Page 95 of Reckless: Chaos

I slide behind her, wrapping my arms around her waist and hooking my chin over her shoulder. She stiffens for just a moment before melting back against me. Even her heat feels familiar now, like she’s always belonged in our kitchen, in our pack.

“These actually smell good.” I eye the perfectly golden pancakes. “Who taught you the recipe?”

“Mom.” She flips another pancake with surprising skill. “Said breakfast food was the ultimate comfort when your world goes sideways.”

“Smart woman.” I press closer, letting my scent wrap around her. “Speaking of worlds going sideways...”

“Your heat.” She doesn’t stop cooking, but her free hand covers mine on her stomach. “How early are we talking?”

“Just pre-heat symptoms for now.” I nuzzle into her neck, careful to avoid Jinx’s mark. “Could be days or weeks before it hits fully. Sometimes the pre-heat phase can last up to a month.”

“A month of you being all...” She waves the spatula vaguely. “Cuddly and warm?”

“More than that.” The words slip out before I can stop them, my omega pushing for honesty. “I want... I mean, I’ve been thinking...”

She stills, pancake forgotten. “Theo?”

“I need to talk to Ryker first,” I manage, aware of pack protocol even through the heat-haze. “But I was hoping... maybe... you’d consider being there? For my heat?”

Her hand tightens on mine, and for a moment I catch something that might be longing beneath her citrus scent. “I’d be honored. If Ryker approves.”

The simple acceptance makes my omega purr, even as something else—something warning—tickles at my instincts. But before I can analyze it, she’s turning back to her pancakes, humming off-key again.

“Lucky me.”

Something in her voice makes me tighten my hold. “You okay?”

“Just thinking.” She plates another perfect pancake. “About family recipes and comfort food and how sometimes the simplest things matter most.”

I hum agreement, but that feeling of wrongness persists beneath my skin. Like watching a performance where the timing is slightly off, where the next note might shatter everything.

“Speaking of comfort,” I reach past her to steal a bite of pancake, “any chance these come with?—”

“Real maple syrup?” Our alpha pauses in the doorway, his eyes finding mine first. Through our bond, I feel his awareness of my heat symptoms, his protective instincts surging. His gaze flicks meaningfully toward his study before he turns to Cayenne with practiced casualness. “Someone’s been in my private stock.”

“Didn’t hear you complaining when I used it on other things last night,” Cayenne quips, and the tips of his ears go red.

“Third shelf behind the protein powder? Already decimated that last week.” But her laugh holds something fragile. “Some security expert he is.”

I’m about to point out that Ryker probably meant for her to find it—our alpha’s been leaving little treasures for her todiscoverfor weeks now—when the morning news ticker catches my attention.

“Hey, turn that up?” I nod toward the small TV in the corner. “They’re talking about the beta virus.”

She stiffens in my arms, just slightly. Just enough for my omega instincts to spike with warning.

“Probably nothing new,” she says, but her hand shakes as she reaches for the remote. “Just more speculation and?—”

The volume rises just as the screen fills with a face I’ve never seen before, but somehow know immediately. Those eyes. That particular shade of green that I see every morning across the breakfast table.

Roman Sterling stands at a podium, every inch the benevolent tech mogul in his perfectly tailored suit.

And in my arms, Cayenne stops breathing.

“...pleased to announce that Sterling Laboratories has developed the first comprehensive vaccine against beta-specific viral threats.” His voice projects practiced conviction wrappedin concern, a perfect performance of corporate compassion. “For too long, our beta population has suffered from weakened immune responses while alphas and omegas remain largely unaffected...”

Cayenne doesn’t move. Doesn’t breathe. Just stares at the man who gave her his eyes and left her with nothing else.

“Due to recent outbreaks of what the media has termedHollow Plague,” Sterling continues, hands gripping the podium with practiced precision, “we’ve accelerated our trials. The vaccine will be available through select medical facilities by the end of the week.”

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