24. Opal
Chapter twenty-four
Opal
O nce again, I am faced with my former Alpha and abuser as I grip my knife tightly, keeping my wits about me.
Ella growls on my right. Yes, growls like an Alpha.
She terrifies even me as she flips her blade, standing close to Brody. In the corner of my eye, Brody puts a shoulder in front of her, as if he’s protecting her from the enemy.
Rian does the same with Belle. My fellow former Rogue may have blood dripping down her face after taking down several soldiers, but when she spies the father of the man who abused her for so many years, she loses her nerve.
Her lip wobbles, and then she pales.
My own nerves are about to kick in, but I refuse to show fear in front of this monster.
Oliver regards his baby sister from the corner of his eye, and I still think he made the right choice letting her join this mission.
Belle has every right to be here as much as Ella and I.
Mila is on Oliver’s right, her gun ready as she points it directly at the warden.
The warden appraises all of us, his gaze hopping from me to Ella, and finally, to Belle.
He smirks. “And here I thought Francis failed you, Belle. But I can see that you are as vicious as he had hoped you'd be. May he rest in peace.”
“Don’t you fucking talk to her,” Rian breathes, and he has his own gun pointed at the Alpha.
Oliver raises his chin. “Let Reed go. That’s all we want.”
The warden snorts, pacing in front of Reed.
Reed groans, slowly coming to as he wriggles in his chains.
“No. You’re here for a little more than the Acute, Oliver Hart. After all, don’t you want to put a bullet in my head? After what I did to your sister? All those years you lost?"
Oliver doesn't react to his cruel words, and I can see why he is the leader. He has all the poise and grace of any squad captain.
Ella’s not so composed, though, as she steps around Brody, shielding him now. “Gladly. Except I won’t put a bullet in your head.”
The Omega twirls her blade in her fingers, and the warden smiles at her.
“That’s why you were always my favorite, Twenty-two. But I guess I should call you Ella now.”
“You got that right,” she whispers, baby blue eyes flashing in the dim light as she readies her blade.
The warden cocks a brow at her, then looks at me and Zayden. “So, Opal… have you grown tired of your new pack? I really did have high hopes for you, but it seems you failed to do as I instructed. Pathetic. Truly.”
Zayden grabs his gun. “You’re the pathetic one here. Forcing a bond on an Omega… You’re a disgrace to Alpha kind.”
The warden chuckles. “Oh, you mean just like the one here? Did he not force a bond on an Omega, too?”
I stiffen. Of course he would have found out. I just wonder what else he has learned about me since he cut my strings.
Is he still tethered to me somehow? As I said, I always felt his ghost, but I assumed it was metaphorical.
Does he still peer through my mind?
A shudder wracks through me.
The warden kicks Reed next, and the Alpha opens his eyes, barking at the prick.
“Please, he’s no better than I am. No point in sugarcoating it, Opal. Whether it was accidental or on purpose, this Alpha forced himself on you… He took something from you without your consent.”
“Reed is nothing like you,” I whisper, keeping my gaze on my former Alpha.
My old bite wound itches slightly, and I think he is trying to re-forge the bond. After all, he was the one who created it.
And he can just as well mend it.
No. I refuse.
So, I block his access, and the warden stumbles slightly.
He may have cut the strings, but I burned them until they vaporized.
I’m no longer his puppet.
The warden widens his eyes in genuine surprise. “Commendable, Twenty-four. Never thought you had it in you. You were always so easy to control.”
Zayden’s finger hovers over the trigger of his gun. “Another word from you, ass, and I will shoot.”
The warden smiles his slimy smile as he steps back, yanking Reed up by the roots of his hair.
Reed growls in pain, and my heart races. “Reed!”
The warden produces a syringe next from his suit's pocket, flicking the top. Clear liquid spurts out.
My skin blanches.
Belle gasps, stepping back. Ella's face turns just as pale, but she remains steady, her grip never loosening from her blade.
It can’t be…
But that inoculation only sends Omegas into an artificial heat.
What could it possibly do to an Alpha like Reed?
I don’t think I want to know the answer to that.
“You shoot, Zayden Gold, and I will inject your Alpha. Do you know what this is?”
Oliver breathes in through his nose, and his eyes lose focus. It looks as if he is channelling his pack. “Just give us Reed, and we will be on our way…”
The warden’s disgusting laugh echoes through the cavern. “No, you won’t. Your Alphas are surrounding this place. I’m no idiot, Oliver Hart. I know your game plan here.”
“All right," Oliver replies. "Then you will know that once they’re all here, they will not spare you. You fucked us over too many times. You should know that it is not looking good for you… Stupid of you really to have us corner you like this. You’re dead.”
The warden smirks, yanking back Reed’s head as the needle of his syringe hovers just before the Alpha's throat.
My heart quakes.
No.
“In the end, Oliver, I’ve already won. Do you have any idea how many of my followers are living in your city? So many waiting at my beck and call… I can take the city any time I want. I just wanted to toy with you all first… After all, nothing brings me greater pleasure than seeing you all run around like headless chickens. Once I kill you, I will take Gryphon’s seat and rule like I was supposed to all along.”
Oliver shrugs. “And what’s so great about ruling? Your daughter did it way before you ever did, but she only went and fucked it up.”
The warden’s eyes darken when he mentions Lily, and he really is salty about the fact that his own offspring achieved something that he has been striving for his whole life.
It’s the reason he created his own Omega army of Rogues and enlisted the help of Betas just to see his goal come to fruition.
But Lily managed to become governor on her own merit.
“Don’t talk about my daughter…” the warden whispers.
Oliver scoffs. “Why? Can’t stand the fact that she was twice the Alpha you’ll ever be? I never cared for the woman, but she still made a fearless leader. Managed to kill your pet sycophant, Frederick.”
Now the warden is really pissed, and it looks like we have got him right where we want him.
He presses the needle into Reed’s neck, and I step forward. “Stop.”
The warden glares at me, a smirk growing on his face. “Yes, Opal?”
I shiver when he says my name once again. It sounds so gross on his lips, and I can’t believe I am about to do this.
But if it saves Reed, then so be it.
“If you let Reed go, I will come back to you. And this time, I promise I will finish off the governor once and for all.”
The warden doesn’t look the least impressed with me as his eyes rake me up and down. “You always looked better in lemon.”
He's regarding my uniform. All black and camouflage to blend in with the environment.
“Well, I promise that when I re-join your side, I will go back to wearing lemon.”
Zayden peers at me. “Opal? What are you doing?”
Oliver regards me from the corner of his eye, and it seems he’s the only one who understands my plan.
I am offering myself up as bait. Just to bide time.
If he injects Reed with that syringe, then we’ve lost.
We failed to rescue him.
The warden addresses me, “And you would willingly come back to my side just so this Alpha can be spared? Why? What did he ever do to earn such a sacrifice, Opal? This Alpha has only ever been cruel to you.”
I shrug. “I suppose he has, but he’s still worth it in my eyes. They all are. His freedom for my own.”
I just hope backup is on its way. By Oliver’s subtle nod, I can put my trust in him.
It seems he has already communicated with Gryphon, and I swear if we all live through this, then I am joining the pack.
It’s been long overdue.
“Well, come along then, Opal,” the warden whispers.
Inhaling deeply, I take a step toward the Alpha who has only ever abused me.
Zayden reaches his arm out, stopping me. “No, Opal.”
“Let her go, Zayden. She has this.”
Oliver looks at Zayden, and it seems that was an order.
I nod at the captain, then step toward the warden. Soon, I am faced with my greatest enemy again, bile bubbling in my stomach as he looks me up and down.
“I take back what I said… the black really does suit you, Opal.”
Reed growls, “Trouble… what are you doing?”
My gaze goes to Reed. He’s glaring at me with his good eye.
“Get back.”
But I remain steadfast as I look up at my former Alpha. He brushes aside my hair, finding his old bitemark, and I go ramrod straight.
My heart thunders as time ceases to a standstill.
“Oh, Opal… you really are a fool…”
I meet the warden’s eyes. They glint, and before I can stop him, he reaches across and injects Reed with the syringe.
"As if I would take you back, traitor!"
Before the warden has a chance to put his hands on me, I stab him in the stomach with my knife. He growls, stumbling backwards.
Bullets go off, hitting him point-blank in the chest, yet he remains on his feet, eyes flaring.
Bullet-proof vest. I should have known.
He vanishes into the shadows next, and Mila and Rian pursue him.
Hopefully, my knife did enough damage to slow him down.
We were too late. We didn’t save Reed as he thrashes in his chains, turning feral.
Reed has gone into an artificial rut.
I only hope we can save him.