Page 157 of Daisy

Across the room, Daisy straightens from the maps and catches my eye. Even with all the chaos, all the scents swirling through the air, our bond cuts through everything. Sharp spike of anxiety.

Something's wrong.

I'm moving before I consciously decide to, cutting through the crowd with single-minded focus. Guards step aside with respect, they know I'd tear through anyone who tried to stop me from reaching her.

I don't speak when I reach her side, just move close enough that her scent wraps around me. Wild honeysuckle, but sour with worry, sharp with the kind of fear that makes all my protective instincts go haywire. My own scent responds without permission, sandalwood and wild fig turning aggressive, claiming.

The others feel it through the pack bond. Dante's honey-clove scent spikes protective. Hawk's caramel goes smoky with rage. Cassian's dark amber turns lethal. August's bergamot sharpens to a point that could cut glass.

We're all responding to her distress, and she hasn't even told us what's wrong yet.

She looks up at me, those dark eyes with gold flecks that still make my heart skip. "Uncle's getting suspicious."

Fuck.

Dante glances up from his intel reports, jaw tight. "My contacts inside the guard units confirmed it. Three of our meeting locations had federal visits last week. Not random."

"He knows something's coming," Daisy continues, I can feel her anxiety building through our connection. Sharp and bitter. "I don't think he knows what, but..."

"Paranoid bastard's getting desperate," Cassian says, appearing beside us with that silent way he has. His amber eyes are hard. "Presidential campaign's failing. Needs a win."

I study Daisy's face, reading the tension around her eyes, the way she's holding her shoulders. "How desperate?"

"Storm's and Harley's Choosing Days damaged his reputation," Dante says grimly. "He needs something big. Something to prove he's still in control."

Hawk joins our circle, his usual humor nowhere to be found. "Like what?"

Daisy's hands clench on the map, and panic floods her scent before she speaks. "Like making an example. Public execution. Show the world what happens when you challenge his authority."

The words hit me like a punch to the gut. Every protective instinct I have roars to life, my hands curling into fists, my scent flooding the air with protective rage so strong it makes nearby alphas step back. He's looking for her. My omega.My Daisy.

Our bond carries our emotions back and forth, colliding and tangling until everything's a mess of feeling. Hawk's rage spikes so hot and fast I can taste smoke on my tongue. Dante's guilt cuts through me sharp as a blade, making my chest ache. Cassian's deadly stillness floods the connection with cold promise, raising every hair on my arms. August's fear for all of us threads through everything like ice in my veins.

The emotional overload makes me dizzy. Four alphas and a beta all feeling the same protective fury at once, all of it channeled through our bonds until I can barely breathe.

"He's always been looking for me," she says quietly, but there's steel in her voice now. Not the scared woman anymore. "But now it's different. Before, he wanted me back because I was his property. Now he wants me back because I'm his enemy."

Damn right you're his enemy.

August materializes at Daisy's elbow, that quiet way he has of appearing when she needs him most. "All the more reason to move fast. Can't give him time to find us."

I look around at the warehouse full of people willing to risk everything for freedom. Eighteen months of building this army from nothing. Hundreds of lives hanging in the balance. And my omega at the center of it all, the spark that lit this fire.

"Today," I say, the word coming out rougher than intended. "We move today."

Daisy nods, and I watch her straighten into the leader she's become. No hesitation. No fear. Just determination and fire. "Coordinated strikes across the city. Omega Houses, government buildings, elite compounds. Free every trapped omega, arrest every corrupt official, broadcast the truth to the entire country."

"Your uncle?" Dante asks.

Her dark eyes go hard as steel. "I want to be the one to arrest him. I want to look him in the eye when I tell him exactly what I think of his system."

Pride floods through me. This is the woman I fell in love with. Not the scared woman in silk, but the warrior in combat boots. The omega who chose to fight instead of hide.

Around us, the warehouse erupts into motion. Eighteen months of preparation condensed into hours of execution. Weapons distributed. Teams assigned. Safe words confirmed.

I catch Daisy's hand as she starts to move toward her team, my fingers threading through hers. Her scent shifts immediately at my touch, worry easing just slightly, her honeysuckle sweetening. The pack bond hums with shared relief as her distress fades.

"Careful," I tell her, knowing it's useless. She's walking into the most dangerous situation of her life, and there's nothingI can do to protect her from it. My scent betrays me, going possessive and desperate.