"Yet."
Alex nods. "Eventually she might. We have to be okay with that if it happens."
"I'm not okay with it."
"Then get okay with it." His voice goes hard. That pack lead edge that makes my spine want to straighten. "Because we're not Ragon's pack. We don't control her. We don't tell her who she can see or forgive or care about. She makes her own choices."
I look away. Stare out at the dark woods.
"Even ones that hurt us," Alex adds.
My jaw clenches so hard it aches.
Because he's right.
And I fucking hate that he's right.
We stand in silence for another moment.
"How long do we let him stay?" I ask finally.
"Until he's well enough to leave. A few days maybe. Maybe longer."
"And then?"
"Then we see what Vee wants."
The problem is I already know what she wants.
She wants to be able to choose. To have options. To not be trapped how Ragon and the registry trapped her.
And one of those options might be Drake.
The thought makes my stomach twist.
"What if she chooses him?" The words come out rough. "What if she forgives all of them and goes back?"
Alex is quiet for a long moment.
"Then we let her go."
"Just like that?"
"Just like that,” he says. "Because keeping her against her will makes us no better than Ragon."
I want to argue. Want to tell him he's wrong.
But I can't because he's not. I know he’s not.
"I can't lose her," I say. The confession costs me. "Not after everything. Not after finally finding her. After getting to know her. I can't—"
My throat closes up.
Alex's hand lands on my shoulder. Heavy. Steady.
"I know," he says. "I know, Malcolm. Everything you’re feeling… I’m feeling it too."
We stand there, his hand on my shoulder, the weight of everything unsaid between us.
