Chapter 9

NINE

T he fierce pride that surged through him had nothing to do with being her boss and everything to do with being her mate. But that conversation would have to wait.

For now, he had a brilliant, beautiful scientist to protect, an enemy to destroy, and a growing attraction he couldn’t quite hide.

His mother would be thrilled.

If they survived.

The security alerts flashed across multiple screens, but Marcus found his attention drawn to Natalie. She’d moved to her workstation, fingers flying across keyboards as she checked her research files.

“They’re targeting specific sequences,” she muttered, more to herself than him. “Looking for the mutation data.” Her hair had started escaping its bun again, one strand curling against her neck in a way that made his fingers itch to brush it back.

“Your files are secure.” He forced himself to focus on the security feeds. “Emily designed the encryption herself.”

“Emily?”

“My sister. Head of Innovation at Vale Tech.” He allowed himself a small smile. “She’s been dying to meet you, by the way. Says your published papers on genetic mapping are, and I quote, ‘totally badass.’”

Natalie’s eyes lit up. “Really? Her work on quantum computing is incredible! I read her paper on—“ She caught his amused look and blushed. “And I’m doing that thing where I geek out about science again.”

“I like it when you geek out.”

The words slipped out before he could stop them. Her eyes widened slightly, and that electric tension crackled between them again.

“Sir?” A security guard’s voice crackled over the intercom. “We’ve contained the breach attempts, but we’re seeing some unusual activity in the building’s lower labs.”

Marcus growled low in his throat. “Whoever this is, they’re getting desperate.”

“Good.” Natalie’s chin lifted with that defiance that drove him crazy. “Let them try. My research. My rules.”

The wolf in him practically purred at her fierceness.

“Speaking of your research...” He hesitated, then decided to risk it. “Why a matchmaking serum? Of all the things you could create...”

Something vulnerable flickered in her expression. She toyed with her fortune cookie, still unopened on the desk. “You’ll think it’s silly.”

“Try me.”

“I...” She took a deep breath. “I’ve always been fascinated by shifter mate bonds. That certainty. That instant recognition. Humans... we stumble around in the dark, dating the wrong people, getting hurt... I thought if I could crack the genetic code, give humans even a fraction of what shifters have...”

His heart clenched. If she only knew.

“Plus,” she added quickly, trying to lighten the mood, “my mother’s matchmaking attempts were getting desperate. Last month she tried to set me up with my dentist.”

“During an appointment?”

“During a root canal! She claimed the nitrous oxide would make me more open to romance.”

His laugh rumbled out before he could stop it. The sound seemed to surprise them both.

“You should do that more often,” she said softly.

“What?”

“Laugh. It’s nice.”

Their eyes met. The air between them thickened with possibility.

“Boss?” Jax’s voice broke the spell. “We’ve got movement. You’re gonna want to see this.”

Marcus suppressed a growl. “On my way.” He turned back to Natalie. “Stay here. The lab’s secure, and I’ve got guards posted?—“

“At every possible entrance, plus three different escape routes and enough backup generators to power Manhattan.” Her lips curved. “I was paying attention earlier.”

“Good.” He moved toward the door, then paused. “Oh, and Natalie?”

“Hmm?”

“Read your fortune cookie. I hear they’re very accurate tonight.”

She raised an eyebrow but reached for the cookie. He forced himself to leave before he could see her reaction to the note he’d slipped inside—his private number with the words “For non-security emergencies” scrawled beneath.

Jax waited in the hallway, smirking. “Smooth move with the fortune cookie.”

“Shut up.”

“I especially liked the part where you pretended checking the security feeds required standing that close to her.”

“Don’t you have somewhere to be?”

“And miss watching the big bad alpha turn into a lovesick puppy? Not a chance.” Jax fell into step beside him. “Though you might want to rein in the growling when other guys approach her. The lab tech who delivered her coffee nearly wet himself.”

Marcus’s jaw clenched. “I didn’t growl.”

“You did. It was very impressive. Very cave-wolf.”

“The coffee was a security risk.”

“The coffee was from Starbucks.”

“He didn’t follow proper clearance protocols.”

“He had a name tag!”

“Something could have been slipped into?—“

His phone buzzed. A text from an unknown number lit up the screen:

For non-security emergencies only? So I shouldn’t mention that the scary CEO’s fortune cookie trick made me smile?

A second message followed:

Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone you’re secretly smooth.

Something warm unfurled in his chest. Behind him, Jax made a gagging sound.

“Oh god, you’re already getting the dopey mate smile. I’m out. Call me when there’s actual security stuff to handle.”

Marcus ignored him, typing back:

Fortune cookie tricks are classified information. Very high security clearance required.

Her response came quickly:

Higher than bulletproof lab coats?

Much higher. Top secret.

Good thing I’m good at cracking codes then.

He smiled at his phone like an idiot until Jax threw a pen at his head.

Right. Focus.

Maybe he could do it all while making her smile.

The wolf in him certainly thought that.