Page 56 of Brave New Omega, Part 2
Chapter 56
MAX
“ Y ou need to stand down, Professor Bellrose,” Captain Zhao says. Loren only tightens his hold on our Omega. I roll my eyes.
“Oh, come on Kev. You know that Katie is our Omega. Stop posturing, for gods’ sake.”
Kev Zhao frowns. “Max don't push me. A code carnelian was called in and–”
“We know that, Captain Zhao. Who do you think made the call?” Loren says patiently. Katie presses a hand to his cheek, her cheeks are bright pink.
“Captain Murphy. Who isn’t here. ” Kev finally lowers his gun. His men have circled us on all sides. Which is good, in theory. But I’ve never liked being surrounded, even by the good guys.
“He is here, my man.” I nod toward the wolf baring his teeth protectively beside Loren.
“You meant to tell me that Callum Murphy shifted?” Kev frowns again.
Katie wiggles out of Loren’s arms, pushing him behind her as she stares the Captain down. Oh, this is my warrior queen. Shoulders back, head high, eyes sharp as polished steel. This is my strong, beautiful, perfect Omega.
“You will refer to me as Captain Katherine Wilder when you address me. And you will stand down, soldier.”
He scowls at her, but her back is straight and she doesn’t flinch as she comes nose to nose with him.
My jaw clenches to the point of pain. Every instinct I have screams for me to pull her away from him, to act as her human shield. But she’s a soldier. She knows what must be done, and she can do it.
She takes a step closer, her voice a lethal calm. “I said, stand down.”
Captain Zhao locks gazes with her, and for a heartbeat they stare each other down. Fuck, if he touches her…
Finally, the man breaks.
“Stand down,” he shouts. All around us the soldiers relax, a few moving forward to cuff the Betas. I release Genevieve – who is still frozen fucking solid, except for her creepy eyes – and rush to my Pack.
Katie kneels, opening her arms to Callum. He trots over and lays his head gently on her shoulder.
“Thank you for saving me,” she whispers just loud enough for us to hear. “I couldn’t have done it without all of you.” She gently places a kiss on the top of his wet nose. “It’s time for you to shift back, Callum. I need you to hold me.”
Her words hardly left her lips before the shift ripples through his body, in a grotesque parade of joints cracking and realigning. It’s not a seamless shift, like Alfonze Bellrose. No, this is a painful resettling of bones and tendons.
Then Callum stands there naked as the day he was born, grabbing our Omega and clutching her to him.
Murmurs ripple around us, but it’s all a haze of sound that fades. Maddie is escorted ahead of us, flanked by a team of Betas with guns and a medic trying unsuccessfully to examine her. Callum swings Katie into his arms, ignoring everything but a single directive.
“We have to get her to her nest.”