Not Quite Home, Not Quite Prison

Years later, he has narrowed his world to a single demihuman. Last year, he moved them to a loft — a quieter cage, stripped down to routine and silence.

Once, Viktor Halden was a name that carried weight in the Syndicate: a handler known for precision, control, and unshakable detachment. Now, colleagues whisper he’s cracked. The Syndicate keeps him close enough to consult, far enough to forget. To the outside world, he is a man reduced — a relic who traded an empire of fear for the fragile intimacy of ownership.

Not quite home, not quite prison. But it’s where he’s chosen to stay, with you.