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“What… what’s happening?” Vae’s whisper is more frantic than I’ve ever heard him. And Fates, I can relate. My heart is racing so fast I think my chest is vibrating.

“Holy shit…” Soren curses.

At the same time, Caelan mutters, “He is so fucking lucky. I really thought today was gonna be the day I killed him.”

I stand here, mouth parted, while I struggle to find words. Any words. Literally any words at all would be better than the stupid way I’m blinking at my erstwhile Fated Mate as he stares stoically at the ground at my feet, neck bared in submission.

The wolven shift nervously. Almost like being around such a dominant male as he publicly submits to an Omega who just told him off is making them seriously uncomfortable.

Well… same.

What do I even do? I mean… Am I supposed to say something? Should I tell him to stop? Give him permission to look up, like a queen granting permission to rise?

Oh gods, I really, really don’t want to do that.

I don’t have to worry because Daxen decides for me.

He lifts his head, takes a deep breath, and looks me right in the eye.

“You’re right.”

His voice is strained. Raspy. He clears his throat and winces.

“That was a shitty thing for me to imply. Despite the data, there is no empirical proof that any of what’s happening is directly related to you.”

He takes a step forward, grey eyes holding mine, refusing to let me look away. “I made a mistake before. I saw things in data that weren’t true. Then, I made it worse by refusing to acknowledge anything that might contradict my data. I accused you of things you had no part in. I took it to a dangerous, cruel extreme.”

Another step. His side of the Bond uncurls in my chest, like it can feel him drawing closer. It hurts even worse, somehow, the way it's reaching out for him now.

So close, but so far.

“And you’re right,” he goes on, clasping his hands together in front of him. “A week ago, I would have ended my statement exactly as you said. I can’t expect you to know I wasn’t going to accuse you of anything today. Not when up until now, I’ve shown you nothing but the worst parts of me.”

I can’t speak. I don’t even think I’m breathing.

“I fucked up. With you. With Caelan.” His eyes flick to the side, where Caelan stands, body tense and still as a statue beside me.

“With Vae.” His gaze shifts to my other side, where Vae watches, mouth hanging open comically wide.

“I hurt all three of you. Simply because I refused to accept a reality that didn’t align with what I believed to be true. If you had any idea what⁠—”

He cuts himself off with a grimace. Part of me badly wants to know what he was about to say, but he waves the thought away with a flick of his wrist.

“Regardless, I have no defense against your accusations. I do, however, have information about the disturbances. Specifically, those that have occurred within a thirty-mile radius of HQ. If you’d like to see them, I’d be happy to show you.”

With a respectful incline of his head, he slides his hands into the pockets of his slacks and strides back to HQ with his head held high.

No one speaks. Caelan and Soren flank me on both sides. At some point, Vaelenor came to stand at my back. He’s so close I can practically feel him vibrating from shock.

“Guys,” Vae whispers, pulling his phone from his back pocket. “I think—Well, maybe— Should we call Calder?”

Silence.

“Just to see if he needs to be checked out,” he quickly adds. “Nothing intensive. I’m thinking like… a baseline neurological assessment. To test for signs of possession.”

Caelan lifts a brow in question and echoes, “Possession.”

“Or… and listen, I’m just spit-balling here… but what if he had a stroke? Or, what if he was abducted in his sleep? Like body snatchers, ya know? I mean, in thirty years we might all look back on this moment and realize that if that hadn’t happened, we could’ve gone centuries without knowing that's not actually Dax. That’s Alien Dax. And Real Dax is somewhere on a spaceship getting probed. Like, probed in the⁠—”