26. Opal
Chapter twenty-six
Opal
I inch closer to Reed as he yanks at his chains, and he’s going to injure himself.
“Opal, keep back,” Zayden warns, gripping my upper arm.
But I can’t just leave the Alpha. He’s not himself.
So, I tug my arm free from Zayden’s grip. “It’ll be fine. Just… I have an idea…”
He looks at me. “What?”
“I can try and get through to him. Here.”
I point at my head.
Zayden’s eyes widen. Then he glances around the room.
Everyone waits at standby. If Reed goes rogue, they will step in.
“Just trust me, Zayden,” I assure him.
The Omega relents at last, and now I approach the thrashing Alpha.
He snaps his teeth when I get too close, but I just get down on the floor and cross my legs.
Maybe all those yoga lessons at the Academy have come in handy at last as I breathe in and out.
Then, I speak through the bond. “Reed.”
A wall of fog greets me, but I don’t give up.
I will get through the murk of Reed’s mind.
Damn, his head is pure chaos, but I can sense him.
“Reed, it’s me. Opal.”
The thrashing of chains stops. Gasping breaths follow, and I wait a moment, heart skipping.
“Reed?”
“… Trouble?"
I almost cry for joy when I hear his gruff voice.
“It’s okay, Reed. I’m here. You’ve gone into a rut. An artificial rut. But we will pull you out of it.”
“No… stay back…”
But I shove through the fog of his mind, and now I can feel him. I let him know that I am close, brushing gently on the end of our bond.
It's almost like a physical touch, and I've never felt so much love and warmth.
So, that's what a real bond feels like.
“I’m not scared of you, Reed. And you will get through this. Just trust me.”
The Alpha hesitates. Then he surrenders, letting me lull him into a state of peace.
“I’m sorry, Opal…” he whispers.
“Sorry for what?”
He doesn’t say, but I know he is apologizing for everything.
For doubting me from the very start.
“You were never the enemy…”
It's all in the past, so I shush him to sleep, and Reed finally passes out.
I open my eyes, and that’s when I find him slumped in his chains.
He's out.
I meet Zayden’s eyes, and he stares at me, impressed.
The Alphas step closer, and now they surround Reed, checking his pulse and other vitals.
“He’s asleep,” Theo remarks, glancing at me and Zayden.
Brody looks at me, fascinated. “How did you do that?”
I shrug, glancing across the room at Belle.
She’s still in Leo’s arms. She smiles at me, and I grin back.
Then I find Ella. She has a knowing expression on her face, too.
“Because he’s my Alpha...”
The word echoes.
Belle has tears in her eyes. She’s happy for me. Ella bumps my shoulder.
Zayden grabs my hand, and I meet his hazelnut eyes. “Perhaps now we can all finally be a pack,” he says.
My heart pounds in anticipation.
Still, we’re not out of the woods yet. The warden is still alive, and I wonder if the others caught up with him.
That’s when Belle and Ella tense, and I gaze at them. “What?”
Ella gazes at me. “They have him.”
The hair rises on the back of my neck, and I take a deep breath.
This is it. The moment I have always been waiting for.
I’m finally going to get my revenge on the warden.
The others finally arrive, and from the corner of my eye, I spy Leo leading Belle away.
It seemed she decided to miss this one out.
What’s going to happen next won’t be pretty.
Troy drags a beaten body into the center of the room, dumping it on the ground.
My heart seizes when I spy the state of the warden, but then I glance at Reed slumped in his chains.
No. I won’t feel bad for my former Alpha.
He has caused way too much suffering, and he will pay.
The warden bleeds on the ground, and he doesn't have long to live.
Oliver tugs Mila away, and it seems she wants to skip out on the bloody business, too.
But I stay.
I need to see this through.
Even if it haunts me for the rest of my life.
In fact, I will look the warden in his eyes as he leaves this world.
Zayden takes my hand. Ella takes my other, and I meet the excited gleam in the Omega’s eyes.
Of course she would enjoy this. The twisted bitch she is.
“Don’t get too carried away, Ella,” Brody warns her, but does she listen?
No.
She just cackles like the psycho she is. Kellen joins her as usual.
The warden’s eyes snap open, and they find me. “Go on… do your fucking worst, pricks!"
“Gladly,” Troy breathes, swinging his leg out as he aims for the warden’s stomach.
Magnus gives him a swift kick to the face, and his gaze meets mine.
He's doing it for me.
I breathe in deep, closing my eyes, and soon the room fills with the sound of grunts and wet punches.
It was the exact closure I needed.
Because the warden’s ghost finally left me as he left this world, and for the first time in years, I truly feel it.
Freedom.
And it's fucking beautiful.