Page 50 of Stripe Theory

His hand found hers, warm and steady despite his obvious fury. Around them, the lab hummed with renewed purpose as their team prepared, human and shifter united against a common threat.

Alora squeezed his hand, drawing strength from their connection. Whatever came next, they would face it together.

“Stop looming,” Alora scolded, though her voice held more affection than annoyance. “I can’t science properly with you tiger-guarding me.”

Rehan hadn’t moved more than three feet from her since seeing her name on the target list. His constant proximity made focusing difficult, especially when he did that thing where he somehow managed to look both dangerous and adorably concerned.

“I’m not looming,” he protested. “I’m supervising.”

“You’re hovering,” Maya corrected from her workstation. “Like a very large, very grumpy helicopter.”

Hunter coughed suspiciously from his security post.

“Don’t encourage them,” Rehan growled.

“Wouldn’t dream of it, boss.” But Hunter’s usual stoic expression smirked with amusement.

Alora turned back to her microscope, trying to ignore how Rehan’s scent wrapped around her like a warm blanket. The latest viral samples showed promising changes when combined with Jewel’s traditional remedies, but something still wasn’t quite?—

“Oh!” She straightened so fast she nearly collided with Rehan’s chest. “The binding proteins! Maya, remember that weird reaction from last week’s failed trial?”

“The one that turned everything green?”

“Yes! Pull up that data.”

Rehan’s hand steadied her waist as she rushed to Maya’s station. The casual touch sent sparks through her nerves, but she forced herself to focus. Lives depended on this.

“See here?” She pointed to molecular structures. “The virus mutates faster under stress because it’s using the shifters’ own healing abilities against them. But if we introduce this compound...”

“It disrupts the adaptation cycle,” Jewel finished, eyes lighting with understanding. “Creating a window where traditional healing can work without accelerating the infection.”

“Exactly!” Alora bounced on her toes with excitement. “We can’t stop the virus completely yet, but we can slow it down enough to?—”

Sierra’s monitors shrieked a warning. Everyone moved at once – Jewel to adjust medications, Maya to check readings, Rehan to his sister’s side. But Alora got there first.

“Temperature’s spiking,” she reported, already implementing their newest protocol. “Maya?”

“Healing factor’s fighting the virus, but it’s causing more stress...”

“Which makes it worse,” Sierra gasped out. “Lovely little cycle.”

Alora’s heart clenched at the pain in her voice. In just weeks, Sierra had become like another sister. And the way Rehan’s face tightened seeing her suffer...

“Try to stay calm,” Jewel soothed. “The more relaxed you are?—”

“The less the virus can use against you,” Alora finished, injecting the modified compound. “This should help.”

They all watched the monitors anxiously. After several tense moments, Sierra’s vitals began to stabilize.

“Well,” Sierra managed a weak smile, “that was exciting.”

Rehan made a sound somewhere between a growl and a sigh. “You have an interesting definition of excitement.”

“Says the man who growls at lab equipment.”

“I do not?—”

“Children,” Jewel interrupted, though her eyes sparkled. “Perhaps we could focus?”

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