Chapter 3

I went home and slept deep and dreamless for the first time in weeks.

Without my custom triggers, the boundary was wide open. A determined Rogue could find the gaps in a matter of hours.

By evening, Bren was pounding on my door with three Enforcers behind him. "Silas! The east perimeter is throwing dead zones!"

I didn't open my eyes. "Ask Jax," I said.

"Jax doesn't know how to—"

"Ask. Jax."

I heard them shuffle away into the dark.

That night, Jax spent his own gold at the Council outpost to buy generic replacement parts. He came to my window at dawn to brag. "See? The pack doesn't need you, Omega."

I watched him from behind the glass. He had no idea the generic parts were incompatible with my custom housing. He didn't know about the manual recalibration the cold required, or that the two systems would fight each other until they failed completely.

The Regional Council visit was in eight days and the temperature was dropping. I smiled and went back to sleep.

That evening, I caught the Blood Moon signal: two low owl calls spaced three seconds apart. I slipped out the back to find their Beta, a massive wolf named Drum, waiting in the shadows.

He handed me a bundle of fresh venison and a flask of dark ale. "Alpha Rhen sends his regards," Drum said quietly. "He says you've been patient longer than anyone should have to be."

"Where do we stand on the severance?" I asked.

"Alpha Rhen went straight to the Regional Council to bypass Elena. It'll take six more days for the Emergency Release to process. Hold on until then, Silas. Whatever they put you through, it ends soon."

I nodded. The warmth of a good meal settled over me. Six days. I could wait six days.