Page 28 of Alpha Infected
There was a moment of tense silence before Stone spoke.
“Was he bit before or after the antidote was retrieved?”
Ortiz didn’t respond.
“Your lack of answer is an answer itself, Major.” Stone planted his fists on the table and leaned forward. “You jeopardized the mission!” he shouted.
“I did not, sir. Yes, Captain Anderson was bit before we secured the antidote. But we locked him in an empty room and proceeded on without him,” Ortiz calmly explained. “Once we had the cure, we got it to the pilot for extraction. Only then did we go back for our squadmate. Retrieval of the antidote was our first priority and every decision was made with that in mind.”
Stone continued to glare at them for several long moments before he relaxed and sat back in his chair. “If you hadn’t made it possible to save an entire goddamn city, I’d have all of your ranks. But you did.”
The general paused again.
Hazard sucked in a breath and held it, too tense to let it out. He exchanged a quick glance with Jax, wondering if there would be any consequences for their decision not to kill Ice. He’d accept the consequences without protest if there were. Disobeying orders and saving his mate’s life was worth whatever punishment Stone might dish out.
“So I’ll just say good job,” Stone finally said.
Hazard released the breath he’d been holding. From the corner of his eye, he saw Jax’s shoulders loosen from their tight spot up around his ears. They weren’t going to receive a punishment for their insubordination. Ortiz thanked the General and Jax and Hazard echoed her words.
The barest hint of a smile crossed Stone’s face when he nodded at the three of them.
“Get some rest, 448. You’ve earned it.”
* * *
After leaving the briefing room, they returned to their barracks and scrounged up something to eat. Once he’d eaten his fill, Hazard parted ways with Ortiz and Jax and went to the brig where they’d taken Ice. It was the best place to keep him in case he reverted to mindless rage and violence. Ice couldn’t hurt anyone from behind bars.
Inside the brig, two military police sat at the guard station. One was Sergeant Gallo, a beta wolf that Hazard had worked out with a few times.
“Evening, Sergeant Gallo. I’m here to see Captain Anderson.”
“Do you have permission?”
Hazard gave the beta his friendliest grin. “Didn’t know I needed it. Don’t I get special mate privileges or something?”
Gallo rolled his eyes. “Funny. You don’t, but I’ll allow you thirty minutes to visit him. He’s in lockup number nine.”
He pointed Hazard in the direction of Ice’s cell.
Hazard gave the sergeant a smile of thanks. Following his direction, he walked down a wide, brightly lit hallway with cells on either side. He stopped at number nine.
Ice was there, laying on the cell’s single cot. He was dressed in a pair of fresh sweats and the makeshift muzzle was no longer around his face. He sat up when Hazard arrived.
“Hey, how are you?” Hazard quietly asked.
“Better now that you’re here,” Ice answered in his deep voice.
Hazard laughed. “Are you flirting with your subordinate, Captain?”
“Mmmm.” Ice hummed a yes as he came over to join Hazard at the jail cell bars.
Up close, Hazard saw that the whites of Ice’s eyes were mostly clear and the grayish cast to his skin was gone. He was still bald but the black veins had already faded to purple. Hazard sent up a silent prayer of thanks to Mother Wolf that the antidote had worked.
Needing the reassurance of skin to skin contact with his mate, Hazard reached through the bars. Ice brought his hand up too and laced their fingers together.
“I should be released in the morning.”
“Good.”
