Page 165 of Alpha Awakened
“Oh.” For a moment, Dylan couldn’t do anything more than breathe out that single syllable response. Then he smiled, tears prickling in the corner of his eyes. He quickly wiped them away before he spoke. “To think the man who couldn’t even bebothered to grunt hello at me had such romance hiding in his soul. You’re my family too and every day I can’t help but think how lucky I am that we found each other.”
His own eyes glassy and bright, Ice reached out for his hand. They didn’t speak, just held on tight to each other for a long moment. Finally, Hazard remembered that there was a crowd of people behind them.
“We’d better go thank our supporters.”
“Hmmm.”
Ice made his usual noise of acknowledgement, making Hazard laugh as they walked over to the group of soldiers waiting to celebrate their victory.
“That was a hell of a hearing,” Colonel Gibbs said as he clapped Ice and Hazard on the back.
“And a win for shifters,” Hazard happily added.
Ortiz shook the councilor’s hand. “Thank you so much for coming today, Councilor Doucette.”
“I’m glad you called. When I said if there is ever anything I can do for you, I meant it. And I will be following up to ensure that the treatment of shifters in the military is addressed.”
“I have lots of ideas on that if you’d be interested in hearing them, Councilor Doucette,” Hazard offered.
“I am. Call my office and have my assistant set up a time for us to talk. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to my mate. She wants me by her side as much as possible right now.”
They all thanked her again. She gave them a wave goodbye and left. Lieutenant Colonel Kelly left too and after congratulating them once more, Gibbs left as well.
Hazard profusely thanked the group of soldiers who’d come. Ice, standing behind him, quietly added his thanks. Everyone expressed their relief that the two of them would get to stay together and had hope for what that meant for shifters in thefuture. However, it wasn’t long before the conversation slid into jokes about their mating.
“I knew Captain Anderson was the reason for your smile, sir,” Private Bell said with a smile of his own.
Boone laughed. “He probably hasn’t stopped grinning since they exchanged bond bites.”
“Well, I might have frowned once or twice while I was sitting in the brig wondering if I was about to be sent to military prison. But other than that...” Hazard looked over his shoulder at Ice. His mate looked down at him with love clear in his dark gaze. “Yeah, I’ve been happy and smiling.”
His declaration of happiness set off a round of cooing and whistles from the group. Hazard’s ears burned and he laughed at the playful ribbing. He leaned back against the solid wall of Ice’s chest. Ice returned his affection with a brief caress to his waist.
Captain Hayes spoke up when the teasing and jokes died down.
“I’d love to stay here and make fun of these two some more, but I need to get back to my sick bed.”
“Absolutely, sir,” Hazard quickly agreed. “You should be off your feet.”
Ice spoke, his voice low with sympathy. “We appreciate the effort you made for us today, Captain Hayes. I know things are difficult for you right now.”
Hayes pressed his lips together in an expression that was more pained grimace than smile. “Yes, they are,” he said roughly.
“We’ll come by,” Ortiz said. “And we’ll be there for the services.”
Hayes nodded in acknowledgement then turned to go.
Private Bell practically leaped forward to reach the captain. “Let me help you, Captain Hayes.”
“I’m not an invalid,” Hayes snapped.
“Of course not, sir. I just thought it would be best to have someone on standby in case you need assistance.”
“Fine.”
At Hayes’s grudging acceptance of Bell’s escort, they left. Hayes slowly walked toward the exit with Bell attentively at his side. The young soldier opened the door for Hayes when they reached it and together they disappeared through it.
Throat clearing by the MP standing outside the chamber doors got the rest of the group of supporters moving out the exit, until there was only Hazard, Ice, Jax, and Ortiz remaining in the hallway.