Chapter 31 · The Cage They Built

Vera's trackers came through the tree line at dawn. Six of them. Silver rifles. Scent blockers on their gear.

I was still standing in the yard with the recorder's broken pieces at my feet. Cain hadn't moved from the porch. The air between us was sharp enough to cut.

"Layla Quinn." Vera's voice carried across the clearing. Professional. Cold. "Step forward. Hands visible."

Cain shifted. Just a quarter turn, putting himself between me and the rifles.

"Don't." I said it low. Didn't look at him. "Don't you dare."

"She's not Guild business." Cain's voice was flat. The voice he used when he'd already decided to do something stupid. "She's under my protection."

Vera stopped ten feet out. Her people fanned wide. Classic suppression formation. I'd seen enough true crime docs to know what it meant when they gave you space like that. They thought you'd run.

"Your protection expired the day they exiled you." Vera's eyes flicked to me. Back to Cain. "We have a warrant. Signed by three regional alphas. She's a rogue shift. No pack claim. No registration."

"She didn't know." Cain's hand drifted toward his belt. Not the gun. The silver knife. "She didn't choose this.