The morning after Torvin's visit was defined by a strained, cold efficiency. Kaelan sat across the desk, his presence a heavy anchor in the room, but he honored their new protocol: silence and distance during critical coding. Anya needed to crack the final encryption layer on Silas Vex's Hybrid trace, a fractal loop designed to defeat Lycan sensors.
"I'm close," Anya murmured, rubbing her tired eyes. "The fractal loop requires a unique human logic to resolve. I need absolute stillness."
Kaelan didn't move, but the low, rhythmic hum of the Mate Bond intensified, not with Command, but with a forceful calm. It was an odd sensation, the Alpha deliberately suppressing his own impatience to project focus onto her. He was using the bond to enhance her work, not destroy her will.
"You are wasting energy," Kaelan stated, his voice a low rumble. "Stop fighting the bond. Use it."
Anya reluctantly let go of her resistance. The projected calm of the Alpha flowed into her, clearing the exhaustion and sharpening her mind. She felt the possessive warmth of his attention, but instead of panic, she found clarity. It was the most profound, unsettling level of cooperation they had achieved.
Suddenly, the screen flashed green. She had found the key: a secondary, human encryption layer placed over the Hybrid code.
"I have it," she announced, the words filled with triumph. "Silas is using a human cipher—a key based on the old Ghost Security access system. It confirms his dual allegiance."
Kaelan surged across the desk, abandoning his physical distance. "Where is the key?"
"It's tied to a historical date. The day the Lycan Council officially declared hybrids illegal," Anya said, stepping back from his overwhelming proximity. "We have the evidence to expose him, Alpha."
The Mate Bond pulsed fiercely with victory and satisfaction. For the first time, Anya felt a shared triumph with the enemy, a connection that both horrified and energized her.