Page 21 of Charged By the Razorbacks

Aleksy didn’t answer, because he just didn’t need to. He agreed, and from the looks of the men around the room, they all agreed.

Not just with the mates they had. But with the fact that this—this alignment, this balance of force and mind and instinct—was why they were still standing.

His gaze shifted to her. Tamsin stood just off the edge of the table, not pushing in, not holding back—watching, assessing, already folding herself into the rhythm of the room like she’d always belonged there.

She didn’t interrupt, or try to lead, but he saw it. The way her attention tracked the same gaps Claire moved toward, the way her focus sharpened in the same moments Elara’s did. And in the way she leaned slightly when Riley spoke, already anticipating the medical implications before they were voiced.

She fits in. She fits them. Like she’d stepped into a place that had been waiting for her. Jarek shifted beside him again, quieter this time.

“Yeah,” he murmured. “She really does.”

Aleksy didn’t look at him, hadn’t even realized that he had said what he said out loud.

Watching the way she held herself, sharp and controlled, but not distant, not removed—he knew. She was theirs, and they were so fucking lucky that she was.

Claire’s head snapped up first, her fingers stilled mid-motion. “There’s a call coming through.”

Aleksy’s focus shifted instantly.

The screen flickered—then cleared. The Elite Shifter Enforcers comm channel lit—and the Tiger Unit feed came through.

“Command, this is Tiger Unit,” Kamon’s voice was tight, controlled, riding the edge of something. “We’ve got multiple incidents—this isn’t isolated.”

The room stilled, became focused.

Aleksy stepped forward slightly. “Define multiple.”

“Three confirmed hybrid attacks in shifter areas,” the operative replied. “Multiple medical incidents all shifters. All presenting with the same neurological symptoms.”

Riley moved immediately. “Seizures?”

“Yes, violent ones,” came the response. “Rapid onset. No visible trauma.”

Tamsin stepped closer to the screen. “Were they the same shifter type?”

“No, they were multiple shifter types.” Kamon’s answer was sharp.

Sienna stepped in closer, gaze narrowing as the map populated.

“They’re spacing them,” she said. “Why? Are they testing response time?”

Aleksy’s gaze hardened. “No.”

Sienna looked at him.

“They’re testing the weapon,” he said quietly.

Understanding hit the room.

Jarek’s voice dropped. “They’ve already got a working version. We know that, but have they worked out the stability issues?”

Aleksy looked over at Tamsin.

“No, the injured were from multiple shifter types,” she said. “They are testing the destruction impact.”

The feed flickered again.

Rune, Kamon’s brother, shifted onto the screen, something in his posture tightening. “Command ... we’ve got something else.”