6

BYRON

I don't open my eyes the entire weekend until I smell Aida walking into the lab.

It's been two days of darkness.

I listened to the weekend crew move about the building. Sometimes, they came close to stare at me through the glass, and other times, they banged against it to get some response from me, which I never gave.

Two days of wanting to walk through her dreams again but not wanting to scare her away.

She'll want me there eventually. I have to be patient, and I'm nothing if not that.

I don't move until her quickened footfalls sound beyond the doors these people think are soundproof.

Only when she's entered—that smell I love so much preceding her—and walked over to stand in front of the room where I've remained lying on the cot do I blink my eyes open to find her watching me with a wary crease to her eyes.

"They said you might be dead."

I smile, and this time, it's not to throw her off. It's because I'm glad to see her. My wolf is ecstatic. "I must not be as important as I thought if they thought I was dead and they just left me here."

"Hm." She seems different. I sit up, trying to figure out what it is, but it's in her bearing. "They're scared of you."

I slap a hand to my chest. "Me? I'm harmless."

"Not the blood-thirsty beast anymore?" She arches a brow, and it's cute.

I flash another grin, matching her energy. "For you. Not to you."

Her eyes brighten with warmth, and then she clears her throat.

"Did you sleep?" She leans in, looking closely like she's searching for something.

"Should I have? Did something interesting happen?"

"What do you mean?" Her scent has a note of skepticism, but a soft anticipation overlays it.

Maybe I should have visited her after all. "What do you think I mean?"

Her mouth opens then closes tight, and she stares at me for a long moment before blinking and shaking her head. "Nothing. Never mind. We should get started." She turns away, lowering her voice. "Let's see what bullshit they have planned today."

She doesn't know I heard her, but it's interesting that this "important work" has suddenly become bullshit.

As she moves around the lab, half-heartedly looking over her tablet, I take the time to look my fill.

I'm still baffled by my connection to her, a human. And while she's extraordinary, she isn't like our chief, Godwin's mate, and her sister. They have a bit of shifter blood, enough to connect them to the line of fate that intertwines all of my kind.

They made sense after I scented them.

Aida is all human, as far as I can tell. I'd catch a whiff of it if there was more, but there's nothing except her sweet smell.

And yet, she's starting to make sense, too.

"Where do you want me?" I stand and lift my hands, signaling I'm at her mercy.

Heat blooms beneath her skin, and her eyes shift to the small cot. I turn, following her gaze. When I have her again, there's a knowing tilt to my brow.

"I barely fit on that thing alone, but I can make it work."

"Oh, my god," she mumbles, turning away and rubbing beneath her throat. She stares with exaggerated interest at the tablet. "We're going to do a series of endurance tests today. Do you feel at all dizzy or short of breath this morning?"

It's cute how she tries to stay all business when I know she's thinking about rolling around on the cot with me.

Her gaze keeps flicking up, roaming over my bare chest, and her scent—damn, it takes everything in me not to growl, to choke back the wolf that wants to stalk up and nuzzle between her thighs.

Right now, he's pacing back and forth, watching her with glowing eyes.

"I feel great. Do your worst."

Their worst is a treadmill that's been jacked up to run at speeds twice as fast as the average human.

They release me from my restraints, six men at the ready with tranquilizers, stun rods, and live round guns in case I get any ideas.

There's also the shock collar with discreetly placed spikes along the inside.

Aida flipped when she saw it, going into a lecture about the inhumanity and historical context of collars on Black people, which Max had rolled his eyes at.

I'd given her a pointed look signaling her to drop it, but she's still seething.

I guess this is the part where they try to get an idea of the powers they think they're harnessing, and I see no reason to disappoint.

Under normal circumstances, I'd devise a plan to take them out and escape, but my wolf peeps Aida looking, and he wants to show off.

Standing, my mouth tilting when the half-dozen guards flinch, I reach for the hem of my shirt and peel it over my head.

The entire room shifts.

Except for Aida. My woman stays precisely where she is.

The men, however, spring back, their respective weapons rising in defense. A particularly jumpy guard lets off a tranquilizer round, which whizzes toward my head. I pivot quickly to the side, and it sails past to embed in the wall.

I stare at the bobbing needle, then face the man. "I get hot when I run."

His eyes shift nervously back and forth, and when Maxim, having just entered the room from where he was standing at the door, steps up beside him and slaps his gun down, the guard lowers his gaze.

"What's wrong with you? You fucking scared of him, you fucking bitch? Get the fuck out of here." He shoves the guard away, and I roll my eyes.

He flinched, too—and he was further away.

Maxim turns back from glowering at the sulking guard and fixes me with a glare. "Any shit like that again, and I'll take you down myself."

He points the end of his handgun at me, and I try not to yawn. Even at half my age, and if I wasn't a wolf, Maxim wouldn't stand a chance.

I know his kind too well: jacked up on hormones, born with a bit of height, and suddenly they think they're super soldiers.

He's a joke. I know teenage wolf cubs who could take him down with one paw tied behind their back.

He knows he aint shit, too. That's why he makes a show of stepping up to shove me toward the treadmill.

I let him steer me toward the machine, and once I step on, I turn back to meet his gaze. "You reek of fear, little boy."

His nostrils flare, and red rage creeps up his neck. He's nearly frothing at the mouth as he leans in to press the muzzle of the gun to my forehead. I meet the force with resistance, leaning into it so that his eyes flare first in surprise, then fear, then that simmering anger.

"You think I won't, boy ?" He flicks the safety off, and the tremble in his hand steadies.

Behind him, Aida stands in shock. Her heartbeat might as well be a drum. It's beating so hard and fast.

"What are you doing? Put that gun away!"

Maxim glares at Aida, and my wolf bares his teeth.

"Don't look at her." I hear a muffled voice in the earpiece plugged into Maxim's ear. Umansky's stern voice also warns him down. "You better listen to your daddy, Maxie-poo." I hitch my brows as he shifts his glare to me.

A sheen of sweat has broken out over his lip. I have no doubt he'd shoot me, and I've no doubt I could rip his arm off before he had the chance.

I smirk as the threats in his ear get more urgent and insistent. As much as he wants to kill me, he can't.

After a tense moment—for him. I'm gravy—he flips the safety and hinges his arm, lifting the gun to face the ceiling.

Looking away, I focus on Aida, whose amber skin has gone ashen. "You ready?"

She jumps, side-eyeing the hell out of Maxim as she rushes forward to check the wireless leads attached to my chest. Her hands shake so severely that she fumbles with the sticky pads, snagging them several times.

I cover her hand when she finally manages to reattach one, and her eyes meet mine with wide fear.

"Relax." I lower my voice, letting the soothing purr of my wolf reach out to her.

She inhales, the tension dropping slightly from her shoulders. "This is ridiculous. I do not work like this."

I love that she sounds so pissed on my behalf. I rub over her smooth skin. "Nothing's going to happen. He's all bark."

She holds my gaze, probably searching for the surety of my words, then nods. Her hands are steady as she checks the rest of the monitoring devices.

"Keep your hands to yourself." Maxim steps forward, and only because Aida is here and in the path of anything he might do, I let my hand fall away, even as my palm tingles from touching her.

"Can you all leave so I can run my tests? If you don't mind, I'd like a couple of uninterrupted hours. You can stand outside with your guns."

There's another staticky warble in his earpiece, and Maxim rolls his eyes, backing away and ushering the other guards out of the room. "Take whatever time you need with the dog, but no funny business. And you," he levels me with what I'm sure he thinks is a menacing stare. "You try to escape, and you won't make it two steps out of the room."

With a final glare, he exits, leaving me alone with Aida.

Alone and unmonitored.

I stare after him with narrowed eyes. "Is he always like that?"

She looks back from watching him leave, her nose curled in disgust. "You mean hostile and ‘roided up? As far as I can tell. But like I said before, this is my first time working for this company, and I'm starting to regret it." She mumbles this last part, her brow pinched as she looks over something on the screen. "What the hell?"

"What?" I crane my head, trying to get a glance at whatever's on her tablet that's so fascinating, but she's so enthralled she doesn't notice.

"Your heart rate didn't budge. Like not a beat."

Confused, I try to see again and get a glimpse of my heart rate readout on the screen. "Why would it?"

"He had a gun in your face! Like right against your head. That doesn't scare you?"

I laugh. I don't mean to, but it's been a while since I've been around this many humans. I forget how scared they are all the time and how their scent is always bitter with fear.

She watches me chuckle with a perplexed narrowing of her eyes until I finally sober.

"Do you think that's the first time I've had a gun in my face?"

Her confusion shifts to shock and then pity. "I guess someone with your background probably got into a lot of gunfights."

"A few," I admit. I won't lie, even if the context is a bit different than she's thinking. "Life of a biochemist."

She makes a face, but her lips twist as she struggles not to smile. "I'm sure." Looking away, she focuses back on her screen.

The entire time they've had me, I've always been restrained.

It pisses me off because it's a clear indication that they don't care if I was dangerous enough to kill her in an attempt to escape. But leaving us alone also means there's nothing to stop me from reaching out, taking her chin, and turning her to face me.

Her lips part on a breathy gasp at the surge of desire that flows between us. I know she feels it, and I can smell the dampening between her legs.

"Don't feel sorry for me. Any man who pulled a gun on me was no better than Maxim, and they all had something in common when they did it." I lean in so that my mouth is nearly a breath from hers. Mm. She likes her coffee sweet. "They reeked of piss."

She chokes on a laugh. "I'm sorry?"

"Piss, Aida. You couldn't hear it, but his heart was a jackhammer. And when a man's that scared, he always pisses himself a little."

"But not you." She hasn't looked away or stopped me from touching her.

"Nah, not me. I'm not afraid of cowards. It's the brave ones you have to worry about, which means I should be terrified of you, huh?"

She holds my gaze, that change I noticed making something in her eyes resolve. "You think I'm brave?"

"Don't you?"

Looking away for a moment, she moves to snatch up a notepad from the nearby desk and scribbles across the surface. Flipping it around, she holds it up so I can see.

I don't feel right about this anymore.

I tilt my head in question, and she turns the pad back, scribbling more.

This work, being here. YOU being here. What we're doing. What you agreed to. It isn't right. I don't care what they say you did. I can't do this. I WON'T.

I watch her, giving no response, but pride makes my wolf ram against my chest. Instead of releasing my beast, I hold my hand out for the pad.

She extends it, her breath hitching when our fingers brush as I take the pen. She leans in to peek as I write, and I angle the pad away, smirking when she crosses her arms with a huff.

I take my time crafting the message, and her eyes widen when I turn it back.

Time to do something about that scent.

"What—"

I shake my head, pressing a finger to my lips.

A grin that I can only describe, ironically, as wolfish pulls at my mouth as I crowd Aida back against the desk where all of the monitoring equipment sits, emitting beeps and ticks and displaying various lines and graphs.

It's a bit low-tech, but then I imagine they don't want to risk any breaches. The tablets probably only connect to the machines themselves.

"Little boys playing with guns don't scare me, but do you know what does?"

"What?" She's caged in, and she doesn't even realize it.

And like any predator, I'm ready to pounce. I lower my mouth to her ear. "Having you at my mercy and not taking advantage of it. Remember, they can hear us, so keep it mum, mate."

I swallow her startled cry as I seal my mouth over hers, sinking my tongue deep as my wolf urges forward, trying to get as much of her taste as we can.

She's stiff, her hands coming to push at my chest, and I break the kiss only so I can press my mouth to her ear again.

"If you want me to stop, tell me now. Say it. Say the word, 'No.'"

I pull back to look into her eyes, and the molten brown is a swirl of confusion and desire.

I wait, my patience on a tight hold, until she jerks her head in a nod.

"Words," I whisper.

"Don't stop." She's loud and clear, and we both smile at the fact that anyone listening could interpret her response as part of the tests.

My wolf leaps. I plaster my front to hers, hauling her against me as my hands push her narrow skirt up to her waist. Hitching her onto the table, I wedge my hips between her thighs and grind them forward, rubbing my scent off on her.

She's soaked, and my dick aches as I hump against the dampening middle of her panties. The pungent scent of her arousal fills the air. My wolf wants inside of her. He has since we saw her in the dream, and he's tired of waiting.

"I need you." I release her mouth, keeping my voice low, and scrape my teeth down her jaw to her neck, making her hiss.

Her head jerks up and down, and a growl rumbles in my chest.

"Don't stop." Again, she issues the command in an even, clinical voice, even as her breath hitches when I reach between us to grip her panties and rip them apart.

With another quick tug of my sweat pants, I free the straining length of my dick and nuzzled up against the slick heat of her pussy.

Fuck .

"So wet," I murmur in her ear. Her sweet scent fills my nose, and I drag it in, feeling the euphoria of its effect take hold.

It isn't until I'm there, against her, rubbing through her dripping slit, everything in me holding me back from filling her like my beast wants, that I pull back and catch her gaze, the heat of my wolf locking her in.

"You're mine after this." My voice is low and rough. All traces of the smirk are gone.

This is serious. She won't understand what it means, but it means everything to me. I haven't been with any woman, shifter or human, since my wife died.

I'm a little old school like that.

She nods frantically again. She seems outside of herself, too, consumed, as I am, with the pull of our fated connection.

"Say it, Aida. Say you don't care about what's in that file or what you've been told. Say you want me. Say what you feel is stronger than that."

Again, her head jerks like she needs the answer as much as I do, and maybe she does. Since the moment I met her, she's smelled so lonely, so alone, but she's also smelled familiar and like a home I didn't know I still wanted.

We can be there for each other. After this, we will be.

I rub the head of my dick through her folds, wetting the tip and length so she can take me as I wait for her to give me the words. When they come, they're tinged with the same longing of her scent.

" Don't. Stop ." It's urgent, and as I start to press forward, breaching her with a firm thrust of my hips, she frowns, her teeth baring to clamp on her full bottom lip as I fuck up hard and stretch her around me.

I swallow the sound she makes, and my wolf gobbles it up.

The points of her nails dig into my shoulders, and I know I should wait, give her a chance to adjust, but in the back of my mind, I'm all too aware that someone could come back and stop this before I have an opportunity to lay my claim.

And my wolf isn't going for it.

He urges me on, and I ease from her body, then hinge back deep, setting a pace that fills the small room with the sharp slap of our flesh colliding.

Her moans are muffled behind her teeth and between our mouths as we kiss.

"Quiet," I urge when one slips out.

She nods, her eyes wide as she starts to pant out her response.

The breaths vary in depth and length. They get long and wispy when I speed up, then shift to measured exhales when I slow down, giving her a bit of languid length.

I like these sounds the best. They thrum through my chest where her cheek is pressed, her eyes closed tight. Her breath fans over my skin. Her scent—

Damn. If I could bottle up the scent of Aida taking my dick, I wouldn't sell an ounce. I'd keep this shit because no one deserves this but me.

"Keep going."

I know what she's asking for. It's on the edge of my own pleasure and the necessity to get us to the end before the footsteps I can hear coming get any closer.

"I got you, baby." Hitching her legs over my forearms, I fuck harder and faster, grinding up so I catch her clit.

Whoever is coming has made it to the steps leading to this part of the facility, but I still draw it out, taking my time as I give her every inch of my dick, making her fidget and bridge her hips to take more of me.

I make her take it all. I use every second we have before I slip a hand between us and pinch the slippery nub of her clit and drive deep, my dick jerking as it starts to shoot.

She squeals and shakes, panting out her orgasm—sounds my wolf howls at like he's gazing at a full moon.

She bites down on my shoulder as she comes, her pussy creaming around me as I continue to hold her and flood her with my release.

The second the outer door opens, I pull away, noting her flinch as I drag from her clenching grip.

Lifting her from the table, I pull her skirt down and hold her steady by the hips to nuzzle into her neck, inhaling deeply. "That's better."

I step away, shoving my dick into my sweats, then hopping on the treadmill.

Reaching over to the control panel, I hit the button and start to run.