Page 181 of Knot Their Soldier: Part One
Viper and I are alone.
Our eyes lock for a moment before we both avert our gazes. We feed off each other’s anxiety, like two static charged individuals.
There are unspoken words between us. After all, we’ve never discussed what happened in the ICU. Does he remember our time together? Does he think about how close we came to bonding?
’Cause I remember it like it’s a brand on my skin.
“Viper,” I tentatively call his name. I hesitate and take a few moments to gather my courage. My inner Omega wants me to throw myself at the Alpha. “I… Are you okay with this?”
“Me?” He looks startled to have been singled out despite being the only one left.
“Yeah.”
“I’m on board,” he says, ducking his head.
I decide not to pressure him. He’s obviously not ready to discuss it.
“So,” I scuff my boots on the loose stones, unsure what else to say. It’s strange that I can talk so freely with Shade and Blaze, but with Viper I feel like a blushing teenager talking to her crush.
“Do you want to help set up our bedding?”
The question catches me by surprise and I’m momentarily confused. I hadn’t thought too much about sleeping arrangements, but we won’t have our own bunks tonight.
“Sure, I’ll help. What do you need?”
“Grab a bunch of branches and we’ll lay them down on the ground.”
We work side by side and, after a few minutes, I have a small collection of leafy branches and he has an enormous pile.
“Now what?” I ask, a hand on my hip looking eagerly for instruction.
He glances at me and then quickly looks away. “We lay them out to make a soft place to lay down.”
The dark comes swiftly as we work, spreading the branches evenly underneath the canvas strung above. Even with the large amount of branches Viper collected, it makes sense to layer for comfort more than space. It’s a small slab and I’m confused about how all of us are going to fit on it.
I find myself moving close to Viper, shadowing his movements and brushing against him. I can’t help but want to be close to him and interact.
According to my primal hindbrain, Viper is mine.
We finally step back, straightening to peruse our work.
“I’ve never spent a night like this,” I confess to Viper, wanting to share a part of me to feel close to him.
“Slept in the same bed as an Alpha?”
“Definitely haven’t done that, but also, I’ve never slept under the stars.”
“Never?” Viper asks, turning towards me.
I shrug and fuss over the branches to cover a sparse patch. “My father wasn’t big on letting me leave the homestead after dark, for safety reasons, you know? And I hadn’t stepped foot out of Barkrood Base for over a decade until I came to the training camp. It’s something I’ve always thought would be romantic. Like the books I read about camping and how Omegas are kept warm and safe by their Alphas.”
I’m rambling, trying to draw him out of his shell.
Viper doesn’t respond.
I bite my lip and peek at him through my lashes. He’s looking down at me with an unreadable expression.
“I might get cold.”
