Page 61 of Daisy (Omega Chosen #3)

Gunner

E ighteen months of building this rebellion, and I'm standing in what used to be an abandoned warehouse, watching everything we've fought for finally come together.

Fuck. Look at this place.

The space hums with nervous energy and alpha scent. Beta-born alphas clean weapons in corners—fighters from underground circuits that Cassian recruited from his old fighting days. Betas run communication networks August designed that span three states.

It's beautiful. Terrifying. Everything Daisy dreamed it could be when she first told us her plan.

She's across the room, bent over maps with Dante and the Omega House guards who switched sides.

Her long black hair's pulled back in a practical braid, and she's wearing the combat boots I bought her.

Black tactical pants, fitted jacket, utility belt.

Eighteen months of planning turned her from the scared woman who couldn't sleep without me beside her into something fierce and unbreakable.

The omega who used to flinch at sudden noises now commands rooms full of armed alphas. The woman who whispered when she talked now speaks with authority that makes grown men listen.

My chest tightens with pride and fierce protectiveness. Our bond thrums warm and steady. She's focused, determined, but underneath there's worry eating at her. The scent of it cuts through the warehouse like a knife, making every alpha in the room restless.

I can feel Hawk's excitement thrumming through our pack bond, wild and barely contained, his scent spiking with adrenaline and protective fury.

Dante's steady determination tastes like steel and honey in the back of my throat.

Cassian's coiled readiness for violence makes my own muscles tense in response.

August's quiet anxiety threads cold through everything, his bergamot scent going sharp with fear for all of us.

The pack bonds are so strong right now I can barely tell where my emotions end and theirs begin.

"Final count?" I ask Hawk as he approaches, tablet in hand and that familiar cocky grin on his face.

"Eighty percent of Omega House guards confirmed," he reports. "Dante's work. Turns out most beta-born alphas don't actually enjoy protecting a system that treats them like second-class citizens."

No shit.

I grunt acknowledgment, checking my own notes. Numbers I've memorized, but looking gives my hands something to do when all I want is to cross the room and pull Daisy against my chest until her worry scent fades.

"Beta alliance?"

"Cassian's networks came through. Six different underground circuits, plus August's beta town contacts. Safe houses, transportation, about half our funding." Hawk's grin widens. "Our omega's got half the country ready to burn it all down for her."

The pride in his voice matches what's swelling in my chest. Our omega. Our revolution.

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 nothing I can do to protect her from it. My scent betrays me, going possessive and desperate.

"I will," she promises, rising on her toes to kiss me softly. Her lips taste like determination and fear and everything I love about her. Through the kiss, I can feel the others watching us, their scents mixing with ours. Pack. Family. "I love you."

"Love you too," I say against her mouth, the words feeling like goodbye even though I refuse to let them be.

She pulls away, but I hold onto her hand for one more second. Feel the delicate bones, the calluses she's earned from training. My fierce omega.

The rooftop across from Governor Crane's mansion gives me a perfect view of the target, and more importantly, a clear line of sight to protect Daisy when she goes in.

I adjust my rifle scope, settling into position. My job's simple. Make sure no one gets in or out of that mansion without authorization. Make sure my omega's escape route stays clear.

Simple. Right.

Nothing about this feels simple when I can feel her anxiety spiking through our pack bond, when her fear-scent is burned into my memory, when every breath tastes like the protective fury of five males who would die before letting anything happen to her.

"Status report," I say into my comm, watching the mansion's windows for movement.

The radio crackles with updates that make my chest swell with pride: "Omega House secured. All omegas evacuated to safe locations. Zero casualties."

"Government complex breached. Multiple arrests in progress."

"Stock exchange secured. Financial records seized."

I feel the others' reactions to each victory through our connection. Relief. Satisfaction. The sweet taste of justice served. We're not just taking down Governor Crane—we're dismantling the entire power structure that treated Daisy like property.

"Package approaching target," August's voice cuts through my earpiece. Package. Our code name for Daisy, like she's cargo instead of the heart of this entire operation.