“Maybe he had his reasons,” I suggest, watching Logan’s face carefully. “Maybe he felt he couldn’t wait any longer while you... what, exactly? What have we been doing here, Logan?”
Logan’s eyes narrow dangerously. “It’s only been a few days?—.”
“And in the meantime, how many women have been brought to one of those clinics?” I challenge, anger rising to match his. “How many have suffered while we sit here in safety, planning and preparing and doing nothing meaningful?”
A tense silence falls over the room. Logan stares at me, something complicated passing across his features—anger, yes, but also a flicker of what might be guilt or shame.
“She’s right,” Cillian says quietly, breaking the silence. “Poe shouldn’t have done this, but I understand why.”
Logan turns to him, betrayal flashing in his golden eyes. “You too? I expected this from Maya, but you, Cillian?”
“I’m not taking sides,” Cillian says, his voice steady despite the tension crackling between them. “I’m stating facts. We stayed here to fight, to make a difference.”
Logan’s expression hardens. “You think I don’t know that? You think I’m not aware of what’s happening in those clinics? But rushing in without proper planning, without adequate support, is suicide. And suicide doesn’t help anyone.”
“Neither does inaction,” Ares says, surprising me by joining the criticism. “I’m not saying Poe was right to go behind your back, but at least he was doing something.”
Logan’s head snaps toward him, golden eyes blazing. “So that’s it? You’re all turning against me now? After everything we’ve been through together?”
“No one is turning against you,” I say, softening my tone despite my frustration. “We’re just saying we understand what Poe was trying to do.”
“My priorities have always been clear,” Logan says, his voice tight with controlled anger. “Keep the pack safe. Build enough support to challenge the king successfully. Create lasting change, not just temporary disruption.”
“And the Omegas in those clinics?” I ask quietly. “Where do they fall on your list of priorities?”
Logan turns away, moving to the window that overlooks the palace gardens. For a long moment, he stands in silence, his back to us, his shoulders rigid with tension. When he finally speaks, his voice carries a weariness I’ve rarely heard from him.
“This is all so dangerous and none of you seem to appreciate how much.”
"Are you willing to challenge your father directly?" Ares demands, stepping closer to Logan, his green eyes blazing. "Right now? Is that what you're prepared to do to save Poe?"
The room goes deadly quiet. I watch as something flickers across Logan's face—a flash of raw fear, there and gone so quickly I might have imagined it if not for the way Cillian shifts beside me, sensing it too through our damaged pack bonds.
"I..." Logan begins, then stops, seeming to struggle with words that don't come easily to him.
"That's what I thought," Ares says, his voice dropping to a dangerous rumble. "If you can't face your father now, then we need to run. We're all dead anyway if we stay."
"Running won't save Poe," Cillian points out quietly.
"Poe is already doomed," Ares snaps. "And we'll be too if we don't leave now."
I watch the argument escalate, frustration building inside me with each passing second. They're all thinking like Alphas—direct confrontation, shows of force, who's stronger, who's faster, who's willing to risk more. It's getting us nowhere.
"Stop," I say, the word cutting through their arguing. "Just stop. This isn't helping."
To my surprise, they all fall silent, turning to look at me.
"We're approaching this like Alphas," I say, the idea crystallizing as I speak. "All brute force and direct confrontation. But maybe that's not the way to do this."
Logan raises an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
I take a deep breath, organizing my thoughts. "Maybe instead of trying to overpower the king or outrun him, we need to be smarter. More... covert."
"You mean like an Omega would think," Cillian says, understanding dawning in his pale eyes.
I nod, feeling more confident now. "Exactly. Omegas have survived for generations by working around Alphas, not confronting them head-on. By finding the cracks in the system and exploiting them."
"What are you suggesting?" Logan asks, his full attention on me now.
