Page 68 of Alpha Awakened

Ice expected to feel relief that Hazard finally understood. Oddly, he didn’t. The tightness in his chest felt like disappointment. Still, he pushed forward.

“Do you want to stay on this team?”

“Yes.”

“So do I. If we’re both staying, we have to be able to work together. Can you do that?”

Hazard let out a slow breath. Ice saw defeat in his eyes and realized that he was giving up. His Instinct urged him to say fuck both the Legion regulation and his goal and get back on that bed to soothe the hurt and defeat from his omega. He ignored it.

“Yeah. I can do that,” Hazard answered in a low voice.

“Good. We’ll go back to what we were before. Partners. Friends. And I’ll get off your case in the field. I was wrong in the shoot house yesterday and I apologize for that.”

“Okay,” Hazard said with a nod. “We’re squadmates. Nothing more.”

They both went quiet. Ice wished he could take back his decision. But he couldn’t. So, after one last look at Hazard sitting in the middle of his bed, he left the room, quietly closing the door behind him.

Chapter 27

November 8, 1982

21:00

White River National Forest

When Ortiz and Jax returned, Ice went to the major’s office. He let her know that he and Hazard had settled their issue and were ready to get back to work. Ortiz hadn’t asked any questions. She’d nodded and that was that.

Now a week and a half later, they were out on a mission, tracking Cortez again. They’d received word that he was holed up in a commune of shifters in the shadow lands of southwest Colorado.

They crept through the forest as the sun set, eyes sharp, weapons at the ready. Hazard was to his right, crossing through a patch of bright yellow flowers. Ortiz and Jax were a few klicks to the east, allowing them to cover more ground in their search. As they proceeded, an overpowering, sickeningly sweet smell hit Ice’s nose.

“What the fuck is that smell?” he asked in disgust.

Hazard looked at him with an eyebrow raised. “I don’t smell anything.”

“How can you not? It smells like a truckload of rotting fruit.”

Hazard stopped and drew in a deep breath through his nose. “I don’t smell it. That’s weird.”

Ice instantly went on high alert. He didn’t believe it was simply weird that he was smelling something that Hazard couldn’t. Something was off. He got on the comm link. “Ice to Ortiz. How copy?”

“Solid copy, Ice. What’s up?”

“Do you smell something odd?”

“Yeah. It stinks like somebody left a bunch of overripe oranges out in the sun.”

Jax came on next. “I smell it too. Eau de rotting fruit.”

Ice threw anI told you solook at Hazard.

“Hazard doesn’t smell it.”

“You think it’s something only alphas can detect?” Jax asked. “Some sort of trap or weapon for us specifically?”

“Maybe.” He walked over to Hazard. The closer he got to him, the more he smelled the sweet stench. “It’s coming from right here.”

Hazard’s brows drew together in a fierce frown. “It’s not me!” he said, clearly offended.