I shifted my hard-on in my tight tactical pants as I left Josie with Ben in the weapons room. It was making more sense to me why the military had a no bonded alpha policy. The usual thrill I felt before a high-risk mission was absent. All I wanted was to get Josie into a nest—a real fucking nest, not that shitty bed in the safe house—and do anything and everything to make her happy.
I gritted my teeth as I leaned over the table, gripping the metal edge. I needed to focus. Everyone I loved in the world was about to be in danger. This time, though, we were one step ahead of the enemy. It wasn’t going to be like Ellie, wouldn’t be like when Josie was taken from us. I would ensure this ended differently.
The weight of my weapons and the press of the vest against my chest brought back memories of my time in the military. The feeling was as familiar as it was unsettling. Fuck, I’d hated it there. Hated being screamed at, treated like shit, and forced to follow the commands of alphas I despised. But it had also given me a purpose, something I was good at: protecting, fighting, killing. I cringed at that last one, hating myself for being good at something so fucking awful. I hadn’t told Josie details about my time in the military because I was terrified it would change how she saw me. I had never wanted to be that kind of alpha who needed control through violence.
Theo joined me at the table, clasping me on the shoulder. The three young alphas joined us, looking to me for guidance. My alpha bristled at having them so close to my bonded, but I had to admit they seemed fine. Eager and inexperienced, but willing to take orders and do what needed to be done. But if they so much as looked at Josie wrong…
I felt a jolt in the bond and looked up, meeting my omega’s gaze from across the room. She was frowning, her little nose scrunched up, and it fucking turned me on. I gripped the edge of the table tighter. Was this feeling ever going to die down? This intense need for her? She made her way towards me and my mouth practically fucking watered at the outline of her ass in her leggings. Yeah, I hoped this never stopped.
“What’s the matter?” she asked, curling herself into my arms.
When I was younger, I would have seen any sign of tenderness as a threat to my authority. But now, I didn’t give a fuck what the other alphas thought. I knew that Josie only made me stronger.
I wrapped my arms around her, resisting the urge to purr for her. It would make her perfume and I didn’t want to douse her in de-scenter again. She relaxed against me and I took a deep breath.
“Being here brings back memories from my time in the military,” I finally said, skating my lips against the shell of her ear to make sure my words were just for her.
“Bad memories?” she asked, eyes sad as she ran her fingers down my beard. I shivered at her touch.
I nodded, my throat tight with emotion.
“You’ll tell me someday?” she asked.
“Yeah, sweetheart, I will.”
I nuzzled my face into her hair, my fingers itching to pull it down from its bun. I could practically hear the sweet whimpers she had gifted me with in the back of the van—her trust in me to keep her safe from the dark was almost as heady as the scent of her arousal and the feel of her slick on my fingers. Maybe we had time for a quick fuck before we had to go…
Josie slapped her hand against my chest, clearing my haze of arousal.
“Focus,” she hissed, her face beautifully flushed. “How am I supposed to be a badass when you’re sending all of that through the bond?” Her tone was scolding, but I didn’t miss the way her eyes were slightly glazed over and the arousal she was sending back to me through our connection.
I took a deep breath and released her, taking a step back so we were no longer touching. I had to cover my mouth to keep from laughing at her outraged expression.
“You’re too distracting in my arms,” I murmured, taking a risk by dipping my lips to her ear and pressing a hot kiss to the side of her face. “But after this is done? You better be ready for me, little omega.”
“I’m always ready,” she said cheekily. “Okay, let’s get Operation FTA going,” she said with a clap.
“FTA?” Ben asked, throwing his arm around her shoulders.
“Operation Fuck those Alphas. Or Free the Alliance, whichever you prefer.”
Oliver chuckled before his eyes widened, and he glanced at me anxiously as if I was going to attack him for daring to laugh at something my omega said. I rolled my eyes but was secretly pleased. Wouldn’t hurt the others to be a little scared of me.
I checked my watch. We had an hour before we needed to leave. Time to review the plan again.
“There are three entrances to the warehouse—the front, back, and this side one,” I said, pointing to each one on the building blueprint loaded on the tablet we’d gotten at the safe house. “Ben will work from the van to disable the security and communication systems.” My lips twitched, thinking about how perturbed Ben had been earlier today when he’d had to leave the bed to coordinate security with Charlie.
I cleared my throat. “After security is down, we’ll enter the facility in three teams and disable the guards. Our directives are to get them to surrender with as little bloodshed as possible, but we will shoot to kill if needed.”
A brief burst of anxiety from Josie flared in the bond before she shielded her feelings from me. I clenched my fist and told myself again that leaving her behind wasn’t an option. We needed her. But she wouldn’t even have the protection of the alpha tabs, since using them would also incapacitate our team. I just wanted this to be over.
“Theo, you’ll go with Grant to the front entrance. Oliver and River will take the back. I’ll go in through the side.”
Josie emitted a growl and all of us turned to stare at her. She blushed but didn’t cower under our gazes. Instead, she looked at me, her expression fierce.
“You’re not going in alone,” she said. “I’ll go with you. That entrance is closest to where the omegas are being kept, anyway.”
I suppressed the growl threatening to rip through my chest, breathing hard through my nose. Theo’s jaw was set and Ben was frowning.
“It’s too dangerous for you to go in before we’ve taken out the guards,” I said, my voice as calm as I could make it. I reached my hand out to Josie and was relieved when she took it.
“So I’ll just be standing by the side entrance alone?” she asked, brows raised.
I opened my mouth and then closed it again. Fuck.
Any delays in getting the omegas out could lead to more casualties. If Josie waited in the van with Ben, she wouldn’t be able to get into the facility fast enough once the guards were down. Maybe the omegas would just come with us and Josie wouldn’t need to take part at all…
Yeah, somehow, I thought that wouldn’t go over well. I also remembered how skittish Josie was around us when she’d first moved in. These omegas might be in worse shape and wouldn’t have the biological reassurance of us being mates. Evacuation would be chaos if they panicked.
I gripped her chin. “You’ll stay behind me and if I tell you to run, you will fucking run.”
She nodded as a broad smile brightened her face and I caught her flashes of happiness and relief through the bond. I looked over her head at Theo and Ben. They both gave me a nod, understanding that we didn’t have a choice. None of us wanted our omega near danger, but if we were going to succeed as a pack, we had to trust her. No more making decisions for her, trying to shield her from everything.
“Alright,” I said, turning back to the table. The other three alphas were looking at us with shocked curiosity. I doubted they’d ever seen an omega challenge her alpha. “Josie will take point in the omega evacuation. Once they’re all out, we’ll load them all into our vans. We can commandeer a facility van if needed.”
I dug deep to stay focused as I answered the other alphas’ questions about the finer details of the plan. But the entire time, I was aware of Josie’s hand tightly holding mine. I glanced down at her, and she leaned into my arm. My heart broke a little, seeing how excited she was to just be included. While a wild fear clawed at my chest at allowing her to enter a dangerous situation, there were few people in the world I would trust more than her to be by my side.
