Mnie''s gentle knock on the office door stirred me from a restless doze. "Come in,"


    I mumbled, still groggy as I pushed myself up from the couch. I had no clear memory of drifting off, which only confirmed how exhausted I truly was—like a weary zombie barely holding it together.


    "Jaxon and Devon are waiting outside for you," Mnie informed me with a teasing smile. “They wanted to make sure you''re decent and, quote, ''in a good mood'' before stepping in." She punctuated her words with a yful wink and air quotes.


    "Come on in, you big softies!" I called out, trying to sound more lively than I felt, as the door creaked open slightly. Mnie gave me a nod of encouragement before slipping past my nervy friends. "What''s going on, guys?" I asked, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.


    Devon''s voice was sharp, cutting through the quiet. "You said two hours, but it''s been three. We just wanted to check on you." His words made me jump, and I suddenly felt the weight of their concern. "Rx," he added quickly, noticing my tension. “We''ve got a patrol out there, checking in every half hour. So far, nothing unusual. You need to rest-none of us are invincible."


    Jaxon stepped closer, his hands gripping my shoulders firmly, preventing any protest. "New rule," he dered, eyes serious. "No one, not even you, gets to pull more than two shifts back-to-back. We''re getting sloppy and weak, and we can''t afford to miss crucial details because we''re too drained to care. Understand?"


    A part of me wanted to snap back, to challenge him—ask who the real alpha was here. I wanted tosh out, to hunt down the bastard responsible for this nightmare that had taken my mother and so many others in our pack and beyond. The urge to scream, to break something, surged inside me. But I swallowed it down, locking that fury away in a dark corner of my mind. That rage was reserved for when we found the culprits. Then, they would face my full wrath.


    Suddenly, my phone buzzed with a message from the patrol. "Alpha, we''ve got another one."


    "Another what?!" I demanded, heart pounding.


    "Another dead kid," the voice reported grimly. "He''s not one of ours, but he was carrying something. Looks like one of the ss bottles he had broke. I''m not touching him, and you''ll probably want to bring a healer to figure out how to get him out safely."


    "On it," I said immediately, adrenaline kicking in.


    Then another alert came through. "Patrol found another kid." Jaxon and Devon snapped their attention to me. "This one''s a mule. The bottle he was carrying broke and exposed him. Can you get a healer and figure out how to transport him?"


    I met Jaxon''s gaze. "If the bottle broke and exposed him, I don''t want anyone elseing into contact. Devon, you''reing with me. We need to identify this kid. Steven confirmed he''s not one of our teens."


    They both nodded, and without wasting a second, we were out of the office, moving quickly toward the main doors.


    "Jaxon, wait!" a voice called behind us as we reached the exit. Mnie was there, holding out some bags. "Take these to Alpha David, please."


    Mnie was one of our top Omegas for a reason—she anticipated what the Alpha family needed without hesitation or fuss. She thought independently, doing her job with quietpetence so the rest of us could focus on ours. Jaxon epted the bags without a word, and together we set off once again, the weight of the night pressing down on us as the hunt continued.