Chapter 7

SEVEN

L ucas stalked through his office as he scented the air unconsciously. No trace of her here, but his beast remembered her fragrance perfectly – jasmine, lightning, and something uniquely Emma that made his fangs itch to drop.

“Down,” he muttered to his inner panther, who merely rumbled in amused defiance. Mate .

Lucas growled, “She’s not my mate.”

Before he could defend his dignity, Zayne came through the office door. “Malcolm’s here early. Already making comments about ‘rushed hiring decisions’ and ‘security protocols regarding humans.’“

Lucas’s growl turned dangerous. His uncle’s timing was never coincidental.

“Also,” Zayne continued too innocently, “Dr. Greene is currently explaining quantum genetics to the entire research department.”

Lucas moved to his private security feed on his laptop before he could stop himself. There she was, her red hair a beacon of energy as she gestured enthusiastically, her whole face lit with that brilliant enthusiasm that made his beast want to purr. The research team was gathered around her whiteboard, looking simultaneously overwhelmed and fascinated.

“Your eyes are fully gold,” Zayne noted. “Might want to dial back the mate-claim display before the security council meeting.”

“She’s not—” Lucas stopped as Emma bent to pick up a dropped marker. His fangs dropped fully.

“Right,” Zayne drawled. “Totally not affected by her at all. Just destroying furniture and partially shifting because of professional interest in her research.”

“The research is vital to our survival,” Lucas ground out, forcing his claws to retract. “Her breakthrough could save our bloodlines.”

“And the fact that she’s brilliant, beautiful, and looks at you like you’re the most fascinating puzzle she’s ever wanted to solve has nothing to do with your interest?”

Lucas remembered how she’d leaned forward during their interview, those incredible green eyes alight with curiosity and attraction. “She said she doesn’t get scared, she gets logical.”

“Sounds like she’d handle the whole ‘surprise, your hot boss is actually a shapeshifter’ conversation pretty well.”

“She’s too observant for her own good,” Lucas admitted, watching as Emma now appeared to be explaining something scientific to the janitorial staff. “She’s already noticed things about our genetics that others have missed for centuries.”

“You mean like how your eyes go all glowy when she?—”

An alarm cut through their banter.

“ Unauthorized access to the restricted labs ” screeched over the intercom. Near where Emma was...

Lucas was moving before the alarm finished, his panther surging to the surface. Emma’s scent hit him stronger now, tinged with surprise but not fear. Never fear, even when she should be terrified.

He found her in the corridor outside the genetics lab, facing down an intruder with nothing but scientific curiosity in her expression.

“Your muscle density is fascinating,” she said to the man who had her cornered. “The way you move suggests enhanced strength, but the mass distribution isn’t consistent with normal human anatomy. Are you part of the same genetic line as?—”

The intruder moved with inhuman speed, but Lucas was faster. Much faster.

He had the man pinned to the wall before his panther could emerge.

“Oh!” Emma’s voice held more excitement than fear. “Your enhanced reflexes are even more impressive up close. The acceleration rate alone defies several limits of anatomy. Is it a genetic modification or an inherited?—”

“Dr. Greene,” Lucas managed through partially elongated fangs, “perhaps we should discuss this somewhere safer.”

“But the data—” She actually pulled out a notebook, “the way you moved just now, it suggests an entirely different muscular structure, and combined with the eye color changes and elevated body temperature...”

The security team arrived to find their CEO barely maintaining human form while a tiny redhead attempted to measure his muscle density with what appeared to be a paper clip.

“If you could just hold still for one moment,” Emma said, “I can calculate the force required for that wall impression you just made. The structural damage hints at a strength coefficient that’s statistically impossible for normal human physiology.”

Lucas caught Zayne’s smirk as his second-in-command led the security team in. The intruder had gone limp in Lucas’s grip, looking more confused by Emma’s scientific analysis than afraid of the nearly-shifted panther holding him.

“Dr. Greene,” Lucas managed, his voice rougher than usual as he fought his beast’s urge to throw her over his shoulder and get her somewhere safe. Somewhere that smelled like him. “Perhaps we should continue this discussion in my office.”

“But—”

“Now.” It came out as more of a growl than a word.

Emma’s pulse jumped, but not in fear. The spike in her scent – attraction mixed with scientific fascination – made his claws flex dangerously.

“Fine,” she sighed. “But I’m keeping my notes on your enhanced musculature. The density ratios alone could revolutionize our understanding of genetic potential in... what I assume is a very unique family line.” Her eyes sparkled with that dangerous intelligence.

Zayne coughed to hide what sounded suspiciously like a laugh. “I’ll handle this,” he said, taking the intruder. “Try not to destroy any more furniture while explaining things to Dr. Greene.”