Chapter 26
JUDGE
The war room is cold.
It’s from something that settles in your bones when you're about to send people to die, but you don’t know which person will be the one to come home, and which one will become a statue in the ground.
Skinner stands at the map table, his scarred fingers tracing supply routes we've memorized a hundred times over.
Beast looms near the window, Slash perched on its stand, ruffling its feathers like it can sense its master's agitation.
Neither of them looks at me directly, but I can feel the weight of their attention like a physical thing.
The room is filled with fifty alphas, all on suppressants, and another fifty betas.
“And with that, Scarlet is underway," Skinner says after a long speech, his voice flat as gravel. “We’re all leaving now on this road. As far as we can tell, Titan is planning for an actual rendezvous, but you all need to be prepared for any attacks on the way. That’s what the three Humvees are for. Any questions?”
When no one answers, I raise my head higher.
“You are all volunteers,” I state, looking over each face.
“Each one of your families will receive extra rations for the next five winters. If you die, they will be eligible for permanent residence at the Iron Castle if needed. Titan is the single greatest threat to not just Dominion, but the stability of the wastes. He’s steeped in decades of barbarism that we refuse to let touch our homes.
” I pause my gaze, drifting to the map. “Let’s roll out. ”
The movement is instant; everyone in here is driven by a different kind of adrenaline.
I’ve found that alphas of a pack as large as Dominion need to be careful when mingling in this massive number, even with suppressants, but times like these make something easier to manage.
There’s a collective focus on destroying an enemy that supersedes the normal drama of being one of us.
Beast moves directly to me, the sound of his mechanical breathing growing louder until he’s right up on me. "She chose to go, didn't she?" he asks finally, and his voice is rough enough to draw blood.
He doesn't say her name. He doesn't need to.
Mira.
If there's one person I cannot lose for logistical reasons, it's Beast—this mountain of a man has been my right hand for years, he’s killed more enemies than I can count, and once ripped a man's throat out with his bare hands because the bastard looked at an omega wrong that had just been raped.
Beast, who found his scent match six months ago and hasn't been the same since, especially since she’s terrified of him.
"It's her choice, Beast," I say, keeping my voice level. "I gave her the option. She chose to participate."
He looks away, not speaking. The muscle in his throat twitches, Slash leaning in from his padded shoulder to poke at his mask. He reaches up absently to stroke its feathers, the gesture automatic and soothing, though I'm not sure if he's calming the bird or himself.
They haven't bonded yet, nor has he pushed to close the distance. Beast is too afraid of breaking her in any way.
"She'll be as protected as I can make sure,” I say, watching him closely. "I'll take care of her personally."
Beast's eyes snap to mine, sharp and searching. Looking for the lie, the weakness, the uncertainty. "You'd better," he says quietly, and there's a threat buried in those words that would make lesser men flinch. “I’m promising to care for yours.”
My throat cinches as Diana pervades my mind, reliving the way she looked on the nest of a bed she made as I laid her there after injecting her with a sedative.
Kitty will ensure she drinks the tea every day for me until there’s a verdict on whether I’m coming home or not.
We're both fucked when it comes to our omegas.
Beast straightens his shoulders, nodding a few times as he gives a massive exhale through the metal. “Just return, Judge, alright?” I glance back down at the table, at the letter from Titan that reads, I look forward to our discussion. It's been too long since we've spoken as equals.
Equals. The word makes my lip curl.
I hate that cunt of an asshole with every fiber of my body for what he’s doing to the wastes. For all the dark-bonded omegas. For threatening Diana before he even knew who she was.
Beast grunts when it’s clear I’m lost in my own mind, holding a hand out as I take it so we can pull in close enough for our shoulders to touch before pulling back. He doesn’t say anything else and heads out as I continue to watch everyone file out of the room.
And I return to the active meditation of a mind that requires utter focus.
Too many lives are relying on me now.
But before I leave the space, I close my eyes and reach through the bond, past the sedative haze, past the distance already forming between us, and I feel her there. Soft. Sleeping. Safe in a nest she built with her own hands, like it might keep her anchored to something.
To me.
I send her warmth. The closest thing to a promise I can offer without words. Then I shut the bond down as far as it will go, because if I feel her wake up in distress, I won't be able to leave.
And I have to leave. Not just for my people, but for Diana.