e medical bay's facilities, she found the clothes Enzo had ordered waiting for her outside the w

n and Enzo were already there, waiting.

round her shoulders. Enzo stepped forward immediately, his movements a si

rby table and began to gently blot her hair dry, his

hed for her boots. Even though she had washed, he seemed driven by a compulsive need to tend to her, to anchor himself

lowing the intimacy, her mind

, his movements c

scent-the one that had haunted his brief hours of s

't a perfume. It was something elemental. Like a forest after a rainstorm, like clean earth and bloomi

ape contracting into the vertical slits of a predator. His breathing became ragged, a series o

vious night still flickered behind his golden eyes, but it was now eclipsed by the terrifying pull of a growing addiction. He didn't understand it. She

stillness. He looked up from the bo

he smelle

e childhood. He drew a deeper breath, almost involuntarily. Something about this was not normal. No ordinary scent should have this effect-es

felt the same primal tug in his own chest since they first brought her here.

like iron. He pulled him back, away from her. "Get a hold

ooked like a starving man who had just been shown a banquet and then had th

ense reactions, took a step back. "Did I... did I do so

thed his expression, forcing a calm he did not feel. "No, of course not," he said, repeating th

gile shield they were all pretending to believe in. But as he

irmed reality. Her scent wasn't just a biological marker; it was a

al scan," she said, her voice soft but laced with a careful, innocent curiosity. "The results. Did

a glance with Enzo-a silent communication that lasted only a hea

planet's core," he said smoothly. "It corrupted most of the data. The 'unknown' reading i

om an uncharted territory. A colony that hasn't been fully integrated into the c

you are a guest of the Montgomery fam

placed a hand over her heart and gave them a smile so sweet, so full of gratit

"You've both been so kind to me. I don't even know wh

ht. "You can call u

Enzo." She tested the names on her tongue, then

ller, their eyes brightening. It was a small thing-j

ed, savoring the so

ke volumes. She had given them permission to be close. To be

y the sharp, arrogant click of hi

they turned, moving to stand slightly in front of E

e, high-collared uniform, and her face was set in a look of cold, burea

: the two most powerful young Alphas in the Empire protectively hovering over a small, unknown

d cold as her eyes. "I am Director Mara Hayes of the Female Protection Bureau. By the a

sdiction here, Director. This was a military r

tate until her identity and status can be confirmed. She must be immediately transported to the Core

ip of his plasma pistol. The air gre

I were you, Major," M

silent war of wills waged in

to snap, a small hand tugged o

oked

er expression calm. And then,