Chapter 6

SIX

T he punching bag exploded in a shower of sand as Lucas’s fist connected with more force than he’d intended. Again. The fourth one this morning.

“That’s coming out of your paycheck,” Zayne commented dryly from his spot near the private gym’s entrance. “Though I have to say, watching you destroy equipment is more entertaining than our usual sparring sessions. Something about a certain redheaded scientist affecting your control?”

Lucas growled, not bothering to hide the inhuman sound. Here in his private sanctuary with his best friend and head of security present, he didn’t need to maintain his careful human facade. “Her scent is everywhere. The whole building smells like jasmine and lightning and brilliant enthusiasm about genetic markers.”

“Genetic markers?” Zayne’s scarred eyebrow lifted. “Is that what we’re calling it now? Because I saw the security feeds. You nearly shifted in the elevator when she started babbling about inherited traits.”

“I did not—” Lucas broke off as his claws emerged unbidden at the memory. Emma pressed against the wall, those incredible green eyes bright with scientific curiosity rather than fear, that intoxicating scent of jasmine and intelligence filling the small space... “Damn it.”

His phone chimed with a notification. Emma’s official acceptance of the position, complete with her typically thorough analysis of the benefits package and one endearingly awkward question about whether she was allowed to name the lab equipment. She’d attached a full proposal for a naming system based on famous geneticists.

Just seeing her name made his inner beast purr.

“You realize she’s already figured out we’re not human?” Zayne moved to hold the next punching bag. “The woman tried to scientifically document your shifter traits during a job interview. Most humans run screaming when they notice the eye thing. She wanted to study it.”

Lucas couldn’t help his proud smile. “She said my genetic markers were ‘fascinating.’“ The last word came out as more of a growl than speech.

“You’re purring again.”

“I don’t purr.”

“Tell that to your cat.”

Lucas shot him a dangerous look, but Zayne just grinned. The benefits of a lifetime of friendship – his second-in-command wasn’t intimidated by his alpha status.

“She’s different,” Lucas admitted finally, starting to unwrap his hands. “The way she looks at the world, breaks down problems... She spent half of dinner analyzing genetic patterns in ‘unique bloodlines’ while practically daring me to confirm her theories about non-human beings.”

“And did you?”

“No. But...” Lucas remembered the fearless way she’d confronted the mystery of him. “I didn’t deny them either. She’s too intelligent for simple misdirection. And we need her mind, her insights, if we’re going to solve this fertility crisis before?—”

“Before we face extinction?” Zayne’s expression sobered. “The latest reports from the clan healers aren’t good. Three more couples failed to conceive last month.”

Lucas’s claws emerged fully this time, scoring deep grooves in the training bench. The irony wasn’t lost on him – the same genetic perfection that made their species powerful was now threatening their very survival. Without some intervention, some way to introduce controlled variation into their bloodlines...

His phone chimed again. A text from his mother:

So, how was your meeting with our brilliant Dr. Greene? Don’t bother denying the mate pull. I could smell your panther’s interest from three floors away.

“Your mother’s timing remains impeccable,” Zayne noted, reading over his shoulder. “Though she’s not wrong about the mate pull. The entire security team noticed how you tracked Dr. Greene’s movements. Rather intensely.”

Lucas remembered exactly how intensely he’d tracked her. Every gesture as she explained her theories, the way her pulse jumped when he leaned close, how her scent changed with her emotions – excitement, attraction, determination. His inner beast had practically purred at her fearless intellectual pursuit of their mystery.

“She’s human,” he ground out, though his panther rejected the implied barrier in those words. “The pride hasn’t allowed human mates since it left the pride mountain lands a century ago.”

“She’s brilliant,” Zayne countered. “And from what I’ve seen, surprisingly comfortable with the impossible. Also, she managed to make you laugh twice in public. The board nearly had a collective heart attack.”

“I laugh,” Lucas protested.

“You chuckle menacingly. There’s a difference.”

Another notification lit up his phone – security footage of Emma stopping in the lobby to talk excitedly with his lead geneticist, Dr. Sofia Martinez. Emma was gesturing enthusiastically about something scientific, and Lucas’s chest tightened at the sight.

“You’re doing it again,” Zayne said.

“Doing what?”

“That thing where you look simultaneously terrified and possessive. Very intimidating. Much alpha. Such growl.”

Lucas threw a towel at his head. “Don’t you have security protocols to review?”

“Already done. Full protective detail is in place for Dr. Greene, though you might want to ease up on the surveillance parameters. Twenty-four-hour monitoring of her apartment building might seem a tad intense for a new employee.”

“She’s crucial to the research,” Lucas said stiffly.

“Uh-huh. And the fact that you’ve watched that elevator footage twelve times is purely professional concern?”

Before Lucas could respond with appropriate alpha dignity, his phone buzzed with a text from his mother:

Security council meeting in an hour. Malcolm’s asking questions about your new hire. And darling? You might want to clean up the claw marks in your office. They’re rather obvious on the security footage.