The walk to his office felt like a betrayal.
Each step echoed with too much purpose, too much control. I should've been shaking. I should've been storming through the halls with blood under my nails. But instead, I was… composed. Empty. Hollowed out and filled with ash.
I knocked once.
"Enter," came the boss's voice.
I did.
He was already seated, leaning back with that unreadable calm he wore like armor. One leg crossed over the other, a tablet resting in his hand. He didn't look up right away, just gestured lazily to the chair across from him.
I didn't sit.
"I'm here to report on the incident during shipment," I said.
He glanced at me. "Kol already filed a full report. Down to the minute the creature broke free."
"I thought you'd want it from me."
His mouth twitched—whether in amusement or annoyance, I couldn't tell.
"Very well. Let's hear your version."
I kept my voice flat. "The van veered off track. There was an accident. We crashed into something—maybe the impact caused the crate to shift, but the creature woke up immediately. The restraints were compromised. It broke free before anyone could react. We couldn't regain control."
He didn't flinch. Just listened, his fingers tapping the tablet.
"We lost six lives in total. Three others were injured, some severely. The rest of us managed to secure the creature again, but it wasn't easy."
"And the cargo?" he asked, his tone barely changing.
"Secured once more. The creature wasn't sedated—just heavily restrained. We used the modified tranquilizer to subdue it, the one that injects nitrogen directly into its spine. It went down after the first dose – we gaveit two more as precaution. But by then, it had already caused more than enough damage."
His brow twitched upward at the mention of nitrogen sedation, but he didn't say anything.
"Casualties?" he pressed.
"Two drivers. Four soldiers. One of them was just a kid."
He stared at me for a long moment. I stood my ground, offering no further details. Kol had been thorough in his report. If he hadn't included anything about the creature's behavior after it broke free, that wasn't my problem.
Finally, he glanced down at the tablet and then back up at me. "Do you want me to pretend that matters?"
"No," I said, flatly. "I don't think you're capable."
He smiled faintly. "You're emotional."
"No," I said again. "I'm furious. There's a difference."
He didn't argue. Just set the tablet down and steepled his fingers under his chin.
"Let's get to the part that matters," he said, voice dropping low. "Nine."
My jaw tensed, and my heart skipped a beat.
He continued, unfazed. "Kol told me the omega's condition is… unstable."
"He hasn't woken up," I confirmed.
"And you're sitting around like a grieving widow instead of doing something useful about it."
I didn't flinch.
"What do you want me to do?" I asked, carefully neutral. "Yell at him until he opens his eyes?"
"I want you to fix it."
The silence that followed buzzed like electricity.
"I don't think you understand," I said slowly. "He's not refusing to wake up. He can't. You pushed him too far. He broke."
"Then unbreak him."
My hands curled into fists, nails biting into my palms.
He leaned forward. "You bonded with him, didn't you?"
I said nothing.
His smile sharpened. "Don't look so surprised. I've had eyes on you since the moment we assigned him to your wing. You were always going to crack eventually. That's the point of a bond, isn't it? To compromise even the strongest?"
"I didn't crack," I said coldly. "You just gave me something worth protecting."
"And now you're compromised."
He stood.
Walked around the desk.
Stopped just close enough to be threatening without touching.
"Wake him up," he said again. "The Supreme Leader is expecting delivery soon. If he shows up broken, I'll be sending you instead."
My heart kicked hard in my chest. Not from fear—never fear—but from something colder. Something darker.
"What do you think I'm going to do?" I asked. "Kiss him back to life?"
"If that's what it takes."
His hand landed on my shoulder. A mockery of comfort.
"You're good at getting into people's heads, Rhea. So get into his. Pull him out. Wake him up."
I shook him off.
He didn't stop me when I turned to leave.
But his final words followed me out like a noose tightening around my throat.
"You have three days."