Page 82 of Claimed By the Guardian

He watched her closely, hoping for a clue as to which way she would jump. And in the end, she set down her tablet.

“This goes against everything I’ve ever believed. You know that, right?”

Simon nodded. “We know.”

Cecilia didn’t answer, and as the seconds ticked away, Hank felt his gut clench and his blood pressure rise. She was playing with her life. Dr. Oltheten had ultimately died from a heart attack because he couldn’t live with the world’s blindness. He didn’t want that for her. He needed her to be alive and safe. So when the silence stretched too long, he stepped forward.

At first, he didn’t think she’d accept his touch, but she didn’t draw away. Their fingers entwined, and she gripped him with bruising force, but she kept her eyes and her body away from him.

“Dr. Lu…” Simon began, a warning in his voice.

“I won’t publish, but I don’t have to like it.”

Hank spoke for the first time. “What if you could publish? To a shifter journal. I know it won’t win you the Nobel prize?—”

“Or any career recognition,” Alyssa added.

“But it would get the information out to shifters everywhere. And they’re the ones who need it.”

Cecilia didn’t answer, but she did lift her head. In that moment, Simon pushed the advantage. “I’ve been thinking about that exact thing, Dr. Lu. Shifters need a clearinghouse for scientific information. Dr. Sherilyn does what she can, but she’s only one person and she has responsibilities to the university. But what about you?”

Cecilia frowned. “What about me?”

“Would you like a job running a shifter CDC? All the clans would pay to cover your costs. You could sort through the data we gather, pick projects to fund or even research yourself. You want to dig into our biology, don’t you? And we need someone to help with shifter specific problems. You might not win a Nobel prize, but you would?—”

“Save all of us,” Hank said, when he really meant, save him. Because the idea that she might live and work here gave him hope that they could build a great life together. Here in Detroit.

He searched her face, praying that she was reaching for the same solution he saw. The exact job Simon was offering. He could see that she was thinking about it. She got a softness in her mouth as her brows narrowed over her eyes. But just when he thought she’d say yes, she pulled her fingers away from his.

“Two job offers in one day,” she said. “I don’t know what to think.”

The first job offer hadn’t been an offer at all, but a kidnapping by the wolves. That she equated the two set Hank’s teeth on edge. Simon’s, too, but neither pressed it. It was nearly dawn and they’d all been running full tilt for much too long.

“Well,” Simon finally said, “let us know?—”

Alyssa’s curse interrupted his words and the alpha’s head snapped over to study his mate.

“What is it?”

Alyssa looked up, dread in her expression. “I just noticed the time. Detective Kennedy hasn’t checked in. He’s forty-three minutes late.”

Simon’s expression flattened. “Call him.”

She held up her phone. “Just did. Voice mail. He’s probably off on one of his hunches again.” She didn’t look like she fully believed it, but then again, she didn’t know Ryan like Hank did. The man only loosely followed any type of authority and had paid the price for that more than once. But that was before Simon took over. Except the new alpha didn’t seem to like the detective’s independent streak any more than Nanook had.

“Doesn’t anyone follow orders around here?” Simon groused.

Alyssa arched a skeptical brow. “The minute there’s a US military sign above our door, then you can expect standard protocol. Otherwise, as far as I’m concerned, you’re all a bunch of cats and just as impossible to herd.”

“We’re bears,” Simon grumbled, though there was humor in his tone.

“That only makes you bigger and more surly.”

It was the normal banter between those two. Grumpy on one end, snarky on the other. Personally, Hank liked it, but it wasn’t his place to comment especially when his alpha gave him a direct order.

“Hank, get home, get some rest. I’m going to need you full strength very soon. There’s a war coming with wolves and you’re my only medic.”

Hank nodded and was about to salute when Cecilia started. “A war? What do you mean?”