Nyx didn't wake up.
Not fully.
She drifted in and out of consciousness, breath uneven, pulse weak but steady. Alpha stayed beside her through the night, Shadow Sense stretched thin, watching every fluctuation.
[Ally Status: Stable — Degrading]
At sunrise, the city moved against him.
Not violently.
Legally.
Rex burst into the room, tablet in hand. "Registry just issued a containment notice."
Alpha looked up. "For me?"
"For Dockside," Rex replied. "They've classified the yards as an unauthorized cultivation zone."
Nyx murmured faintly, "Told you…"
Alpha stood slowly.
"What does containment mean?" he asked.
Rex swallowed. "Utilities cut. Supply access restricted. Movement flagged."
Starvation.
Just like Nyx predicted.
[Territory Status: Under Sanction]
Outside, power grids flickered. Water pressure dropped. Cargo deliveries halted at checkpoints.
People noticed.
Fear stirred.
Alpha walked out into the yards.
No announcements. No speeches.
He stood where everyone could see him.
Shadow Sense expanded—not forcing, not commanding.
Listening.
He felt frustration, hunger, doubt.
And something else.
Expectation.
Alpha raised his voice—not loud, but steady.
"No one here is abandoned," he said. "If you stay, you eat. If you work, you're protected. If you leave, you're free."
Murmurs rippled through the crowd.
[Territory Bond: Reinforced Through Choice]
Behind him, Rex whispered, "We don't have the resources."
Alpha nodded. "We will."
He turned inward.
[System Query: Alternative Supply Pathways]
Shadow Sense stretched beyond people—into routes, routines, blind spots.
Unregistered vendors. Old docks. Forgotten rail spurs.
Not illegal.
Ignored.
[Adaptive Strategy: Emergent Logistics — Unlocked]
By evening, food arrived.
By night, generators hummed.
Not smoothly.
But enough.
[Power Base Progress: 52%]
Inside the warehouse, Alpha checked on Nyx again.
She stirred slightly.
"Still didn't take it," she whispered.
"No," Alpha said.
A faint smile touched her lips. "Good."
Then her body shuddered.
Silver lines traced briefly across her skin—unstable, fractured.
[Null Weave Instability: Escalating]
Alpha's Shadow Sense flared violently.
This wasn't gradual anymore.
Something was forcing resolution.
The air thickened.
Lights dimmed.
A pressure—cold and official—settled over Dockside.
Rex rushed in. "Registry convoy. Full delegation."
Alpha straightened.
He felt it too.
Not elites.
Auditors.
The kind that didn't fight.
They erased.
Alpha looked down at Nyx, then toward the door.
"Stay with her," he told Rex.
Rex hesitated. "And you?"
Alpha's eyes hardened.
"I'll buy time," he said.
[Incoming Event: Registry Audit — Irreversible]
Outside, black vehicles rolled in.
No sirens.
No warnings.
Just finality.