Chapter Fifteen
Halley
The sun beats directly down into the clearing without the shade from the surrounding towering trees.
The temperature has risen well beyond what is comfortable, and the humidity has my hair sticking to my forehead.
My neck is pouring sweat underneath the thick leather collar, and my distaste for it only grows fiercer.
I wipe the back of my hand across my forehead and lean heavily against the shovel. My arms feel like noodles and I’m covered in a film of dirt. Exhaustion from lack of sleep is creeping into my bones and my eyes feel as if they’re sinking into the back of my skull.
My movements are getting sloppy, and I accidentally lose my grip as I toss a shovelful over the edge. A shower of dirt rains down on me and slips beneath the bite collar. The granules irritate my sensitive skin and, in a fit of frustrated rage, I unbuckle the collar and fling it to the side.
Fresh air soothes my inflamed, sweat-soaked skin, and I moan in relief. I’ll put the collar back on before my jailer comes back. I just need a break from its oppressive presence.
It’s been hours since he ordered me to dig the pointless hole, and it seems he has no intention of returning to dismiss me. I’m at the mercy of his whim.
My muscles burn with exertion, and sweat pools in uncomfortable places and slides down my body.
I can’t remember a time that I was this exhausted.
The first couple of hours were easier. The ground was soft to dig into.
With each shovelful of soil, the ground became harder, requiring more effort to get deeper.
The hole I’ve dug doesn’t represent the amount of effort I’ve put into digging it.
I think I understand the point the Prime Alpha is trying to make.
I know from watching the impressive display of the Alphas training from my deckchair with binoculars that an Alpha would have no issue digging this hole.
As an Omega, I’m simply not on the same level physically.
He wants to make it clear from the first day that I’m not cut out for this.
Well, the joke’s on him. I might be slower, and it might hurt like a motherfracker, but I won’t quit.
Nope.
Not if I want to save my friends.
I grit my teeth and take a deep breath, reach for the shovel, and resume digging.
I’d bleed for my friends. I’ll dig a thousand holes to keep them safe.
With each heft of heavy soil, I grunt. They’re not pretty noises either.
Not the sultry sounds that echo from nests when my fellow Omegas go into heat.
These grunts are guttural and torn from me without consent.
I don’t care if I’m making a fool of myself.
Let him hear me rising to meet his challenge.
I strike into the hard ground to loosen the soil, but it hits something solid, and the impact reverberates up the shovel, jarring my aching shoulders.
I drop the tool, collapse back into the dirt wall at my waist height, and let fly a string of words inspired by the drill instructors back on base. “Fracking cocksucker!”
A deep, raspy chuckle comes from behind me. I spin around in alarm.
I search the forest behind my dig site, straining my hearing over my panting breaths. There’s no one there. My brow furrows. I swear I heard someone. The small hairs on my sweat-soaked arms are raised in warning.
Fantastic. I’ll add paranoia and hearing things to my growing list of problems.
I wait a moment longer, studying the immediate area for movement, before turning back to glare angrily at the large rock I’ve unearthed.
“Need help you with your hole, Omega?” The raspy voice comes from directly behind me.
I scream.
Snatching up the shovel, I brandish it in front of me like a sword, hoping to catch my invisible assailant in the face. The shovel slices through thin air. This time, I know without a doubt someone is there. My instincts are raised and alert. Also, there’s a slightly familiar scent hovering nearby.
It’s hard to pin down, but reminds me of a crackling fire, and I realize that this bright, dangerous scent saturates one of the beds in the bunkhouse.
I can feel the prickle of a predator’s gaze on my scent gland.
“Who’s there?” I call into the forest, searching for any sign of movement. My voice doesn’t waver and I’m minutely proud of the achievement.
I wait, but no one appears. I sigh and lower the shovel as I turn back to the task, only to shriek in alarm.
Perched on the lip of the hole, crouched in an oddly lithe way, is an Alpha.
I didn’t even hear him approach.
How can someone with an Alpha physique move so silently?
He looks down at me with a tilt of his head like a predator about to strike. As I stare at him, a smirk slides onto his sharp features.
He’s in the same uniform as the Prime Alpha. The green material is pulled taut across his chest as his toned muscles strain against the confines.
Adrenaline courses through my veins, and my heart thumps loudly in my chest, but it’s not from fear. At least not for my safety. Instead, I’m worried about the strange, almost electric sensation which begins at the base of my skull and radiates through my body, centering on my pussy.
The Alpha smirk grows, his thin lips turning up into a feral, dark smile. Deep laugh lines etch into his handsome face. His hair is shaggy on top with shaved sides. It’s midnight black except for a shock of white that runs from his temple to behind his ear.
“What has mean old Knoxy got you doing, Sparkles?” he says in a rasping, jovial tone. His eyes betray him. His words might be casual, but I see a flicker of unpredictable energy in their icy, pale depths.
He called me Sparkles. It’s the same one etched into the name tag.
I hold the shovel tight in front of me and open my mouth to reply, but nothing comes out. Instead, I gesture at the space between us, kick the dirt on the ground near the toe of my boot, and simply state, “I’m digging a hole, sir.”
What more does he want me to say? Now he knows as much as I do.
The Alpha chuckles. It’s a low, rumbling sound that sounds like it originates from deep within his belly. It’s the sexiest thing I’ve ever heard, and it causes full body tingles to break out over my skin.
“If Knoxy-pants hears you calling me sir, he’ll get jealous. Call me Blaze.”
My eyes dart down at his name tag with the military crest stitched above. It’s stitched with only a call sign ‘Blaze.’ An enigma. Interesting.
With sudden grace, he stands up and effortlessly leaps into the hole beside me. He moves like a big cat in the nature documentaries I watched with Flicker last summer. It’s graceful, yet also brutally powerful and vicious.
“Poor little Omega,” he croons.. “Let me help you with this pesky rock.”
I watch him with wide eyes as he gently takes the shovel from my hands and levers the rock from the surrounding dirt and effortlessly tosses it out of the hole.
My mouth drops open and a pitiful whine escapes me. I would have struggled with it all afternoon.
And just like that, the safe feeling is gone.
Condescending dick.
He’s just the same as Prime Alpha Knox. He thinks I’m weak and don’t belong here. But I am here, and I’m not about to let someone tell me where I don’t belong. Not anymore. Not again.
I lift my chin defiantly and stare up at the Alpha. “I may have to work a little harder than an Alpha, but I can do it.”
I expect my words to enrage him, but instead he sucks in a deep breath and licks his lips with a groan as he savors my scent. “I like your fire, Sparkles. You’re gonna be a lot of fun, aren’t you?”
Before I can respond, he vaults out of the hole and, with a quirk of his eyebrow, he pushes the rock over the edge. The rock hits the bottom with a dull thud. The act reminds me of the cat that lives in The Omega Division who pushes things off counters while locking eyes with you.
“It was a delicious pleasure to meet you, Omega Sparks.” And with a burst of speed, he disappears into the forest in a blink.
My head is reeling from our interaction. The complete opposite of every soldier I’ve ever seen. I shake my head as if I can gain some clarity, but only become more confused the longer I think of the strange Alpha.
Blaze is an enigma, like a shadow you catch out of the corner of your eye. I’m not sure what to make of him, and I think that’s the point.
Ignoring the blisters forming on my palms, I grasp the shovel again, look down at the heavy rock sitting at the bottom of the hole, and frown.
“Frack.”