I file it away without commentary.
The board confers briefly among themselves. One of them makes a note.
Another exchanges a look with the woman beside her.
I glance at Ragon.
His face is closed. He's looking at the table again.
The board retreats to deliberate and we all file into the hallway.
The staff member who brought Ragon in stands beside him. Ragone stares at us. His face is tight and closed and I know that face like I know my own hands. I've watched it manage things for years. Watched it go through grief and joy and that controlled fury he gets when something has gone wrong that he refuses to show.
I want to bend my neck.
Old habit. The reflex is still there even when the loyalty is gone.
But Drake broke his bond for her. Drove sick through a storm and put himself on his knees in front of Vee because it was the right thing to do.
I stand straight and meet Ragon's eyes.
He looks away first.
It doesn't feel like winning. It doesn't feel like anything except necessary.
The door opens a few minutes later.
We file back in and retake our seats.
The female alpha who asked about Drake stands.
She clears her throat. "The verdict of this registry hearing is as follows." Her voice carries the practiced cadence of someone who's delivered this speech a hundred times. "In the matter of Omega Verena, we find an established pattern of neglect and abuse. Custody is revoked from Alpha Ragon Charles, effective immediately."
She stares directly at Ragon, her lip curling slightly. "You will return Verena to the registry immediately and you are flagged against future omega custody. There will be a fine of $25,000 and three hundred hours of community service."
Her eyes narrow. "Your gross negligence could have cost an innocent omega her life. As an alpha myself, it goes against every instinct I have to harm an omega. An alpha's drive should be to protect, nurture, and love omegas. Alphas shoulddeservetheir omegas, and you have demonstrated that you do not."
Ragon doesn't even blink.
She turns to Jasper. "We are not as cold an institution as people assume. We do care about the omegas in our system. Watching someone suffer for the sake of evidence collection has its own moral weight that you'll need to reckon with. I know you were acting on behalf of Alpha Chase and the board admits that we should have taken a closer look as the evidence he provided us weeks ago. There is no one in this room that is devoid of guilt, but we can start making it right today."
When her gaze finds me, I feel pinned in place.
"Yourself and Alpha Drake will need to complete extensive courses on alpha and omega dynamics before being permitted to take an omega in the future. And only if you are no longer operating under Ragon's pack lead. I don't believe you intended actual harm, but you let your weaknesses overpower your good common sense and living with what you've done to that girl is punishment in itself." She pauses, looking at each of us in turn. "I hope you have all learned something today."
I think:yes.Though the lesson cost more than I'd like to measure.
The board retreats to finalize paperwork. We file into the hallway.
And then I see it happen.
Ragon turns toward the board room door. His mouth opens. His eyes sweep to Chase, then to Jasper, then back to the door where the board members are still shuffling papers.
My heart stops.
He's going to do it… he's going to tell them. He's going to say that a flagged alpha has his omega. That Alex Castillo took her, that she's been living in violation of registry law for weeks. He has nothing left to lose. They've already taken everything. Why wouldn't he burn us on the way down too?
Jasper goes rigid beside me. He sees it too. His hand moves to his phone—ready to warn Chase, warn Arden, warn someone—but there's nothing anyone can do if Ragon opens his mouth in the next three seconds.
