By seven that evening, Addison was convinced her new "partner" was the absolute worst being to ever walk the Earth.

He was insufferable. The most arrogant person she'd ever met, and that was saying something, considering she'd dedicated her life to science. He was dismissive of her, condescending, patronizing, and just plain rude.

And he was so inescapably… there.

That was the worst part of it all, by far. She could have spent the day holed up in her office, working off of her data as if Kor'ven didn't even exist. But she could feel him. She could feel every move he made, every step he took further away from her. And, most agonizingly, every step he took closer. Her body was on fire, her hormones clocked into overdrive, to the point where all she could think about was getting him alone and seeing what he looked like under that lab coat.

It hadn't even been a full day since his arrival, and Addison was already miserable. This was the worst possible time for her to find a mate, and Kor'ven was the worst possible Karuvar to be matched with. At this point, she didn't care if her genes were perfectly coded to match with his. She was going to stay far, far away from him, and hope biology was lenient.

That was precisely what she was doing as the sun set outside of Waystation Helios. Away from Kor'ven, but not uninvolved in his dealings throughout the center. He had indeed run a battery of tests on Vazik earlier in the day, and had spoken to Meg and Verkiir, asking an exhaustive list of questions that he'd logged meticulously. As much as Addison could admire how thorough he was, right now it was simply a means to an end. She pored over his data, checking for something she could use--something she could see before he did. After all, if Drol'gan found him to be extraneous, he would be sent back to Selene.

So far, though, he hadn't uncovered anything new, and a headache was beginning to blossom behind Addison's sinuses. When the door to her office opened, it felt like a drill boring into her skull.

"Told you she was still here," Ash announced proudly.

Addison looked up, squinting a little at the light from the hallway. Meg stood with her sister, a concerned frown on her face. Addison had spent enough time around the woman to know exactly what that meant.

"It's not that late. You know very well I've stayed here longer, and for less significant projects."

"Vazik will be fine for tonight. You can start fresh tomorrow morning," Meg insisted.

Addison waved this off. "I'm fine. I'll get my second wind soon. A bit of coffee, and I'll be good as new."

The two sisters exchanged a look. Ash moved to block the door--as if Addison were a wild animal intent on escape--while Meg approached her.

"Come out with us, Addi,” Meg pleaded. "We haven't had a good Girls' Night Out in months."

That was true. Throughout Meg's pregnancy, and even after, the three of them met up at least twice a month--no men allowed. Sometimes it was at Meg's house, sometimes Addison's apartment. Sometimes they even splurged and went to one of the restaurants Everton boasted.

She wanted to go out; wanted to get away from this place. But one quick glance at her mother's portrait chased the idea from her head. She had a job to do here. She wasn't going to do it by wasting precious hours.

"I can't, I'm sorry. There's too much to do, and if Kor'ven finds something before I do--"

Ash groaned audibly. "God, that guy is such a prick. He's got that stick shoved so far up his ass I can see it whenever he opens his mouth."

She wouldn't disagree with that. "They don't often teach 'brilliant' scientists the nuances of personality."

Meg's lips twitched into a smirk. "Even Verkiir hates him. Kor'ven was examining Vazik earlier, and I thought he was going to explode."

"Verkiir hates everyone," Ash pointed out, then amended, "Everyone who touches Vaz."

Meg shrugged at that, unable to deny the truth. She turned back to Addison, a gleam in her eyes. "See? You have to come out with us now. It'll be like that time Dr. High-and-Mighty tried to steal credit for your research."

Oh, she remembered. Dr. Higgins was a first-rate asshole, too. He'd piggybacked off of her research on the replication of cells within the biological components of implants, trying to pass her findings off as his own. Absolutely ridiculous. But…

"This is far worse," she admitted.

Her gaze flicked to both of her friends in turn. God help her, she needed to tell someone.

"My implant seems to think…" She gritted her teeth. "That Kor'ven and I are a match."

Ash's response was immediate. And loud. "Holy shit."

Meg's wasn't much better. "Seriously? All this time we've been trying to find your mate and it turns out it's… him?"

"I'm afraid so."

"Oh, honey." Meg's voice sounded genuinely sympathetic, and her hand rested on Addison's arm. "That's it. Get your stuff. You're coming with us."

"But I can't--"

"No buts!" Ash said, snatching up Addison's satchel and handing it to her. "We're going out, and we're getting drunk as hell."

Meg gave her sister a look.

"Two of us are getting drunk as hell," Ash amended.

Addison looked back at the screen, Kor'ven's succinctly typed data staring her in the face; taunting her. She could stay here all night and hope to catch something he'd missed, but deep down, she knew that was a fool's errand. In the end, she'd only be left with a headache.

"Alright. But just a couple drinks."

* * *

Just a couple drinks turned into four cocktails mixed with whatever spirits the bartender happened to have behind the counter. Addison had long since passed the bubbly, giggly stage of tipsiness. After four alarmingly strong drinks, she was careening into full-on rant territory.

"I think he's just… genetically modified." She waved as if giving a presentation. "You're either smart, or you're hot: It's a well-known rule."

"Right?" Ash seconded. "It's like they all slam some weird protein shake for breakfast or something."

Meg--who was also on her fourth drink--snorted in the most unladylike fashion possible. "Maybe that's why Verkiir hates him. Science bod."

Addison giggled at this, unable to help herself. The third drink had done a good job of convincing her that, yes, Kor'ven was unbearably attractive. The alcohol hadn't done anything to dull her senses in that regard.

"I bet he's packing, too," Ash said, decidedly not drunk.

"Ashley!" Meg's admonishment was, as always, lacking in any real condemnation.

"What? It's always the quiet ones."

"This is true," Addison said, backing up her friend before Meg could inevitably ask how Ash knew such things. "I dated a man in college who barely spoke a word. Hung like a horse," she said, demonstrating with her hands.

That elicited another round of giggles before Meg asked, "Yeah, but did he know how to use it?"

Addison shook her head sadly. "He fucked like he was driving a pickaxe into the side of a mountain."

"Oh, God." Meg cringed.

"Dumb as a hammer, too," she lamented with a sigh. "That's the day I swore I would never fall for anyone who wasn't as obsessed with biochemistry as I was."

That hadn't really been her vow, but it'd become painfully obvious she needed someone who could keep up with her on an intellectual level. And preferably someone who didn't fuck like a broken jackhammer.

"I don't know about biochemistry, but Kor'ven's pretty smart," Meg pointed out.

"Obnoxiously smart," Addison grumbled. "And he has the personality of a pinecone."

Ash snorted, taking another sip of her drink. "A moldy pinecone that's been barfed up by an irradiated bear."

"Exactly."

"Maybe there's more to him than meets the eye." Meg shrugged. "I thought Verkiir was just some domineering, macho idiot the first time I met him, but he's grown a lot since then."

"He can still be a domineering, macho idiot sometimes," Ash pointed out, and Meg didn't argue with that.

"Well, it won't matter. Kor'ven and his Hot Science Ass will return to Selene soon enough, and then I won't have to think about whether or not he's more than he seems."

Meg frowned, a serious expression tugging into her features. "You know better than that, Addi. You saw what happened to me."

Addison looked away from her friend, rubbing absently at her implant site. Meg had experienced a catastrophic system shock when she was parted from her mate--one that had nearly claimed her life. Already, Addison's implant had started to protest, sending pain signals throughout her body in an attempt to get her to cooperate.

So far, she'd been able to drown them in tequila-gin-bourbon-whatever-else-was-in-her-glass.

"The worst happened after you were already mated," Addison pointed out. "If it never gets to that point for Kor'ven and I, then there's a chance we can both go on with our lives." She frowned, despite herself. "Besides, I'm not even sure his implant reacted to mine."

"Are you serious?" Ash's expression was incredulous. "He totally wants to bone you. You can see it in his eyes every time somebody mentions you."

"If mating just involved sex, I might not mind it," Addison admitted, stirring her watered-down drink with one finger.

"I know that feeling," Meg said, tipping her own glass to clink against Addison's. "But it is more. A lot more."

Silence fell over the table, and even the sounds of the bar faded into the background. Addison's ears were ringing--her implant's doing, no doubt, or maybe she'd just had too much to drink. Either way, it didn't stop her from thinking about that what if.

What if Kor'ven truly was her mate? What if she could build a life with him?

The second she thought of it, she also thought of her mother. Of her mother's brilliance, and the fact that that brilliance had been permanently shelved in favor of raising a family. Addison had always sworn she would never fall into the same trap.

Especially with someone like Kor'ven.

"The pull hasn't been that strong," she lied. "And in any case, there are more important things to worry about."

Tomorrow, she would try to set her pride aside. She would approach Kor'ven and offer to combine research--to work alongside him, instead of against him.

And she would defiantly ignore any biological pull she felt toward him. For better or for worse, Addison Monroe was not going to succumb to the mating frenzy. Not now, not ever.