Page 58 of Knot Their Soldier: Part Three

"Take her."

One of the Alpha guards moves.

He reaches for the gap between Knox and the wall, trying to get around him to reach Halley.

Blaze hits him first.

The guard slams into the stone wall with Blaze on top of him, knife flashing toward the hand reaching for Halley. The second Alpha guard grabs Blaze from behind, and Blaze twists with a snarl, driving his elbow into the guard’s throat before they crash to the floor together.

The medic stumbles back, syringe raised in a shaking hand.

"Drop it," Knox shouts, the words carrying a thundering Alpha Command.

The medic drops the syringe with wide eyes, stumbles backward, turns, and runs.

Stone’s face goes red. "Restrain them."

The Betas lift their rifles.

Everlyn jerks Halley back, and Shade moves with them, putting himself between Halley and the nearest gun.

Knox steps forward slowly, in complete control despite his Alpha going wild down the bond.

"If you point your gun at my Omega," Knox says, "I will make you regret it for the rest of your short life."

The soldiers hesitate.

"Shoot the Alphas," Stone snaps as one Beta soldier drags a set of restraints from his belt and passes them to Stone. "I'll put the Omega in restraints and drag her to do her duty, conscious or unconscious."

The words cut through me.

Halley in restraints.

Halley drugged.

Halley dragged back to the Pass while her body burns through heat without her Pack to save her. Again.

My hands flex.

"You bastard!" Blaze shouts as he throws himself at Stone, somehow breaking free from the two Alphas on the ground. His knife glints as he swipes at the old Alpha's throat, but one of the Alpha guards tackles him mid-swing. The other joins the fight back on the ground, but Blaze isn't going down without a fight. He kicks and bites ferociously, snarling like a wild beast, and they have to use every ounce of their strength to keep Blaze from attacking Stone again.

"As long as I live, Omega Specialist Sparks belongs to me and Blackgate."

There it is.

The whole ugly truth, handed to me in his own words.

As long as I live.

Cold certainty settles in me.

My Omega is not anyone's property.

As I enter his personal space, Stone's throat bobs. "Stand down, Lieutenant Viper."

I say nothing, just look down at him and let him see my truth in my eyes.

I'm not his soldier, and rank means nothing to me anymore.