Then Lukas turns to me.
"Walk me through the heat," he says.
Just that, no preamble.
My stomach tightens.
"From the outside it looks simple," he continues. "Three alphas were sufficient for one omega in heat. You weren't bonded into that pack. There was no biological pull keeping you in that room. So why didn't you leave? Why didn't you check on Verena?"
The question lands exactly where he meant it to.
I open my mouth.
And suddenly I'm back there.
The footage had just finished playing on Chase's tablet.
The zoo. The whole room had watched it in silence.
Marie started crying. Her scent flared, sharp and distressed, the sweetness of an omega in emotional overwhelm that pulls at alpha instincts whether you want it to or not.
Then she doubled over.
Her heat hit fast the way heats sometimes do when an omega's system is already flooded with stress hormones. AndMarie had already been teetering on the edge of her heat for days. We could all sense it.
One minute she was crying, the next the scent in the room changed entirely and every alpha in it went rigid.
Chase's team was already moving, packing up, exchanging looks. You don't stay in a room with an omega going into heat if you're not her pack. It's not appropriate and it's not safe. Too many unbonded alphas in a small space going into rut would very likely end badly.
I headed down the hall with them. I knew Ragon expected me in that room with them, he'd already said he wanted me there for her heat. To grow as a pack since we were so close to bonding officially anyway.
Little did he really know.
I muttered some excuse about the bathroom, swore I wouldn't be long. Then I slipped out while I still could, before the pheromones thickened to the point of no return. I had to find Chase before he left.
I was down the steps and across the driveway before I'd fully decided to be.
"Chase."
He turned and read my face. "Jasper—"
"The zoo footage. That's evidence of deliberate harm. You have what you need now. Can we move? Can we get Vee out?"
Chase's expression went careful.
"It's not enough yet," he said, anger sharpening his features. “I already brought the zoo footage to the board. They watched it. You know what they said? All they see is an omega going over a railing. No clear aggressor on camera and no physical contact. They said it's not enough for a hearing. I need everything airtight before I bring it in front of them again.”
“But you just told Ragon to go discuss Vee’s placement.”
“I was bluffing, Jas.” Chase huffs. “I was hoping to intimidate him into giving her up on his own. But he’s still determined to dig in, even after seeing what he did. Stubborn bastard.”
"But the registry… this is documented manipulation—they know what happened after because I reported it myself. I stayed in that room and watched it happen so I could."
"I have to put it all together. I have to interview witnesses. I just have to keep trying harder." His eyes held mine. "You know how the registry works. Reports and a bad incident or two won't move them. They'll find a way to explain it away, say Marie is young, insecure. That she didn't mean to cause real harm. I need more. I need time to build the case properly."
I wanted to argue. The words were right there. It had already been too long, too much. Vee couldn't take much more of this.
"Fine," I said instead. "Then I'll stay with Vee. While you finish the case. I'll stay with her, make sure she's okay, keep her close until—"
