Page 57 of Knot Their Soldier: Part One
“Our orders don’t account for that. We have three months to get her on the same level as any other recruit,” he says like it explains his shitty attitude.
Shade cocks his head. “We’ll get her there. She’s doing fine. Why don’t you tell us what the actual problem is, Knox?”
He pauses for a moment, eyes scanning the tree line for a threat that isn’t there. It’s the burden of a Prime Alpha. The authority comes with great responsibility. He’s always on high alert. Always watching for danger.
“She’s a threat.”
Four sets of eyes fix on the purring, sleeping, trembling Omega in my arms.
I can’t disagree.
The way I’m feeling, like I’d burn the entire world to keep her tucked against me, is troubling. I can see the same fire burningin Shade and Blaze’s eyes. Knox hides it, but there’s desire and a hint of jealousy in him, too.
No one speaks. Because it’s true.
In such a brief span of time, our squad’s core has changed. There’s a new nucleus we’re circling. A new reason to live that isn’t killing and chasing the next thrill.
What will happen if she fails her mission and leaves?
Or succeeds and leaves?
Or succeeds and dies?
Is it possible to go back to how things were before the little Omega saved my life and joined our squad?
No.
There is no going back.
So we don’t protest his statement because he’s right.
Halley Sparks is our greatest threat.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Viper
When I woke in the hospital with a sweet little Omega curled on my chest, sleeping so peacefully, I thought I’d never have the chance to hold something so precious again.
I didn’t have the courage to even dream about having her back in my arms.
When Knox told us what General Stone ordered, I was still recovering from my injuries.
After balancing on the edge of madness and death, rejoining the realm of the living is tough.
I’d accepted that I was going to die, and it’s taking my mind time to come back from that precipice. The survivor’s guilt is strong.
Dealing with the fallout of my actions hasn’t been easy, and the shame stalks me through my every waking moment. I hurt fellow soldiers, friends I’ve known and fought beside for years, and I can’t ever forgive myself for it.
When it was Halley that joined our squad, I’d been shocked, then ecstatic, before promptly spiraling into a panic.
This whole plan to train an Omega as a soldier is dangerous and doomed to fail. We all know it and don’t want her involved in this clusterfuck. She should be tucked up safe and away from the horrors of war that haunt me daily.
Fuck, she shouldn’t be near someone as dangerous and broken as I am. I’m a liability and I’ll only drag her down with me.
However, now that I have her in my arms, I can’t find it in myself to wish her away. Her presence makes me feel as if I’ve been released from a prison. The soul-eating guilt doesn’t feel like it’s consuming me. I can breathe, and I’m not afraid to close my eyes.
I’m sitting on my bed and I’ve positioned her between my legs to lay against my chest as she sleeps. She should be resting in her own bunk by herself, but I can’t let her go.
