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T he submissive is on his side, facing away from Liam, just a shock of light brown hair and his giant body in a twin-size hospital bed. Well, giant shoulders. Liam has to give it to the government on that one, soldiers come out with the broadest shoulders after being genetically altered. Liam had to go up a shirt size as soon as his transformation was complete.

Liam goes around the bed, wanting to see his face. The scent of blood and misery makes his eyes water as he gets close. There are bandages all along his side and his arm. His skin is pale and smooth, body packed with muscle as all enhanced soldiers are.

“He was in his quarters and he fell on a glass coffee table. He was on his way to medical. I should have sent a team to get him. He told me he could make it, but I should have known better. He pushes himself and is not an accurate self-reporter.”

Who is?

The man is breathing evenly and his eyes are closed, but Liam is almost certain he isn’t asleep. Pretending. Perhaps because he doesn’t feel well, perhaps because he wants to ignore the reality of his situation. Or maybe because he just doesn’t want to have to meet someone at four in the morning.

Liam’s body is already responding to the younger man in the bed. It isn’t a reaction he can help. As a high-level Dominant, he is always going to be aware of a submissive. But when a submissive is clearly in distress and needing, it’s like his body comes alive.

Is Daniel really frightened of Dominants? He’d expect Daniel to open his eyes and look at him if he were afraid.

Daniel is unconscious and pale, almost waxy looking.

“I can’t check him at all?” Liam asks, voice soft. His hand hovers over the submissive’s sheet-covered hip, wanting to touch and comfort him. But he has to remember that Daniel is apparently frightened.

“Well, I was waiting for you to get here before I did anything. One of us will do it. Ideally, he’d wake up and tell us what he’d prefer. Daniel does know me,” Dr. Chang says.

“That’s true,” Liam concedes.

But this is a submissive who should be craving a Dominant’s touch, not preferring a normal human man. This is what Liam’s trained in, what he’s good at. He helps submissives. Comforts them. Trauma is something he’s dealt with frequently. Submissives respond to him. And he’s very careful not to let his personal preferences get in the way of doing his job.

Liam puts the back of his hand near Daniel’s nose so he can breathe in Liam’s scent more easily. There’s no guarantee of a response, but he’s so Dominant that there should be.

Daniel’s brow furrows. His nostrils flare. His head tilts on the pillow and Liam thinks he might be trying to shift away, to get away from Liam’s scent, so he takes his hand back. Daniel frowns, licks his lips, and his cheeks go pink.

Huh. Those are indications he might want more.

Liam puts his hand back, watching him closely. “This is a lot of bandages,” he says, keeping his voice quiet. There’s so much unpleasantness here, so much negativity in Daniel’s past that he can practically feel it radiating from the poor boy.

“Yes.”

“And he’s in a drop.”

“Yes.”

“So he needs to be taken care of. He deserves to be taken care of by someone who wants what is best for him.”

“Yes,” he agrees, and surely, they’re all aware that although he’s talking to Dr. Chang, he’s actually talking to Daniel. “He heals so quickly we had to open up some of the wounds to get the glass out, and he needed stitches.”

“Poor boy,” Liam murmurs. “How soon will the bandages come off?”

“Probably in the afternoon. If he wasn’t in a drop, he’d heal faster. But his cortisone production is off the charts.”

“Is he swollen?” Liam asks. “His neck is warm.” His hand hovers over the submissive’s neck. He can feel the heat from an inch away.

“Again, we’ve only done a visual inspection.”

He laughs. “What does that tell you?” He knows the answer is absolutely nothing. Unfortunately, there comes a point when a person’s wishes have to be ignored for their own good. Daniel is in the military; surely, he’s used to that by now.

And because Daniel is this unbalanced and sick, he needs more than a visual inspection. “He needs proper care. He needs to be touched and examined. It can be done carefully and compassionately, but that’s where we are now,” Liam says firmly.

“If things go wrong with his care, there will be an investigation. There might be one anyway. The general is very involved in his son’s care, and he’ll want a full report when he’s recovered.”

“Sure,” Liam says, even though it’s absolutely bizarre. Daniel is a submissive with high needs and it sounds like the general’s goal has been to force his son to survive without having them met. And look where it’s got him.

“I’ll need to note down what I’ve done for him, and I wouldn’t be surprised if there are lots of questions when this is over. His file says he can only have a visual examination unless he consents to a physical one. And if he consents to a physical exam then his father will find out.”

“And what?” Liam snaps. “What the hell is he going to do to this poor boy that is worse than what he’s currently going through?”

“I don’t know,” Dr. Chang says, voice calm. “But it’s scared him enough that Daniel won’t say yes.”

Is that why he’s pretending to be asleep? So he doesn’t have to deal with consenting to an exam? Doesn’t have to have his responses sent to his father?

“He’s injured. He clearly needs to be examined.”

“I agree with you. It’s not sensible. It isn’t in his best interest. But it is legal. And this is the sort of thing you’ll need to be cognizant of if you work with him,” he says, sounding tired.

Liam resists touching the submissive, hand tingling with the desire to touch the young man’s face and neck, to comfort him because this is all so very wrong. He makes a fist, takes a deep breath, and forces himself to give Dr. Chang his attention. He’s warning him. This is for his own professional safety.

“I understand. And I’ll do what I can to abide by all of that, but… none of this corresponds with a high-needs submissive whose designation requires he be owned and have a relationship that has a lot of nonconsent. He needs an ultrasound and then he needs to get fucked, and if you give him to me then that’s what’s going to happen. I’ll deal with the fallout later.”

There’s the faintest whimper from the bed. They both turn to look at Daniel, but his eyes are still closed. His scent has changed. There’s the faintest hint of arousal in it now, and it’s enough to convince Liam that he’s on the right path.

“What if he’s placed on a 6150?” Liam asks. A 6150 is an involuntary hold for Dominants or submissives who need to be taken as a ward of the military for their own protection. For a Dominant, a 6150 is usually a death sentence. For a submissive, it can mean being given to a Dominant, put in a facility, or even put on ice for the possibility of future defrosting and reintegration into the military. In this case, Liam is trying to find a way to give this submissive what he needs and get around all the red tape.

“I think you might wind up with a shitstorm on your hands when his father gets out of the hospital… but it’s my medical opinion that he’ll die without a Dominant. And I’ll say that in court if it comes to it. Liam, I know I called you and asked you to do this, but you can still say no. The blowback might be career ending.”

“Funnily enough, I’ve heard that speech before. A few times. So far, it’s been fine. Besides, it’s too late. I’m a Dominant and he’s a submissive who desperately needs help. That’s what I do,” he says, fully aware that Daniel is listening to their conversation. “And he’s gorgeous. A bit of cock, some hand feeding, a spanking when he’s feeling better, and I bet he’ll be just fine,” Liam continues, wanting to see the submissive’s reaction. A blush goes up the boy’s chest and settles into his cheeks. His scent changes. Definitely arousal.

Liam turns to look at Dr. Chang. “We’d go off site. He needs to be in my space.”

“Agreed.”

“Could you give me a few minutes alone with him? I’m going to examine him and then he’ll hopefully wake up and we can get confirmation that this is the best course of action to take.” Liam wants to help him. He can barely resist touching Daniel as it is. His cock is hard already, a sign his body is identifying Daniel as a submissive in need of settling.

Liam has worked with enough struggling submissives that he’s got a good handle on controlling his own needs and desires, but Daniel is very alluring. He’s attractive, and even though he needs a bath, he still smells good. There’s a biological pull towards the submissive.

“I’ll go start the paperwork,” the doctor says.

“Who was he assigned to before this?” he asks, double-checking.

“No one. You know where gloves and lube are,” he says. “Thermometer is on the tray. If something is really out of whack, let me know? I’ll be back in a bit.”

“Got it,” Liam says, and Dr. Chang leaves, closing the door behind him.

From this point on, Daniel is his.