The bunker had been transformed.
It wasn't a home anymore. It was a torture chamber of logic.
Intricate, glowing runes covered the stone floor. A blueprint for Damaris's grand experiment: The Shared Shield.
"The shield requires constant synchronization," Damaris explained. His voice was crisp. Annoyingly perfect. "Ravenna, you provide the raw power. Rogue, you maintain the physical rhythm to filter the chaos. I will provide the architecture to hold the structure."
"Why can't I just throw the energy?" Ravenna asked. She rubbed her shoulder, already dreading the workout. "It's faster."
"Because raw chaos is energy without form," the Warlock snapped. Impatient. "If you expel it, it dissipates. Or it explodes. We must train it to be disciplined. Now focus."
The exercise began.
Asher led Ravenna through a fluid, complex set of movements. Not a dance but a rhythm.
She had to synchronize her steps with his. Push her energy outward in time with his beat.
The Mate Bond intensified. But this time, it was different.
It wasn't a scream. It was a hum.
It carried their shared Focus. Asher's vigilance. Damaris's intense, crushing concentration.
The noise of their individual baggage was dampened by the sheer difficulty of the task.
This is it, Ravenna thought. A spark of hope ignited in her chest. We're actually doing it. We aren't killing each other.
The power flowed from her. A silver-black stream of heavy magic.
Asher absorbed the energy through his movements. He shaped it. Handed it off.
Damaris took the filtered flow. He wove it instantly into a clear, glowing shield ten feet away.
The shield pulsed. It was stable and strong.
It was the first time Ravenna had created something disciplined. Something that didn't just break things.
"Maintain the flow!" Damaris ordered. Sweat beaded on his pale forehead. "Rogue, faster! The rhythm is faltering!"
Asher increased the speed.
Ravenna's breathing grew ragged. But she was exhilarated. I'm building something real.
"Warlock, are you okay?" Ravenna asked. She noticed the tremor in his hands.
"I am fine!" Damaris snapped. "Concentrate! The complexity is immense. I am drawing, shaping, maintaining! It requires absolute..."
The strain snapped the line.
Damaris's careful, cold focus broke under the weight of his own ego. His body violently rejected the massive amount of energy.
CRACK.
The shield imploded.
Damaris stumbled backward. His hands flew to his head. His body seized. Eyes clenched shut.
He was physically devastated.
"Warlock!" Asher yelled. He broke the rhythm.
Damaris sank to his knees. Utterly spent. His skin was slick with cold sweat. His breathing was shallow, rattling in his chest.
He wasn't bleeding. He was magically depleted. A hollow shell.
For a man who worshipped control, this was the ultimate humiliation.
He's not invincible, Ravenna realized. His control has a physical cost.
"Don't touch me," Damaris rasped. He pushed a weak hand against the floor as Asher moved toward him. "It is merely... magical depletion. A predictable failure."
"A predictable failure you're too proud to admit," Asher countered. But he backed off.
Ravenna knelt beside him. She ignored his sharp glare.
"You're freezing," she noted.
Magic consumes heat. The Warlock was an icicle.
"You need physical warmth, Warlock. Not pride."
She ignored his attempt to pull away. Using the soft, natural warmth of her Lycan side, she placed her hands on his shoulders. She began to massage the tension from his rigid neck.
Damaris visibly tensed. His body recoiled from the unexpected, raw warmth.
He was used to cold calculation. Not primal comfort.
But the warmth was soothing. It chased away the cold drain of the spell.
He's like ice. All that control, and it leaves him frozen from the inside out.
"Release me, Hybrid," Damaris commanded weakly. But he didn't pull away.
"No," Ravenna replied. Her voice was firm. "You need to stop fighting for a minute. Your control failed because you tried to carry the whole building on your back. You need help."
As she worked the knots out of his neck, the Mate Bond vibrated between them.
The initial surge of anger and frustration gave way.
Something else slipped through the cracks in his armor.
A confusing, raw undercurrent of vulnerability. And then—a sudden, sharp spike of undeniable, physical craving.
Heat.
Damaris gasped. His eyes flew open. Shock.
He immediately slammed his mental shields down. Locked the door. Bolted it.
But it was too late. The raw emotion had already passed through the bond.
What was that? Ravenna froze. That wasn't calculation. That was... want.
"You need to stop that," Damaris said.
His voice was low. Dangerous.
He shoved her hands away. He scrambled back until his spine hit the cold stone wall.
"What was that?" Ravenna asked. Startled.
Damaris avoided her gaze. His cheeks were faintly flushed—a color she'd never seen on him.
"That was a momentary lapse in my control," he stated. Flat, sounding robotic. "Physical recovery is necessary. I require rest. The lesson is concluded."
He gathered his dignity like a tattered cloak. His expression of icy perfection was rebuilt, brick by brick.
"You must understand, Hybrid," Damaris said. His voice regained its cold, professorial tone. "My life was dedicated to this control. I saw what emotional weakness did to others. I will not compromise."
He stood up. Shaky, but standing.
"The training failed because we did not factor in your need for sustained energy," he lied. "Rogue, you and the Hybrid must now focus on developing the Lycan side's ability to maintain a constant supply. You need endurance. Not just speed."
He looked at the door. Anywhere but her eyes.
"When the Alpha returns, you will focus solely on the physical conditioning. I will study the shield failure."
Damaris walked stiffly out of the bunker. He retreated into his lab to hide his weakness.
Asher watched him go. A knowing, cynical smile played on his lips.
"See, Boss?" the Rogue said. "Even the glacier has a weakness. And a pulse."
"It's not weakness," Ravenna replied. She could still feel the confusing surge of heat fading from the bond. "It's exhaustion. And his solution is to hand me back to Emin."
Asher stepped closer.
"The Warlock is right about one thing: You need the Alpha's endurance. But you need to teach Emin that dominance won't work."
He looked at the tunnel entrance.
"When he comes back, you have to find a way to make him trust you. Not just command you."