Page 44 of Stripe Theory

“Whoa, hold the phone,” Maya said. “Come here, both of you.”

THIRTY-FIVE

Rehan reluctantly loosened his hold, though he kept one hand at Alora’s waist. His tiger flat-out refused to completely break contact.

“This pattern suggests someone with intimate knowledge of our systems,” Maya noted, pulling up security logs. “See these access timestamps? They’re cycling through our backup protocols in sequence.”

“Running a trace?” Hunter moved to study her screen, standing perhaps closer than strictly necessary.

“Obviously. Though they’re bouncing the signal through about twelve different...”

Maya’s voice trailed off as she typed, her expression turning triumphant. “Got you, you sneaky little... Huh. That’s weird.”

“Weird how?” Rehan demanded.

“The signal... it’s coming from inside the building. But not from any of our registered terminals.”

Fresh tension rippled through the room.

“Hey.” Alora’s hand found Rehan’s, grounding him. “We’ll figure this out. Together.”

The simple touch anchored him, calming both man and tiger. When had she become so essential to his stability? How had thisdazzling, chaotic scientist wound herself so completely into his carefully ordered world?

“Together,” he agreed softly.

Jewel cleared her throat. “Perhaps we should move this discussion somewhere more conducive to Sierra’s rest?”

“Right.” Alora straightened, though she didn’t release Rehan’s hand. “Maya, grab those samples. Hunter, we’ll need access to the secure server room. Jewel, if you could monitor Sierra’s response to the new treatment...”

She rattled off assignments with natural authority, and Rehan’s tiger preened at their mate’s competence. Even his mother wore an expression of approval.

“I’ll coordinate with the other prides,” Jewel offered. “Several facilities have reported similar attacks. If we pool our data...”

“Perfect.” Alora beamed. “See? Shifter wisdom and human science, working together. Just like the protein bonds in the treatment compounds.”

“Did you just compare our families to molecular structures?” Maya asked, amused.

“Obviously. Though in this metaphor, Hunter is a particularly grumpy electron.”

Hunter pointed to Rehan. “He broods. I do not brood.”

Everyone, including Jewel, gave him skeptical looks.

“You’re brooding, right now,” Maya pointed out.

“I’m being vigilant.”

“Vigilantly brooding.”

Their bickering followed them into the hallway as the group dispersed to their assignments. Rehan hung back, needing a moment with his sister.

“Rest,” he told her firmly. “Let us handle this.”

Sierra’s tired smile held knowing amusement. “She’s good for you, you know. Makes you less...”

“Brooding?” he supplied dryly.

“I was going to say ‘stuck-up,’ but that works too.” Her expression softened. “I like her, Rehan. We all do. Even Mother, though she’s trying to be subtle about it.”

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