<b>60 </b>
55 vouchers.
“How are the patients?” Emery asked when she saw Lucille walk into her office. Emery had been waiting for Lucille since she left the infirmary.
“They’re fine. The poisoned one will live without losing any limb.”
Lucille shut her office door and set a tablet on the desk. Emery rose from the visitor chair she had imed.
“How are Raul and Jenna?” Emery asked.
“Knocked out on pain meds, but healing,” Lucille said. She flexed her bandaged hand. “Dr. Morrow cleared my skin. No toxin left.”
“And the poisoned fighter?<b>” </b>
“Stable heartbeat. He might shift by tomorrow evening.”
Emery exhaled. “Good.”
Lucille dropped into her chair. “How are you?”
“I am fine.” Emery rested a palm on her stomach. “Baby is quiet.”
Lucille studied her. “Seeing wolfsbane burn flesh did not rattle you?”
Emery opened her mouth to answer, but the office door mmed against the wall. Logan strode in, jacket half–buttoned, eyes bright gold. A guard lingered in the hall, then retreated fast.
Logan stopped at the desk. “Why was Emery in the infirmary?” He directed the words at Lucille but nced at Emery’s hands, searching for cuts.
Lucille didn’t flinch. “She asked to understand this ce. Real understanding requires the ugly parts.”
“You risked exposure to wolfsbane<i>,” </i>Logan said, fists clenched. “The toxin could have lingered in the air. She is pregnant.”
Lucille stood. “The istion seals held. She stayed behind the barrier.”
“That is not good enough.” Logan’s chest lifted with each breath. “Next time you will call me first.”
“Next time,” Lucille shot back. “You will not shelter her like ss<b>. </b>She wants to prepare for threats. She should see the cost.”
Logan mmed a hand on the desk. Pens rattled. “Preparation does not include inhaling poison.”
Emery stepped between them. “Stop.”
They both <b>faced </b>her<b>, </b>tension humming.
<b>9:23 </b><b>Mon</b><b>, </b><b>Sep </b>15 …
“I chose to go,” Emery said. “Lucille warned me. I stayed clear.”
Logan stared at her wrists, then her face. “You should have told me<b>.</b><b>” </b>
“You were handling a crisis,” she said. “I handled a lesson.”
He turned to Lucille again. “You should have overridden her decision.”
Lucille crossed her arms. “She is not a pack omega. She is a partner. Partners need facts<b>.” </b>
“Partners also need protection.”
60
55 vouchers
“And knowledge is part of that,” Lucille countered. “She did not faint. She did not panic. She watched, learned, and left.”
Logan took a slow breath, but his shoulders stayed rigid. “Emery could have absorbed trace wolfsbane through the skin.”
Lucille tapped her temple. “Humans process it better than we do. Dr. Morrow confirmed levels were safe.”
Logan’s jaw ticked. “Safe is not the bar.”
Emery touched Logan’s forearm. “Check me.” She held out her hands. “No burns, no stings.”
He brushed her fingertips–no swelling. He brushed a thumb over the inside of her wrist–skin warm, normal. The tension in his shoulders eased a fraction.
“It was controlled,” Emery said. “I need to know what we face. Wolves with weapons. Toxins. <b>If </b><b>I </b>panic in the field, I slow everyone. I— I need to know what my son will be facing.”
Logan closed his eyes for a beat. “I want you shielded, not hardened.”
Lucille returned to her chair. “Hardened keeps her breathing.”
Logan’s gaze flicked to Lucille. “I will decide on training exposure.”
Lucille opened the tablet. “Counsel all you like. I will still show her the budget sheets, the injury logs, the defense reports. She asked.”
Logan’s mouth pressed thin, but he did not argue further, He turned to Emery. “Are you dizzy? Nauseous?”
“No.”
His hand rose to her cheek, thumb tracing under her eye where a light bruise was fading. “If anything changes<b>, </b>you call me. Immediately.”
<b>“</b><b>I </b>will<b>.” </b>
Logan looked back to Lucille. “Implement full toxin–screen protocols at every gate. I want detector dogs on
all inbound trucks.<b>” </b>
<b>9:23 </b>Mon<b>, </b>Sep 15 <b>d</b>. <ol start="4"><li>4. </li></ol>
Lucille nodded, tapping notes on the screen. “Done.”
Logan’s focus returned to Emery. “You need air.”
“I just came from a sterile hallway.”
“Fresh air,” he rified. He gestured to the door.
:
Emery nodded, but first faced Lucille. “I still want those spreadsheets.”
“Dinner,” Lucille promised without looking up. “Coffee, extra–strong.”
60
55 vouchers
Emery followed Logan into the corridor. Guards stepped aside as they passed. He guided her toward a side stairwell and out to a small terrace overlooking the training yard. A cool breeze carried pine and wet soil.
Logan leaned on the rail, looking at distant treetops. A gust lifted Emery’s hair. Logan caught a strand, tucked it behind her ear, then wrapped an arm around her waist and drew her against him. Her back met his chest; his other hand settled on the rail, caging her.
“Do not go into the infirmary again,” he said, voice low beside her ear.
She felt the steady drum of his pulse against her spine. “Lucille was right. I need the full picture.” She didn’t know why she let him hugged her from behind but something about it felt soforting, she just didn’t want it to stop.
His fingers spread across her stomach, protective and possessive at once. “You saw enough today.”
“It was one room,” she countered. She turned within the circle of his arms until they faced each other. Their hips brushed. “If <b>I </b>stay blind, I be a liability.”
Logan brushed his knuckles down her cheek, slowing at the bruise. “You cannot walk into every danger to prove a point.”
“It is not a point. It <b>is </b>survival.” She held his gaze. “I learn by doing, by seeing. You said you would teach me.”
He ran a thumb along her lower lip. The contact sent a spark through her nerves. “I will teach you,” he said. “But on my terms. No unsupervised infirmary visits. That is an order.”
Sheid her palms on his chest<b>, </b>feeling the hard beat under bruised skin. “Orders only work if I agree to follow<i>.</i><i>” </i>
A sh of heat crossed his eyes. He tightened his hold, bringing their mouths inches apart. “Emery<b>,</b>”
She refused to back down. “You told me freedom exists here, Freedom means choice.”
His breath brushed her lips. “Choice ends when it risks you and the baby.”
“And hiding me risks us more,” she said, voice soft but firm. “I handle blood. I handle wolves. Let me handle truth.”
Their standoff pulsed between them. Then he dipped his head, lips hovering near the corner of her mouth-
9:23 Mon, <b>Sep </b>15 <b>d</b>.
:
not a kiss, a threat of one. “You test every boundary that I have.”
“Only the weak ones.”
He exhaled, half growl, half sigh. “Fine. Next time I escort you. Full gear. Non–negotiable.”
Emery’s fingers curled into his shirt. “Deal.”
60
55 vouchers
He imed the remaining breath between them, pressing his mouth to hers–hard, quick, final. When he pulled back, their foreheads touched.
“I just- I need to know,” she whispered. As the mother of his child, she needed to know this new world. She needed to see how different this was from the world she knew.
“No more reckless walks through toxin clouds,” he returned.
She smiled against his skin. “We will argue about this again.” And she was sure of that.
He stared at her for a long time before he let out a sigh. “Fine. Follow me…” he said. To her surprise, he suddenly held her hand and gently pulled her along. Emery immediately debated whether she was going to pull her hand away, but in the end, she decided not to.
“Where are you taking me? You should be-”
“You wanted to know… then, from now on, you will act as my secretary.”
“Huh? <b>A </b>what?<b>” </b>
AD