Page 30

Her scientific mind raced through possibilities, cataloging genetic inheritance patterns, recessive traits, and dormant genes activated by environmental factors. "Is that even possible? For someone to carry shifter genes but not express them?"

Kieran's fingers tangled in her hair, pulling her closer until their foreheads touched. "There are legends of bloodlines that went dormant centuries ago. Shifters who chose to live as humans for generations until the wolf was forgotten."

"And what happens if that dormant gene wakes up?" Maya asked, her breath mingling with his.

His eyes flashed, burning brighter blue. "I'm not sure. But it would explain why you feel so right here. With me." His arm tightened around her waist. "Why your scent calls to me in ways I can't ignore. Why every protective instinct I possess roars to life when you're near."

"I need to know more. I need to understand what's happening inside of me, what's happening between us." Maya gestured between them, suddenly aware of how their bodies had gravitated closer together, fitting against each other with impossible perfection.

Kieran's smile turned predatory, his lips brushing her ear. "I already know what's happening between us. It's what happens when a wolf finds their fated mate."

TWELVE

MAYA

Maya barely had a moment to process Kieran's words—fated mate—before his mouth claimed hers with breathtaking intensity. His lips crashed against hers, not asking but demanding, taking what he seemed to know was already his. The kiss wasn't gentle or exploratory. It was hungry and desperate, filled with days of pent-up longing and primal need.

Her analytical mind short-circuited completely. All those careful observations and all that scientific detachment—gone in an instant as her body responded with a ferocity that shocked her. Every cell in her body lit up like a forest fire, recognizing something her conscious mind hadn't yet fully accepted. This wasn't just attraction or chemistry—this was recognition on a molecular level, as if part of her DNA had been dormant until the touch of his lips activated it.

Maya's hands found his shoulders, her fingers digging into the hard muscle as she matched his ferocity with her own. She'd never kissed anyone like this before—like she was drowning and he was air, like she'd been wandering lost and finally found her way home.

When they finally broke apart, both gasping for breath, Maya's vision seemed sharper. Colors were more vibrant. Kieran's eyes had transformed to molten silver, his pupils dilated with desire. His hands framed her face with surprising gentleness despite the barely contained power in his touch.

"Maya," he growled, the sound reverberating through her body like thunder.

He dipped his head to her neck, pressing hot, open-mouthed kisses along her throat. Maya tilted her head instinctively, giving him better access in a gesture of submission that would have horrified her scientific, independent self just days ago. His large hands explored the curves of her body, sliding under her borrowed t-shirt to trace the contour of her spine.

"Kieran," she gasped, arching against him as electricity coursed through her veins.

Just when she thought she might combust from the heat building between them, he froze. His body went rigid against hers, his muscles tensing beneath her fingertips. With what appeared to be monumental effort, he pulled away, his breathing ragged.

"We need to stop," he said, though his silver-blue eyes said exactly the opposite.

"Why?" The question slipped out before she could stop it, embarrassingly close to a whimper.

Kieran took her hands in his, pressing them against his thundering heart. "Because if I don't stop now, I won't be able to. And you deserve better than a rushed first time while you're still processing what all this means."

The rejection stung despite his explanation. "I'm not some fragile human who doesn't know her own mind."

His mouth quirked up at the corners. "No, you're possibly the most stubborn, brilliant woman I've ever met, with potential dormant wolf genes and a scientific mind that won't rest untilit understands everything." He brushed her copper hair behind her ear. "Which is exactly why we're going to take this slowly."

Maya bit her lip, trying to silence the unfamiliar, primal part of herself that was screaming for his touch. "And if I disagree with that assessment?"

His eyes flashed dangerously, and for a moment, she glimpsed the predator beneath the man. "Then my control might not hold. And as much as my wolf wants to claim you right now, the man wants to do this right."

He pulled her down against his chest, arranging them on the bed so her head rested over his heart. The strong rhythm beneath her ear was comforting, though her body still hummed with unresolved tension.

As they lay in the darkness in his cabin, Maya's mind raced wildly. Dormant wolf genes. Fated mates. Scientific impossibilities that somehow felt more right than anything in her carefully ordered life.

What would this mean for her research and her career? What would it mean for her identity?

Sleep claimed her eventually. But not before her scientific brain cataloged a dozen more questions she needed answers to.

In her dreams, she ran through moonlit forests on four paws instead of two legs, a large black wolf at her side. They moved as one unit, perfectly attuned to each other's movements, racing toward some unknown destination where acceptance awaited them.

Maya woke gradually the next morning, her consciousness filtering through layers of warmth and contentment before she registered the solid wall of muscle pressed against her back. Kieran's strong arm was draped possessively around her small waist, his breath warming the nape of her neck.

The memory of their kiss sent a current of electricity through her body. Since that moment when his lips had claimed hers,something had changed—awakened—inside her. It wasn't just emotional. It felt... physical. Like dormant parts of her DNA had suddenly switched on.