Page 187 of Knot Their Soldier: Part One
Knox pins him with a glare. “We wait.”
He pulls out his notebook, the one he’s always writing in. I used to think it was war strategies and leadership bullshit. After years spent in his company, I know it’s something much more precious.
Our illustrious leader keeps a journal.
I’ll never tell his secret though. Especially to Halley. She has to figure out that our Prime Alpha is a giant softie on her own.
Another hour passes and Halley takes a nap with her head pillowed on Viper’s thigh. He offered to comb out her long, tangled hair. Her comb is still sitting in the bunkhouse back at the training camp. The gentle brush of his fingers through herhair must have made her feel safe and cozy, because once the snags were gone, she melted into a light sleep.
“She likes it when you touch her,” I say lowly to Viper, not willing to wake her up.
“I like touching her, too. It’s…” he pauses and frowns, looking down at her. “Therapeutic.”
“Therapeutic? That’s a bit of a clinical way to describe it,” I say.
“Well, isn’t it? She’s… like my medicine. Around her, the Blood Lust doesn’t feel like it’s a knife hanging over my head.”
I hum and watch as Blaze flicks his lighter back and forth, fingers dancing in and out of the flames before they can burn him.
“What about when she went into heat? Wasn’t that Blood Lust?” I ask, referring to him losing control and needing to be locked in the troop carrier.
He huffs and shakes his head lightly. “Nah, that was a different kind of lust.”
“So, what? Do you think she’s cured you?” I ask.
“I don’t know. Maybe.” He shrugs. “All I know is that she brought me back once and she can do it again. It makes me feel free.”
I look down at the Omega sleeping in the Alpha’s lap, and smile.
Knox puts down his journal, shoving it into his pack and picks up the radio receiver. “Let’s give this another go, shall we, fellas?”
“Yeah, I’m getting bored,” Blaze drawls, the lighter snapping shut as he pockets it. He’s burned a pattern into a log that’s actually rather artistic. Or at least, it would be, if the psycho hadn’t burned himself on purpose to add ‘red paint’ to his artwork using his blood. Blaze is the poster child for misusing his enhanced Alpha healing.
Knox flips the switch and starts the process of radioing in.
“Barkrood Base secure transmission. This is Scorch Squad-1. Respond urgently. Do you copy, over?”
I lean back and listen.
The forest is so quiet, I can hear the leaves rustle in the wind.
Still nothing.
We wait another twenty minutes.
An unease settles over us.
We’ve been checking in with General Stone on this secure connection for weeks, keeping him up to date on Halley’s progress. It’s rare when we don’t make contact immediately, even more so when it happens twice.
“Something is wrong,” Viper says.
I agree, and I’m sure the rest of the team does too.
“Alright. We could try making contact through one of the main channels,” Knox says, looking at all of us for our opinion.
I gently shake Halley’s shoulder to wake her. She’s part of this too and deserves to be part of our decisions. She rises from Viper’s lap, her eyes bleary but alert.
“No,” Viper says firmly. “We shouldn’t. Something is definitely wrong, and we shouldn’t draw any attention to ourselves.”
