Jordan Matsumoto was the first person to enter the lab on the thirty-third floor at the Fenrir Corporation Headquarters every weekday at seven thirty in the morning. Usually, she was also the last to leave, which served her just fine.

Flipping on the lights, Jordan walked over to her station in the far corner and slung her messenger bag on the back of the chair. She reached for the gallon squirt bottle of alcohol gel sanitizer on her desk and gave it two healthy squeezes. The subway was filthy after all. Germs. Yuck.

The antiseptic smell was acrid and burning, especially to her sensitive Lycan senses. She could practically see her inner wolf cowering and covering its nose up with its paws, but ignored it, like she always did. The strong alcohol scent gave her a sense of relief as she imagined the germs on her skin screaming as they died. She squirted more on a tissue and wiped it over her workstation.

Die, germs die! Ha ha!

Satisfied with the level of cleanliness around her, she sat down and turned her computer on, listening to the fans whirring to life as her screen lit up. Immediately, she opened the program she had been working on, ignoring the various pings and dings of her email and the Fenrir Corporation intranet messaging system as her computer connected to the network. They could wait. Other people could always wait. But science couldn’t.

Growing up in the San Francisco Lycan clan, the only thing she wanted to do was become a scientist. She went to school, got good grades, graduated top of her class and went to Berkeley on a scholarship where she got her Bachelor’s in Biochemistry. She was two years into her research grad classes when she got the call of a lifetime.

Dr. Jade Creed—yes, the Dr. Jade Creed, genius Lycan scientist who held two PhDs at the age of twenty—was looking for a new research assistant. Specifically, a Lycan research assistant, to join her team in New York where they studied all things related to magic and science.

It was her cousin and Alpha, Liam Henney, who called Jordan personally. Would she be able to leave her current position and move to New York right away? Hells yeah. Not only was Dr. Creed one of her idols and possibly lady crushes, but the chance to work with her was a dream come true.

And it was a dream, working alongside Dr. Creed. She tried to play it cool, of course, but she couldn’t help but gush and fangirl at her idol the first day she walked into the lab. And every day, she happily skipped into work, looking forward to be working with a genius. Her coworkers thought her weird and avoided her, but that was fine with Jordan. She never did learn to play with others, and she was too damned old at twenty-six to start now.

Another hour passed and Jordan busied herself, walking around the lab and checking on the various experiments in the stations, and finishing up some tasks she had left for today—cleaning out some supplies, running the centrifuge, making sure the charts were up-to-date. When she was satisfied with her work, she went back to her desk. More messages had piled up, and she ignored them. She also heard a sound—was that a rattling—from somewhere in the lab. The hairs on the back of her neck raised and her inner wolf whined at her. She ignored it, of course. Like she always did. Her wolf had no place in science.

“Hello? Jordan, did you hear what I said?”

Jordan raised her head from the screen and looked up at the frowning face of her boss. “Sorry, I didn’t hear you come in, Dr. Creed. Did you need something?”

Jade Creed sighed and rubbed a hand on her temple. “I asked if you had those samples ready for me. The one we put in yesterday?”

“As a matter of fact, I did,” Jordan said in a smug voice. She stood up and wiped her hands down her lab coat. “Actually, I took them out of the UV chamber and put them into the centrifuge.” She nodded over to the machine, a mere six feet away to their right.

Dr. Creed’s eyes went wide. “You what?”

“I said I put them in the—”

But Jordan didn’t get to finish her sentence. A loud bang filled the air and everything went black.

When Jordan’s eyes fluttered open, the first thing she felt was the shot of pain down her side. “Sonofa—”

“You’re awake.”

Her vision was blurry and she had to blink a few times. When the two indistinct shapes in front of her merged into one, she knew her vision had returned to normal. “Dr. Creed? What—ow!” This time, the pain wasn’t as bad, though she could feel the bones and skin knitting back together. It was an uncomfortable sensation, like an itch she couldn’t scratch.

“Stay down, Jordan,” Dr. Creed said, pushing her back on the scratchy sheets.

Jordan looked around her, at the white walls, the harsh overhead lighting, and the metal-framed bed she was lying on. She must have been in the infirmary at Fenrir. “What happened?” She raised her arms, eyes widening as realized they were covered in bandages. “The last thing I remember was that we were standing in the lab and—”

“A big explosion?” Dr. Creed finished. “When the centrifuge blew up?”

“B-b-blew up?” That explained why she had blacked out and why her body currently felt like some bizarre arts and crafts project and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein had a love child. If she had been human, she would be in the hospital for weeks, if she survived at all. Of course, that didn’t explain why Dr. Creed, who had been standing right in front of her during the explosion, didn’t even have a scratch on her. “Er, are you all right, Dr. Creed?”

The other woman put her hands on her hips. “I’m fine. Did you not read the emails? Or talk to the other lab assistants?”

“Huh?”

Dr. Creed sighed. “I sent out three emails that no one was to use the centrifuge today. It was going to be picked up for repairs.”

“I-I-I must have missed it.” Shit. Oh, God. Someone could have been hurt. No, wait, someone had been hurt. Namely, her. “I’m sorry. I mean, I take full responsibility.” Her voice broke. Dr. Creed was going to fire her. Or worse.

“Jade, what the hell happened?”

The voice was gruff and made the hairs on the back of her neck raise. She gripped the paper-thin sheet in her hands, her knuckles growing white as the air in the room grew thick.

Yup. Definitely worse. Her day really was turning to shit. Sebastian Creed, husband and mate to her boss and as it happens, the only known dragon shifter in the world, stood in the doorway, his face glowering.

“I’m fine, Sebastian,” Dr. Creed turned around to reassure her mate. “It’s all fine.”

Creed’s steps thundered as he went over to his mate and pulled her in for a tight hug. “Fine?” he asked, his rough voice sending a chill down Jordan’s spine. “I had to hear from Meredith that there was an explosion in the lab and you tell me everything is fine?” The air in the lab was choking now, and Jordan swore she could smell sulfur.

Dr. Creed pulled away from him and spread her arms. “As you can see, I’m unhurt. Not a scratch on me.”

“How the hell did that happen, anyway?” Jordan slapped a hand over her mouth when the words just spilled out. But she couldn’t help herself. “What the heck is going on?”

Creed’s eyes flashed gold for a second before returning to its normal color. Steel gray eyes pierced right into hers and looked down at the bandages on her arms. Then, his head swung over to his wife. “Jade? Are you …?”

Dr. Creed’s pretty face lit up. “Yes.”

Creed let out a whoop and lifted his mate into his arms, pulling her in for a passionate kiss. “Darlin’, I’m so fucking happy right now. I don’t even care what happened.”

The mood in the room lightened, and Jordan felt like she could breathe again. “Uhm, could someone explain what’s going on?”

The lovers pulled apart and Dr. Creed cleared her throat delicately, the blush on her cheeks deepening. “Sebastian, why don’t you pick up Dee from the day care and we can all go home for lunch? I need to take care of a few things first, though.”

“Whatever you want, darlin’. I’ll meet you at the car.” He planted a firm kiss on her lips before he turned and walked out the door.

Once the door closed behind them, Dr. Creed turned to Jordan. “You’re extremely lucky that I happen to be pregnant at the moment.”

“Oh.” She had heard about this phenomenon but had never actually seen it for herself. Whenever a True Mate female, Lycan or human, was pregnant, she was invulnerable to any kind of harm. While it might take a regular Lycan like Jordan another few hours or days to recover fully from injuries, all of Dr. Creed’s wounds would have healed in an instant. “Thank God, then.”

“Indeed.” Dr. Creed took a deep breath and walked over to her. “Jordan, you know you’re a brilliant scientist and a hard worker.”

“I am?” Of course she knew that, but hearing it from Dr. Creed made her giddy.

“Yes. In fact, I see a bit of myself in you.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “Maybe a bit too much.”

Dr. Creed didn’t seem happy at the comparison and Jordan’s heart dropped into her stomach. “Am I fired?”

“I really should let you go,” Dr. Creed began. “You refuse to work with your coworkers, or even listen to their opinions.”

“Science isn’t about opinions,” Jordan retorted with an indignant sniff.

“What I’m saying is that you can’t seem to play nice with other people. It’s not just about what happened today. The other researchers raised their concerns about you. You’re always defying protocol and procedure. And you never consult with anyone else, even when I ask you to. And I can’t have that here.”

Jordan always knew she was different. Even her wolf was … odd. She wasn’t like all the other Lycan children growing up. They all loved shifting, being outdoors, playing and roughhousing, while Jordan preferred to stay home and read books or watch documentaries. Wolves were supposed to be social creatures, but she preferred her own company. And frankly, other people were idiots. “I’ll pack my things then, as soon as I’m—”

She held her hand up. “No, Jordan, that’s not what I meant.”

“It’s not?” Now she was confused again.

Dr. Creed shook her head. “I don’t want to lose you. Frankly, I can’t afford to. Do you know how many Lycans specialize in biochemistry?”

“Not a lot?”

“Two, Jordan,” Dr Creed said. “Me and you.”

“Oh.” Good. She was needed around here, then.

“But I can’t risk my lab and the lives of the people around us. So, I’m going to put you in time-out.”

“Time-out?” What was Dr. Creed talking about?

A determined look crossed her boss’ face. “You’re going away for a while.”

“I have to take a vacation?” Oh, God, she hated vacations. It didn’t matter where. Sand from the beach always got everywhere, as did dirt in the mountains. Cities were too dirty and noisy, and forget the country—her allergies would blow up.

“No, Jordan, I’m sending you on a special retreat,” Dr. Creed said. “I just heard about it from Sebastian. A new program the Alpha is starting with another clan. In West Virginia.”

“West Virginia? Er, will it be at a hotel or conference center?” Oh, God, please say it’s going to be at a nice, air-conditioned luxury resort.

Dr. Creed shook her head. “I’m afraid not. In fact, it’s all going to be done outdoors.”

“I can’t go,” she stated flatly. “I’m deathly allergic.”

“To what?”

“To everything?”

Dr. Creed chortled. “Excuse me? You’re a Lycan. We’re not allergic to anything. Especially not the outdoors.”

“I can give you a doctor’s note. In fact, I’ll give you six doctor’s notes.” Just the thought of being in the outdoors made her want to break out in hives. And then her chest started to hurt. “And I have asthma.”

“You’re joking!” Dr. Creed said in an incredulous voice. “Jordan, you’re being silly. Stop it.”

“I swear, it’s true.” Her parents had brought her to a dozen Lycan and human doctors when she was growing up. Most of the Lycan doctors said it was psychosomatic and she would grow out of it. Her human doctors found nothing wrong with her—or so they said—but the medicines they prescribed seem to work on her. All her doctors seemed to think it was psychosomatic, but they weren’t the ones who felt the symptoms.

“Well, you’re just going to have to suck it up and bring all the medication you can carry. Because you’re going and that’s final.”

“You can’t make me.”

She ignored Jordan’s protests. “You’ll be paid the entire time, of course, plus if you finish this program,” she lowered her voice, “I won’t tell my husband you caused the explosion.”

Jordan groaned. Her options were to go on this stupid retreat or let the world’s only fire-breathing dragon shifter know she almost killed his mate. The choice was clear. “When do I leave?”