Page 51 of The Sterling Acquisition (Manufactured Mates #1)

Chapter thirty-five

Afternoon Awakening

Dante

Dante woke to golden light filtering through unfamiliar curtains and the irrational conviction that nothing in the world could touch him here.

The thought was so foreign to twenty years of corporate paranoia that he should have been calculating threat assessments and extraction routes.

Instead, he found himself cataloging the way afternoon sunlight caught in Orion’s hair and wondering when his brain decided that tactical awareness was less important than the steady rhythm of an Omega’s breathing against his chest.

Clearly, my judgment had been compromised by extended exposure to hostile pheromones, he told himself, which would have been more convincing if he felt even remotely concerned about it .

Orion was pressed against him like he belonged there, the constant tension that kept him coiled for fight or flight absent. It was the first time Dante had seen him truly relaxed, and something primitive responded with fierce satisfaction.

Mine. The thought surfaced with startling clarity, followed immediately by the observation that one night with a feral Omega undid two decades of corporate conditioning. Gensyn’s efficiency experts would have thoughts about that cost-benefit analysis.

He lifted his hand to stroke Orion’s hair, ostensibly checking for signs of distress but really just because the dark strands felt good against his fingers and the simple contact made his pulse steady in ways that had nothing to do with operational efficiency.

When Orion made a quiet sound and pressed closer, Dante felt his chest tighten with something that definitely wasn’t tactical assessment.

The bite mark on his neck throbbed—not painful, but hypersensitive in a way that made his skin tingle every time Orion breathed across it. Excellent, he thought dryly. I’ve developed a new erogenous zone.

Orion’s scent changed in the hours they had slept.

Still carrying traces of heat, but without the desperate edge that had driven them both to the breaking point.

Less volatile, more... settled. Which made no sense according to everything he knew about Omega biology, but then again, very little about his current situation would pass a corporate logic review.

The light suggested late afternoon—they’d slept for six or seven hours straight.

Dante couldn’t remember the last time he slept so deeply without pharmaceutical assistance.

His bio-monitor should have woken him at optimal intervals, should have tracked his sleep cycles, and delivered gentle stimulation to ensure peak performance .

Instead, he felt like he’d been drugged. Possibly by his own biochemistry, which was both ironic and oddly satisfying.

Speaking of which—

A low buzzing from his wrist indicated his bio-monitor was having some sort of electronic nervous breakdown. The display showed a cascade of warnings that would have triggered immediate medical intervention back in Gensyn territory.

ERROR: BASELINE DEVIATION

ERROR: HORMONAL ANOMALY

ERROR: SCENT SIGNATURE MISMATCH

ERROR: CARDIAC RHYTHM UNUSUAL

Well, that’s reassuring. Either the device was malfunctioning spectacularly, or his body had decided to stage a rebellion against corporate optimization. Given his recent life choices, the latter seemed disturbingly plausible.

According to the readings, his testosterone was fluctuating wildly, his cortisol was low, and his bonding hormones were spiking at levels that should have sent him straight to medical for emergency recalibration.

Yet physically, he felt... good. Better than good. The constant low-grade headache that accompanied rut suppression was gone. His body felt more responsive, more present than it had in years.

I’ve been undone by one stubborn Omega with trust issues and a bite fetish. If that wasn’t proof that Gensyn’s behavioral modification programs had some serious flaws, he didn’t know what was .

Orion stirred against him, a soft sound escaping as consciousness returned. When he lifted his head, his eyes were unfocused with sleep, hair sticking up at odd angles that Dante’s hands itched to smooth down.

“Afternoon,” Dante said, surprised by how the simple greeting felt more significant than most corporate briefings.

Orion blinked, taking in their surroundings with noticeably less wariness than usual. “How long were we out?”

“Most of the day, looks like.”

“Shit.” Orion pushed himself up, wincing. “I feel like I got hit by a truck.”

“You look it too,” Dante said, running his fingers over a vivid hickey he’d left on Orion’s throat. “Sore?”

Orion’s cheeks flushed, but he didn’t pull away from the touch. “A little. Nothing I can’t handle.” He paused, frowning. “This is weird.”

“What?”

“I should want to put distance between us right now. Should be planning my next escape attempt.” Orion’s voice carried genuine confusion. “But I don’t want to move.”

Something territorial and satisfied flared in Dante’s chest. The intensity should have triggered his usual self-control protocols, but instead, it felt like the most natural response in the world. “Good. Don’t.”

“Good?” Orion raised an eyebrow, some of his usual sharpness returning.

“I like you where you are,” Dante said simply, because his filter had been among the casualties of whatever biochemical revolution his body was staging .

Orion studied his face for a moment, searching for something. “I don’t regret it,” he said quietly, like he was testing the words. “Just so you know.”

The simple statement hit harder than it should have. Dante had been braced for awkwardness, maybe hostility—not this calm acceptance. “Good. I was hoping you wouldn’t.”

“Even though it makes everything more complicated?”

“Especially because it makes everything more complicated.” Corporate training valued streamlined processes, reduced variables. Complexity was the enemy of optimization. Yet here he was, embracing chaos and calling it progress. “You seem different. Less...”

“Pissed off?” Orion’s mouth quirked. “My heat’s still there, but it’s not making me want to claw my skin off anymore.”

Dante had to agree. His responses had shifted too—the aggressive territorial instincts that had made him nearly feral yesterday were now a steady, controlled awareness.

“Temporary hormonal stabilization?” he offered.

Orion snorted. “Is that your professional diagnosis, Dr. Ashford?”

“It’s the most diplomatic explanation I can come up with.”

“Because you’re all about diplomacy.” Orion’s tone was mocking, but there was relief underneath. “What’s your diplomatic explanation for the fact that I haven’t tried to bite you once since waking up?”

Dante considered this. The constant defensive aggression that usually radiated from Orion was notably absent. He was still sharp-tongued and suspicious, but the edge of violence was gone.

“Maybe you’re just accepting that I’m not going anywhere,” Dante said, the words coming out more honest than he’d intended.

“Bullshit.” But Orion’s eyes were bright with something that might have been hope. “My heat’s not done. I can still feel it. It’s just... different. Manageable. ”

That was definitely not how heat cycles were supposed to work, but Dante found he didn’t particularly care about the medical implications. If Orion felt better, that was what mattered.

His bio-monitor beeped again, displaying new error messages:

ERROR: GLANDULAR ANOMALY DETECTED

WARNING: POTENTIAL FOREIGN CHEMICAL EXPOSURE

Potential foreign chemical exposure? The device was suggesting he’d been drugged, which was ridiculous unless you counted whatever Orion’s constant pheromone assault had done to his system. Which, judging by his current state of biochemical chaos, might not be that far off.

“We should get up,” Dante said, deflecting from implications he wasn’t ready to examine. “Coffee first, then we can figure out what the hell is happening to us.”

“Should,” Orion agreed, but made no move to leave the bed. “In a minute.”

They lay there in comfortable silence, both reluctant to break whatever strange equilibrium they’d found. Finally, Dante’s caffeine dependency won out.

“Coffee,” he announced, extracting himself from the tangle of limbs.

Orion made a sound of agreement. “Bring me some too. And clothes, if you can find any that don’t smell like violence and corporate desperation. ”

Dante padded naked through the unfamiliar house, following the scent of freshly brewed coffee.

Everything about the space felt lived-in, comfortable in a way that Gensyn’s sterile housing never achieved.

Apparently, actual human habitation required a certain amount of controlled chaos that corporate architects had never mastered.

It was... pleasant. Another data point for his growing file of “ Reasons My Handlers Would Recommend Immediate Personality Restructuring .”

He rounded the corner into the kitchen and stopped short.

A woman was leaning against the counter, coffee mug in hand, watching him with unconcealed amusement. The shoe vendor from the market—her distinctive scars were unmistakable.

Well, this is awkward.

“ Ay, Dios mío ,“ she said, her voice carrying familiar warmth and humor. “Look who decided to wake up. You look a lot more relaxed than when I saw you trying not to get eaten by Berserkers, corporate boy.”

Dante ran a quick threat assessment out of pure habit—position, exits, weapons, resistance capability—then felt ridiculous for it. This woman had literally saved their lives. If she wanted them dead, she had plenty of opportunities that didn’t involve letting them sleep in her guest room.

“You must be Lilac,” he said. “Thank you. For yesterday, for the boots, for...” He gestured around the kitchen. “This.”

“ De nada .“ She poured another mug, steam rising invitingly. “Coffee?”

“God, yes.”

The first sip was perfect—rich and dark with just a hint of sweetness. Real coffee, not the synthetic optimization blend Gensyn provided. Dante couldn’t suppress the sound of appreciation that escaped him.

Lilac chuckled. “Figured you’d need the good stuff when you surfaced. You two looked were in rough shape back in the Neutral Zone.”

“Where are you from originally?” Dante asked, genuine curiosity overriding operational caution.

“East LA, born and raised. Came out here about fifteen years ago when SVI decided my family’s shop would look better with their logo on it.” Her expression darkened. “Turns out being a ‘glitched’ Alpha makes you an easy target for asset forfeiture.”

Dante winced. He’d read reports about SVI’s acquisition tactics, but hearing it from someone who’d lived through it was different. Gensyn preferred regulatory manipulation to outright theft—equally effective but less likely to create the kind of enemies SVI specialized in making.

“What about that?” Lilac nodded toward his wrist, where his bio-monitor was still cycling through error messages. “You planning to keep broadcasting your location to your corporate overlords? Because we have scramblers to keep them from finding you here.”

Dante glanced down at the device. “It’s malfunctioning. Has been since...” He paused, realizing he wasn’t sure when the errors had started.

“ Mijo , that thing isn’t broken—it’s having a panic attack because your biology’s all scrambled.“ She held out her hand. “Give it here. I’ll take care of it.”

“Can you disable it without triggering alerts?”

“Sí, but better to not have Gensyn sniffing around at all, ? verdad ?“ She wiggled her fingers impatiently. “Come on. You trust me enough to sleep in my house but not enough to let me cut your electronic leash? ”

Valid point.

Dante unstrapped the device and handed it over, watching as Lilac examined it with practiced eyes before tucking it into her pocket.

“I’ll get it back to you in pieces later, if you want souvenirs,” she said with a shrug. Then her expression shifted, eyes focusing on his neck. “ Oye , that’s a nasty bite mark you got there. One of those Berserkers tag you during the fight?”

Dante’s hand moved automatically to cover the mark, heat rising in his cheeks. “No.”

Lilac’s eyebrows rose, and a slow grin spread across her face. “Ah. I see.” She picked up the second mug of coffee, pressing it into his hands. “You know, most people put on pants before having coffee with strangers, but I appreciate the confidence, mijo . Does your pretty Omega want coffee too?”

Dante glanced down at himself, realizing he’d been standing in her kitchen naked for the entire conversation. His training should have made him immediately aware of the tactical disadvantage, but somehow it had felt... normal.

“I should probably—”

“Nah, you’re fine. Nothing I haven’t seen before.” Lilac waved dismissively. “Though you might want to grab something before we go see Granny Lu. She’s got opinions about proper etiquette.” Her grin widened. “When you’re both ready to face the world and be civilized, I’ll walk you over .”