Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty-Two
Halley
They’re moving me into their quarters.
Or maybe I should call it Pack Scorch’s den?
I linger in the hallway, blinking in quiet confusion as I watch their broad backs retreat. They’re carrying what little I own out the front door.
I bite my lower lip, working it between my teeth.
Everything happened so fast, and I’m still spinning.
The whole conversation was just so… us. It happened with such an eerie predictability, like a script I could have written with my eyes closed.
Knox taking control from the start. Executing some negotiation plan with clinical precision.
The squad following his lead without hesitation.
And me? I followed along too… until I couldn’t and my suppressed emotions burst free.
Then came the misunderstandings. Always with the miscommunications.
Cue our clever Beta. The calm in our chaos and the only one who seems able to translate each of our languages to untangle the emotional wreckage we leave behind.
Shade is worth his weight in gold.
Honestly, I’m tempted to take Knox’s advice and show him some serious appreciation. I mean, if anyone deserves a blow job, it’s the guy who single-handedly keeps this Pack from imploding.
He said everything I needed to hear. Every sweet, thoughtful, perfectly worded promise.
But do I believe him?
Do I trust that they’ll change?
Do I even need to?
Because I thought I could survive without them, and maybe I can, but I don’t want to.
I want them.
So if that means swallowing my pride and following them into a freezing dark night to whatever place they’ve claimed as their territory, then that’s exactly what I’ll do.
I hug my arms around myself and step into the blistering cold.
A storm has rolled in during our tumultuous dinner, mirroring the turmoil inside.
Sleet stings my cheeks and blurs my vision. My boots skid on an icy patch, and I throw my arms out to stabilize myself. I grasp at a solid warmth. Viper doesn’t say anything, just presses his hand to the small of my back and nudges me forward, a silent strength at my side.
The wind is brutal, pushing at my back with gusts that threaten to topple me, but Viper doesn’t let me slip as we follow the deep footprints his brothers left in the snow. We track them across the icy ground to an outbuilding tucked into the shade of the mountainside that I’ve never noticed before.
A warm light spills through the windows, and smoke billows from the crumbling chimney. Deep muffled sounds come from within.
We stop at the door.
The wood is old and splintered; the doorknob rusted from years of hard winters. But the hinges are new, recently replaced. A new beginning for something old.
Viper’s fingers tighten gently on my elbow, grounding me in the moment.
‘Ready when you are, pretty girl.’
This is it. A reset. A chance to get it right this time.
My stomach is twisting in a strange mix of nerves and excitement.
Because if I walk through that door, I’m not just entering some military barracks or even the bunkhouse back in the training camp, I’m stepping into their space.
Territory claimed by not just a squad of soldiers, but a Pack.
A scent-saturated, testosterone-thick domain that makes my Omega squirm with equal parts anticipation and anxiety.
There will be nowhere to hide. They’ll see me.
Really see me. Not the stitched-together version I’ve been showing everyone else for the last three months.
The one patched with half-healed scars and duct tape.
I’ll have to confront my guilt, insecurities, and raging desires.
Viper has opened a floodgate within me, and my Omega craves like I’ve never felt before.
I sigh and white vapors swirl like a white flag of surrender. Yeah, the only way forward… is through.
I stamp my feet to dislodge the ice sticking to my boots and summon my missing courage.
The door groans as I push it open, and I'm hit with a wall of warmth. The room is small and sparse with a fire roaring in a crumbling hearth.
Oh yes. This is definitely their Pack den. It smells of sweat, gun oil, and territorial Alpha.
Their heads snap to the doorway and the intensity of their gazes makes me hesitate. Freezing wind whips around me as I shiver under their scrutiny.
I gulp and take a step inside. Then another until I’m fully in the room.
The door slams behind me, and I nearly jump out of my skin. I whirl around and find Viper standing there with his hand flat against the door. He shoots me a grin that’s a little too sharp and pleased. A predator that has caught his prey.
"Go sit by the fire,” he says as he helps me out of my damp outer layers. “Get warm."
I nod and shuffle over to the couch.
Four pairs of eyes track my every step.
The couch dips as I sit on the surprisingly plush couch, and it envelops me.
I’m suddenly exhausted.
I've been running on adrenaline for days, first from enduring the horrors of Rheamont and then from avoiding the Pack, and it’s finally run out. I’m more than just tired. My nervous system is shot, and I’m completely drained.
I sag, leaning back into the soft pillows.
Viper kneels before me and takes off my boots, his big hands working at the laces with careful precision.
I watch, dazed, as he pulls them off one by one, cups my chilled heels, and rubs slow, steady circles into the arches of my feet.
Warmth spreads upward and settles in my belly.
My defenses are low and I want to sink into the feeling.
Let Viper comfort my poor, overwrought Omega… but I can’t.
Knox is watching.
He’s leaning against the wall beside the fireplace, arms crossed tight across his chest. He’s not saying anything, but he’s staring so intently at me I feel pinned in place. The Prime has that same pleased, sharp look Viper has.
I meet his burgundy eyes and they flare bright red. Something wickedly satisfied swirls low in my belly because, no matter how many times it happens, it’s still a rush to know I can make a Prime Alpha react so strongly.
My eyelids droop, and I slide lower on the comfortable cushion.
“Thank you, Alpha,” I mumble to Viper as he pulls away, tucking my feet underneath a blanket to keep them toasty warm.
Knox huffs, as if calling Viper my Alpha is a personal affront to him.
‘Don’t mind him. He’s just jealous.’ Viper sounds amused, the corner of his plush lips kicking up and his eyes dancing.
The couch jolts beneath me, and I let out a startled squeak. A weight settles into the cushions beside me.
Shade reaches over his head in a languid stretch, his shirt riding up to bare a sliver of tanned skin as he groans loudly in relief.
The sound shoots straight to my core and I squirm. My panties suddenly damper as my tired body refuses to control itself.
Rut-damn, and frack me sideways.
I remember this torment well. Being in close quarters with soldiers I’m insanely attracted to is both a pleasure and absolute agony. I’ve spent months feeling dead from the waist down, other than in my dreams, and now I’m very much awake down there.
“Welcome to our den, baby girl,” Shade declares as his gaze sweeps from my sock-clad feet to my fuzzy, snow-damp hair.
Blaze appears out of nowhere, landing on the arm of the couch like a damn jungle cat. One second the space is empty, the next, he’s perched above me, crouched like he’s sizing up prey. His eyes gleam as he leans in, his mouth curling into something that might’ve been a smile in another lifetime.
“I’ve missed playing with you, Sparkles,” he purrs. “We’re going to have so much fun, aren’t we?”
The words alone aren’t threatening. Once, they might’ve made me laugh. Might’ve been paired with a wink or a flirty nudge. But now? The way he says it… it makes my skin prickle. Like he’s testing how close he can get before I bolt.
I can’t stop my hand from lifting, fingers brushing the now-healed cut on my cheek. A phantom throb pulses there, memory slicing sharper than any blade.
“Sergeant, get down," Knox barks and Viper snags the back of Blaze's collar. He rips him down from his perch on the couch and away from me.
The deranged soldier lands on his feet, scoffs, and retreats into the shadows. I can’t see him, but I can feel the scorching heat of his gaze.
I miss the fun-loving version of Blaze, the one who laughed and called me Sparkles without a cruel, mocking tone.
This Alpha is a stranger. He frightens me, and I don’t understand him.
"He'll come around," Shade whispers in my ear, his lips brushing against the shell and I shiver. My body responds instantly.
Oh. Oh dammit, I’ve leaked more slick. I do not have enough spare panties to deal with this.
Knox sniffs, raising a knowing eyebrow at me.
I bite my lip but sigh with resignation. What does he want me to do? It’s biology, and it’s not me that’s doing it, it’s them! With their scent, and their heated looks, and their touch.
He watches me while rubbing his bottom lip with his thumb, deep in thought, but doesn’t mention how heavily I’m perfuming. How obvious it is that my body wants them. Desires them badly.
Viper’s amusement is unmistakable in our bond. It’s like the whole awkward situation is for his personal entertainment.
"Get some rest," Knox eventually orders. "Training starts at 0800."
Rest. Yes. That is what I need. A reset for my exhausted mind and body so I have a better defense against this assault on my Omega instincts.
I glance over the room. There are three single cots, the overstuffed old couch… and five of us.
I don’t have a formal education, but even I know the math does not add up.
My gaze flicks to Viper questioningly, and he smiles with a possessive gleam in his green eyes, opening his arms wide. "You can bunk with me, pretty girl."
Tingles of delight flood through my veins, and I don’t care that I’m probably going to end up humping him in my sleep.
Finally!
After everything. Every obstacle, every awkward pause, every steamy sparring session… I finally get to nest with my Alpha. My bonded Alpha.