Chapter Twenty-Three
Halley
I get ready to sleep next to Blaze.
I feel like I should be donning armor and preparing for battle. Instead, I slip into the small bathroom and brush my teeth. I change into a worn-soft shirt that once belonged to Jason and a pair of shorts that I am belatedly realizing ride up in all the wrong places. Hardly battle gear.
The shattered mirror distorts my reflection in a spiderweb of cracks.
My eyes are sunk deep into their sockets, but my face is flushed with the remnants of my arousal.
It’s still there, simmering beneath the surface, waiting for a single provocation to roar back to life.
I wash my face, letting the icy water soothe the heat from my cheeks.
I take a few deep breaths and steel myself for whatever frackery Sergeant Blaze is going to throw at me tonight. I’m not naive anymore. I know that he’s going to try something.
Back in the room, Blaze is standing beside his bed in only his underwear. The raw fury from earlier is gone, his scent dulled, his eyes no longer manic.
But the stillness is worse. Scarier somehow, and discontent buzzes beneath my skin.
He doesn't speak, just reaches behind his neck and pulls his shirt over his head in one smooth motion.
I suck air through my teeth.
Ohhh.
The firelight dances across his bare skin, defining every sharp plane of muscle. My mouth goes dry, my thighs clench, and I hate how fast my body betrays me.
His mind might be a mess, but rut-damn, his body is a work of art. A brutal tapestry of scars. Somehow, I’d forgotten how many he has. Skin warped from burns so deep, even his Alpha healing couldn't repair the damage. I ache to trace them, to press my lips to every raised ridge.
A thrill shoots through me as I release a shaking exhale.
Is it wrong to lust after someone whose mind is so fractured he might kiss me or kill me in the same breath?
Probably.
The shameful hunger simmering inside me pulls me forward. I take a step, then another, drawn to him like a moth with a death wish.
Up close, I can see the scars more clearly.
There are his self-inflicted scars, the ones all of the Alphas have, mementos of brushes with death or a victorious battle. But Blaze’s body is also a map of torment, and if each mark could tell a story, I know none of them would end well.
There is also a new scar.
My stomach drops.
Oh, Blaze.
Etched into the tender skin above his pelvis, jagged letters cut through the trail of dark hair disappearing beneath his low-slung briefs:
Property of Halley Sparks.
I have to bite my bottom lip to stop myself from crying out.
“Do you like it, Sparkles?” Blaze asks, watching me from beneath hooded lids.
He hooks his thumbs into the front of his waistband, dragging it down low so I can see his artwork better.
The nausea morphs as I stare at the beginning of his dark curls, and I bite my lip harder, trying to silence the shame. It doesn’t work.
Do I like it?
Oh, rut-damn.
My Omega fracking loves it.
Our mate has carved our name into his skin!
It’s twisted.
Fracking sick on all levels.
I should be disgusted. Horrified.
But the second I saw his body, raw and scarred and marked with my name, the lust I’ve been fighting begins to consume me.
I want him. Desperately.
Shame coils in my gut, but it’s no match for the need already searing through my veins.
Blaze slides beneath the covers, and I stand there, fighting the flood of lust throbbing between my legs, my fingers tangling in the hem of my shirt.
A hand whips out and drags me into the bed.
I squeal as I tumble down, landing on his chest, and somewhere across the room, Viper lets out a low warning growl in response. Blaze ignores him.
I'm man-handled, like I weigh nothing at all, until I'm lying on my side, facing the room with Blaze plastered to my back.
The firelight flickers over the three other members of the Scorch Squad, their gazes sharp and unblinking. They're not watching me. They’re watching him. Because, although they want to trust Blaze, to give him a chance as their brother and Pack mate, he’s a wildcard.
It should make me nervous that they’re not fully convinced I’m safe at his side. And it does… but that fear has twisted and settled as a heartbeat in my clit.
I squirm, but it still throbs. Tha-thump. Tha-thump.
Something is definitely broken in my brain that mortal peril makes my body respond like this.
Blaze’s arm tightens, holding me still. He’s all heat and muscle and restrained violence. His chest molds to my back as he restrains me with just enough pressure to remind me of his strength. This isn’t like Viper’s warm, soft, and adoring embrace.
"My magical little Omega. You heal so fast," he whispers in my ear.
I stiffen.
“My mark is already gone and it's making me sad."
I don't answer, but the pulsing in my clit beats harder in response to the seductive tone of his voice.
“I want to leave a mark on you like Viper did. His knot claimed you so deep I can smell his come inside you even now.”
He kisses the side of my neck above my bite collar, and I gasp. It’s gentle at first, but then his teeth scrape against my skin and I’m reminded of his unpredictable nature. Enough to make my Omega tremble.
He chuckles darkly.
“You want that, don’t you? I scare you and you still want to be branded by me deep inside you.”
Viper is sitting on the end of his bed across the room, his forearms braced on his thighs.
He’s not moving a muscle, but neither is he blinking.
Shade is next to him, calm and composed, but the gun in his hand sends a very clear message.
He’s not aiming it, just holding it where Blaze can see.
A quiet threat. Hurt her, and suffer for it.
Knox is even closer. He’s sitting on the bed beside ours, and his red eyes feel hot on my face. If I reached out, I could touch his knees.
What do they see? Do they know I’m quivering not just from fear?
Blaze neither notices nor cares that the rest of the Pack is waiting for him to lose his Omega privileges.
“I… I don’t…” I stammer.
“Don’t try to deny it, Sparkles. Remember, we can all smell how badly you want us to use you.” His hand slides down and covers my stomach, the tips of his fingers brushing the waistband of my sleep shorts.
Another burst of perfume floods the room, and I squeeze my thighs together to ease the pulse between.
He plucks at the waistband, letting it snap against my skin, and I stifle a moan with a sharp inhale.
“Did you miss me as much as I missed you?”
“Mmm,” I try to reply, but I can’t focus on anything but how low he’s pushed my shorts. Any lower and he’ll expose me to the others.
Do I want that?
I know if I even make a sound of distress, they’ll intervene, but they want this to work as much as I do. They want me to prove that I can handle their brother, even at his craziest, so we can be a Pack.
“Well, little liar? Did you miss me?”
“Uh-huh. Yes, I missed you.”
His hand slips beneath the waistband. I make a strange whimper of anticipation.
“Did you feel desperate?”
A finger traces the outer lips of my pussy, not touching, but teasing.
“Uh-huh.”
My hips roll unconsciously, and I lick my lips.
“You feel lonely, baby? An Omega without her Pack.”
He has no idea how much I yearned for them. How much I wanted them by my side. None of them do.
“Mhm.”
“And how did this pretty little cunt feel?”
I swallow.
“Empty.”
“Empty?” he laughs like I’ve made a joke. “Well that’s funny, cause all I’ve been able to think about is. Filling. You. Up.”
Without warning, he thrusts a finger into my core.
I thrash, wailing at the intrusion, but he holds me down. It’s only when I take a shuddering breath that I realize what’s happened — I came.
From a single finger entering me.
“Shh, shh. Tell my brothers you’re okay, Sparkles. Call off your dogs.”
I open my clenched eyes only to find Knox, Viper, and Shade all standing over the bed, breathing heavily. A single word from me and they’ll end this whole situation.
“Tell them or they’ll make me stop. You don’t want me to stop, now do you?”
He withdraws his finger, dragging it out of my channel, and I clench down hard, wailing at the loss.
“Oh rut, don’t stop.” I cast my eyes up at my bodyguards and plead, “Please. Don’t stop him.”
Getting fingered has never felt like this before. In fact, other than my session with Viper, sex has never felt so good. Every touch is heightened and I’m needy for so much more.
“Tell them why you don’t want me to stop,” Blaze rumbles in my ear as he presses back into me, this time with two fingers.
“Uh… it feels good. So good.” I gasp as Blaze begins a rhythm, his fingers thrusting fast and firm.
“What feels good, Sparkles? Be specific.”
“Having you close… in me. I’ve been empty. So lonely and I’ve missed you. My Omega wants her Alpha.”
“And I’m your Alpha, aren’t I?”
I moan as he curls his finger, rubbing the spot inside that makes little sparks of pleasure shoot through me.
“Answer me, Omega.”
“Uh-huh. Yeah, yes, you’re my Alpha. You were right, from the moment we met, you’ve been my Alpha.”
I’m babbling without a filter, chasing the feelings he’s wringing from my body. I think he could get me to spill any secret like this. I just need him to keep going.
“And do you like being watched by the rest of your Pack?”
I look up at Knox, Viper, and Shade. They’re watching me with such hunger that I clench down on Blaze’s fingers, slick spilling down my thighs.
I feel his lips curl into a smirk as he nips at my jaw. “Ah, you do. Little liar likes it when her Pack watches her get finger-fucked.”
I can’t stop the moan this time. I throw my head back, resting on his shoulder, and Blaze takes my exposed throat as an offering, diving in to lavish it with wet, nipping kisses. It’s messy and animalistic, more teeth than lips.
"Let's play a game, Sparkles,” Blaze growls, his voice dark and trembling with hunger. “Just you and me. I'm going to bite you and see how fast you heal. We'll play until I win. Until it sticks and you wear me on your skin forever."
His teeth graze the delicate skin just above my bite collar, then he nips, hard.
A sharp, stinging pleasure rockets through me, pain dancing in sync with the aching need that pulses between my legs. I jerk, gasping, but Blaze only holds me tighter, his grip unrelenting, anchoring me in his madness.
“Halley?” Shade’s voice cuts through, hesitant, a question lingering in the air. Is this too far? Do I want him to stop Blaze?
I meet his eyes, dark and watchful, full of silent questions. I shake my head.
No. I don’t want him to stop.
Not even close.
He might leave bruises, maybe even scars, but I heal fast now and every mark will feel earned.
I want him just like this.
This is what Knox said would help repair my relationship with Blaze. I have to prove that I can handle him.
If this is where Blaze lives now, buried in shadow and fury, then I’ll go there too. I’ll stay in the dark with him, as long as I get to be his Omega.
Knox and Viper crouch at the edge of the bed, their eyes glowing with primal desire to see their Omega unravel.
Blaze’s thumb flicks over my clit and I’m hurtling towards another orgasm.
His fingers pump deep, curling wickedly on every thrust, hitting my O-spot and stimulating exactly what I need to feel whole.
I feel feral, unleashed, humping his hand with an urgent need I’ve been suppressing for so, so long.
“Please… please, please—” I chant.
His teeth pull back, releasing his bite. It pulses, hot and angry, but I don’t think he broke the skin. It’s not a mating bite, but it certainly feels like I’ve been claimed.
"There,” he murmurs, almost tender, “that’s going to leave a lovely little mark, isn’t it? When it fades, I’ll do it again. And again. And once we get it to stick, we’ll start on another one. We can play until every inch of you is marked and then you’ll never leave again."
I can’t breathe. Can’t think. His words don’t make sense, but they brand themselves into me anyway, each one another mark. A madman's promise. A fevered vow.
“Please,” I sob. “Please, Alpha, let me come—”
A tear streaks down my cheek. I’m shaking apart, strung so tight I might break. I clutch at his forearm like it’s the only thing keeping me from shattering completely. I’m right there. So close it hurts, and for a breathless moment, a second, I realize I’ve fallen into one of Blaze’s traps.
His mouth, hot and wet, lowers to my ear.
“Then fucking come, little liar.”
It’s an Alpha Command, and it slams into me like a sucker punch.
My body obeys.
I scream, back arching violently as my orgasm tears through me. The pleasure is monstrous. My channel clamps down around his fingers, milking him with desperate pulses. Slick floods my sleep shorts, soaking the sheets as my whole body convulses.
It’s ecstasy. It’s obliteration.
But it’s not right. It’s not mine.
The pleasure is wrong. This is all wrong. My Alpha didn’t coax it out of me. Didn’t guide me gently.
He pushed. Hard. Used his authority like a blade and cut the choice right out of me.
It leaves something raw in its wake.
Because I would have given it.
I was already his.
I thrash in his arms as the orgasm continues. It’s unnatural. Prolonged by the Command.
My core burns with the effort to clench and keep clenching.
Beneath the pounding of my blood in my ears, I hear voices shouting. I’m jostled, briefly, as though hands are pulling or pushing, and then I’m settled again, still trembling, still gasping, in a different set of arms.
Blaze is gone.
The orgasm goes on and on. It could be seconds, or minutes, I don’t know, but finally my body relaxes.
Someone else is holding me now. Stroking my hair. Crooning softly, a deep, grounding sound meant to soothe.
It’s not him.
The others must have pulled him away. Contained whatever fury snapped inside him.
And I should be angry.
I should be furious.
But I’m not.
Because I think I understand.
In Blaze’s broken mind, this wasn’t just dominance. It wasn’t just lust or punishment. It was revenge.
A mirror held up to my worst moment.
Back when he was on the brink of everything he dreamed of. Love, a family, a future. And I ripped it from him with a single, brutal Command.
This was him taking it back. Forcing me to feel what he felt. To be powerless. To break and obey mindlessly.
No, I’m not angry.
I just hope to rut, we’re even now.