Page 158 of Knot Their Soldier: Part One
He helps me into my boots, tying the laces for me.
Slipping my jacket on over my arms, he murmurs, “It’s cold outside. Gotta keep you bundled up.”
In a blink, he lifts me, presses me to his front, and I wrap my legs around him, clinging to the giant Alpha tightly.
I can walk, but I don’t resist. I want the reassurance of my big Alpha holding me close. Feeling his warm, strong body holding me up and against him is too much to resist, and I rub my face against his neck, taking in his gunpowder and rose scent. His warmth feels like a balm on my frayed nerves.
“Omega,” Viper growls softly in warning, but nuzzles my neck in return.
“We need to hurry.” Shade is all business, but he moves like an old man, his body bruised and battered.
He shuffles to the entrance of the tent, moving the flaps aside.
Viper’s warmth keeps the morning chill from my bones. He walks quickly toward the truck, his body alert and rigid as he scans the tree line.
“Burn the bodies, Blaze,” Knox says behind us, and I watch as Blaze casually slings the dead Alpha on his shoulder and carries him off into the forest, whistling a haunting tune.
Shade opens the truck door into the main cab for Viper to set me inside. I slip into the position behind the passenger seat, marveling at the comfortable leather compared to the hard metal bench in the rear of the vehicle. Apparently, I’ve earned the right to a spot in the cabin.
I whimper again, clinging to his shoulders as he tries to set me on the seat. I feel disoriented without the security of my nest.
“Omega,” Viper rumbles, his eyes glowing as he stares down at me. “Let go.”
He rubs my back again, trying to soothe me as I pout and cling tighter. My Alpha wants to leave. He doesn’t want to hold me and protect me. My mind knows that’s not true, but my heart and my body aren’t listening.
Vigorously shaking my head, I try to dislodge the lingering Omega neediness from my heat. I’m a strong, independent Omega who just killed two Alphas in Blood Lust. I exhale and release Viper.
The door slams shut, and I hug my knees to my chest.
I shiver and watch with keen attention as the squad moves swiftly. They sort supplies into backpacks and collect essential equipment.
Shade is looking better by the minute, but he’s still pale and limping. He pauses frequently to tap away at his tablet, showing Knox the screen. It’s probably a checklist.
Or, you know, a plan to dispose of an Omega who is shaping up to be a serial killer.
In no time at all, they join me in the truck’s cab.
Knox in the driver’s seat, with Shade gingerly reclined in the passenger seat. Viper climbs in next to me, and I settle into the middle seat. Blaze darts around the truck and clambers in on the other side and I say a silent thanks that he doesn’t smell like burning bodies.
We’re packed in tightly and my thigh presses against theirs.
Blaze shoots me a heated grin and scoots in closer to me. Even after everything that’s happened in the last day, it’s reassuring that Blaze is still a goofball. Some things are consistent.
I smile back at him. I’ll never forget that Blaze is the one who stood by me when I needed a friend most, and I let him thread our fingers together.
He holds my hand gently, rubbing his thumb back and forth. Blood covers his calloused knuckles, which are twice the size of mine. It strikes me that despite my spotless pale skin, my hands have blood on them. I’m a killer, just like they are. I’m part of the squad in a way I could never achieve through hard work and tenacity.
I’m tied to them by blood and death.
We lurch forward as the gearbox engages, and the truck rattles as it moves over the bumpy terrain.
“Where are we going?” I ask in a small voice, half expecting it to be drowned out by the roar of the truck engine.
“Somewhere safe,” Viper growls as he looks out the window, his eyes still scanning the abandoned campsite even as it disappears from view. There are still rogue Alphas out there.
Smoke billows from the forest, a fire consuming the bodies of our enemies.
As tough as my time at the training camp has been, I feel a pang of melancholy as we wind our way down the mountainside.
