Page 149 of Knot Their Soldier: Part One
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 lastthing 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.
