The delayed wave of fear crashed over him again, pressing heavily against his chest.
Jerrick's lips pressed into a thin line. "Being a survivor isn't an excuse to gamble with your life."
His voice was dangerously low, a degree colder than before. "There's always a margin of error. Do you really think your luck will hold out every single time?"
Serena's fingers stopped tapping on the screen.
She turned to face Jerrick, a genuine flicker of confusion crossing her eyes for the first time.
A few seconds later, a slow smile curved her lips. "Captain Fenris... are you worried about me?"
Jerrick's breath caught. For a split second, he was entirely ready to say yes.
But as he met her bright, observant eyes-eyes that were carefully dissecting his reaction—and caught the subtle probing in her tone, he swallowed the words back
down.
He realized he had let far too much emotion bleed through.
His sister was razor-sharp; even the slightest misstep would give him away.
The intensity in his eyes vanished instantly, replaced by a smooth, unreadable facade. "I simply refuse to let your overconfidence compromise a hundred-and- thirty-billion-dollar asset."
"If something goes wrong, it's on my head."
"Is that so?" Serena drawled, her gaze turning even more speculative.
Strange. Usually, when this wolf looked at her, his eyes were laced with suspicion and guarded caution.
Even though they had cooperated a few times, true trust was a stretch.
But today...
Especially when she had joked about being 'hard to kill', those grayish-blue eyes seemed to hold something entirely different.
It didn't look like professional caution, nor did it look like concern for Specimen Fourteen.
It looked like...
Worry?
Or maybe some kind of fiercely repressed... protectiveness.
The thought caused a faint ripple in Serena's gaze.
She narrowed her eyes thoughtfully.
Under her scrutiny, Jerrick felt his muscles tense.
He knew exactly how perceptive she was.
If they kept sparring like this, he was going to expose himself without her even
needing to ask.
"Keep working," Jerrick ordered
stiffly, turning his back on her with
absolute emotional detachment.
Hand over the full report when you're done."
Without waiting for an answer, he strode out of the room.
His pace was steady as always.
Yet, it felt undeniably rushed.
No matter how you looked at it, his exit screamed of a tactical retreat.
Serena watched him go, an eyebrow slowly arching upward.
*Well then... the wolf is definitely acting a little strange today.*
She didn't push the issue, though.
Half an hour later, the diagnostic run was complete.
Specimen Fourteen's neural activity remained within manageable parameters, and there were
metabolic anomalies from thel.ne
sedatives
FindNovel.net
She packed up her kit and stepped out of the isolation ward.
The moment the doors slid open, she found the towering figure standing right outside.
She paused.
Before she could say a word, a fresh cup of coffee was thrust into her hands.
It wasn't scalding hot-just perfectly warm.
Serena up at
in front of her, lettin
Fown at the cup, then
out a soft laugh Does Captain
Fenus have a lot of free time today
Not only had he been staring at her, but now he was fetching her drinks.
When she didn't immediately take it, Jerrick practically shoved the cup into her free hand, his face stony. "Drink."
It sounded like a direct military order.