Miles away, back at the Faction 7 compound, Axton Conan lay still in his bunk, a massive, unmoving weight. When he finally woke, the world came back to him as a blinding, throbbing agony in his skull where Kael's wrench had struck.
His mind was a shattered mosaic. The last clear memory was the sound of Ren's primal shriek, the feeling of the Beast taking over, and the horrifying realisation of his own father's cold-blooded contempt.
Axton bolted upright, his breath catching in his throat, and immediately registered the cold, hollow pit in his stomach. He didn't need to see the empty restraints or the worried faces of Corvin and Rhys to know: Ren was gone.
"Corvin! Rhys!" he bellowed, his voice raw.
Corvin rushed in first, wincing as he moved his bruised ribs. "Captain, easy. You're awake. Tide managed to track Ren, but he escaped. He overloaded the transport's power core in the vehicle that was used to contain him. Rhys and Kael went out after him in a scout."
