But if we loved her why did we leave her alone? Why did we believe Marie over her? Why did we let Ragon punish her? Why did we let her fade into the background like wallpaper?
I listen to the hum of the refrigerator and the slow, steady tick of the kitchen clock. There’s nothing else. The room feels colder without her in it, too quiet, too empty. I look around at the coffee mugs, the chairs, the sunlight on the floor. None of it feels right.
"I know." Ragon's voice is hard. The pack lead voice he uses when he's decided and won't be moved. "That's why we're getting her back."
"How?" Eli asks.
"Alex has a criminal record." Ragon's eyes are sharp. Focused. The pack lead who used to solve problems is back and he's been busy while the rest of us were coming out of rut. "I looked him up after I figured out they took her. He went to prison. Four years for aggravated assault. And when he got out, the registry flagged him. No omega contact. He's not allowed to have an omega anywhere near him."
The room shifts.
"He's flagged?" Eli says.
"Flagged. Restricted. And he has our omega in his hands right now." Ragon straightens. "All I have to do is call the registry and tell them a flagged alpha has taken custody of my unclaimed omega. They'll move within hours. They’ll find them. Alex will go back to prison and Vee comes home."
My mind is already racing. "Then call them. Call them right now. Call the police too. That's kidnapping. That's—"
"Stop." Jasper's voice cuts through. Firm.
I turn on him. "What?"
He's leaning against the far counter, arms crossed, expression unreadable.
"If you report Alex, the registry investigates. They come here. They’ll ask more questions than they already are since the zoo." He looks at Ragon. "They’ll ask why Vee was vulnerable enough to be taken by the pack next door in the first place. They’ll ask where her pack was. Where her alphas were. And when they find out she was in heat—alone, in this house, while every alpha in her pack was in a room with a different omega—that's the end. That's unforgivable neglect. Heat abandonment. They won't just flag you. They'll remove Vee from your custody permanently."
The kitchen is very quiet.
"They won't give her back to you," Jasper continues. "They'll put her back into the system. Registry custody until another placement is found. And probably Marie too."
"But we didn't know—" I start.
"Doesn't matter. We're responsible for her wellbeing. We failed. The registry doesn't care about intent. They care about outcome. And the outcome is that an omega in our care spent at least some of her heat alone while we were right down a hall."
Ragon's jaw is tight. "Alex is flagged. He's breaking the law—"
"And you abandoned an omega during heat. You both have each other by the throat." Jasper says it flat. No emotion. Just the math of it. "You report Alex, he tells them about the heat. He has to—it's his defense. He took Vee because her pack left her in crisis. The registry hears both sides and nobody wins. Alex goes to prison. Vee goes to the registry. And you get flagged for life."
The silence that follows fills the kitchen.
Ragon's hands are shaking. I've never seen that before.
"So we can't report it," he says.
"No," Jasper says. "You can't. They’re already investigating you and it’s not looking good. If the head investigator has his way, you’ll be lucky if you get to keep Marie, let alone Vee.”
"I don't give a fuck if they take Marie."
The words burst out of me before I can stop them, too loud and too raw.
Everyone stares.
I don't care.
"They can have that liar. I want my Vee back."
Ragon's eyes flash. "Drake—"
"No." I'm shaking now, hands clenched at my sides. "Marie lied. About the zoo. About everything. We saw the footage. We punished Vee for nothing and now she's gone and it's our fault."
