Page 26 of Bite for Sore Eyes

He pulled back from Lana and reached for the communicator. "Rath speaking," he answered, his voice carrying unmistakable authority.

"Good, you're awake," Jace's voice crackled through the speaker, tension radiating through every word. "We've got a situation that makes our previous problems look like minor inconveniences."

Rath's body went rigid, every muscle coiling with sudden alertness, and he pushed himself up to sit. The sheets pooled around his waist and his bare chest caught the morning light streaming through the windows. Beside him, Lana's expression grew concerned, while Torren prepared to move at a moment's notice.

"What do you mean?" Rath demanded, his Alpha voice cutting through any possibility of misunderstanding.

"It looks like our data may have been compromised," Jace explained. "Sometime during the night, all our firewalls went dark simultaneously. Complete system failure across the board. There's a good probability that someone may have accessed our most sensitive information while we were completely exposed."

The blood in Rath's veins turned to ice. Their security infrastructure contained everything—territorial defense protocols, population records, trade agreements, diplomatic communications with other sleuth territories. If that information had been breached…

He swung his legs over the side of the bed, his bare feet hitting the cool stone floor. "I'll be right there."

The communicator went silent, leaving only the sound of three people breathing in the sudden tension that had filled the room. Torren was already sitting up, his intelligent eyes taking in Rath's rigid posture and the concern etched across his features.

"What's wrong?" Torren asked, his deep voice carrying that calm steadiness that had anchored Rath through countless crises.

Rath turned to face both of them, his jaw tight with barely controlled frustration. "We have a major security breach on our hands. All our firewalls failed simultaneously last night. Our entire network was completely exposed, and there's a strong possibility someone accessed our classified data."

Lana pushed herself up to sit, the sheet clutched against her chest, and her brown eyes immediately sharpened with professional interest rather than alarm. "I could help with that if you want."

Rath paused, his brow furrowing as he processed her offer. "How?"

A soft laugh escaped her lips. "Well, I never did give you a full resume, but I may know a thing or two about cybersecurity."

Torren sat up fully now, his expression shifting from concern to curiosity as he studied their mate's suddenly confident demeanor. "I guess we never did ask about your work history and background." A chuckle rumbled through his chest. "We were a bit... distracted."

Lana's eyes sparkled. "Well, I'm a former U.S. Military Cyber Operations Specialist and former Senior Cybersecurity Architect for the National Security Agency on Earth. And currently, I work as a freelance cybersecurity consultant."

The words hit Rath like a thunderbolt. His mate—his brilliant, incredible mate—wasn't just beautiful and brave. She was exactly the expert they needed to help solve the crisis that had been plaguing them for months.

She's perfect, his bear growled with fierce satisfaction. Our mate can help protect our territory.

A slow smile spread across his face, the first genuine expression of hope he'd felt since this security nightmare began. "So, you have military experience and high-level expertise in cybersecurity."

Torren's blue eyes lit up with the same realization, his expression transforming from worry to excitement. "If you wouldn't mind, we could have you meet Jace and Vaughn today, and work with Jace to analyze what happened with these firewalls. Then maybe even help figure out what's causing the random system failures that have been driving us insane for the past two months."

Lana sat up straighter, her entire posture shifting into something that reminded Rath of a warrior preparing for battle. Through their mate bond, he could feel her determination and excitement crackling like electricity. The sensation made every instinct he possessed roar with the need to claim her all over again.

"But we promised you that every day would be full of adventure," Rath said, forcing himself to focus on her needs. "We don't want you spending your time here working when you came for⁠—"

"I'm offering to help," she interrupted, her smile bright enough to rival the twin suns. "Besides, I can never turn down a good problem to solve. Maybe we can go exploring afterwards."

This is why fate chose her for us, Rath thought, his chest swelling with pride and something deeper. She doesn't just want to be cherished. She wants to contribute.

"That sounds like a perfect game plan," Torren agreed, already swinging his legs out of bed.

Both Alphas rose simultaneously, their naked bodies moving with the unconscious grace of predators as they headed toward the door. Rath caught Lana's appreciative gaze traveling over their muscular forms, her eyes darkening with renewed desire that sent heat shooting straight to his groin.

"I'll meet you two downstairs in thirty minutes," she called after them, her voice carrying a husky note that made his bear growl with satisfaction.

Rath paused at the threshold, turning to look over his shoulder at his mate. She stood beside the bed now, gloriously naked, her curves highlighted by the morning light. Torren had stopped as well, both of them drinking in the sight of her.

Everything is falling into place, Rath realized, his mind racing with possibilities. A beautiful, brilliant mate who can help solve our security crisis. Torren and I learning to share her successfully.

Now he just had to find a way to save her life. The brutal reality crashed over him, tempering his excitement with desperate determination. He would talk to Torren about it later, and together, they would find a way to cure her illness without breaking their promise.

We can't let her die, his bear snarled fiercely. Not now. Not when she makes everything make perfect sense.