Page 136 of Knot Their Soldier: Part Three

"I cannot be both your Alpha and the commander this fortress needs without failing one of those roles."

"Knox, this is war. There isn’t a perfect, safe option."

"There has to be."

"Then name it."

I can’t.

Her expression hardens. "I thought we were past you underestimating me."

The silence that follows is ugly.

I have spent days chasing an answer that does not exist. I've worked until my eyes burned and the maps blurred. If there were a way to win this battle without using her, I would have found it. If there were a way to use her without risking her safety, I would have found that too.

There is nothing left but bad choices and even worse ones.

"If we don’t use your Command, we lose," I growl. "If we do use it, I put my Omega, my mate, in danger with my own orders. Tell me which part of that I’m supposed to live with."

"You're forgetting something crucial, Alpha." She raises an expectant brow and waits.

I frown. I haven't forgotten anything, I've gone over the options a hundred different ways.

She sighs, rolls her eyes, and gestures sharply to herself.

"I can’t die, you idiot!"

I open my mouth to protest, but she cuts me off.

"You saw me take a bullet," she says. "You saw me die and come back. So stop acting like I’m made of glass."

I stare down at her, jaw aching with how hard I’m clenching it. "We do not know why that happened. It might've been a fluke."

"Then trust me."

"I trust you. It's everything else I don't trust. Besides, you promised me, when you came back, that you wouldn't run headfirst into danger anymore, that you'd let me keep you safe."

"This is different, and you know it."

"Is it? Because from my perspective you're reneging on your promise."

"You're being Prime Asshole."

"I’d rather be a Prime Asshole than have a dead Omega again," I snap.

Halley plants her hands on her hips and lifts her chin defiantly. "And what if this Omega doesn’t want dead mates? Are you going to agree to stay out of the battle too?"

"What? That’s not what we’re talking about."

"It is from where I’m standing." Her voice shakes with indignation, but she keeps going. "As far as I can see, the four of you are at far greater risk than I am. You’ll be on the front line, and unlike me, none of you has a history of coming back from the dead."

My mind jumps back to when she confronted us at Everlyn's dining table. Her confidence was broken back then, but she still demanded to be considered our equal. So much has changed since then, and our love and trust have grown, but what she's asking for, I don't think I have it in me to give.

Not now. Not since we found out…

I step into her space again, driven forward by something hot and instinctive. In an instant, the space between us vanishes as I corner her in the alcove. I barely hear the rest of what she’s saying because my mind catches on one fact and won’t let go.

"Halley, you’re pregnant."