"What's going on?"
He doesn't sound angry yet.
Yet.
Marie takes a breath like she's been waiting for him. "Eli is neglecting his duties. He's in Vee's nest almost every night, and I barely see him. He's my scent match. That should mean something."
There it is again.
Scent match. Rank. Order.
I press my palms against the cool countertop, grounding myself.
"That is not neglect. And you are not being deprived. You have Drake practically living in your nest. Ragon divides his time. Vee has me. That's it."
"So give her less," Marie says.
For a second, my ears ring.
Then, unexpectedly, Ragon cuts in.
"Enough."
His voice has that particular weight that makes my omega instincts want to lie down and show my throat even from here.
"Being a scent match does not give you priority over Verena."
I forget to breathe.
"I didn't say—" Marie starts.
"You absolutely did. And I'm correcting. Her bond may be different, but her place here is not secondary to yours."
My throat tightens around something hot and painful.
He goes on before I can process the weird little surge of gratitude.
"That said," he adds, and I should have known there would be a that said, "Eli, you need to be mindful, too."
"Of what," Eli says, guarded.
"Of balance. You can't give all your attention to Vee just because she's extra needy right now."
Extra needy stings, even though it's not wrong.
"She went weeks without being allowed to be touched. She is not 'extra needy.' She's catching up."
Ragon exhales. "Her needs don't outweigh everyone else's. Marie is right about one thing: she shouldn't have to feel like an afterthought because you've overcorrected."
I stare at the wall in front of me.
There's a little grease splatter by the stove I never noticed before.
My vision blurs around it.
"Overcorrected? I am staying with Vee at night. That's it. I still spend time with Marie. I still cover shifts. I'm not handcuffing myself to her nest."
"You're pulled thin. I'm asking you to look at the pattern. You spend almost all your off-duty hours either in Vee's nest or at the hospital. That's not sustainable."
