Chapter 165: The Night Before
Sierra's POV
Tomorrow we will fight and some of us will die. I stood on the balcony and watched darkness swallow the light. My hands shook against the railing.
"Come inside." Adrian's voice was rough. He had been on calls all day. Checking weapons. Confirming positions. Making sure every fighter knew their role. His eyes were red from lack of sleep, from carrying the weight of fifty lives on his shoulders.
I turned to him. "I'm scared."
"Me too." He pulled me close. His heart beat fast against my cheek. "I keep thinking about Alexander. About never seeing him grow up. Never teaching him to ride a bike or throw a ball. Never being there."
"Don't talk like that." I grabbed his shirt. "You're coming back. We both are. We're going to kill Marcus and bring our baby home and live a long, boring life together."
He laughed. Sad and broken. "Boring sounds perfect right now."
We went inside. The bedroom felt different tonight and smaller like the walls were closing in. Adrian locked the door. Turned off his phone. The world outside could wait. Tonight was just us.
He kissed me slowly like I was something precious that might break. His hands moved through my hair. Down my back. Tracing every curve like he was memorizing me. I pulled him closer. I needed to feel him. All of him.
"I love you," he whispered against my lips. "More than anything. More than my pack, my territory, even my own life."
"I love you too." Tears spilled down my face. "So much it scares me. So much I can't imagine existing without you."
We moved to the bed. Clothes fell away. Skin touched skin. Every kiss was desperate. Every touch was a prayer. Please let us survive this, let us see tomorrow. Please don't let this be goodbye.
Adrian's hands were everywhere. Touching my breast, rubbing my clitoris like he couldn't decide if he wanted to worship me or claim me. Maybe both. His lips found my neck, my shoulder. The spot behind my ear that made me gasp.
"Look at me," he said. His eyes were dark. Wild. Full of love, fear and need. "I want to remember this. Remember you. Exactly like this."
I touched his face. Traced the scar on his jaw. "You're not dying tomorrow. Neither am I. We're fighting, we're winning and we're coming home."
"Promise me something." His voice cracked. "If something happens to me. If Marcus kills me. Promise you'll keep living. Keep fighting. Raise our son and tell him about me."
"Stop." I kissed him hard. "Nothing's happening to you. I won't let it."
We made love like it was the first time and the last time. Slow and fast. Gentle and rough. He fucked me from the back so passionately and I couldn’t help but scream out his name. I came immediately and so did he.
"I love you," he whispered again, again and again. Like if he said it enough times, it would keep us safe. Keep us alive. Keep us together.
"I love you too." I traced my fingers on his chest and felt his heartbeat under my fingers. "Forever. No matter what."
We didn't sleep. Just held each other. We talked about everything and nothing. About the life we wanted. The future we'd build. Alexander's first steps. His first words. Teaching him to be strong and kind. To protect the weak and fight for what's right.
"He'll be a good Alpha someday," Adrian said. "Better than me."
"He'll be just like you." I kissed his shoulder. "Brave. Strong. Willing to sacrifice everything for the people he loves."
Dawn came too fast. Adrian got up first. Dressed in black combat gear. Strapped weapons to his belt. Became the Alpha his pack needed.
I dressed too. Black pants. Black shirt. Boots that felt too heavy. My hands wouldn't stop shaking as I tied the laces. This was real. This was happening. In a few hours, we'd be at war.
The command center was set up in the pack house basement. Computers. Maps. Radios. Everything we needed to coordinate the attack. Ben was already there. So was Richard. Both looked grim.
"Teams are in position," Ben said. "Waiting for your signal."
Adrian looked at the map. At the red dots marking our fighters. Fifty good men and women are ready to die for this cause. His jaw was tight. Eyes hard. But I saw the fear underneath. The weight of knowing some of them wouldn't come home.
"Sierra stays here," Adrian said. "Command center. Safe."
"I can help." I moved to the computers. "I can feel things. Sense danger. Guide the teams through it."
"What are you talking about?" Richard frowned.
I took a breath. "Ever since before Alexander was born, I've been different. Stronger. Faster. I can sense things before they happen. Feel when something's wrong and tell between right and wrong." I looked at Adrian. "Let me use it. Let me help save lives."
He stared at me. War played out in his eyes. The need to protect me. The need to use every advantage. Finally, he nodded. "You stay here. Safe. But if you sense danger, you tell me immediately."
"I will."
The radios crackled to life. Team leaders checking in. Everyone was ready. Weapons loaded. Hearts pounding. Waiting for the order that would start everything.
Adrian lifted the radio. "This is it. We go in clean. We go in silence. No one engages until we're inside the compound. Understood?"
A chorus of affirmatives came back.
"Good." Adrian's voice hardened. "For our families. For our pack. For everyone Marcus has killed. We end this today."
He lowered the radio. Looked at me. Kissed me one last time. "Stay safe."
"You too."
He left with Ben. Their footsteps faded up the stairs. Engines roared outside. Trucks carrying fighters to war. To death. To whatever waited at Marcus's compound.
I sat at the computer. Put on the headset and watch the dots on the map move toward the target. My heart pounded so hard I could hear and feel it. Every beat was a countdown.
The dots reached the forest surrounding Marcus's compound. Radio silence. No one spoke. No one breathed. They were moving through the trees now. Heading for the water supply. The weak point Richard found.
Something twisted in my gut. Something was wrong.
"Team Alpha," I spoke into the radio. "Stop. Don't move forward."
"What?" Adrian's voice came back. "Why?"
"I don't know. I just feel it. Something's waiting. Something bad."