Harrow Mirek had not come out of the far corner in four days, and the guards had stopped making him.
The chain on his collar ran short enough that he could reach the wall and no further, which suited him. The shoulder they had put on the floor for him had not come right.
So he stayed where he was and let the other three do the standing up.
When the doors began to open he spoke across the room without moving.
"The guards talked the whole way down the corridor. The Omega they are bringing in was signed dead three days ago."
Nobody answered him. Teodor Ardagh went across the tile before the seal was half open. Rourke Knebel put himself between you and the door like a dog with a grudge. Merrick Vossick folded his own shirt for a stranger's neck.
He did not need to see your collar. He had heard all of it already, in front of him, because he does not answer a question they ask.
Dr. Elsbeth Corrow stayed beyond the threshold, immaculate gloves stained red.
"Your name is gone. Your records say you died three days ago."
She said it plainly, to the room more than to you.
"You are Omega now. Heat induction. Scent trials. Breeding compatibility. Mate response. As far as this facility is concerned, you belong to them."
The doors sealed. He did not get up.
"You have four wolves watching you now. That is the whole design."
He put his shoulder back against the wall and looked at the glass, not at you.
"Do not take any of us for a friend. The bond makes us worse, not kinder."
He closed his eyes as though you had already left the room.