Chapter 301
Clementine:
“There’s already so much competition, and now he wants to join in?” Haiden argued, making me roll my eyes at him.
“Yeah, not my mate. He has to let her go,” Yorick added, gripping the knife in his hand, ready to lunge at the ogre.
“Hey, wait. Before you three do anything stupid, first of all, I belong to none of you,” I told them.
As soon as I said that, they glared at me for being stern.
They seemed upset with me for focusing more on our differences than on the fact that they were ready to risk everything to save me.
“And second, what if you stab him and he squeezes me? What if he crushes me so hard that all my organs spill out?” I warned them, not wanting them to make a mistake.
Ogres didn’t rely on brains, they depended on brute strength.
If they stabbed him, his reflex could crush me in an instant.
“Then what? Just stand here and watch you cuddle with someone else?” Haiden hissed, folding his arms across his chest and turning away, clearly upset that an ogre was holding me close.
“How about we wake him up for a fight?” Haiden suggested.
I kept staring at his face in disbelief.
I had just told him that waking the ogre suddenly could be dangerous, and we didn’t even know if our knives could pierce his skin.
“At least this one’s skin is really rough,” I added, “and I can tell why.” He seemed old but still strong, there were plenty of bones scattered around.
“Before that, we need to switch Clementine with someone else,” Troy proposed. That seemed like a plausible idea.
“I’ll go and get a pillow,” Yorick offered, then everyone shook their heads so he stopped and returned to his spot.
“We need to switch Clementine with a body warm enough to fool him into thinking he still holds her,” Haiden explained, telling them why we had to switch places instead of using a non-living item.
“Fine then, I will switch with her,” Yorick declared.
His words shocked the others and me. I watched his face in disbelief.
It didn’t make sense, how could they care enough to sacrifice themselves for me, yet still cheat on me with Oriana?
Or was it that, as alphas, they could entertain more than one woman?
“You don’t have to sacrifice yourself for me,” I said. Yorick’s face started to drain. “I’m serious. Don’t expect me to accept a sacrifice for anything else. There will never be anything else between us. Ever p>
“Will, it’s a shame you think I will only switch places with you if you promise to accept me,” Yorick commented, breaking the silence. He stepped forward, closer to the ogre and me. “I’ll switch places with you, even if you’re someone else’s girl p>
The hair at the back of my neck rose. A chill ran down my spine.
As I deepened my stare and realized he was serious, Haiden snapped, stepping forward and pointing at his chest.
“Oh great, now he’s trying to be a hero. I can do the same.” Haiden groaned.
“Heck, I’ll do that too,” Troy complained, feeling left out.
At that point, I knew none of them would help.
My eyes lingered on the flag tattoo on the ogre’s arm, and an idea came to me.
“The tattoo,” I said, placing my finger on the flag inked on his arm. “This area is soft.” The three of them edged closer to look.
“Anyone have a very sharp knife?” I asked, watching their blades.
I had dropped mine by accident. Yorick handed me his knife, still watching my face with confusion.
“Be careful. Don’t make a mistake,” Haiden warned as soon as he saw me holding the knife.
“It’s okay. I think I know what I can do,” I said, gripping the knife and aiming at the tattoo. It was about three inches across. We had to take that mark with us.
It was a red flag and a circle in the middle. Not just a circle, it looked like a target.
I followed my instinct. I raised the knife higher, and in one smooth motion I stabbed the tattoo.
The blade pierced right through the circle.
The moment I stabbed the tattoo, he began to grunt and growl and wake up.
My squadmates quickly grabbed his arm on the opposite side of me and began to pull it away.
He let out an even louder howl.
When they pulled his arm away, I jumped free.
The ogre tried to get up, but I saw blood pouring from his eyes, nose, and mouth.
The three of us ran as he flailed, kicked, and slammed his head against the walls.
The whole house shook when he did that.
We ran back to the living room and watched the ogre collapse to his knees and then to the floor.
Once we were certain he was dead, we returned to him.
“Wow, he’s so ugly,” Haiden commented, examining him.
I went straight to his arm, knelt down, and picked up the knife.
“So we have to attack them on the flag,” Yorick mumbled, hands on his waist. I stared at the mark.
The mark that had looked like a tattoo was now a small brown stick with a red cloth flag.
I picked it up, feeling strange because a minute ago it had been a tattoo.
I put the flag in my pocket because I did deserve it.
“Maybe the ogres, when they’re full, decide to sleep. After their nap, they wake up, eat the food, and attack the rest,” Troy suggested. It made sense.
“So, are we going to rest now, or are we still on the mission?” Yorick questioned.
They followed me as we left the house.
“I don’t know about you guys, but I’m on a mission,” I said calmly, stepping out into the open air.
“By the way, I wasn’t attacking you in the bathroom the other day p>
My steps stopped when Haiden let out a quiet complaint, mentioning the fight in the bathroom.