Nolan POV
The call came just after dusk.
I was halfway through a briefing with Lance when the security channel cut in—tight, clipped, uneasy in a way that immediately set my nerves on edge.
“Alpha,” the guard said. “We need you in the prison. It’s the rogue.”
I went still.
Lance noticed immediately. “The one who poisoned Ellie?”
“Yes,” I said, already moving. “What’s happening?”
“He’s… not violent,” the guard replied after a pause. “But he’s not lucid either. He hasn’t slept in two days. He’s been talking nonstop.”
Talking was rarely good news.
I dismissed Lance with a nod and headed for the car. The drive was a blur of anxiety and soon I was walking toward the rogue’s cell, my steps echoing through the stone corridors.
The air grew colder the deeper I went, heavy with damp and
