Omega's Truth - Nora Phoenix Page 0,61

did he have but obey? Hopefully, Palani and Sivney would’ve gotten the hell out. Bray raised his head. He wouldn’t give up that easily, but he’d have to be smart about this, keep his cool. He stood still, but when the soldier came close, he did growl at him.

The guy gasped. “Damn, you’re big. Much bigger than I had expected. The general will be pleased.”

The general? Bray could think of only one general the soldier could be referring to, and oh god, what had he gotten himself into? His heart sank.

“You heard what the sergeant said. Don’t be stupid now. He never misses, and neither do the other guys.”

Bray believed him. The guy didn’t even sound like he was trying to threaten Bray but more like he was making a factual statement.

“Let’s go. The general is dying to see you, and he was about to run out of patience, thinking you’d never show up.”

Never show up? Had he been expecting them? His blood froze in his veins. A trap. They’d set a trap…and he’d walked straight into it.

As he went where the soldier indicated, the man never taking his eyes nor his gun off Bray, all he could think of was his family. Little Jax. Ruari. Kean. His brothers, his father. Would he ever see them again? What would they do to him?

The soldier led him inside through a back entrance, and now Bray understood why it had been so dark from the outside. The windows were all blackened out, and no light had spilled through, even though inside the building all the lights were on. They walked through hallways with endless rows of lockers until they came to a cluster of offices. The soldier knocked on the door with the sign Headmaster Treese.

“Enter,” a booming voice called out.

The soldier gestured Bray to go in, and as soon as he’d done so, the man finally lowered his gun and made a crisp salute. “General, we’ve caught him.”

Behind a mahogany desk, a tall frame rose. Even if the soldier hadn’t mentioned his rank, Bray would’ve recognized the three golden stars…and the nametape on his uniform. Armitage.

“How nice of you to finally show up,” the general said as he rounded the desk. “Damn, you’re much bigger than I’d expected.”

Bray stood unmoving as the general circled him, slowly whistling between his teeth. “Impressive. I could say it’s a pleasure to meet you, but I’d be lying. Still, welcome to my headquarters, Lidon Hayes.”

21

“Freeze!”

Sivney and Palani dove into the bushes when that command echoed over the school’s terrain, the area suddenly flooded with bright lights. They were far enough away to stay in the darkness but close enough to hear dogs bark and that voice call out over a loudspeaker.

“Freeze, or the next one won’t miss!”

They couldn’t see what was happening, but another gunshot rang out, and Sivney huddled close to Palani. Were they shooting at Bray? They had to. Was he still alive? Sivney’s wolf body shook, his mind frantic with what could be happening. He listened as intently as he could, but everything went quiet. What had happened? Had they killed him? Or captured him?

They waited a few minutes. Then they shifted, Palani first and Sivney right after. “What the fuck happened?” Sivney whispered, not even bothered that he and Palani were both naked. That was the least of his worries right now.

“I don’t know. I’m hoping they captured him and didn’t kill him, but I don’t know…”

“What do we do now?”

He couldn’t see much of Palani’s face in the dark, but the man had to be as worried as Sivney was.

“We can’t leave him here,” Palani whispered. “If he’s still alive, god knows what they’ll do to him.”

“We don’t even know who they are. We could be dealing with some kind of vigilante group, a civilian militia…or with the whole fucking army at once.”

“Good point. That’s the first thing we need to find out. Let’s shift back and continue our walk around the property, see if we can figure out who these guys are. Stay close to me, okay?”

“Okay.”

“And, Sivney, if things go south…” Palani’s voice was soft but strong. “Run.”

“I’m not leaving you two,” Sivney protested.

Palani put a hand on his shoulder. “One of us needs to get away and report back. Get help if possible.”

“But you’re faster than me. Why not you?”

Palani’s grip intensified. “You’re an omega. God knows what they’d do to you. You have to get away.”

Sivney shivered. The thought was gruesome, but Palani did have a