Page 44 of Rejected By My Shifter Billionaire

“Could it?” Prince Alexei’s smile was sharp enough to cut glass. “And what about the Spring Equinox Disaster? The one that resulted in three different events being scheduled in the same venue simultaneously?”

“Ada makes mistakes,” I said lamely. “She’s still learning. But she’s dedicated and loyal, and I’m not going to fire her just because she has an unconventional approach to event coordination.”

“Unconventional.” He repeated the word like he was tasting something bitter. “Miss Gray, your assistant has single-handedly caused more supernatural incidents in six months than most people manage in a lifetime.”

“And yet here we all are, alive and unharmed.” I smiled brightly at him as I said this...because it was really all there was to say. Ada’s mistakes were indefensible, but not impossible to overturn. All was not lost, and that was what mattered. Right?

Prince Alexei gazed at me thoughtfully. “Indeed.”

Oh, phew.

I started to stand, saying, “If that’s all, Your Highness—”

“It’s not.”

I sat back down.

“The technology you created can be as useful as the discoveries and advancements made by Etienne Hirsche.”

“Possibly.” The Caro prince was a living legend, with all the technologies he had introduced to protect both humans and preters from vampires. All I’m working on is making sure that the right preters find each other. Etienne Hirsche, however, was about keeping all of us safe.

“But the data you require from preters is...concerning.”

“I understand, Your Highness. But my agency operates under strict ethical guidelines. Every match is alpha-approved and bond-cleared. All data stays internal. No permanent pairings without council oversight.”

“And yet you took it upon yourself to broker new bonding protocols without consulting L’Alliance.”

The temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees. I forced myself to maintain eye contact, even though every instinct I had was screaming at me to look away from those pale, calculating eyes.

“We’re still in testing phase. Every trial participant is a volunteer who’s been fully informed of the experimental nature of the process.”

“Experimental,” he mused. “Yes, I suppose that’s one word for compatibility ratings that shouldn’t be theoretically possible.”

My heart skipped. “Your Highness?”

“Your system achieved a pairing score of 98.7% even without the use of sangferia ,” he said, and his pale eyes never left my face. “That’s not just unprecedented, Miss Gray. According to every expert we’ve consulted, it should be impossible.”

The silence stretched between us like a live wire. I could feel Ada’s panicked energy radiating from beside me, but I couldn’t look away from Prince Alexei’s penetrating stare.

“The system is still being calibrated,” I said finally. “Some readings may be anomalous.”

“Anomalous.” He stood slowly, moving to the window to look out at the impossible view. “Tell me, Miss Gray, what do you know about the history of human-shifter bonding?”

“The success rate for such long-term pair bonds is approximately twelve percent, with most failures due to incompatible pheromone profiles or alpha dominance conflicts.”

“And you believed you could improve on nature?”

“I believed I could use science to identify compatibility markers that might not be immediately obvious,” I said. “To help people find their ideal matches instead of relying on chance encounters.”

He turned back to face me, his expression inscrutable but still terrifying enough to have both Ada and me gulping anew.

He had this air about him that was undefinable.

But palpable. The kind that reminded me he wasn’t just royalty, but a stallion shifter whose ancestors had ruled the depths of Atlantis since before humans learned to build cities.

“And how do you determine when a match is perfect?”

The question hung in the air like a trap. I felt like I was being tested, but I wasn’t sure what the right answer was supposed to be.

“Perfect compatibility isn’t just about pheromones or biological markers,” I said slowly. “It’s about psychological harmony, complementary personality traits, shared values, and yes, physical attraction. My system analyzes all of those factors to predict long-term pair bond success.”

“Fascinating.” He returned to his desk, and I caught a glimpse of something almost hungry in his expression. “And you achieved this breakthrough using your stepbrother as a test subject.”

I could feel the blood draining from my face at his words.

“The pairing data was submitted with participant names attached,” he continued conversationally. “Maryah Gray and Nicolo Celestini. 98.7% compatibility. Alpha bond potential confirmed.”

Beside me, Ada made a strangled noise.

“Your Highness,” I began, but he held up a hand.

“I’m not here to judge your personal relationships, Miss Gray. I’m here because a compatibility score that high between a human and an alpha represents a potential shift in how our communities interact. If your system can reliably predict perfect matches, it could change everything.”

“Or it could be a fluke,” I said weakly.

“Perhaps. Which is why you’re going to continue your testing under my team’s supervision.”

My stomach dropped. “I’m sorry?”

“Voluntary compliance with our monitoring protocols,” he said, producing a leather folder from his desk drawer. “In exchange, you’ll receive my race’s full support, wherever and whenever you may need it.”

“And if I refuse?”

His smile was sharp enough to cut glass, and for a moment I caught a glimpse of something wild and dangerous beneath the civilized exterior—the stallion shifter prince who’d inherited the ruthlessness of Atlantis along with its beauty.

“Then we’ll be having a very different conversation about unauthorized supernatural research and potential threats to community stability.”

I stared at the folder, my mind racing. This wasn’t just about my business anymore. This was about the 98.7% compatibility score, about me and Nicolo, about things I wasn’t ready to face.

“I need time to consider this,” I said.

“Of course.” He slid the folder across the desk. “You have until tomorrow evening to make your decision.”

The meeting was clearly over. Prince Alexei stood, and we followed suit, Ada practically vibrating with nervous energy.

“Oh, and Miss Gray?” he said as we reached the door.

“Yes, Your Highness?”

“For what it’s worth, I don’t believe in coincidences. Especially not when they involve compatibility scores that rewrite everything we thought we knew about pair bonding.”

The drive back down the mountain was silent except for Ada’s occasional whimpers. The folder sat on my passenger seat like a live bomb, and I could feel the weight of tomorrow’s deadline pressing down on my shoulders.

Finally, as we reached the normal roads again, Ada spoke.

“So,” she said in a very small voice. “On a scale of one to ten, how much trouble are we in?”

I thought about the 98.7% compatibility score. About Nicolo’s hands on my skin and his voice saying “I like you.” About Prince Alexei’s penetrating stare and his talk of paradigm shifts.

“Fifteen,” I said. “We’re at about a fifteen.”

“Oh.” A pause. “Should I update my resume?”

“Not yet, Ada. But maybe keep it handy.”

Because something told me things were about to get much, much worse before they got better.