Page 115 of Knot Their Soldier: Part Three

O-space.

Relief has me inhaling a deep gasp of air, my lungs burning as they fill entirely for the first time in what feels like an age.

I thought I left this state behind when I resurrected into a confident, self-assured version of myself. I thought I didn't need it anymore. I was wrong. O-space is still here, protecting me from the overwhelming experience of being an Omega in this fracked-up world.

That does not make me weak.

It means my body knows when to hand me over to my Pack.

I give myself over to the lulling, washing waves of tranquility, knowing that I'm safe. My Pack will care for me while I'm in O-space as they always have before.

I close my eyes and drift.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Halley

Day One

I wake from a deep, blank sleep, consciousness returning in slow layers.

Warmth is the first thing I register. A steady wall of it. Bodies around me that are close and solid, proof that when I slipped into O-space, my Pack stayed right here and kept me safe.

There is a dim, flickering light nearby and a ceiling I recognize. Then the nest comes into focus, a mess of blankets and bare skin, calm breaths rising and falling, almost synced to the same quiet rhythm.

Blaze’s arm is heavy across my waist. Shade’s hand cups the back of my neck like he fell asleep mid-soothe. Viper is pressed to my side, broad and still, a quiet line of heat. Knox lies close enough that I can feel his warmth radiating from his skin.

The bond sits braided and calm, not silent exactly, but settled. It's protective and present. Four steady threads of love humming within my chest as a constant reassurance.

There are no lingering signs of the panic that dragged me under. My body has already erased it, stitching me back together as if it never happened.

My mind does not get the same mercy.

I'm fertile, possibly pregnant, and I won't know for certain for two whole damn weeks.

Frack.

How is this my reality, and when will my life stop twisting upside down?

This was the one thing that was constant. The very core of my identity.

I'm the Omega who is infertile. It's the only reason I even ended up on a damn military base, let alone shunted into active duty service. Without those facts, there would be no way I would have met my Pack. It was fate. It had to be.

And now…

My hand slides over my stomach.

It still doesn't feel any different.

I scrunch my nose as I realize that is not exactly true.

Now that I think about it, the constant nagging pain in my abdomen that I've had all my life has slowly seeped away over the last few months. There has been so much going on that, honestly, I didn't think about it. In hindsight, it stopped hurting back in the training camp when the bond began to form and my healing speed increased.

I shake my head, forcing myself to stop thinking about the life-changing news Everlyn gave our Pack. We could already be parents to a little tadpole in my womb. My hand on my stomach clenches. I have to stop myself before I spiral.

Obsessively ruminating over possibilities is what old Halley would do. She'd spend the next two weeks dwelling, worrying, and making up scenario after scenario in her head.

That's not me anymore.