53. Chapter Fifty-Three
Chapter Fifty-Three
Halley
By the time Knox drives us through Blackgate’s outer gate at the end of the mission, my legs feel like jelly and my hands are shaking.
The mission went well, but there was still bloodshed.
A Human scouting team pushed farther up the mountain than they should’ve, nosing around, following signs of activity left by our daily patrol patterns.
I stepped into their path, sank my voice into their minds, and sent them away with a brand-new memory.
"You found nothing."
"Stop scouting in this direction."
It worked.
Honestly, I wasn't worried about it failing.
Now that I've done it, it's like I've unlocked the code to using the Omega Command to its full extent.
I'm unwaveringly confident that as long as I have the support of my Pack and can draw on our bond, I'll be able to summon it when I need to defend my people.
That doesn’t mean it’s free.
It sapped all of our energy. We didn’t reach the same near-death state as we did during the final battle, but Knox’s eyes are half-lidded behind the steering wheel, and his movements are sluggish. He parks next to the other trucks, cutting the engine with a sigh of relief.
Home sweet fortress.
"You’re doing that thing again," Blaze says as he lifts me from the truck, dusting non-existent dirt from my shoulders.
I blink at him. He has a spray of blood dotted across his face that looks like freckles. It's sort of cute on Blaze. "What thing?"
"The one where your eyes go glassy and you pretend you’re fine so nobody can give you the heroic piggyback ride you so clearly need."
I snort before I can help it. "Nuh-uh, I am not trusting you to give me a piggyback ride again. Last time you made me an unwilling accomplice to a crime."
We start walking from the vehicle bay toward the central courtyard.
"Getting a snack is not a crime."
"You snuck us into the kitchens and stole a whole cake."
"You weren't complaining when we ate it sitting on the battlements watching the sunset."
He’s right. It was actually a charming date, spontaneous and chaotic because it involved Blaze, but also lovely and intimate.
"Okay, fine. That piggyback ride ended well, but I'm skeptical of a repeat performance."
He clutches his chest. "Cruel."
Shade appears on my other side and hands me my canteen without breaking stride. "Drink."
"Yes, Halley," Blaze whispers to me. "You must always listen to the terrifyingly hot voice of reason."
Shade doesn’t even look at him. "You can be quiet at any time, brat."
"I could," Blaze says, grin spreading. "I simply choose not to, because Halley needs enrichment."
I take a sip of water, then another, and glare at Blaze over the rim. "What am I? A pet?"
"You definitely are a cat," he says promptly. "Cute enough to get away with murder. Deeply suspicious of perfectly well-meaning, handsome Alphas. Loves napping in cozy places. Weirdly into biting."
Viper huffs out a laugh beside me, low and brief. "That's oddly accurate, pretty girl. He's got you figured out."
I lower the canteen. "You say that like you aren’t the ones weirdly into biting me."
Blaze points at me triumphantly. "Argumentative. Like a cat."
"Cats can't even talk!"
Knox glances back from where he’s walking a few paces ahead, his eyes settling on my face in that steady, assessing way of his. He never joins in on our childish banter, but he doesn't seem to mind it either. In fact, I think he secretly loves seeing his Pack relaxed enough to mess around.
"You did well today," he says.
Knox doesn’t dress praise up or hand it out to make someone feel better. If he says it, he means it. He keeps his eyes on me. "I’m proud of you, Omega."
Heat creeps up my neck from the praise. I’m grimy, tired, and one badly timed yawn away from falling down a flight of stairs, so naturally this is when my mate decides to say something that lands right in the center of my chest. When did our Prime Alpha get so good at making me swoon?
"I know," Blaze says solemnly. "Her tactical brilliance was almost as impressive as mine."
Viper scoffs. "I literally saw you bite a guy's ear off. For no reason. You could have easily incapacitated him with a single punch."
Blaze just shrugs.
Shade takes the empty canteen from me and clips it back onto his belt. "Headache?"
I blink, awareness pulling to the pinch behind my eyes. My Beta knows me better than I know myself sometimes. If we didn't have a bond, I'd accuse him of witchcraft.
"A little. It's not bad, though."
"Dizzy?" he asks, gaze raking over my form, checking for injury or hints of pain, and I'm struck by a wave of love for Shade. He always puts everyone else before himself.
"Only when Blaze talks."
"Oi!" Blaze says.
We reach the end of the courtyard right in front of the entrance to the fortress and pause. Our mission might be complete, but our day is not done yet. In the month since the battle, we've filled our schedules with responsibilities that can't be set aside.
"You’re with Viper," Knox says, looking between us.
It isn’t a question, but it also isn’t a command. Okay, yes, he can still be demanding and controlling at times, but he leads us with love and compassion first, always.
Viper nods curtly. "I’ve got her."
Blaze wiggles his fingers at me as he starts backing away with Shade. "Try not to develop any new weird Omega magic while you're gone, Sparkles."
"I make no promises."
"That’s my girl," he says, grinning.
Shade catches the back of Blaze’s shirt and hauls him bodily down the left-hand corridor toward the comms office before he can say anything explicit where anyone could hear him.
It's happened before, much to the alarm of one of the young Alpha soldiers.
He still can't look directly at me without blushing vividly, and it makes Blaze cackle wildly every time.
Knox lingers for one more beat. "Please get checked over by Everlyn while you're there." He turns to Viper and adds, "And make sure she eats afterward."
"Yes, sir," I say softly, blinking up at him innocently, biting my lower lip.
His eyes darken. "Don’t call me that unless you're willing to pay for it later."
I just smile sweetly.
"Brat," he growls, then turns and follows the others, leaving me in the quieter corridor with Viper.
I let out a slow breath and smile. "I love them."
Viper steps in close, his mouth curving. "That's a surprise?"
"It’s more an ongoing, chronic condition. It's terminal."
His gaze moves over my face, checking what the others already checked. "Can you walk with such an ailing condition?"
"Piggyback?" I ask, only half-joking, referring to my earlier conversation with Blaze. I am really exhausted, but so is Viper.
I should've known better than to joke, because he drops to his knee and gestures to his back without hesitation. Sometimes, I feel like a proper spoiled princess.
"Go on then, climb aboard. But I hope you know that if Blaze finds out about this, I'm gonna get shanked in the middle of the night."
I settle on his back, wrapping my arms around his neck, and plant a kiss on his neck. "Yep. Good luck."
He huffs in amusement as he scoops his hands under my thighs, stands, gives a small hop to adjust me, and heads for the infirmary.
Viper carries me through the corridors, and I rest my chin on his shoulder and enjoy every second of it. He turns his head enough to glance at me through his peripheral vision. "You sure you're up for this? We can come next week."
I know what he’s really asking. Are you too tired? Is this going to cost you more than you’re saying?
The infirmary sits at the far end of the keep, and we’re heading there for more than a checkup.
I managed to convince Everlyn to run a weekly Blood Lust clinic because Blackgate is full of active-duty Alphas, and Blood Lust is as dangerous to our own fortress as any Human raid.
It grows out of a life steeped in violence until an Alpha tips over into a berserker state and can no longer tell friend from foe.
I know what the Fathim military used to do with men in that condition.
They put them down when they were too far gone, and I refuse to let that become our answer here.
So now, every seven days, Everlyn screens our Alphas for early signs: elevated heart rate, blown pupils, rancid scent, restlessness, and anger riding close to the surface.
Anyone flagged gets pulled from duty and put on a recovery protocol before the illness can dig in deeper.
Viper and I help because my Command can settle an Alpha already starting to slip, and because Viper is living proof Blood Lust does not have to end in an execution.
Halley, healer of the emotionally constipated.
Viper, dead man walking.
Not exactly the careers I pictured for us, but here we are.
My amusement fades a little as memory brushes up against the present.
Barkrood Base rises in my mind, all harsh lighting and sterile walls, with Viper half feral strapped to a gurney and me walking toward him anyway because nobody else could reach him.
If I hadn’t intervened that day, Viper would’ve been executed no matter how much Shade begged for his life.
Now I’m draped over his back, and together we're on the way to help other Alphas before it reaches the point of no return for them.
I'm struck by a wash of affection for my big, tough but sweet Alpha, and I press a kiss to the side of his neck, tightening my arms around him a little.
"It can’t wait," I assert. "That’s the whole point. The Alphas flagged by their Prime Alpha as at risk need to come to this Blood Lust clinic every week without fail, no matter what. We have to set a good example."
He grunts, and I interpret the sound as understanding because we both know what happens when warning signs are missed.
"I hate that you have to spend your afternoon babysitting volatile Alphas," he mutters.
I smile against his skin. "Lucky for them, I have a lot of experience with one particular volatile Alpha."
He grunts. "I walked into that one."
"You really did."