Page 70 of Knot Their Soldier: Part One
I’m feeling self-conscious about the information he’s recording in my electronic file.
Did he make an entry about my personal session this morning?
‘Recruit was caught vigorously wanking under the blankets by her commanding officer.’
I cringe.
What else has he noticed?
Does he record my reactions to the squad?
Is there a log for each blush from Blaze’s flirting, or every time my scent thickens in response to Viper’s silent strength?
Knox takes off his pack, laying it next to mine. The others follow suit.
The rifles strapped to them remain, and I swallow.
“What do you need your guns for?” I want it to sound like a casual question, but it still comes out as a squeak.
Knox exhales in cruel amusement. “All the best to hunt you down, Omega Sparks.”
Viper punches him in the shoulder, and he winces. Viper doesn’t pull his punches, and if he didn’t have such tough skin, the Prime Alpha would have a deep purple bruise.
“We’re always armed outside the camp perimeter, “ Shade explains patiently.
I frown. From what I can tell, we’re still inside Fathim. We’re safe here. There isn’t anything to shoot because the enemies are beyond the border. That’s where the guns are needed, right?
“Copy,” I murmur in affirmation, but remain confused.
Knox rolls his shoulders and stretches his neck side to side. “Let’s run this as a standard target exfiltration session. Viper, you’re with me. Blaze and Shade, you’re on defense. Omega Sparks, you’re the target.”
Target? I don’t like the sound of that.
I stare at him with wide eyes, certain I look like a deer in the headlights. Knox and Viper are going to hunt me?
Blaze pops out his bottom lip and whines in a jovial tone. “Damn, was lookin’ forward to chasing an Omega around the mountain.”
I smile at him, but it looks more like a grimace.
Blaze knocks his shoulder against me, or at least he tries, but he’s so much taller than me and he hip checks me instead. “S’all right, we’ll have some fun. It’s been awhile since I’ve beaten the shit out of ol’ Knoxy pants here. He’s been a right jackass lately, so I think he’s due for a thrashin’.”
Something creeps through me, warm and aching. I want to believe it’s just nerves, but it feels an awful like anticipation.
I lick my lips. “What do I have to do?”
Knox shoots me his trademark smirk. “It’s simple. Make it back to camp, and you win. If we capture you, you lose. Blaze and Shade will play defense, but it’ll be up to you to survive.”
I can tell by the tone of his voice he doesn’t expect me to make it back to camp.
“But…” I need more information. I don’t have a game plan.
“Remember, this is an experiment to learn more about the symptoms you’ve been displaying,” Shade adds, but I’m not thinking about my O-space problem anymore.
The scent of testosterone filters through the air, and it makes my insides clench.
Blaze raises his hand, like a kid in the schoolroom. His mouth quirks like he’s biting the inside of his cheek to hide a grin. Knox looks like he’s fighting to not roll his eyes, but points at him anyway.
“What do we do when she goes all…” he trails off, crosses his eyes and flutters his hands in front of his face. I think that’s supposed to be me when I go into O-space. It’s not flattering.
