59. Chapter Fifty-Nine #2
This file proves they didn’t.
Stone recorded my training progress, but the file contains none of the private moments that changed our relationship. He knew nothing about the arguments that brought us closer, the touches we tried to dismiss, or the slow realization that Scorch Squad and I were becoming more than just comrades.
Stone’s bold claims about our Pack forming were guesses that happened to be correct.
I scroll through the report again, paying closer attention to what Knox and Shade left out.
When we first met, Knox and Shade had spent their entire lives in a military that demanded loyalty before anything else. Yet this proves that even then, while we were still trying to understand what was forming between us, they chose to keep parts of me from their commanding officer.
Warmth spreads through my chest and into the bond. Knox’s hand squeezes my shoulder while Shade looks at me over his glasses with quiet understanding.
They were protecting me long before any of us knew it was love.
I breathe out and close the file.
"Good riddance," I say, more to myself than anyone else. Stone is gone, and his version of me died with him.
The next name in the file list hurts to read.
DAZZLE. (OMEGA)
It took years for Dazz to tell me his real first name.
Being a male Omega is hard on a good day, but with a name like Dazzle, he was destined for a difficult existence.
He never told me his last name, and I realize now, looking at his file, that it wasn't because he was ashamed of it, but because he probably didn't have one.
I knew that Dazz came from a wealthy family who expected their heir to be an Alpha. When he instead presented as an Omega, he was cast out from their protection. They must've also officially disowned him, removing their last name from their unwanted Omega child.
His file is even thinner than mine. Notes stop without explanation, and there’s no transfer record or confirmed location. Stone never considered using Dazz to develop Omega Command, probably because his prejudice prevented him from seeing the worth of a male Omega.
His loss. Dazz would’ve mastered Omega Command in half the time it took me, then spent the rest of his time mocking Stone with it.
I sigh as I consider how his family abandoned him once, and now the military has done the same, leaving him alone in a world that punishes anyone who doesn’t fit.
There are no more hints of where he might have ended up.
I swallow and move on to the next file.
FLICK, ALIBETH. (OMEGA)
Flicker.
Her records are surprisingly long. There is a detailed account of how she came to Barkrood Base and the Omega Division. Flicker was never open about where she came from before, so I skip reading her history because I refuse to violate her privacy unless I have to in order to save her.
I’m unsettled to learn that Stone considered assigning Flicker to an Alpha squad, just as he did with me. I can’t imagine why he thought she’d take to military training. Flicker is emotional, restless, impulsive, and treats boundaries as a mere suggestion. Hardly ideal qualities for a soldier.
Then I glance at Blaze.
My own restless, impulsive, boundary-stomping elite soldier.
Apparently, there are exceptions.
There is also a detailed report of her escape from the military.
According to the Beta guards escorting her in their transport from Barkrood to Blackgate fortress after the Human invasion began, Flicker took advantage of a bathroom break to slip away.
One moment she was there, the next she was gone.
She melted into the forest beside the highway, and not even the Alpha soldiers could pick up her scent or track her down.
Pride wells inside of me.
That's my girl.
Fast as the wind and twice as clever.
My pride falters when I realize Flicker may still be somewhere in Fathim, alone behind enemy lines.
No. She’s a survivor and too stubborn to let the Humans catch her. She would’ve found a way into Blackreach. I know she did.
I don’t linger because if I think about my sweet, young friend for too long, I'll start crying.
Ember’s file opens last.
EMBER. (OMEGA)
I already knew Ember didn’t have a last name, but seeing her listed without one still feels wrong. She’s family to me, even if no record ever gave her a family name.
Her file is longer than Flicker’s. Stone had been documenting her closely since she lived at Barkrood Base, and the reason becomes clear in the opening lines.
Easy to train. Performs infirmary duties without issue. Has encountered Alphas with no adverse reaction. Physically capable. Prime candidate for Omega Command project.
The more recent notes are from after the evacuation to Blackgate.
They mention that she was taken directly into Blackreach by an escort of Beta Specialist soldiers.
It doesn't name where she was sent, but I know from my discussion with Prime Alpha Zero's soldiers that she is at the farthest settlement in Blackreach, or at least she was when Zero’s soldiers last saw her.
My fingers rest on the screen while I sort through what the files have given me.
Stone’s records don’t tell me where Dazz went. Flicker escaped before reaching Blackgate and has probably spent every day since making certain no one can find her.
Ember is different. I have the name of a settlement, a route through the mountains, and soldiers who saw her there.
I have somewhere to begin.
My scent deepens as I straighten in Knox’s chair, and my Pack’s support pours through the bond.
Shade is right. I set this mission aside because Blackreach needed me and our entire species was facing extinction. I made the right choice then, but I don’t have to keep leaving my friends behind.
I can start searching again.
I will find my Omegas, starting with Ember, and I know just who to ask to help.
After a brief discussion with my mates, I give Blaze the names and send him toward the Alpha barracks. While he’s gone, Shade helps me gather the maps and records we’ll need, and Viper marks the safest route from Blackgate to the settlement where Ember was last seen.
It isn’t long before footsteps approach outside the office. The door opens, and Blaze steps inside with Prime Alpha Zero behind him.
Zero pauses in the doorway, his practiced gaze sweeping across the room before he enters.
Alpha Riot follows him, his eyes wide with curiosity and caution. Riot steps inside and closes the door with a resonant thud.
Riot stands beside the Prime Alpha at parade rest. Their backs are straight, their chins lifted, and they look every bit like disciplined Alpha soldiers.
Riot is looking at me with curiosity bright in his eyes, while Zero does another sweep, taking in the Pack and the tension in their shoulders that hasn't fully settled since I opened the files.
"Omega Specialist Sparks," Zero says respectfully. "How can we be of assistance today?"
I don’t bother correcting him or asking him to call me Halley instead of using my rank. He's never listened to me before, and I doubt he ever will. He's a Prime Alpha through and through, and that's why he is exactly who I need.
"I have a mission for you, Prime Alpha Zero and Alpha Riot," I eventually say.
Zero's jaw tightens, but he doesn't interrupt.
"I'd prefer to do it myself, but Pack Scorch can’t leave Blackgate," I say. "You know why."
They do.
We're the weapon that keeps Blackreach safe, and I cannot leave my post.
I’ve made my peace with that.
This is where I stay. Where we stay. From now on, Blackgate is our Pack's home.
"Zero, do you remember when I asked you about an Omega seen in Blackreach?"
His eyebrows twitch, fighting not to furrow as he responds hesitantly, "I do."
"You're going after her."
His gaze sharpens, searching my face for hesitation, but he won’t find any.
"This mission means more to me than you could ever imagine," I continue slowly so he has time to process my request. I don't want him to be resentful toward Ember when he finds her, but I will order him to go if I have to.
I turn the datapad toward him.
"But leadership means knowing which fights are mine to take," I say, meeting his eyes. "And which ones I trust someone else to carry."
I let that settle, then give him the truth of it.
"I trust you."
He's the right person for this mission. I know he is. Zero has proven himself to be trustworthy and valiant time and time again.
I turn to Riot, who looks as though he’s fighting his usual urge to fidget. "Both of you."
"Me?" he asks in surprise.
I smile. "You."
"But she's a…"
"Yes, Riot. She’s an Omega, and I care about her deeply. I trust you to treat her with the same kindness and respect you’ve always shown me."
Treating Riot’s Blood Lust has given me the chance to know the young Alpha beneath the soldier.
He has a goofy sense of humor that can shock a laugh out of me even on the worst of days.
He also often reminds me of Viper. He’s capable of terrible violence when the situation demands it, but that isn’t all he is.
Despite being raised as a child soldier, Riot still looks for reasons to believe people can be good.
He notices beautiful things, laughs easily, and wants a life beyond the regiment that shaped him.
He’s never had the freedom to discover who he might become outside it.
This mission will give him that chance.