Page 38 of Protector (Alpha Ties)

THIRTY-EIGHT

ADDIE

Entering my lab has never felt so… wrong.

This used to be my sanctuary—my proudest achievement. I don’t see that here anymore. As I cross its threshold, it is not greatness that echoes in the dark, only my footsteps.

Memories wash over me, each so potent I momentarily lose track of Jacob’s presence behind me. This was a place where I held all the control. This was my kingdom. And my solace.

“Adelaide,” Jacob says, but his voice sounds so far away, its low, rumbling timbre coming to me like a roll of thunder from a distant storm. When I don’t reply, he tries again.

“Addie.”

My name is the crack of a whip in his mouth, an alpha command, and I turn. His gaze remains on my face at first, assessing me with a steady, even stare. “You good?”

I nod and swallow, pushing down the darkness threatening to pull me under.

“Grab whatever else you’ll need,” AX1 says. He’s posted near the door, keeping an eye on the perimeter. I don’t see Welsh; I guess he’s out there somewhere, patrolling the shadows. “The sooner we get moving, the sooner we can end this.”

I nod again, relieved to have an excuse for turning my back on Jacob . But I can tell he’s watching me, the heat of his gaze boring into my bones. There’s tension in our bond, the pull of it tying my stomach into knots.

He knows. For the first time, Jacob understands the magnitude of what this place meant to me—of how I felt every time I swiped my access card and walked through the doors—of the power and security my lab offered me. I try not to think about it, try not to remember how I never felt truly safe anywhere but here. Here, I was in control—perfect and indisputable—while beyond, I was so, so vulnerable.

I’m just finishing assembling my extraction kit when there’s a metallic groan. I turn, and Jacob has hefted himself onto a table, arms folded and raised as he peels off his shirt. The way his muscles bunch and twist makes my worn abdomen twang. Great. Now is definitely not the time for hormones.

“What are you doing?” I ask, ignoring my core’s attempt at mutiny.

“Might as well remove my chip here. Make sure the procedure is safe for the others.” He gives me a steady look.

My heart plummets toward my feet at the same moment my stomach leaps into my throat. I knew I’d have to do this—that was the whole point of coming here, after all—but… where once the thought of cracking Jacob’s skull open was just another Thursday to me, it now strikes me as a major operation. Because of course it is; it always was. It’s just taken me until now to admit it.

When you can convince yourself you’re only tuning up a machine, swapping out parts seems like no big deal. I really, really don’t like operating on people. Especially not… not him.

I don’t move. For the first time, I’m frozen by the idea of this—of operating on Jacob, of piercing his skull and removing a part of him. What if I remove more than intended, irrevocably changing who he is? What if… what if I kill him?

But then Jacob speaks, and again, the churning in my brain immediately stops.

“Addie.”

My name, said with such tenderness, makes me look back up at my mate, and in his eyes… There is so much affection. So much trust. After all I’ve put him through, he should never want me to touch him again, let alone operate on him. Yet he… trusts me. I can feel it humming between us, a solid, steady vibration in our bond.

“We don’t have time to put you under,” I say, trying desperately not to think about all the times I’ve cut into him without anesthetics before. “I can try for some pain relief, but?—”

Jacob shakes his head. “I need my thoughts clear.”

God, I hope this is the last time I’ll ever have to cut into him.

Breathing deeply, I gather my tools, don a pair of gloves, and get to work, letting instinct and muscle memory guide me. This has to be done, and I can’t afford to stop and think—can’t afford to let myself be overcome by the anxiety and concern roiling just beneath the surface. I’ve done operations like this before, dozens of times. My body knows the way, even when my brain is half-lost in the darkness of fear.

My palms are sweating under the latex and the nose guard of my surgical mask keeps shifting on my dewy face. My blade is in his meat, past the eggshell of his skull, carefully gliding into the gelatin of his brain matter to sever the connections between it and his chip. The pain is… I breathe slow and deep, forcing the stinging in my eyes back. I’m only feeling an echo of it, thanks to our bond, and it’s enough to soak my clothes with sweat. But the true anguish comes from knowing that this… This is what it’s been like every time I carved into him.

He makes a small movement then, and I hiss, “Hold still,” but then I realize what he’s doing. He’s tipped his head back just slightly so his eyes can meet mine.

For just a moment, I let myself fall into their green. Our bond hums as if someone has struck a chord, and the longer I gaze at him, the more harmonious the vibration becomes.

He’s checking on me, I realize with a start. It’s all I can do not to drop my scalpel inside his skull. Despite his pain, his main concern is for me. To reassure me. To comfort me.

I give a little shake of my head, shame flaming my cheeks. I don’t deserve this kind of tenderness. I don’t deserve him.

But his faith in me steadies my hands, and I get back to work.

A few minutes later, I free his chip using a small clamp and drop it into a nearby basin, then begin to close the wound on Jacob’s head. He doesn’t protest. In fact, the only one who speaks at all is AX1.

“Is it done?” he asks, searching my face for some hint of betrayal, some lie—some indication I somehow altered Jacob to serve me again. I can’t blame him, really. I’d be suspicious too.

Regardless, I nod, finishing up with the staples I’ve used to suture Jacob’s head. He gives a grunt then, the only sound he’s made since I began.

AX1 drops his gaze to Jacob, scrutinizing, assessing. But I’m the one who asks the question.

“Are you okay?”

Gradually Jacob tips his chin up to meet my eyes. I can tell something is going on behind him, some mental cataloging of his faculties, of whether the procedure worked. A tentative testing of boundaries. Then, at last, he nods.

“Yes,” he says, and tension I did not even know I was holding flees from my shoulders and neck. To AX1, he adds, “I’m free.”

AX1 nods in return, and I remove my gloves, turning away from the duo so that neither can see my hands are shaking.

Thanks to my father, Jacob and I aren’t hassled on our way to the White House. A quick look on the computer back at the lab revealed all the AX units are currently on the premises, giving us an opportunity to assassinate the false president, once I’ve removed everyones’ chips.

I plan to get to them under the guise of doing a recalibration, then remove the chips before anyone becomes suspicious. I’m more than a little worried about the outcome—It’s a delicate operation, and I’ve got to work fast in less than ideal surroundings—but every second we allow this coup to continue, more innocent people up and down the county will die.

AX1 and Welsh, however, can’t exactly waltz in behind us. We split up before any of the patrols can clock us. They’ll wait while Jacob’s and my arrival hopefully distracts the guards enough that they can find another way in.

There are quite a few security personnel gathered on Pennsylvania Avenue, especially near the fence where my father’s men have established a barricade and checkpoint. There aren’t many civilians on the streets, but there’s evidence a few conflicts sprang up in the aftermath of the government takeover. It’s going to take a while to wash all this blood off the sidewalks.

Jacob and I pause for only a moment, long enough that a guard can check over my ID and confirm via walkie-talkie that I’m supposed to be here. They give Jacob a long look, but they don’t so much as ask for ID. Apparently there is no hiding who—or what—he is.

I’m not anxious that they won’t let us in. All my life, my father’s rank has afforded me privileges. This will be no different, even if the world around me has changed drastically.

With Jacob’s big, warm hand on the small of my back, we walk up the path through the lawn, mount the stairs, and go inside.

“Addie. This is a surprise. Your father’s at Capitol Hill,” says a low, familiar voice.

I stop, blinking at General Smith. The entryway is well-lit, and he casts a long shadow toward us—yet somehow not as long as the one from the man standing next to him.

Colonel Sam Smith. His son.

The alpha who hurt me so bad, I became a monster just to survive.

My face flushes hot. Then cold. Clammy sweat gathers on my nape and throat. But I’m not alone.

Jacob’s hand on my back is a solid anchor, tethering my rapidly beating heart with the firm knowledge that no one will hurt me ever again. Not so long as he is by my side. However, the comfort of that knowledge is dulled by the seething burn of rage pounding through our bond. My protector, usually so entirely composed, is on the brink of losing it.

“O-oh,” I stammer, forcing my gaze from the general and his son to the alpha by my side. “Well, that’s all right, I’m not here for him. The AX units need recalibration. I’m here to take care of them.” Silently, I pray it’s enough of a reminder to my mate to keep it together. If he unleashes the violence I sense burning just underneath his skin, our cover is blown and the mission over before it’s begun.

“Take care of them how?” Sam asks, not so much as attempting to hide the lecherous undertone.

Jacob slides his grip to my waist, pulling me in closer to him, and at first I think it’s to defend me. After a moment, I realize it’s to keep himself in check. Pure, unadulterated hate simmers through our bond, threatening to boil. I can practically hear Jacob’s muscles tightening—but he’s managing to restrain himself.

“They’re in need of recalibration,” I say a little too loudly, as if I can somehow hide Jacob’s fury behind the volume. “Many of them sustained heavy damage. I’ll need to repair them, make sure they’re functioning at optimal capacity. It really can’t wait, not if you want them fully battle ready.”

“Isn’t that why we have Dr. Green?” General Smith drawls, as though he’s intent on dismissing us, but in no hurry. As if I bore him. “The AX units fall within his purview now.”

The words hit me like a slap in the face, and I find myself seething right alongside Jacob. The AX units are my project. They should be under my supervision. Dr. Green barely understands what he’s doing with them, certainly not to any degree that would supersede me.

But Dr. Green also has something I don’t: a dick. And no fucking spine.

It’s all I can do not to bare my teeth. That sycophant. That weasel. Of course he’d swoop in and steal my project the moment he saw his chance.

I’m fighting tooth and claw to wrest some sort of courteous reply from my throat when Sam speaks up. “Be that as it may, he does seem to be in over his head.” In my periphery, he turns his head toward his father. “If nothing else, having an assistant might help him patch them up faster.”

I am both freezing and on fire. Despite my better judgment, I fix Sam with a glare, finally taking him in. He looks positively unbothered by this exchange, completely aware of, yet impervious to, our history.

I’m not surprised. The night that changed me forever probably wasn’t anything remotely out of the ordinary for him.

Jacob shifts his weight by my side, and I get the distinct impression he senses where my thoughts are heading—and it’s doing nothing to help him stay calm.

I don’t have to look up at Jacob to know his nostrils are flared, his pupils dilated. His spine is straight as a steel beam, everything within him coiled, prepared to pounce.

I pull on his sleeve and twine our fingers, squeezing. Remember the mission, I plead silently. Please, please remember.

Jacob swallows audibly—the only outward sign that he’s straining to keep calm. I’m grateful he doesn’t squeeze me back; he might accidentally break my hand instead of Sam’s face.

After a few beats, General Smith nods. “All right. We were headed in that direction anyway. Come, Sam, let’s get Dr. Green some help.”

Thank the stars Jacob is here. I can’t imagine having to navigate the fucking White House alone, with my rapist and his father as my tour guides.

We follow the two men into the heart of the White House, and as we pass broken statues and browning blood smears, I recall a school trip to these same halls when I was a girl. I could never have imagined then the carnage my father would facilitate here.

“Green’s back here,” General Smith says, jerking his head toward a door near the end of a corridor.

“I’m sure the soldiers will be happy to see you. I don’t think Dr. Green gives them the same personal touch. ” Sam gives me a once over that has my skin crawling.

By my side, Jacob’s lip pulls up and I feel rather than hear a low, rumbling growl vibrate through his body. Squeezing his hand as hard as I can, I ignore the colonel’s less than subtle comment.

“Now, now,” General Smith says mildly. If I had hopes he’d put his son in his place, I’m sorely disappointed. Without further comment, he raps his knuckles on the door. “Dr. Green?”

A confirming murmur sounds from the other side.

The general pushes the door open, revealing my former colleague in a lone chair by a large conference table. His face is almost entirely obscured by the screen of his laptop, but when he looks up, I see lines on his face that aren’t usually there. Surprise crosses his features, then annoyance.

“General? What’s this?”

“Addie’s come to help you… was it recalibrate the AX units?” General Smith gives me a questioning look over his shoulder.

I nod. “They’ve seen a lot of combat. Ideally we’d take them back to the lab, but for now we’ll have to do it here.”

Dr. Green narrows his eyes. “They’re perfectly capable of running at capacity for now, and if any of them needs recalibration, I don’t need your help.”

I open my mouth to remind him that he’s notoriously terrible at patching up the artificial skin, but before I can get the words out, Sam interjects.

“Oh, come on, don’t tell me you’ve never seen Addie handle them before. It’s been a while, but if I recall, she gives good tail. I’m guessing that’s still the case, since one of them went and claimed her.” He lifts his chin at Jacob, a vile smirk on his face.

I don’t have time to feel the nausea tightening my gut at the gross suggestion. White-hot fury blasts through my chest, and I gasp out what’s meant to be a warning, but it comes too late.

In the span of a single heartbeat, Jacob’s crossed the space between him and Sam. His palm and fingers span the smaller alpha’s entire skull, and then a crunch rings through the air, followed by a spray of blood coating the doorframe, the walls—and General Smith.

Jacob tosses the colonel’s skull to the floor and rounds on his father.

“Jac—” I don’t manage to finish calling his name before Jacob grabs the general by the ears and twists.

I stare in abject horror as the older alpha’s body sinks to the floor, as headless as his son’s.

My mate tosses his head after him and rolls his shoulders. Our bond still throbs with his fury, but there’s a distinct undercurrent of satisfaction running through it.

“Oh, my God,” Dr. Green whimpers from the conference room. “W-what have you done?”

The sound of his fear somehow numbs my own. Our mission has just gone thoroughly tits up, and I have to get a handle on it right fucking now , or we are all dead.

I turn away from the carnage to regard the simpering beta. “Pull yourself together. And relinquish your control of my AX units—now.”