Page 30 of Stripe Theory (The Matchmaker’s Book Club #8)

TWENTY-NINE

“ Y ou’re wrong.” Alora’s fingers flew over the device’s circuits, rerouting power connections. “Evolution isn’t about strength. It’s about adaptation. Connection. Change.”

A shadow fell over her workbench. She looked up to find one of Damian’s mercenaries taking aim.

Rehan appeared like a force of nature, his partial shift rippling across powerful muscles. The mercenary went flying.

Their eyes met. In that moment, something sparked between them – a connection that went beyond words. Beyond species. She saw his need to protect warring with his trust in her abilities.

“Do it,” Rehan growled.

Alora hit the activation sequence. The pulse rippled through the facility like a wave. Electronics died, including the mercenaries’ sophisticated weapons. Backup generators kicked in, providing minimal emergency lighting.

But the victory came with costs. Vital medical monitoring equipment flickered and died. Damian’s laughter echoed through the darkness.

“You think that’s enough to stop us?” He emerged from the smoke, a knife glinting in his hand. Blood trickled from several wounds, but his eyes blazed with fanatic intensity. “We’ve already collected the samples we need. Your sister’s data alone?—”

Maya struck low as Hunter came in high. Damian blocked Maya but missed Hunter’s claws. They raked across his throat in a spray of red.

The remaining mercenaries scattered, but not before securing their stolen genetic samples. The lab lay in ruins – equipment destroyed, data lost. And Sierra...

Alora raced to the secure room, her injured shoulder forgotten. She found Sierra unconscious, her breathing shallow. The virus had accelerated, just as Damian claimed.

“She needs emergency care.” Maya appeared at her side, sporting several cuts but moving steadily. “The hospital wing still has backup power.”

Rehan lifted his sister with infinite gentleness. “Hunter, secure the perimeter. Make sure they’re really gone.”

As they prepared to move Sierra, Alora caught sight of a report Navi had brought in earlier among the wreckage. The displayed chart made her breath catch.

“Rehan!” She had to make him understand. “The virus – they’re not just tracking compatible pairs. They’re using the data to create targeted mutations. Look at these formulas. What they are doing is unnatural. And one thing I know is not to mess with Mother Nature outside of the lab.”

Their eyes met across the ruins of her lab. Understanding flowed between them, along with something deeper. Something neither of them could deny any longer.

Hunter’s voice cut through the moment. “Damian’s dead. But his team escaped with those samples.”

“Let them run.” Rehan’s voice rumbled with suppressed rage as he cradled Sierra. “We’ll find them.”

Alora’s good arm brushed his as she checked Sierra’s pulse. “Her fever’s spiking. We need to get her to medical now.”

The trek to the hospital wing felt endless. Emergency lights cast eerie shadows as they navigated debris-strewn corridors. Maya scouted ahead while Hunter covered their rear, both shifters on high alert for any remaining threats.

Sierra stirred briefly, her eyes fluttering open. “The others? The young ones...”

“Safe,” Alora assured her quickly. “You got them out.”

“Good.” Sierra’s lips curved in a faint smile before she slipped under again.

The medical team swarmed them the moment they arrived. Dr. Roberts, the head physician, barked orders as they transferred Sierra to a bed.

“What happened?” she demanded, checking vital signs.

“Virus acceleration triggered by stress.” Alora’s scientific mind kicked in despite her exhaustion. “They engineered it specifically to target shifters showing human compatibility markers. Sierra was their first test subject.”

“Bastards,” Maya muttered, helping hook up monitoring equipment.

Alora swayed slightly, adrenaline crash hitting hard. A warm hand steadied her – Rehan, his touch impossibly gentle despite his still-visible claws.

“Your shoulder needs treatment.”

“I’m fine. Sierra?—”

“—is in good hands.” He guided her firmly to a nearby bed. “Let them work.”

Dr. Roberts glanced over. “He’s right. And I need to know exactly what chemicals you were exposed to during that little smoke bomb show of yours.”

“Just basic compounds. Nitrogen-based fog, some mild acids...” Alora tried to wave it off but winced as the movement pulled at her injury.

“Mild acids?” Maya’s eyebrows shot up.

“It was a perfectly reasonable chemical reaction.”

“You turned party supplies into weapons,” Hunter pointed out, looking almost impressed.

“Improvised defensive measures,” Alora corrected primly. “Besides, you’re the one who actually killed him.”

“After you melted his shoes off.”

A nurse approached with supplies to clean Alora’s wound. Rehan moved to step back, but her good hand shot out to grab his.

“Stay? Please?”

Something softened in his amber eyes. He stayed.

Hunter cleared his throat. “I need to coordinate cleanup, assess the damage.”

“Go,” Rehan ordered. “Maya?—”

“Already on it.” She headed for the door. “I’ll check the secured wing, make sure we didn’t miss anything. Also...” A grin flashed across her face. “Pretty sure I saved the cake.”

Alora’s startled laugh held a slightly hysterical edge. “Of course, you did.”

“Hey, I didn’t risk my scientific reputation smuggling that thing past shifter senses just to let some mercenaries ruin it.”

After they left, silence settled over the medical bay. Sierra’s monitors beeped steadily as the doctors worked. Rehan stood like a sentinel beside Alora’s bed while the nurse cleaned and bandaged her shoulder.

“I can feel you brooding,” she said softly.

“I’m not?—”

“You are. Very dramatically, I might add.” She squeezed his hand. “This isn’t your fault.”

His jaw clenched. “They targeted my pride. My sister. You.”

“And we fought back. Together.” She tugged him closer. “That’s what they’re really afraid of, you know. Not just shifter-human pairs, but what we represent. Change. Adaptation. Evolution they can’t control.”

He studied their joined hands – his massive one engulfing her smaller fingers. “The council won’t like this.”

“The council can kiss my PhD.”

That startled a low laugh from him. “All three of them?”

“Absolutely.” She grinned up at him, then sobered. “We’ll find them, Rehan. Stop whatever they’re planning. But right now...”

“Right now?”

“Right now, I really want a piece of that cake Maya saved. For scientific purposes, of course. Sugar helps with shock and all that.”

His expression softened into something that made her heart skip. “Of course. Purely scientific.”