"It's not," I say.
His jaw tightens. I know what he's thinking—that his existence is the reason Alex felt he had to do this. That everything… the flag and the decade of consequences all trace back to one night when Rhys couldn't stop and Alex stepped in front of it. That debt has always been there between them and now Alex has added to it. Rhys is sitting here in a kitchen that no longer has its pack lead in it because of choices that started with him.
"Don't," I say.
He exhales.
His fingers tighten around mine.
Malcolm calls Chase.
"Alex broke the pack bond," he says, without preamble, when Chase picks up. "He's not answering his phone. We need you to find him."
A pause on Chase's end. Then: "He broke the bond."
"Yes."
Another pause. Longer. "Is everyone okay?"
"No," Malcolm says flatly. "Everyone is not okay. Can you find him or not?"
"I can try to locate him. Give me some time."
"We don't have time—"
"Malcolm." Chase's voice is measured. "Give me some time."
Malcolm hangs up and looks at his phone for three seconds before he calls Alex again.
Voicemail.
He doesn't leave a message this time. Just hangs up and sets the phone on the table and stares at it like he's deciding whether to throw it.
"We need to talk about what happens next," Finn says.
"What happens next is we get Alex back," Malcolm says.
"I know that's what you want. But in the meantime—"
"That's not in the meantime. That's the whole plan."
"Malcolm." Finn's voice is patient in the specific way it gets when he's managing something. "We can want Alex back and also figure out how to function while he's gone. Both things."
Malcolm looks at him, then at me, then back at Rhys on the floor.
He deflates slightly. Just slightly.
"Okay," he says. "What?"
Finn pulls out his laptop. The efficiency of it—how he just reaches for something practical—is so deeply Finn that I feel something move in my chest. He opens it. Types something. Turns it to face Malcolm.
"Alex named you as successor lead when we formed the pack," Finn says. "It's in the original paperwork. If Alex breaks the bond, leadership transfers to you automatically." He pauses. "But I'm also on the paperwork as co-lead. Always have been."
"I know that," Malcolm says.
"So legally and structurally we're fine. The pack exists. It's just—" Finn glances at the empty chair where Alex usually sits. "Restructured. All we’ll have to do is rebuild the physical bonds between you and Rhys. And claim Vee."
"We're not restructuring," Malcolm says. "We're getting him back."
