Page 145 of Knot Their Soldier: Part Three

The problem is, they’ve survived as soldiers for so long by shoving fear, grief, and pain aside. They couldn’t function if they stopped to examine every reaction their bodies gave them, so they learned to ignore those feelings so they could keep moving.

To say they're bad at recognizing what they feel before it hits the bond is an understatement. By the time they notice they’re afraid or stressed, I’m already feeling it with them, and I don’t have a soldier’s practice at locking everything away so I can keep functioning.

To give them credit, they shut down their end when they catch it, but they don’t always stop the bleed-through before it reaches me.

Right now, with this pregnancy result hanging over my head, I can barely manage my own fear. I can’t carry theirs too.

I stop just outside the infirmary entrance, slip out from under Knox's arm, and face them.

"I love you all, but I need you to be chill about this," I say.

The four of them shift uneasily, glancing at each other.

Blaise’s mouth opens, the beginning of a protest already forming, but Shade throws an elbow into his ribs, and the protest comes out as a grunt.

I know they're having a silent bond conversation without me. I don't like it when they do that, but I don't say anything because if it helps them process my demand, then it's worth feeling excluded.

Viper crosses his arms, his lips pursed. The bond tightens, his concern pressing into me in a heavy, steady pulse.

"I need you to be calm," I add, keeping my voice level. "You’re making me nervous."

Knox holds my gaze, his red eyes boring into mine. He inhales slowly, and on his exhale he nods once, stiff and controlled. "We’ll do our best to lock down the bond."

I smile and say, "Thank you."

I turn to open the door.

"Wait."

Viper catches me before I can open the door, one arm locking around my middle as he pulls me back against his chest. His nose presses into my hair, and he breathes me in with a low sound that vibrates through both of us.

"I think you should hear this before we go in," he murmurs.

I cover his forearm with my hand. "Hear what?"

"No matter what Everlyn says, you have us." His mouth brushes the side of my head, and his scent wraps around me, gunpowder and roses, warm from his skin. "Pup or no pup, nothing changes that."

Shade steps closer on my other side and slides his fingers through mine. "We face it together, baby girl. You don’t have to be brave for us in there."

"I know," I whisper, but my voice catches anyway. "I know that."

Knox moves in front of me, blocking the infirmary door with his broad body and all that Prime Alpha focus aimed straight at me. He cups my jaw, bends down, and kisses my cheek with slow care.

"Whatever she tells you today, it doesn’t change what you are to us," he says, his thumb moving once along my skin. "You are our Omega. Our mate. The center of this Pack."

The bond pulls warm and close around me, full of them, full of us, and my eyes burn before I can stop them.

Blaise shifts behind him, nodding vehemently with such a serious, determined expression that it makes the tears form faster.

Knox continues. "In this, I relinquish command of this Pack to you. You're in charge. If you want us beside you, we're there. You say retreat, we retreat."

I blink hard and point at him. "You cannot all be romantic right now because if I start crying, Blaise panics and says filthy, ridiculous things about semen to distract me."

Blaise scoffs. "Filthy and ridiculous? I'll have you know I was dead serious the other day. Viper needs medical intervention about the amount of spunk he produces. It's unnatural!"

Shade huffs a quiet laugh while Knox’s mouth twitches. Viper exhales in exasperation, his warm breath in my hair.

I roll my eyes, but I'm smiling, and the tight grip of anxiety has loosened in my chest, so I know they've done their best to keep their side of the bond closed down.