Chapter 7 Maya #2
Something flickers across his expression—so quick I almost miss it. "Your true research is happening here, Maya. Everything you've done before was just preparation for this opportunity."
The words echo what he said last night, but hearing them again makes me realize how completely my life has changed. I'm not a visiting researcher anymore. I'm not going back to my cramped laboratory and broken equipment. This is my life now, for better or worse.
"I should probably contact my advisor, let him know I'll be extending my fellowship—"
"Already handled," Thorian says smoothly. "The university has been informed of your extended collaboration with our research program. They're very excited about the prestige of having a student working directly with Fae fertility magic experts."
Extended collaboration. The phrase has a finality that makes my stomach flutter with something that might be excitement or fear.
"How long is extended?"
"As long as the development work takes." His hand slides up my arm, thumb tracing patterns that make me shiver. "Could be months, Maya. Are you prepared for that level of commitment?"
Months. Months of living in luxury, working with equipment beyond my wildest dreams, having daily access to Thorian's knowledge and attention. Months of whatever this magical development involves, of being valued and treasured instead of overlooked and dismissed.
"Yes," I say, surprising myself with how certain I sound. "I want to see this through."
"Good." His smile is warm and possessive in equal measure. "Then let's continue."
The rest of the morning passes in a haze of incredible science and slowly building awareness.
Thorian shows me magical specimens that defy everything I thought I knew about biology—plants that reproduce through pure energy, flowers that bloom in response to human emotion, vines that actually seem to communicate with each other through chemical signals I can somehow sense now.
But underneath the academic fascination, something else builds between us.
Casual touches that linger longer than necessary.
Moments when his explanations trail off because he's staring at my mouth.
Times when I catch myself studying the way his muscles move under his clothes and have to force my attention back to the research.
The intensity of my reactions to him keeps nagging at me.
Back in graduate school, we studied omega biology extensively—the way omegas respond to alpha pheromones, their heightened sensitivity to dominance.
But I'm definitely not an omega. The school testing was thorough, and besides, if I were omega, Sarah would have known.
She's done enough research on omega biology to spot the signs from miles away.
"I think that's enough for today," he says finally, though the sun is still high outside the laboratory windows. "You should rest, let your body process the initial magical exposure."
I want to protest, to ask for more time in his presence, but exhaustion hits me suddenly. The magical work was more draining than I realized.
"Will we do this every day?" I ask as he walks me back toward the Scholar's Wing.
"Every day," he confirms. "Building your tolerance gradually, introducing new forms of magical interaction as your body adapts."
New forms of magical interaction. The phrase makes me curious and nervous at the same time.
"Thorian?" I stop walking, turning to face him in the corridor lined with flowering vines. "Thank you. For choosing me, for believing I'm capable of this. I know you could have selected someone more experienced, more qualified—"
"Maya." His voice cuts off my self-deprecating spiral, and he steps close enough that his scent wraps around me. "You're here because you're exactly what this research needs. Not despite your qualifications, but because of them."
The conviction in his voice makes my chest tight with emotion I don't know how to handle.
"I won't let you down," I promise.
"I know you won't." His hand cups my cheek, thumb stroking across my skin in a touch that's tender and possessive. "You're going to be magnificent, little scientist."
The endearment makes me flush with pleasure and something deeper that I'm not ready to examine. When he pulls away and continues walking, I follow on unsteady legs, my body still humming from his touch.
That night, alone in my luxurious quarters, I replay every moment of our time together. The way he looked at me during the magical readings. The careful touches that seemed designed to awaken responses I've never felt before. The hunger in his eyes when he thought I wasn't looking.
Whatever this magical development involves, whatever changes it will make to my body and biology, I want it. I want to become whatever he needs me to be, wants me to be.
For the first time in my life, I've found someone who sees potential in me instead of inadequacy. Someone who chose me first instead of settling for me as a consolation prize.
Whatever the cost, it has to be worth it.
Even if I have no idea what that cost might be.