Arik rose from his chair so suddenly that even Mezos flinched.

A barely visible tightening through the shoulders, one hand shifting toward the comm at his wrist, the smallest break in the stillness that made Mezos so useful and so deeply irritating.

But Arik saw it.

So did Damian and Gabriel.

Edward, unfortunately, saw everything and would no doubt record it under some household category with a name like bond-related loss of administrative compliance.

Arik did not care.

The mark on his inner wrist burned differently, and something in Arik tightened at the thought of his mate running away from him.

It was strange enough to still his breath for half a second because the bond was new, raw, and still learning the shape of both of them. Until now, Liam had been a presence close enough to feel like warmth behind Arik’s ribs: irritated, alive, focused, and occasionally so emotionally defensive that Arik could practically hear him thinking in engineering terms to avoid feelings.

But this was different.

Arik did not know Ravenwood Manor by bond. He did not know the city well enough through Liam’s pulse to name the place by instinct alone.

But he knew one thing with absolute certainty.

Liam was no longer in Lab V.

The room seemed to narrow around that realization.

Gabriel’s amusement faded first.

Damian’s golden gaze sharpened.

Edward’s pen stopped.

Kamal, near the rear of the room, looked from Arik to Mezos with the quiet recognition of a man who had once served another sovereign with violent instincts and had survived by noticing the first breath before consequence.

Arik turned toward the door.

Mezos’s comm pinged.

The sound was small, but in that room it might as well have been a gunshot.

Mezos looked down, read it once, and for the first time that morning, his expression almost changed.

"Your Highness."

Arik did not stop walking. "Speak."

"Stanford sent a message."

That made Arik stop.

Mezos lifted his gaze. "Lord Liam is at Ravenwood Manor."

The combined silence of several intelligent people fell over the room as they realized that a dominant omega engineer had removed himself from an agreed-upon security perimeter, crossed the city, entered a politically active family residence, and done all of this without informing the newly bonded alpha, who was currently in a secure imperial meeting.

Arik’s eyes were calm, but his ether, even restricted, told another story.

"Say that again."

Mezos did not blink. "Lord Liam is at Ravenwood Manor. Stanford is with him. No hostile contact reported. Ravenwood internal security is active."

Arik’s hand closed over the edge of the doorframe.

The wards embedded in the metal flickered once.

Gabriel looked down at Arik’s hand, then back at his face. "Arik."

Arik ignored him. "Why?"

Mezos checked the cascade of messages from Stanford and the Shadows under his command.

There was a pause.

That pause did not improve anything.

"It seems," Mezos said carefully, "that Lord Liam left his comm on silent for three days."

Gabriel blinked.

Damian’s brows lifted by the smallest degree.

Edward resumed writing.

Arik turned his head toward him, gold eyes glowing with rage.

Edward did not look up. "This is household relevant." 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

"It is not household relevant."

"You acquired a mate who silences his comm for three days and then relocates himself during an active security operation. It is extremely household-relevant."

Gabriel’s mouth curved.

Arik’s gaze returned to Mezos. "Why is he at Ravenwood Manor?"

Mezos’s eyes lowered to the comm again. "Stanford reports that Lord Liam opened the Ravenwood-Armstrong business account after receiving multiple family messages. Lady Enia Ravenwood, Lord Henry Ravenwood, Lady Mirelle Armstrong, and several relatives appear to be present."

Gabriel made a soft sound.

It was not sympathy.

Arik looked at him.

Gabriel tried and failed to hide his delight. "He went home because his mother was angry."

"He left the perimeter."

"He went to his mother," Gabriel corrected.

"He left," Arik said, each word quieter than the last, "the perimeter."

Damian leaned back, watching him with the calm of an alpha that understood entirely and intended to be unhelpful anyway.

"Is he injured?" Damian asked.

"No," Mezos said.

"Afraid?"

Mezos hesitated.

Arik answered before he could. "No."

The bond burned again, and with it came another sharp flicker from Liam.

Mortification, maybe defensiveness. A thread of panic that tasted nothing like danger and everything like family.

Arik’s jaw tightened.

"He is embarrassed," Arik said, hand still clenched over the door frame.

Gabriel’s eyes brightened. "Oh, that poor man."

Arik pointed at him without looking. "Do not."

"I said nothing."

"You thought something."

"I am always thinking something."

Damian’s mouth twitched.

Arik looked at his father.

Damian’s expression returned to imperial neutrality with insulting speed.

Mezos said, "The vehicle is being prepared."

"I did not order a vehicle."

"No," Mezos said. "I anticipated the order."

Edward said mildly, "Efficient."

Arik looked at Mezos for one long second.

Then nodded. "Good."

Gabriel’s amusement sharpened. "You are going to storm into his mother’s house."

"I am going to retrieve my mate."

"That phrasing will go beautifully in front of Lady Ravenwood, I’m sure."

Arik turned toward the projection fully now. "He left without telling me."

"He is an adult," Gabriel said, with a smile that told everyone that he was enjoying seeing his firstborn suffer.

Arik took a deep breath and smiled in a way that made both Kamal and Mezos reconsider their career choices.

"Try to leave without telling Father."

The secure room went silent.

Gabriel’s smile froze.

Damian slowly turned his head toward him.

Edward stopped writing.

For one perfect second, Arik felt peace.

Then Damian said, very calmly, "He has a point."

Gabriel’s dark eyes narrowed, tone lowering in warning. "Damian."

"You do not leave without telling me."

"That is different."

"Is it?"

"Yes."

Damian looked unconvinced.

Gabriel leaned back in his chair, expression sharpening. "I am not newly bonded in hostile territory."

"You were once."

"And you were worse than Arik."

Damian’s mouth curved faintly. "That was never in question."

Arik lifted one brow. "Genetics, Mother."

Gabriel stared at him.

Edward, traitorously, resumed writing.

Arik looked at him. "Do not record that."

Edward’s face remained immaculate. "Too late, Your Highness."

Mezos opened the door with the grim efficiency of a man trying to prevent an imperial family argument from becoming a permanent record.

"The vehicle is ready."

Arik turned toward the corridor.

Behind him, Gabriel called, "Be polite."

Arik did not look back.

"I will try my best."

Damian’s voice followed, dry and deeply unhelpful. "That remains ambitious."

Arik left before Gabriel could start laughing again.