It was all Riyah could do to get through the rest of the day. She met all the lower-level inmates and eight of the upper levels. Her office was small but worked fine. She was to take on the hardest cases and try to make life in the shifter prison easier for everyone. The aggression in there was off the charts. Twice, she’d watched two silverback gorillas go to war in the cafeteria. No provoking each other either, they just locked eyes across the table and went to blows. And it happened again as the guards were dragging them out. They’d had to tranquilize one of them and Taser the other.

Thankfully, some of the upper-level guards were shifters, so they were strong enough to handle the brutal stuff, but geez, she was feeling way out of her element here.

Her theory? They didn’t have shifter guards down on the lower level because they would see what the New IESA and the research lab were doing and cause havoc.

Little did Emmitt fuckin’ know, she was the one he needed to worry about, because no matter how long it took and how patient she had to be, she was going to blow the lid right off this place.

Starting with a phone call.

Clara Daye picked up on the second ring. “You’re on the burner phone?”

“Yes,” Riyah murmured.

“Where are you?”

“Sitting in the parking lot of Fed-Ex. I have something I need to overnight you.”

“What is it?”

“Video of your son. It needs to get to his crew, but you should see it first. And Clara?”

“Yeah?”

“I think it’s time to bring in Damon.”

A deep sigh blasted static on the other end. “Is it that bad?”

“They’re killing him.”

“What?”

“The New IESA is involved, and they aren’t just trying to take his dragon. They want him eliminated, and they can’t do it when he’s still this strong, so they are killing the dragon first. The second he is weak enough, they are going after Vyr.”

“Oh, my God,” Clara whispered.

“It gets worse.”

“How the fuck can it get worse?” Clara blasted into the phone.

“I toured a research lab on the lower level. They are making something with the tissue and blood samples they’ve been taking from Vyr.”

“Something like what?”

“I don’t know. But there was one small room no one was allowed in except the head researcher, and when we passed, it looked like there was a two-person team studying blood and tissue samples. And in the middle of the room was this huge canister that was lit up with a red neon light, and through the window of it, I could see a single vial of something. The room was completely locked down.”

“Riyah, did you get a feel for anything in there?”

“Yeah. It was overwhelming, but whatever they’re making is huge. There’s this underlying current of excitement from the research team. Even when they were meeting me and talking with me, they were still humming with anticipation. Whatever they’re making, they’re getting close to a breakthrough.”

Clara had gone quiet, so Riyah waited a few minutes before she asked, “Are you okay?”

“How is he?”

Riyah shook her head and stared at the Fed-Ex sign, but all she could see was the hollowness in Vyr’s eyes and his frozen dragon pupil. “He asked for his crew.”

“Shhhhit.”

“That’s bad?”

“Vyr doesn’t need people. He was different growing up. He attached to Torren, so I always knew if he asked for Torren, he was in trouble. But he’s asking for his entire crew? He didn’t even want to be Alpha.”

“What do I do?”

“Ship the video. Ship it to me. I’m bringing Damon in. I should’ve from the beginning, but I learned a long time ago to let him and Vyr work their own stuff out. Fire versus fire. They’re both stubborn men, stubborn dragons. Damon has it in his head that Vyr will do a year in that place, and then his punishment will be done and he’ll move on. That’s not what’s happening, though. Damon trusted a broken system to try and keep things calm between shifters and humans, but it’ll get Vyr killed in the process. Time to open my mate’s eyes to how bad things really are. We will send the video to the Sons of Beasts.”

“And what should I do?”

“Riyah, I need you to keep Vyr steady and keep him strong, remind him of the fight he has in him. I’ll get things into motion, but I need time. Be his friend. Be there for him. Be his crew until the Sons of Beasts get there, and when they do, get him as much time with them as possible.”

“Six more months in this place won’t work. He’ll be long dead before he serves the entire sentence.”

“Okay.” Clara inhaled deeply and repeated, “Okay. If he gets close to the edge before I can line things up…Riyah…get my son out of there. Before they take the dragon, get him out. I can’t get anyone else in there to help you, I’m sorry. I tried, and you’re all I was able to secure into one of those positions safely. Help him keep the dragon. Please.”

“I’ll do the best I can. Clara?”

“Yeah, hon?”

Riyah dipped her voice to a whisper. “He’s like me.”

“I know. Damon and I have watched you for a long time, Riyah. We knew of your parents. I’m sorry for everything that happened. I know it’s lonely. I was like that, too, until I found Damon. Vyr struggles with feeling alone as well. You have always felt important, but I couldn’t figure out why. And now I keep getting this feeling that you’re supposed to be there with him.”

A strange sense of déjà vu took her. She’d been thinking the same thing lately. Like the stars were lining up, and her journey could be epic or end in disaster.

She just didn’t know which one yet.