Page 51 of Beta Lies and Cursed Lives
Colt’s voice rings clear in my mind.“Nyx thinks that she can short the power source of the explosive charges in our collars so Rai can disable the locks. She thinks it’s the thing shielding Rai’s curse from affecting the collars.”
I turn wide eyes on my friend.Tell her no way! It’s too dangerous for her to get involved.
One of Nyx’s dark red brows rises as she crosses her arms over her chest and stares me down, eyes narrowed.
“Uh, she says that you can’t tell her what’s too dangerous, and don’t even try. She says that this is as much for her as it is for us.”He looks at her again.“Look, I said I don’t know if the rumors are true, Nyx. This could all be for nothing. If you’re able to disable the explosives and we get these collars off and we actually make it out of here, we may just be on the run forever.”
Nyx’s head tilts to the side, her hands landing on her hips.
“Okay, okay. So, we get the collars off and make a run for the airfield. Rai, we’re counting on you to get us in the air.”
Rai gives a solemn nod in response.
Colt looks at us.“We’ll need to be fast, and careful. And...we may need to take out some of the soldiers, however we can.”
I huff a bitter laugh at the same time as Rai and Aubrey look unimpressed, like they’re just looking for an opportunity.
Then, Rai’s brows draw tight beside me, his lips form a thin line before he speaks in a quiet voice. “The power sources...I never considered they were shields.” He looks at Nyx. “If you’re sure, then I trust you.”
Nyx nods vehemently, like she has been planning something like this for years and has the whole thing plotted out.
I guess it’s possible. She’s had the collar on far longer than I have.
I look at each of my Alphas and at my best friend, whose expression softens when a tear slips from my eye. I grab her in a hug, and she doesn’t hesitate to hug me back. “I know this will work,” she breathes in my ear. “The rebellion has to be real. We will see each other again.”
“Come with us,” I plead, a sob growing in my throat.
She leans back from our embrace, tears in her eyes as well. “I can’t leave my...pack.”
And I understand this decision more than I can express. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I nod at her.
“This will work,” she breathes, and I realize she may be trying to convince herself.
“If it doesn’t, being dead has to be better than being separated.”Colt’s heavy thoughts envelop my brain.
Turning to him, I grasp his face between my palms and press my lips to his, softly, tenderly. When his arms wrap around my back, his tongue slides across the seam of my lips, coaxing them open so our mouths and tongues entwine. It’s over too soon, but then I’m in Rai’s arms, and we’re doing the same, a fierceness in him and his actions that I’ve only gotten to know as of last night.
When he releases me, I am embraced from behind by Aubrey, who leans down to nuzzle the hair at my neck, breathing in deep and squeezing me tightly.
Our lips don’t touch, and despite our lives being in the balance, he still doesn’t seem to want that from me. Despite my disappointment, I am more than willing to provide what comfort he needs from me, especially now, with our lives in the balance.
I squeeze his bare hands with mine.
When we separate, my heart pounds in my chest, fear and excitement melding as Nyx turns to Rai and asks, “Are you ready?”
Raito
Am I ready? I have no idea, but this is the only opportunity we’ll have.
I turn to the crimson-haired Omega. “Let’s do it.”
She coaxes us closer together and to lean toward her. My head is right up against Colton’s, Mira’s against Aubrey’s. Nyx takes two collar boxes in each hand and whispers, looking right into my eyes. “You have to do it as soon as you’re able.”
Time is of the essence in every way imaginable.
I nod in confirmation and close my eyes, searching with my mind for the electronic mechanisms in our collars. I’ve always felt them, but could never manipulate them, and now I hold onto the faint connection with the locks’ power sources that my curse grants me.
When I open my eyes, several things happen at once.
