Chapter 52
Chapter Fifty-Two
Halley
I can smell blood.
My mind is hazy and wrung out from artificially triggering my heat to end, but I’m alert enough to pick up the signs of a vicious battle happening down the mountainside.
Without the scorching heat radiating from my core, the cool mountain air nips at my exposed skin. I snatch up one of the shirts I stole to build my nest and pull it over my head.
It’s Knox’s.
I’d recognize his scent anywhere. It might as well be imprinted on my soul at this point. Despite myself, I inhale deeply and his scent fills my lungs.
Shade’s feet shuffle outside, and his shadow moves beneath the tent door. His radio crackles and I faintly hear the tinny sound of a voice speaking through his earpiece.
“Roger. Getting into position. Over.”
Shade paces away from the door, and I strain my hearing. He slings something onto his back and breaks into a jog. It’s a rifle. He’s joining the fight.
My heart hammers in my chest to the beat of my overbearing guilt. I’m the reason there’s danger. The scent of my heat has lured intruders to us like a beacon, and the squad is fighting to keep me safe.
A wave of panic-fueled nausea roils in my belly.
I can’t bear the thought of the squad being injured because of me and my stupid biology.
No matter how hard I try to block them out, my thoughts continue to spiral, despite my closed eyes and clenched fists.
I shouldn’t have left The Omega Division. Why did I think I could be more?
I couldn’t resist the idea of being useful for once. The possibility of finally having a purpose that could make a difference. My desire for adventure had blinded me completely.
I need to face the truth. I’m not a soldier. Frack, I’m not even a proper Omega. I’m defective with no business being here.
I’ll ask Knox to call General Stone so I can tell him I’m ready to accept the consequences of my failure.
A piercing crack – a gunshot – halts my noxious thoughts.
The sound echoes repeatedly, bouncing off the rocky cliffs and reverberating through the forest.
There aren’t any follow-up shots, and the fierce battle rages on. Snarls and shouts assault me like I’m part of the fight.
The vivid image seizes my thoughts – Blaze’s motionless figure stretched out on the forest floor, blood pooling beneath him and a single bullet between his lifeless, pale orbs.
I burst out of my nest and clumsily dress myself, staggering in my boots.
I don’t know how long it took for the suppressant to take effect, but I’m weak with hunger and dehydration. The last thing I remember before dipping out of reality was Knox’s voice breaking through my haze and injecting me with the heat suppressant.
I strain my hearing and focus on Shade, but instead of his measured breathing, there is a sickening thud followed by a body crumpling to the ground.
I sniff and gag at a rancid odor of decaying meat.
Panic grips me.
There’s a strange Alpha not too far from the tent, but his scent is all wrong.
He’s sick. Broken. Blood Lust?
No, Viper didn’t smell foul when he was under the disease’s influence. He smelled right. Like home and mine.
There’s a scuffle on the ground, rocks crunching underneath wrestling bodies accompanying the sounds of fists hitting flesh and gasps of pain. There’s a wet sound of bloodied flesh being hit, and Shade grunts.
I don’t think. I act.
Rushing to Viper’s bed, I swiftly scooped up the rifle that he believes is well-hidden under his blankets.
Adrenaline coursing through my veins, I deftly loaded the bullets.
I suck in two deep steadying breaths and dive through Blaze’s secret escape route under the tent canvas, aiming the gun towards the intruder.
The Alpha is standing over a bloodied Shade, drool dripping from his snarling mouth. At one glance, I know he’s long gone. It’s not like when Viper was on the edge, still fighting against the insanity. Blood Lust has consumed whoever this Alpha once was.
Still, I try to reason with him. Aiming down the barrel of the rifle, I keep him in my sights.
I drag my O-space to the forefront of my mind, cloaking myself in its shimmering haze. “You need to leave. Now.”
The Alpha head snaps to stare hungrily at me, and for a split second, it looks like he’s going to listen to my Omega Command. He lowers his fists and takes three steps away from Shade’s prone form.
A breeze gently blows through the trees, rattling the branches and sweeping through the camp. My heat-mused hair flutters around my face.
His nostrils flare, and the reddened veins around his eyes pulse.
I quickly glance down at Shade curled on the ground. He’s alive, but he’s unable to fight. His eyes flutter open and my heart gives a fluttering squeeze of relief. He shakes his head weakly, his bloodied lips mouthing silent words. He wants me to run and hide.
I clench my jaw stubbornly. That’s not going to happen.
I swallow and press the butt of the rifle tighter against my shoulder, steady my breathing like Viper taught me, and flex my fingers to keep them from shaking.
Whether any of us like it, a connection has formed between us. Scorch Squad-1 and I are linked. I can’t leave Shade to his fate as much as I can set my own heart on fire. He’s a part of me, and I won’t leave him.
I try my Omega Command one more time. “I said, you need to leave or I’ll shoot.”
The feral Alpha snarls, his muscles flexing as if he’s fighting against himself.
His darker urges win. He takes a lumbering step towards me, his massive hand outstretched.
He drags his foot behind him. A bone protrudes from his ankle, but the flesh has already healed around it, locking the broken bone into place, unable to fuse back together.
His slow pace is the only reason I haven’t been mauled by the feral Alpha already, so I don’t give him a chance to get any closer.
My shot rings through the crisp air, ringing in my ears. A spurt of blood runs down his torso, but the bleeding stops almost immediately. The bullet pushes itself out of the hole, dropping uselessly to the dirt, and the wound stitches itself back together in seconds.
I gape in horror.
Frack. Stupid crazy Alpha healing!
I take aim and fire again, hitting his left shoulder. The impact causes him to stumble backwards briefly. This time, the bullet rips through the muscle and exits out the back of his shoulder.
He doesn’t even blink.
My blood runs cold. What do I do?
My eyes dart back to Shade, his eyes heavy as he fights for consciousness. Shakily, he raises his hand and pokes his head with his finger, leaving a smear of blood in the center of his forehead. It’s the last of his energy, and he blacks out.
I nod to myself. Okay, I get the message.
Head shot.
The Alpha charges towards me, dragging his foot behind him in a rapid shuffle.
This time, I don’t hesitate.
I’m steadied by the hours of practice in remote reaches of my family property, in the base gun ranges, and most importantly, the session with Viper guiding my hand.
I squeeze the trigger.
The bullet hits him in the center of his forehead. He stops dead in his tracks. Blood gurgles up from the hole in his head and spills down his face. The Alpha’s legs crumple beneath him as he falls backwards. His skull hits the ground with a thump.
His arm twitches for a moment, and then he’s still.
I know he’s gone. The blank look in his eyes and the foul stench emanating from his body confirms it.
I should feel triumphant, but instead, I feel numb.
I killed someone.
But he wasn’t really someone anymore, was he? The Blood Lust had taken control of the Alpha and long since destroyed his humanity.
It was either him or us, and I chose us. I chose Shade, and I would make the same decision again.
I drop to the ground beside the unconscious Beta and pull his head into my lap. His eyelashes flutter and he groans. My hands shake from pumping adrenaline as I run my hands over his body, searching for irreparable damage.
There’s a split on the side of his temple with congealing blood. The head wound must be why he can’t maintain consciousness. He probably has a concussion. I brush a strand of his hair out of his eyes.
“Shade. Specialist Shade, wake up.”
He stirs, like he wants to obey, but doesn’t open his eyes.
I sniffle, trying not to let my tears spill over. Now is not the time to fall apart.
I lean over and whisper in his ear, “Wake up, Daddy.”
That does the trick. His eyelashes flutter and open, and his gaze focuses on me, a dopey expression making him appear boyish.
“There she is,” he rasps. Tilting his head with a deep moan of pain, his eyes widen as he stares at the dead Alpha with the gunshot to the head and the growing red puddle beneath him.
I bite my lip when his eyes narrow at me. Is he angry that I disobeyed his orders to stay in the tent?
Instead, a bloodied smile appears. “Sneaky little Omega.”
I giggle, and the tension rolls off my shoulders.
Shade groans and pulls himself into a sitting position, cradling the side of his head in his palm. “Are you alright, baby girl? Did he touch you?”
I shake my head and hold my shaking hands in my lap.
There’s a shout from down the mountainside, and we both tense.
“The squad,” I breathe, fear surging up through me again.
“They’re fine. They can handle it,” Shade tries to reassure me, but I’m already springing into action.
The sniper rifle is laying beside Shade, a splash of his blood coating the muzzle. I snatch it up and take off running. Shades curses and shouts, falling behind me.
I’m not a coward.
I’m not.
And I will not hide when they need my help.
I crash through the tree line, skidding down the steep incline.
I can hear them, but can’t see them. I slow down and crouch low, hunting the sounds of a vicious fight.
A large rock juts out from the steep undergrowth, and I climb carefully up and peek over the edge. I can see movement from the battle below. Laying on my belly, I prop the sniper rifle on its mount and adjust the scope.
Looking through the magnification, I gasp at the scene.
The squad is in the thick of fighting what looks more beast than man.
It’s covered in gore, and unlike the Blood Lust Alpha with the broken foot I encountered, it’s fully functioning and enraged.
It moves so fast, it’s almost a blur, and the sounds ripping from its throat remind me of a wounded bear.
Blaze is on its back, slashing wildly at its arms while Viper distracts it with brutal punches and kicks.
Knox appears and I flinch as he pins the ferocious Alpha’s hand to its stomach, and impales it with his hunting knife.
Viper wrestles its other hand onto its belly as well, and Blaze jams his knife into it.
With its hands incapacitated, Viper kicks the back of its knees and it falls to the ground.
Knox grasps a handful of its bloodied hair and pulls its head backwards, presenting its forehead to the watchful forest.
Viper and Blaze slink away, and Knox holds the Alpha’s thrashing head tightly. He’s exposed it for a perfect kill shot.
Looking directly at the spot I’m hiding, he barks, “Now, Shade! Take the fucking shot!”
He thinks I’m Shade, but I obey my Prime Alpha’s order. I line up the forehead of the Blood Lust Alpha in the crosshairs and hold my breath. I hear Viper’s voice echoing in my memory.
‘Feel the gun. You’re joined. The same. The bullet is an extension of you. Put it exactly where you want it.’
I squeeze the trigger, and the Alpha’s head explodes in a red mist.
There’s silence, the only sound the ringing of the gunshot echoing off the mountainside.
I look through the scope. Nothing remains but a headless body and splattered brains on the forest floor.
Saliva pools in my mouth as vomit threatens to appear. Now that I know the squad is alright, the impact of what I did hits me.
I shot an Alpha in the head.
Killed him.
More than that.
I killed two Alphas.
Everything in my biology should make that impossible.
Omegas are caregivers to their Alphas. We’re soft and sweet, not violent killers.
I heave, but there is nothing in my stomach to expel. A full body shudder wracks through me, and my teeth begin to chatter. I move on autopilot, the world around me distorting, and a rushing sound fills my ears.
I climb down from the rock, sling the rifle over my shoulder, and hike back to camp in a daze. I follow Shade’s scent, inhaling his dark chocolate and pine aroma like it’s a drug.
Soon, Shade is speaking to me in soft tones, and I let him lead me into the bunkhouse.
He’s here. I’m fine. The others are all fine.
A familiar haze creeps in.
The same drifting, dissociative feeling that I recognize as O-space.
It feels right to indulge in it right now.
To let it soothe the torn edges of my Omega instincts to protect and preserve life.
For the first time in days, it doesn’t herald an Omega Command.
O-space, at its core, exists to protect an Omega, and right now my mind is too active, too busy, too freaked out.
I let the lulling, washing feeling take over me.
Shade helps me back to my nest, and I smile happily. Yes. This is where I want to be. Somewhere safe.
Somewhere that smells like my Pack.