Chapter 42
Chapter Forty-Two
Halley
I stumble through the tree line of camp, heaving lungfuls of panicked air, and am immediately skewered by the intense glare of Prime Alpha Knox.
I force myself into a slow walk, but I know I don’t look casual, especially when internally I’m in full meltdown mode.
I can’t believe I did that, and to Shade, who’s been nothing but supportive and kind.
I forced him to tell me.
As soon as the words left my mouth shrouded in that enthralling magic, I regretted it. The look of disgust and disappointment on Shade’s face cut through me like a sharp knife.
Omega Command is real, and it is terrifying.
What I thought had been a figment of my imagination – a wild fantasy concocted by my lust-fueled brain – is so much more.
My Omega has awakened and is evolving, changing right before my eyes.
The part that frightened me most was how intoxicating the sensation was. The raw power that crackled within me like tiny bolts of lightning. I’m achingly hungry for another taste.
Shade stumbled away from me like I was an enemy who had a weapon.
“This is why we haven’t acted on the experiment results,” he spat, his voice rasping in a chilling tone. He doesn’t look me in the eye, as if I’ll transfix him with a simple stare. “You’re still at the start of your training. It takes years for Alphas to learn how to control their Alpha Command.”
“Is that what you think this is? The same as an Alpha Command?”
“We don’t know. That’s why we need more data before we even start to explore how to control it. Only fools mess around with something they don’t understand.”
The implication is clear. I’m the fool.
“Stripping another of their free will isn’t a game. The temptation can consume you quickly.”
The wind has left my sails and I feel like I’m back in my father’s house, being reprimanded for not acting like a proper Omega.
In a weak voice, I stammer, “Why didn’t you just tell me what the plan was?”
“What was the first lesson you learned when you came here, Omega Sparks?”
I purse my lips, wrapping my arms around myself. The very first day, Prime Alpha Knox made me dig a hole in the heat for the simple reason that he told me to. It was supposed to teach me that in my new role as a soldier, I don’t get to know the reason why. I do what I’m told.
I guess I’m a shitty soldier.
As I slowly walk across the camp, my face blazes red as Knox’s stare sears into me. It’s like he can read my thoughts, and I wonder if he knows what happened with Shade.
His expression hardens, and his trademark scowl sets on his handsome face.
Does he know that Shade told me the truth? Can he tell I forced him to?
He tilts his head back and his nostrils flare as he samples the air.
Oh?
Oh!
He’s smelling my slick.
I’d been so caught up in my latest drama that I’d forgotten that Shade and I had done something very against the rules barely an hour earlier.
Knox walks forward and his scent drifts closer. It’s dark and exotic like him. Ink and spice. My thighs press together and an ache flares through me despite Shade’s thorough efforts to satiate my sexual hunger.
Dammit.
All it took was a whiff of Prime Asshole for my libido to jump start again.
I come to a stop in front of him. He hasn’t even commanded me to approach, his bright eyes doing all the talking, practically dragging me closer like a magnetic force.
I stare back, no longer bothering to avert my eyes in deference to his rank and designation.
Today has drained me of my ability to be intimidated by him.
Knox narrows his eyes at me.
“Where’s Shade?” he asks sharply.
“He…” I’m not sure if I should tell him or leave out our indiscretions. Secrets are dangerous, but telling him the truth might be far worse.
After all, I’d defied the top orders my Prime Alpha had given me on my first day.
Obey my superiors and keep my sexual needs under control. My report card will have a big fat red ‘failed’ stamped across it by the end of the day.
He’s such a hypocrite. Like I haven’t smelled them all having a jolly good time tending to their own needs. Frack, the bunkhouse is coated in the scent of spilled seed, and it’s been driving me to near insanity.
“Tell me,” he barks.
“He… still had some work to do. I was too tired to keep going, so he sent me back.” I hate admitting weakness to him, but it’s better than the alternative.
‘Your buddy Shade ate me out like some kind of tongue-pierced sex lord until I explosively came.’ Yeah, that probably wouldn’t go down well with ol’ stick-up-his-Prime-Asshole.
He doesn’t buy my lie. Damn, I don’t buy my lie.
His features harden, and he looks down his nose at me. I can tell he’s caught onto my scent and figured out my secret. Does it count as a secret if I kept it for less than an hour?
Stupid Alpha senses.
He can smell the slick still drying on my inner thighs and the crotch of my pants. I didn’t bother putting my panties back on. They were soaked with slick, so they’re a damp ball in my pocket that I planned to clean in the shower later.
His pupils expand rapidly and the burgundy-colored irises brighten to a vibrant red. Clenching his teeth, the muscles in his square jaw flex rhythmically.
“You’re lying, Omega Sparks.”
Viper and Blaze appear behind him, slinking out from where they’d been watching, their eyes glowing and expressions predatory. It’s moments like these that I’m reminded of how highly skilled they are in subterfuge. I hadn’t even realized they were close.
My eyes dart to Viper. How can someone so big be so stealthy?
“You smell like…” Viper croaks, cutting off with a growl from low in his throat. The three of them are surrounding me, closing me in like a pack of jackals.
Why are they making me feel like I’ve done something wrong? Biologically, Omegas have an insane sex drive. How else are we supposed to cater to the sexual needs of an Alpha?
Back in my dorm, I jerk off at least three times a day. It’s normal. It’s healthy. Frack, my doctor encourages it! Okay, so maybe Everlyn simply said, ‘Get it, girl,’ but that’s basically a prescription for wanking.
I swallow and fidget, wracking my brain for a plausible excuse. They know what I’ve done, but that doesn’t mean I want to dump Shade in the shit with me. “I spent some private time on the way back, that’s all.”
“I can tell,” Knox rumbles, looking down at me with an intense glare, his upper lip curled.
It’s different to his usual cold, strict anger.
It’s like a cape he wears, dramatically swirling into a room cloaked in his anger and disdain.
Now, there’s more fire to his stare, and it makes my body prickle with heat. “I can also smell Shade all over you.”
Frack.
I gulp, my throat bobbing and drawing his gaze. I glance at the other two and flinch at the equally stormy expressions.
My inner Omega whines in distress. Alphas are mad at us.
I hate the hurt expression flickering on Viper’s handsome face, his plush lips pulled tight in a grimace. Is he disgusted with me? I’m not sure why, but that thought stings more than anything else.
I quickly look away. I don’t look at Blaze. The Alpha is an enigma, but I definitely don’t want to know if he’s hurt, too. My fledgling affection for the strange Alpha feels so fragile and I can’t face seeing cracks in it.
My heart thunders in my chest.
I get it. They’re mad at me for breaking the rules, but I can’t help but know they wouldn’t be upset if I let them lick me to completion.
Indignation sparks and grow into flames of white, hot rage.
They’re pissed I’m acting exactly the way an Omega should act. It’s natural and part of who I am. I’m a sexual being.
I shift my weight. I’ve already crossed the line today. In fact, the line is so far behind me it’s a fracking dot on the horizon. Might as well keep going.
“Are you fracking kidding me?” I blurt, my lips raised in a sneer to rival Knox’s.
I step into his personal space, craning my neck to stare up at his towering stature. If he wants to act like a hypocritical, angry teenage boy, then I’m going to treat him like one.
“Omega Sparks, back off and watch your tone—”
“No, screw you, Prime Alpha,” I spit his rank like a curse. “I’ve jumped through all of your fracking hoops and pushed myself to exhaustion every day. Yet, you seem to be forgetting something very crucial.”
He opens his mouth to speak. I don’t let him.
I punctuate each word.
“I. Am. An. Omega.”
I look at Viper and Blaze with raised eyebrows, making sure they’re paying attention, too.
“I’m not an Alpha. I’m not a Beta. I have specific needs that are not being met.”
“What has that got to do with you fucking Shade?”
“Everything! Have you ever spent time around an Omega? Do you know anything about our designation?”
A flicker of uncertainty crosses Knox’s expression and I plow on. I know I’m in for a world of hurt after this tirade. But even if he makes me dig fifty pointless holes, it’ll be worth it, cause I can’t keep going this way.
I can’t keep up the act anymore.
Hysteria wells up within me as weeks of exhaustion, fear, and pressure comes tumbling out.
“An unmated Omega in a team of unmated Alphas is fracking insane, but at least you lot have the privilege of getting some respite!”
The muscle under Knox’s left eye twitches, and I know I’m shouting at my commanding officer, but I can’t stop.
“I’m a walking time bomb. There is only so much sexual tension one Omega can take. Shade was brave enough to help me release some pressure so I don’t send us all off into heat and rut.”
Knox growls again and steps even closer into my space. The action makes my breath catch, and the air feels charged with electric currents. My thumping pulse accelerates.
“It’s not fair that I’m the only one suffering!” I sneer, this time my voice cracking on the word ‘fair.’