PHANTOM
Echo Rut Syndrome
Echo Rut Syndrome is a condition in which a hormonal malfunction occurs during the alpha’s recovery phase. As a rut concludes, the physiological ‘wind-down’ erroneously triggers a chemical surge that re-instigates the cycle, potentially trapping the alpha in an indefinite loop. This feedback error leaves only 12–24 hours of lucidity between ruts.
There are no guaranteed cures for Echo Rut Syndrome; while bonding an omega is known to be effective, success is not certain, sometimes leaving a pack with a sick alpha.
After the hottest fuck of my dreams, I drew Crescent close, wrapping us in her nest blankets, and arranging the pillows around us. She was dazed, clutching me and her keys, happiness and smugness radiating from her in the bond.
Sin, who looked very proud of himself, had settled back in his new bed.
Karma and Vandle were both shooting me wildly jealous looks, but to my surprise, they both left me to cuddle her alone.
I was still knotting her, and it didn’t seem like it was going to release her anytime soon. I took advantage, and we settled in like that.
After a time, I peered down at her, my voice soft. “Will you… tell me about the keys, Little Omega?” I asked. “I do… want to know.”
She glanced up at me, a little spark of sadness in her eyes.
“I don’t want you to be stressed out,” I added.
“Then why don’t you undo it,” she whispered.
“I can’t, Little Omega.” I cupped her cheek. “I’m too scared.”
Her eyebrows shot up. “You’re an alpha. Are you evensupposedto get scared?”
I chuckled. “Definitely, when it comes to my mate. All I want is to get you out of here.”
She frowned, considering that for a long time. When she settled back against me, though, she was less tense. “I’ll get upset if I talk about them.”
I nodded, drawing her close and planting a kiss on her forehead. “That’s okay.”
She was much less anxious, though, having been fucked and given her ‘retribution’.
Sin was a genius.
After a while, she looked back up. “You remember before, right?” she asked. “When you were on the outside?”
“Yup.” Not that it was something I liked to do, though.
“Why doyouwant to get out?”
“Because it’s sh—horrible—in here,” I said, catching the swear word before it slipped out.
“But what do you want when you’re out?”
“A second chance.”
“A second chance?”
“At… all of it. The life I had before this wasn’t a life at all.” It had only started when I’d been put in here. And when, from the Vault’s upstairs, I’d taken a chance on Anarchy and my pack had formed around Sin.
“Why?”
“I was sick. By myself.” I was in this godforsaken place because I used to have Echo Rut Syndrome. “I tried to get by, but I’d been in the Gritch district alone, and a condition like mine was almost impossible to manage without money, or a support system.”
She was looking at me with wide eyes. “What condition?”
