Page 120 of Knot Their Soldier: Part One
“Halley,” he groans.
“Please, Shade,” I plead. “We can work together to figure this out. I know you must be hungry to investigate further.”
His eyes search mine, and I see the intellectual curiosity swirling within.
He blows out a tortured breath, and I know I’ve got him.
“Okay, we can theorize together, but it’s only hypothetical. I’m not confirming or denying in an official capacity. And you definitely can’t tell the others about this or what we did earlier.They can’t know about either. I’m defying direct orders from my Prime Alpha and I could get in real trouble if General Stone finds out. Like, time in the brig, trouble.”
I nod in agreement, biting my tongue to choke back my excitement that my plan has actually worked. Shade turns to face me, his shoulder close enough that I can feel the heat coming off his bare chest.
“Okay, let’s say, hypothetically, that you were mated to one Alpha. Some random politician you have no potent feelings for before mating. You’d get the benefits of a mated pair, enhanced senses, the chance to breed—” I unconsciously flinch and hope Shade doesn’t notice. His eyes squint slightly, but he forges on. “But it would be like every other mated couple. Nothing special.”
I nod. Hanging on his every word.
“Now let’s say, hypothetically, you encounter an Alpha who’s biologically compatible with you. You are drawn to each other and your proximity alone brings out your best qualities. The connection between you is intense and your chemistry is off the charts. So much so, he is brought back from the brink of insanity due to an incurable disease.”
I swallow.
He’s talking about Viper and me, but to hear it so matter-of-factly is confronting, to say the least.
“And then you’re taken from the place you’ve called home for years, from your nest and your friends, put in a strange environment where everything and everyone is foreign. You’re pushed to your limit constantly. And then you discover you’re also extremely compatible with a second Alpha who has been struggling with his own brand of violent, erratic insanity. And once again, due to your mere proximity, he has mental clarity he hasn’t experienced in a long time – if ever.”
My breath catches and my pulse picks up. He’s talking about Blaze. I hadn’t realized I’d had such a profound impact on thequirky Alpha. He hadn’t been more than an oddball with me. Certainly not violent. Just how bad had he been before I arrived?
“Then there is the Prime Alpha. A creature born into war. He grew up under the thumb of a brutal military dictatorship. He has known nothing but obedience since he was a child, and he’s killed more humans than he can count.”
I swallow. I forget daily that the soldiers training me are killers and that the man I mentally call an asshole daily is the most deadly of them all.
“When he comes across an Omega he is uncontrollably drawn to, he’s terrified, because for the first time in his life, he questions his duty. The very foundation of his being shakes.”
I glance at Shade with wide eyes, my skin prickling. “Is this still hypothetical?”
His face is solemn, and his gaze is so intense it makes my heart skip a beat. “Hypothetically, all these Alphas have had an incredible physical and emotional response to you. So much so, that their inner Alphas see you as their Omega. Their squad’s Omega. Together.”
My brain stutters, trying to follow what he’s telling me. “Is this even possible? Alphas… sharing an Omega?”
He shrugs, “I’m not sure, but if we look at the cold hard facts, the connection you have with all of them is undeniable. It’s brought each of them a new lease on life, and it’s woken something deep within you too.”
I lick my lips. I know where he is going with this. The puzzle pieces are falling into place.
I whisper the answer. “O-space.”
“Yes, a vulnerable state that calls to Alphas to protect and care for you.”
I recall the yearning for their touch well. The feeling of desperation that threatens to consume me.
“But as we discovered during our experiment in the forest, it’s transforming into something more. The longer you’re with these Alphas, the closer you grow together, the more powerful this phenomenon becomes. You draw them to you with your scent and your pheromones, but then it becomes more than that…”
He’s silent for a moment. I wait with bated breath for him to continue, but he doesn’t. I need him to say it. To confirm what I know to be the truth, because I’ve been driving myself insane with the mere thought of it.
“What is it?” I breathe. “Hypothetically. What is this power?”
Shade looks away from me, shaking his head like he’s breaking a spell.
“I can’t.”
“Tell me.”
