“I’ll be there.”
The conversation shifts. Mission details. Training schedules. Facility updates. Normal Aurora business. I participate. Answer questions. Laugh at appropriate moments.
But part of me is still searching the room. Still wondering where Jericho is right now. What he’s doing. If he’s eating alone in his restricted quarters. If he’s thinking about the motel room, the way I can’t stop thinking about it.
My wolf won’t settle. She’s pacing circles beneath my ribs. Wanting. Needing.
I catch myself and turn my attention back to the table. Luke is telling a story about a training mishap. Ember is laughing. Mara is interjecting with commentary about conspiracy theories involving faulty equipment. Kieran is almost smiling.
This is good. This is what I need.
Except heat flickers through me when I think about Jericho’s hands. The way they felt on my skin. The way his fire answered my call.
I shift again. Cross my legs. Try to focus on Luke’s story.
The meal winds down. People start dispersing back to duties or quarters. I should feel better. Surrounded by family. Accepted back. Normality restored.
I don’t.
Mara catches my arm as I’m clearing my tray. “Hey. You sure you’re okay?”
She’s not teasing now. Just concerned. The way good friends are.
“I’m fine,” I say. Again. “Just tired. I need sleep.”
“If you need to talk—”
“I know. Thank you.”
She squeezes my arm and lets me go.
I head back toward my quarters. The corridors are quieter now. Fewer people. Night shift taking over.
I should sleep. Tomorrow is back to work. Back to normal. Back to being the operative Viktor trusts to have a clear head.
My wolf whines. She doesn’t believe any of this will work.
Neither do I.
But I can hope that tomorrow brings clarity. That sleep will settle the restlessness. That my body will remember it has a job to do and a life that doesn’t include a Syndicate commander with eyes like winter storms.
I can hope.
Even if hope feels like another lie I’m telling myself.
Chapter 21
Nadia
It’s three in the morning. I haven’t slept. My wolf should be settling soon. The heat cycle is waning. I can feel it fading the way a fever breaks, slow but inevitable. Four or five days, I told Mara. It’s nearly day six.
Maybe by tomorrow it’ll be gone completely.
Maybe by tomorrow I’ll think clearly again. See this situation for what it really is—biology responding to extreme stress, not genuine mate recognition. A heat cycle triggered by survival circumstances, not an actual bond.
Maybe.
I sit on the edge of my bed and stare at the door. Viktor’s restriction doesn’t confine me to quarters—I’m not the one under probation. I can move freely through Aurora. I just can’t seek out Jericho.
