He hadn’t expected to find her.
She made a soft sound and pressed closer to him, her sweet floral scent filling his lungs.
Mate,his beast repeated, more insistently.
He closed his eyes, but sleep didn’t come.
Instead, his mind worked through the problem from every angle, the tactical part of his brain cataloging variables and calculating risks with the same cold precision he’d once applied to pack security.
The AI was the primary obstacle. ARIS controlled every system in the tower—doors, stairs, communications, even the climate. It had been programmed to keep Liora contained, and it took that directive seriously. He’d watched it block her attempt to descend the stairs and seen the polite but implacable way it enforced boundaries.
He’d need to either override the system or disable it entirely. The first option was preferable, but overriding an AI of this sophistication would require either administrator access or a physical breach of its core systems. The recordings he’d found suggested that administrator access had been held by Liora’sfather and, later, by her nursemaid Susan. Both of them were dead, which meant he’d need to find another way in.
Tomorrow he would return to the lower levels and see if he could find a control room.
And then what?
His jaw tightened. That was the harder question. Even if he managed to free Liora from the tower, he’d be taking her into a world she’d never experienced. A world full of dangers she couldn’t begin to imagine—predators, both animal and humanoid, who would see her as prey. And if anyone learned about her blood...
No one knows,he told himself. Her father hid that secret well. The recordings weren’t transmitted anywhere. The supply deliveries were automated and even Ember hadn’t known their purpose. But secrets had a way of coming out. And a gift like hers was the kind of thing that powerful people would kill to possess.
His arms tightened around her involuntarily.
He couldn’t let that happen. He couldn’t let anyone hurt her or use her. The very thought made his beast snarl with protective rage.
So what’s the plan?
Ember. Rykan’s mate had resources—wealth, connections, and the kind of power that could provide genuine protection. If he could get Liora to them, she’d have options. Real options, not the false choice between captivity and danger.
That meant leaving the tower and crossing miles of jungle. Navigating terrain that would challenge even a trained warrior, let alone a female who’d never walked more than a few dozenmeters in any direction. He’d have to carry her some of the way. Teach her what she needed to know. Protect her from everything the jungle could throw at them while simultaneously helping her understand a world she’d only ever read about in books.
The thought should have been daunting, but instead, it felt... right.
Ours to protect, his beast rumbled approvingly.Ours to keep.
He exhaled slowly. He wasn’t ready to examine that thought too closely. He wasn’t ready to acknowledge what his beast had already decided, even if his heart already knew.
One step at a time. First, the AI. Then the journey. Then...
Then I’ll figure out the rest.
The day passed slowly, the rays filtering through the windows gradually lengthening across the floor. He had dozed fitfully throughout the afternoon, never quite sleeping but not entirely awake either—the half-alert state of a predator watching for danger.
Liora hadn’t moved. She remained curled against him, her breathing soft and even, one hand fisted loosely in the fabric of his shirt. In sleep, she looked younger than her twenty-one years and more vulnerable. The tracks of dried tears still marked her cheeks.
He shouldn’t have told her. Not all at once. He should have found a gentler way, given her the truth in pieces instead of shattering her entire worldview in a single morning.
But she’d asked. And he’d promised her honesty.
“I will never lie to you.”
The words echoed in his memory. He’d meant them—meant them with a conviction that surprised even him. After years of navigating pack politics, of parsing truth from manipulation, of watching his loyalty be used against the very people he was supposed to protect, honesty felt like the only solid ground left.
She finally stirred. Her eyes fluttered open, unfocused at first, then sharpening as awareness returned. He watched her process where she was, who she was with, and what had happened earlier that day.
“Baylin?”
“I’m here.”
