Page 27 of Caged

“Regardless,” Silas drawls, glaring at Dax. “I don’t crawl into a wood box at night. That’s a bullshit myth.”

“You did once.” Dax reminds him.

Silas stills. We all still.

Then, the younger Alpha slams his hands on the table in front of him and snarls, “That was one time, and it was because I was trapped inside, Daxen. It was sealed. With no air holes. I nearly died⁠—”

“Vampires can’t die from lack of oxygen,” Vae interrupts lightly. “Just like we can’t die from walking into the sun. Or garlic. Or stepping into a church, or a room with a cross. Or gluten, for that matter. Ever meet a vampire with celiac? Me either. I mean, if that were real, we’d have lost an entire choir of vampire monks in the Vatican.”

Ford hums in sympathy, muttering, “Tragic. Think of the hymns.”

Silas snaps, “Still⁠—”

But Vae is already talking over him again. “You know, I’d love to meet the human who started that myth. Imagine seeing a vampire a little sluggish and cranky from too much sun and thinking, ‘This makes so much sense, obviously they burst into flames like a bug under a toddler’s microscope.’”

I cough to hide my laugh and catch Dax’s lips twitch like he’s trying not to smile.

“You’re missing the point⁠—”

“No, I’m nailing the point,” Vae leans back, lounging like a smug professor who just got tenure in the middle of a lecture hall. “If I can’t die from the sun, then you can’t die from lack of oxygen. We are very difficult to kill, Silas. Trust me, I do this for a living.”

“I. Nearly. Died,” Silas grinds out, glaring at Vae like he’s considering putting the sun theory to the test. “It was a nightmare. And all I could hear while slowly suffocating was Dax rattling off instructions over comms on how to pick a lock with a paperclip… despite the fact that he knew I didn’t have a fucking paperclip.”

“So the box won,” Ford tsks, shaking his head. “Tough break, pal.”

Silas looks ready to flip the damn table.

Dax’s smile is full of menace, despite staring doggedly at his laptop screen. Vae starts outright cackling, and Ford lets go of his emotions long enough to bark out a laugh. Their voices wash over me as Silas continues to recall his valiant escape, insisting repeatedly that the furniture did not, in fact, overpower him.

My gaze drifts, eventually landing on the forest outside the window.

This is good. This is okay. I can do this, I just have to keep ignoring the violent tug insisting I return to the Omega.

I wonder what she’s doing. Is she safe? Hungry?

Did Varenthrall hurt her when he took her downstairs? Did Alexander?

I assume she’s safe there, considering she’s lived there her entire life, but… what if I’m wrong?

And I just… left her there.

My hands tighten on the edge of the table, making the wood creak. Unclenching my jaw, I peel each finger away from the oak one by one and then place my palms on my thighs for good measure, hoping no one noticed what just happened.

My eyes shift back to the guys. I can’t lose it right now. Especially not in front of my entire team, my pack, and⁠—

“I swear to fucking Fates, I’ll tranq all of you and sleep like a baby afterwards.” The door swings open and Gavran’s aggrieved voice rolls through the room like thunder. His large frame takes up all the available space, which is enough to kill the conversation.

Gav glances around the table, cataloging our attendance.

“Where’s Evander?” He asks, dropping into his seat at the head of the table.

“He’s on the horn with one of the boys at Chicago HQ,” Ford explains, tapping his cigarette case against his knee. “An Omega randomly showed up there, outta nowhere, no idea who she is or how she got there. She doesn’t match any of our missing-person profiles.”

Gav frowns. “That’s… unusual.”

He scratches at his jaw, then mumbles, almost to himself, “What the hell is going on with Omegas lately?”

No one answers. No one has an answer to give. Dax is grinding his molars down to nubs; the lack of answers is getting to him.