Page 74 of Alpha Awakened

“Come with me.”

After giving the order, he turned and strode off. He looked back once to make sure that Hazard was following him. He was, although it was with obvious reluctance. They walked together until Ice spied an out of the way place.

“Over here.”

Once they were hidden away in the shadowed, narrow space between the two buildings, they stopped and faced each other. Hazard stood, feet braced apart, arms crossed over his chest. Hiseyes glowed and his scent blasted his current emotion loud and clear: pissed off omega.

“Did I miss something, Captain?”

“What?”

“Did I wake up mated to you this morning? Because that’s the only reason you should be staking your claim on me the way you just did. So, tell me, did I wake up mated?”

Ice bit back another growl. A wave of heat rolled through him at the thought of waking up mated to the wolf in front of him. The part of him that wanted to claim Hazard would love it if that were the case. “You know you didn’t,” he forced out.

“Then what the fuck was that? You tell me we need to keep our distance from each other and just be work pals, then you pull that shit. Help me understand because I’m confused as fuck.”

Ice clenched his jaw. He couldn’t help Hazard understand because he didn’t understand it himself. He’d never been in this position before. The only emotional attachment he had was to the US Legion. He knew his role in the world. Knew the type of soldier he needed to be to carry out that role. Emotional entanglements weren’t a part of it. And yet, here he was, all twisted up over this one green-eyed, smart, skilled, gorgeous, and charismatic omega.

“I don’t know what that was.”

“Then why—?”

Ice cut him off before he could finish his question. “Be quiet. For once, stop talking and listen.”

“Talk,” Hazard snapped, fury still glinting in his eyes.

A low growl of frustration — at himself, at the situation — rumbled out of his throat before he spoke. “I didn’t plan to do that. But I didn’t like seeing that alpha’s hand on you or like watching him posturing trying to impress you. Before I realized it, I’d marched over and done some posturing of my own. I acted out in jealousy over someone who’s not even mine.”

“You told me you were possessive.”

“I did. And I meant it.”

“You can’t be possessive over something you don’t care about.”

“True.”

Hazard took a step closer. “That means you care about me.”

Ice shook his head. “I shouldn’t.”

“But you do.”

He took another step. Ice moved forward too, until there was barely a breath of space between them.

“What do you want?” Hazard asked in a hushed whisper.

What did he want? He wanted Hazard to use his name. He wanted Hazard to be his.

Reaching up, Ice unbuckled his mask and pulled it off. He held the mask in both hands, staring down at the wolf skull. “I want to be who I am. Who I’ve always been. And yet...” He looked up and met Hazard’s jade green gaze. “I want you too.”

“Why can’t you have both?”

“That’s impossible.”

The hint of a smile teased at the corners of Hazard’s mouth. “We put a man on the moon. Nothing is impossible.”

Ice leaned down and pressed his forehead to Hazard’s. “Somehow space travel seems easier than resisting you.”