Three weeks later, Chris learned that the universe had a sick sense of timing.
He was in the medical wing of the palace with Dax at his side, and it was astonishing how fast a corridor full of trained professionals could become a corridor full of people remembering urgent errands elsewhere.
It wasn't even Dax's fault this time. Not directly.
He was simply… there.
A touring alpha, tall enough to make doorframes look decorative, moving through the sterile brightness of the wing like a predator forced to enter a kennel. His presence alone changed the air, saturating it with his pheromones. Guards outside stepped straighter. Staff inside stepped back. Physicians who were normally unshakable found themselves swallowing before speaking.
Chris would've found it funny if he hadn't already been irritable for days.
