The place was a tomb.
Asher led them to an abandoned mining complex on the bleeding edge of the Grey Zone. A network of dusty tunnels and echoing concrete bunkers that smelled of rust and forgotten sweat.
"Home, sweet chaos," Asher muttered.
He kicked aside a rusted vent cover.
"No Coven wards. No Pack rules. Just sturdy rock and bad air."
Ravenna stepped inside.
The city's heavy, oppressive control was gone. The raw, natural energy of the earth felt calm here. Ancient atmosphere taking over the whole place.
But the external peace didn't fix the internal war.
The Mate Bond.
It wasn't a romantic hum anymore but a physical pain. A tight, burning knot in her chest that tied her to three men who hated each other.
It pulsed inside her. Throbbed. Screamed but only she could hear it.
Emin's rage was a low, constant simmer. Like a kettle about to whistle.
Damaris's frustration was a cold, sharp spike. A headache behind her eyes.
Asher's suspicion was a twitchy, low-level anxiety.
They reached a central bunker. Asher had rigged it with rough beds and a small camping stove. It was defensible and cramped.
"Alpha, take the main entrance watch," Asher ordered. He tossed a moth-eaten blanket onto a concrete slab.
"Warlock, check the energy signature of the rock. See if your fancy spells can cloak us."
Emin glared. The command clearly grated on his Alpha pride. He didn't like being ordered around, but at this moment there was no other choice.
"Fine," he bit out. He stalked toward the tunnel. "But if I smell any rogue filth on her, I break your spine."
"Duly noted," Asher replied. Unfazed.
Damaris moved to the nearest wall. He looked out of place in his tailored suit, but his fingers traced the grime with fascination.
"Silica density is high," he murmured. "Good for grounding energy."
Ravenna sank onto the hard ground. She leaned her head against the cold stone.
She was exhausted. Bone deep, after everything they had been through all day.
Movement.
A small, quiet shadow detached itself from the gloom near the back exit.
A young woman. Mousy brown hair. Darting eyes. Clothes that blended perfectly with the dust.
"This is Ellsa," Asher said. No warmth. Just facts. "She runs supply lines. Knows the Grey Zone better than anyone who isn't dead."
Ellsa didn't bow to the Alpha or the Warlock. She looked straight at Ravenna.
"I brought ration packs and herbs for you."
She dropped a canvas bag.
"You're the fireworks display," Ellsa whispered. "The one who rattled the docks. Nyzor's patrols are frantic."
"That would be me," Ravenna managed. Guilt pricked at her.
"The Lycans are hunting. The Warlocks are scrying. The whole city is on high alert," Ellsa warned. "Stay deep. Don't breathe too loud."
She vanished back into the tunnels. Silent as smoke.
Darkness fell and silence reigned, only the sounds crickets could be heard.
The bunker grew freezing cold.
Emin was pacing the entrance. Damaris was weaving silent spells into the stone.
Ravenna tried to sleep but it felt impossible.
The Mate Bond was a cruel radio tuned to three stations at once.
She closed her eyes, but the noise was inside her head.
Thump. Emin's profound, raw anger. A hot pressure making her muscles tense.
Whir. Damaris's mental energy. A cold, frantic rush of calculus and probability.
Twitch. Asher's vigilance.
Ravenna groaned. She woke up and sat bolt upright.
The emotional overload was toxic. The tug-of-war between Emin's fire and Damaris's ice was tearing her nervous system apart.
I can't breathe. I can't think.
The pain spiked. Sharp and blinding.
A deep, cold nausea settled in her stomach.
She scrambled off the slab. She needed a corner. A shadow. Anything that didn't vibrate with their conflict.
Emin heard the movement. He strode back in.
"What is it, Hybrid? Are you trying to escape?"
He saw her face. She was pale. Slick with sweat. Eyes wide and unseeing.
He stopped short. "What's wrong with you?"
"Stop," Ravenna pleaded. She hugged her ribs, trying to hold herself together. "Stop being so angry! Stop thinking so loud! It hurts!"
Emin looked baffled. "I am not doing anything!"
"Your rage is bleeding into me!" she cried out. She stumbled back, hitting the wall. "The bond... it's too much noise!"
Damaris turned from his work. A calculating glint lit his pale eyes.
"Fascinating," the Warlock observed. "The forced proximity has amplified the emotional feedback loop. We are experiencing a mandatory shared nervous system."
"Shut up, Warlock!" Emin roared.
Snap.
The sudden influx of Emin's magnified fury and Damaris's chilling detachment was the breaking point.
Ravenna gasped. She sank to her knees.
She was hit by a violent rush of shared emotion—rage, control, despair. She couldn't tell which feeling was hers anymore.
She started to hyperventilate. She pressed her hands against her ears, rocking back and forth.
Shadow.
It was Asher.
He moved with speed. He dropped to the floor beside her.
He didn't try to talk logic. He didn't try to use Alpha command.
He reached out and clamped a hand firmly over her mouth.
It wasn't violent. It was a seal. A demand for silence.
"Stop," Asher commanded.
His voice was a low, steady rumble right in her ear.
"Stop fighting it. You're spiraling. If you don't shut up, you'll release another blast and bring the roof down on our heads."
The physical sensation broke the spiral.
The rough leather of his glove. The smell of dust. The quiet demand.
It was raw survival instinct applied to a panic attack.
Asher wasn't trying to possess her. He was stabilizing the asset.
Emin and Damaris watched. Stunned into silence.
Asher held her there. He waited until her rapid, ragged breaths slowed against his palm. He waited until the violent shaking stopped.
Finally, he lifted his hand away.
Ravenna leaned back against his shoulder, gasping. The Mate Bond still throbbed, but the overwhelming surge had receded.
"See, Lords?" Asher said.
He looked up at the two stunned men, his eyes hard.
"She doesn't need a leash. And she doesn't need a lecture."
He wiped sweat from Ravenna's forehead with his sleeve.
"She needs an off switch. And until you two figure out how to stop screaming through her soul, I'm the one running the controls."