"It has to," Chase says. He doesn't sound relieved. He sounds like a man presenting his second-best case because his best one is locked in a box he can't open.
Lukas closes his notebook. "It's strong. Strongest I've seen in a while." He pauses. "But I have to ask. The heat. Vee went through heat alone while her entire pack was in another room. That's not just neglect—that's abandonment. The registry would act on that immediately, no hearing needed. No panel, just removal." He looks at Chase. "Why isn't that the centerpiece of this case?"
The room goes very quiet.
Chase leans back in his chair. "Because we can't use it."
"Explain."
"If we introduce the heat abandonment, the first question the board asks is: where did Vee go? Who took her in?" Chase's voice is measured and careful. "The answer is Alex Castillo's pack. And the moment Ragon hears we're using the heat against him, he retaliates. He tells the board a flagged alpha has hisomega. Alex goes back to prison. Vee goes into registry custody. Everyone loses."
Lukas is still. "Ragon knows about the flag?"
"He found out right after they took her. He was ready to report it but Jasper talked him down by reminding him the heat abandonment would come out in the investigation."
"So they're holding each other hostage."
"Exactly. Ragon can't report Alex without exposing the heat. We can't use the heat without exposing Alex. Both sides are sitting on a grenade they can't throw."
Arden stands up. The professional composure cracks for the first time all meeting. He walks to the window and stands there with his back to us.
"The heat abandonment is the only thing the registry acts on without question." His voice is tight. Controlled, but barely. "No hearing or deliberation. No budget concerns about re-placement costs. An omega abandoned during heat by her entire pack—that's immediate removal. It's the one thing in this entire system that actually works the way it's supposed to… and we can't use it."
Nobody speaks.
"I've been fighting this registry with the OPA for twelve years," Arden says. "Twelve years of watching them explain away comfort bans and nest destruction and scent suppression because none of it meets their threshold. And now I'm sitting in a room holding the one piece of evidence that would move them instantly, and I can't submit it because doing so would destroy the only pack that's ever made Vee feel safe."
He turns from the window.
"So we build the case on everything else.” Arden looks at Chase. "We make it strong enough to win without the heat. Because the alternative is winning the hearing and losing Vee the pack I believe she’s going to choose."
Chase nods. "That's the plan."
"It's a terrible plan," Lukas says. “Especially when you have a smoking gun.”
"It's the only plan."
Lukas looks between them. "Does Ragon know that Chase is involved? That he has the heat information?"
"No," I say. "Ragon thinks he's the only one who knows about the heat abandonment besides his pack and Alex’s. He doesn't know Chase knows. He only knows he can't report Alex without it coming out."
"Good," Lukas says. "Keep it that way. If he finds out the investigation team already knows but is deliberately holding back, he might decide he has nothing left to lose."
"There's another reason," Arden says quietly.
We all loiok at him.
"Vee is responding to Alex's pack. She was bonding with them before she even imprinted. She's recovering in that cabin." He pauses. "I've seen what happens when the registry pulls an omega out of a pack she's attached to, even if it's temporary. Even if it's for her own protection. It breaks something in them. I'm not going to be the person who breaks her again just because the system wants me to."
He looks at each of us.
"We win this without the heat. We keep Alex's involvement quiet until the flag is resolved and we give Vee the chance to choose her own pack when this is over."
The room sits with that.
"There are no clean options," Chase continues. "But I want to find as many as I can for her."
"I appreciate that." Lukas stands and gathers his things. "I'll present with you," he tells Chase. "We'll make it so airtight they can’t say no." He nods at me. At Arden. Then he leaves.
