Jayden

“Who did this to you?”

His voice wasn’t loud, but it echoed in the room like a damn thunderclap.

I froze. My fingers were still bunched in the hem of my hoodie, back exposed, breath caught halfway between panic and disbelief. I’d shown the mark—whatever that was—but Zane wasn’t even looking at that anymore. His eyes had gone up to my shoulders.

“I—” I swallowed. “It’s nothing. Just a scratch.”

That was a lie. We all knew it.

Zane stepped forward and, no joke, the room shifted. Like gravity had decided it belonged to him now. He didn’t growl, didn’t bark commands, but his presence alone made my knees lock and my lungs stutter.

Lucien, the second guy—the beta, I guess—didn’t say a word. He was leaned back, watching like someone used to watching storms roll in.

Zane reached out, slow, almost cautious. I thought he’d grab my arm or maybe yank the hoodie the rest of the way up. Instead, his fingers brushed against the edge of the wound.

“Can I?” he asked, tone low.

I gave a tiny nod. Honestly, I don’t know why. Maybe because I was too tired to fight. Maybe because something about him—his voice, his scent, the calm intensity in his stare—made it hard to say no.

His lips twitched. Not in amusement—more like restraint. “Sit.”

“I don’t—”

“I’m not asking.”

His voice dropped a full octave, and my body obeyed before my brain could argue. I moved and sat on the edge of a sleek black couch near the window. Zane crouched in front of me, eyes level with mine now.

He placed his hand—his actual hand—over the wound.

I flinched. “What are you—?”

“Hold still,” he said, low and firm. Not cold, just… focused. Like this was something he’d done a hundred times, but never quite like this.

I braced myself for pain, some magical zap or weird spark, but it was… warm. Not hot, not magic-fireball warm, but comforting. Like wrapping your frozen fingers around a mug of cocoa after walking home in the rain.

I blinked. My brain short-circuited. “What the hell are you doing?”

“Healing,” Lucien answered from behind me, his tone maddeningly casual.

“Healing,” I repeated, deadpan. “Okay. Cool. That’s totally normal.”

My breath hitched.

His touch was firm but careful, fingers warm and slightly callused. Not the kind of hands you'd expect from a guy in a tailored suit who probably owned ten cars and never touched a dish. But these hands? They’d done things. Fought things. Maybe even lost things.

“I don’t get it,” I muttered, voice softer than I meant it to be. “Why are you helping me?”

Zane didn’t answer right away. His brow furrowed in focus, like there was a thread he was trying to pull that only he could see. The silence stretched, thick and—right as I was about to say something stupid to break the silence—he leaned in and kissed me.

I swear, he didn’t even realize it until it was already happening.

It wasn’t rough. It wasn’t wild. It was instinct. Pure, raw, holy-shit-my-heart-stopped instinct.

His lips were warm. Soft. Pressed gently against mine like he was testing the feel of something forbidden and hadn’t decided yet if he wanted more.

I felt it immediately. That weird, spine-tingling feeling I’d been ignoring all day? It exploded. Like something invisible and ancient just clicked into place.

My heart was racing, and I didn’t pull back. Couldn’t. My thoughts were scrambled eggs and my instincts were shouting nonsense, but my body? It stilled. Accepted. Reacted.

Zane snapped back like he’d been electrocuted.

“Shit,” he muttered, eyes wide.

Lucien groaned somewhere behind me. “You two gonna mate now, or should I grab popcorn?”

“Lucien,” Zane snapped.

“What?” the beta replied, deadpan. “I’m just saying, you’ve bren dancing around this weird tension since he walked in the door.”

“I didn’t mean to,” Zane muttered, more to himself than anyone else.

“What the fuck just happened?” I asked, voice hoarse.

Neither of them answered. Zane stared at me like I’d just kicked open some vault he didn’t know he had. Like I’d broken something in him—and maybe I had.

Because I didn’t feel afraid anymore. Confused? Hell yeah. But not scared.

“You felt it,” he said finally.

“I felt your mouth on mine, yeah,” I lied, heart still galloping.

His jaw clenched. “Not that.”

“I don’t know what I felt.” I looked away. “I just know I don’t feel like I’m about to die for the first time in months. That’s gotta count for something, right?”

Zane stood abruptly, pacing like a caged animal. He looked like he wanted to punch a wall. Or kiss me again. Maybe both.

Lucien didn’t move, but I could feel his eyes on us.

Zane let out a sigh like he’d aged ten years in the last two minutes. Which, for all I knew, he actually had.

“You need somewhere safe,” he said finally. “Somewhere they won’t find you.”

My stomach turned. “So you believe me?”

“I don’t think you’re smart enough to lie about this.”

“Gee, thanks.”

He ignored me. “You’re going to stay with me.”

I blinked. “Wait—what?”

“I’m offering you a job. Live-in assistant. You’ll have a room in my house. Security. Meals. In exchange, you help me manage Lunaris.”

“Manage how?”

“Emails. Schedules. Meetings. You’ll shadow Lucien or me. Nothing illegal.”

My mouth opened, then closed.

This man just kissed me, healed me, and offered me a job... and housing? What was the catch?

I narrowed my eyes. “And I just... live with you? That’s it?”

“That’s it.”

“You do realize how that sounds, right?”

He rolled his eyes. “I’m not propositioning you.”

“I mean, you did just kiss me.”

“That was an accident.”

“Still counts.”

His jaw ticked. “Take the job or don’t, Jayden. But if you walk out that door, I can’t protect you.”

I hesitated.

I wanted to say no. Wanted to act like I didn’t need his protection. Like I hadn’t been chased through alleyways half my life, bleeding and broken and alone.

But I was alone. And scared. And tired. And something about him, about this place—it felt like a turning point.

So, instead of letting my pride ruin this rare shot at safety, I exhaled and nodded once.

“Okay,” I said. “I’ll take the job, but I’m not wearing a suit, I don’t make coffee, and if you try to bite me or something, I’m out.”

Lucien snorted. “You’ll last five minutes.”

Zane looked at me for a long moment, like he wasn’t sure if he just made the biggest mistake of his life—or the smartest move in centuries.

“Deal,” he finally said.

Lucien pushed off the wall with a dry chuckle. “Guess I’ll start drafting the contract. Try not to kiss any more new hires, boss.”

Zane didn’t even blink.

I did, though.

Because holy hell, what was this? Whatever just sparked between us—accident or not—it was real. Dangerous, maybe. Definitely complicated. But real.

I need to focus. I couldn’t afford distractions. Not now, not when I finally had a shot at stability. This job? It was my way out. I had to keep my head in the game—everything else could wait.