinking his disgusting teeth into that swan-like neck of hers, and my fists squeeze when I envision crushing his skull.
That Omega is mine.
Shit. I must give my head a wobble, lest I get too invested.
My Alpha is getting restless in his cage again.
Opal is off-limits. I will not get attached in fear of ending up like my poor Omega, who's currently planning his superior officer’s death.
Gryphon heaves a sigh, and for someone who almost got assassinated recently, he’s awfully calm.
I guess that’s why he is the leader.
I envy his disposition.
“Gold, it’s fine. Your Omega has proven she can be trusted… for now. So, we are not going to take any further action.”
Zayden blinks, loosening his fingers from Oliver’s uniform shirt. The Omega gripes when he spies the crease marks, wiping them down.
“She’s… not?” Zayden whispers.
Gryphon comes around his desk, sitting on the edge as he crosses his arms, and lo and behold… he has his back turned on the Rogue.
That’s okay. I have my eyes on her instead.
Opal doesn’t make a move. She merely stands as still as a statue, arms wrapped around her body as if to protect herself.
Again, the sight makes my chest hurt. She reeks of insecurity, fear, and regret.
You wouldn’t even need to be an Acute to tell.
Oliver mimics his Alpha, crossing his own arms. “That’s right, Gold. Do you forget who you're talking to?”
Is that a trick question? Zayden was pretty much prepared to kill him just now if he sentenced Opal to death.
Zayden is still out of it, and he’s really not himself. “What?”
Oliver chuckles, reaching across to ruffle my Omega’s hair. “Aw, that face. Almost takes me back... You remember how it was for me, too, Gryphon. I never thought I would see Mila again either.”
Gryphon grinds his jaw, and it’s obvious he wants to forget that grim time in all their lives. “Who could forget?”
Oliver grins again, looking my Omega in the eyes. “You’re forgetting that my sister was also a Rogue, too. A sister who has even vouched for her innocence. So, of course, we’re not going to punish her, Zayden. So, you can relax.”
Zayden trembles, and then he staggers backward in sheer shock. “Thank God."
His brown eyes find Opal then, but just as he takes a stumbling step toward her, I shield him.
“Not just yet. One step at a time.”
The look my Omega gives me next could send the whole world ablaze, and he wasn’t kidding when he said he would tear up shit if anyone kept him away from Opal.
“Back off, Reed,” he growls on the other end of the bond.
Wow. Nice to hear from him again. He had closed us all off.
It was like trying to bang on fogged glass the last few days.
However, I merely pull up an eyebrow, folding my arms as I put my foot down.
He’s my Omega. I always try to accommodate his needs and ensure he is happy first and foremost, but I'm steadfast when I say that he is not to go anywhere near that Rogue.
She still has yet to prove herself.
At least to me.
“Fuck. It’s actually kind of creepy when other people do it. Do you think we look just as weird when we talk through our bond?” Oliver asks Gryphon next, and I pull my attention away from my Omega, finding Opal at last.
She doesn’t meet anyone’s eyes, and to see a once-confident Omega resorted to this sorry creature is almost soul-shattering.
It's just a shame that confidence had been an act.
This is the real Opal.
A puppet without her strings.
“I have a proposition, Governor.”
Gryphon cocks his head. “Yeah. And that is?”
My gaze doesn’t leave Opal when I say, “I will take the Rogue into my custody and ensure that she never tries to hurt you or anyone else ever again. You have my word.”
That earns me a look from Opal, and when I meet her eyes, I expect to see hatred.
But all I spy is defeat, and I'm a little disappointed.
I liked it when she challenged me. Just like the time I found her eating Zayden’s ice cream.
Well, maybe I can bring back that feistiness.
“Your request is granted,” Gryphon replies.
I can’t help it. A sinister laugh escapes me as I don’t take my eyes off the Omega, half hoping that she will bite back and give me some of that Rogue defiance.
Yet she gives me nothing. Opal merely hangs her head and slumps her shoulders, and how anti-climactic.
Well, it looks like I should get the basement ready for her imprisonment.
I look forward to being her new prison guard.