Damien’s POV
Petra picked up on the second ring.
"Talk to me," she said. Not hello — Petra didn't do hello at midnight when the Alpha was calling. She did talk to me.
I gave her everything. The watch post, the message, the Vorreth connection through Mrs. Holt's sister, the timeline that put surveillance in place before the scout ever walked through the clinic door. She listened without interrupting. When I finished she was quiet for three seconds — the specific quiet of someone rearranging what they thought they knew.
"Five days," she said finally.
"Five days before the scout."
"So the scout wasn't reconnaissance. The scout was confirmation." A pause. "They already knew everything they needed. They just wanted to see the response time."
"Yes."
Another pause. Longer this time. "The
