“Start with the bad,” Finch said, folding his arms, and Kaos stiffened at my side.
I chewed on my lip, glancing between them. “Hugo is training him, but he can’t do anything to stop Ocean from going feral. He told me today he thinks it’ll happen within the next week. So unless we can get him out before then, you’re going to have to figure out how to treat a feral alpha.”
There was silence, and I could feel the tension radiating from Kaos down the bond.
“So soon?” Finch said eventually.
“But, the good news is, if he does go feral, I might have a lead on how to help him.”
“Finch,” Kaos said, his voice shaking, “we need to switch plans. We can’t risk Ocean like that.”
“It’s not a deal-breaker,” Finch replied, his voice firm. “We don’t have enough information to make that call. Hugo could be wrong. Right now, Ocean is still with us, right?” I nodded. “And he doesn’t actually know when Ocean will…turn?”
I shifted in my seat. “He seemed pretty sure,” I said, glancing between him and Kaos again.
“Well,” Finch said. “Like Laurel says, she may know how to treat him?—”
“That’s a pretty big if,” Kaos snarled. “We can’t risk?—”
“Enough, Kaos!” Finch barked.
Kaos’s mouth snapped shut, his eyes widening in shock as Finch’s command took hold.
“Ocean made his choice,” Finch snapped, his anger spilling down the bond.
Kaos seemed to shrink next to me and tried to shut down his bond, but not before we felt his pain.
“He was very clear that this was a risk he was willing to take,” Finch continued. “So unless his life is in imminent danger, we will carry on with our current plan.”
I studied Finch through the bond, my omega senses tingling. He felt…off. I’d felt him angry before, but this seemed less… reasonable.
“Finch,” I said, shifting again. “Are you…getting close to a rut?”
“No,” he snapped in a harsh tone.
There was an awkward pause.
“Because I can help?—”
“I’m not going into a rut,” he growled.
“Okay,” I said, raising my eyebrows and shrugging.
I didn’t believe Finch, but if he wanted to be a stubborn ass, that wasn’t my problem.
I found I’d somehow moved closer to Kaos; I was half on his lap. He hadn’t pushed me away, and I followed my instincts and laced our fingers together, giving his hand a reassuring squeeze. I knew I was supposed to be keeping them at arm’s length, but Kaos seemed to have forgotten that.
“What if there’s a better way to buy him more time?” Kaos said, Finch’s bark having worn off. He sounded extra tense.
“What do you mean?” I asked, surprised.
He looked up at me with his dark eyes. “You just have to swap his rut rage out for a placebo.”
My whole body froze. “No.” I pulled my hand from his.
Finch was nodding. “That’s a good plan. You can tell him. He’ll pretend to go into a rut in the fights. But he won’t get any more of the drug.”
“You don’t understand,” I insisted. “Visiting him and managing him is one thing. Messing with the fights is something else entirely. If I’m caught?—”
