Page 8 of Strays
Excerpt from Emergent Divergence: The Evolutionary Path of Homo Gregalis by Dr. Steve Bureau, Ph.D. (4th ed., West Kempton Institute Press)
The foundational unit of Homo gregalis society is the pack: a triadic structure composed of three aegis males.
The early stages of pack formation begin in childhood. From infancy, aegis brothers exhibit instinctive proximity-seeking behaviors, most notably, the tendency to sleep in physical contact. The gregalis custom of “nest-sleeping”, where all three brothers share the same resting space, is foundational to neural development.
Shared sleep establishes sensory imprinting and co-regulation of stress markers as early as the neonatal stage. By early adolescence, as gonadal maturation begins and pheromonal glands become active, the pack stabilizes.
From this point forward, the triad becomes a closed-loop feedback system: each aegis within a pack emits and responds to a unique pheromonal signature that actively modulates the other two members’ endocrine output. The result is a synchronized regulatory system that enables cognitive clarity, emotional equilibrium, and behavioral control.
Aegis without triadic siblings, whether due to loss or failure to complete a triad, deteriorate rapidly.
CHAPTER TWO
Ninety-Three Percent
Wait, what?
“Say that again?” Jay asks, his voice as stunned as I feel.
“You heard me.”
Holy fuck. A match. After all these years. I don’t even know what to think. What to feel.
Shane’s brain is the first to restart. “What’s the compatibility rate?”
He’s trying to keep his voice even, but it shakes anyway.
The commander’s smile widens. “Ninety-three percent.”
Jay whistles, long and low. We’re all thinking the same thing: Ninety. Fucking. Three.
That’s huge. Compatibility rates that high are rare. The chances of this nyra being our scent-mate are bizarrely good.
“How many other packs is she compatible with?” Jay’s brain is working again too.
The commander shakes his head. “None. Right now, you’re the only one.”
My voice finally comes back: “What do you mean, ‘right now’?”
The commander sighs. “Three years ago, when her genetic data entered the Matching Program, she had medium compatibility with two other packs. But when she met them, it became clear she wasn’t their scent-mate, and she rejected them both. Since then, she hasn’t had a single match.”
A heavy silence settles over us.
If her data’s been in the Program for three years… then we’ve been a match this whole time, and no one told us.
I feel the rage creeping in, pressing down on my chest, suffocating me. I don’t realize my hands are clenched into fists until I feel my nails digging into my palms.
The commander knows what I’m about to ask before I even open my mouth. His smile is gone.
“Why weren’t we notified?” I snarl.
I hear a slow growl coming from Shane, his body radiating aggression.
The commander isn’t stupid like Balls. He knows exactly how close we are to losing control. As a Tier-One aegis, he's bigger and stronger than any of us, but we’re three, and while his brothers are probably close, inside these walls, he’s alone.
His voice drops, low and grave. “If you don’t calm down right now, you lose.Everything. I am sticking my neck out for you, so do not fuck this up.”
That stops me. Because no one has ever stuck their neck out for us before. Not once.
