~ Ciara Pov~

The room went dead silent the second he stepped in, every single person froze, even the nurses looked like they wanted to melt into the walls, I couldn’t look away from the man.

He stood tall and powerful near the doorway, shoulders wide, black shirt stretched tight across a chest that looked hard as rock. Dark hair fell messily over his forehead, framing a face so sharp and handsome it almost hurt to stare at him. His jaw could cut glass. Scars ran down the side of his neck and slipped under his collar, telling stories of fights and pain I didn’t want to imagine. He looked like trouble. The kind of trouble that made your pulse race for all the wrong and right reasons.

His eyes locked on mine. Grey-green, stormy, glowing just a little too bright under the hospital lights. My throat went dry. Heat crawled up my neck and spread across my cheeks. I swallowed hard, trying to ignore the sudden ache low in my belly. This man was dangerous. Not just in the way he looked. He felt like a storm ready to break, wild and untamed.

"Gerald," Nyra said again, her voice tight.

He blinked slowly, like he was coming out of a trance. His gaze dropped to the baby sleeping peacefully in my arms. Something shifted in his expression—not soft, exactly, but surprised. Almost hungry.

"He stopped crying?" His voice rolled out deep and rough, vibrating through the room and straight into my chest. It was the kind of voice that made my thighs press together without thinking.

I nodded, barely trusting my own words. "Yes."

The silence stretched, thick and heavy. One nurse smiled nervously. "He’s been crying nonstop for hours."

"He was probably hungry," I said.

"No," another nurse whispered. "He already ate."

I frowned, confused, but Gerald’s eyes were back on me, burning. That stare made my skin feel too tight, too hot. Like he could see right through my clothes, through my professional mask, straight to the way my body was reacting to him. My nipples tightened under my shirt. I shifted the baby slightly, hoping no one noticed how breathless I suddenly felt.

"You’re the human doctor," he said. Low. Almost accusing.

I let out an awkward laugh. "Last time I checked, yeah."

No one laughed with me. Gerald’s eyes narrowed. He took one slow step closer, and the air between us crackled. I could smell him now—dark pine, leather, and something wild that made my mouth water. My heart hammered against my ribs.

"Interesting," he murmured.

Nyra stepped between us quickly. "Dr. Monroe has had a very long journey."

"I can see that." His gaze never left my face. It traced my lips, my throat, the rise of my breasts as I breathed. I felt exposed. Naked. And shamefully turned on.

The baby stirred against me, pressing closer. Gerald’s cold expression cracked for half a second when he looked at the child. I saw it—raw protectiveness. This terrifying man actually cared. Deeply. The realization made something warm bloom in my chest, mixing dangerously with the heat pooling between my legs.

Nyra cleared her throat. "Ciara, this is Gerald Green. He owns Moonridge Haven."

Owns it? He looked too young, too feral, to run a whole facility. But power rolled off him in waves.

"Nice to meet you," I said, my voice softer than I meant.

He nodded once, slow and deliberate. "Welcome to Moonridge."

The words were simple, but the way he said them felt like a promise. Or a warning. One of the nurses gently took the baby from my arms. When her hands brushed mine, Gerald’s jaw tightened, like he didn’t like anyone else touching me. The thought sent another rush of heat through my body.

He turned to Nyra, voice dropping colder. "Office."

She sighed but followed. The second the door shut behind him, the whole room exhaled. I realized I’d been holding my breath too.

"Does everyone always stop breathing when he enters a room?" I asked.

A nurse gave a shaky smile. "You get used to him."

I wasn’t sure I believed her. Or wanted to.

Nyra came back and led me through the halls. Security guards stood like statues outside certain doors. This was supposed to be a safe place for sick kids. Why did it feel like a fortress?

"Is someone threatening the hospital?" I asked.

"You ask a lot of questions," Nyra replied.

"I’m a doctor. It’s my job."

She showed me to a beautiful cabin at the edge of the forest. Stone, wood, big windows looking out at the mountains. It was perfect. Private. Isolated. Exactly what I needed after everything I’d been through.

Inside, fresh flowers waited on the table. My bags were unpacked. The fridge was stocked. Tears stung my eyes for a moment. No one had taken care of me like this in years.

Nyra dropped medical files on the table. "Read these tonight."

The cases were wild. Kids healing too fast. Strange fevers. Eyes that glowed. Bones knitting together in days. I read for hours, lost in the mystery, until a soft knock sounded at my door around nine.

I opened it to find a small boy, maybe eight, clutching a stuffed fox. Dark hair, big golden eyes that seemed to shimmer. He looked up at me nervously.

"Are you the new doctor?"

I smiled and crouched down. "I am."

He studied me carefully. "You really are human."

There was that word again. Human. Like it was rare.

"Why does everyone keep saying that?" I asked gently.

He blinked. "You don’t know?"

Before he could explain, a deep voice cut through the night. "Ezra."

The boy jumped back. Gerald stood just a few feet away on the path, wearing a black jacket that made him look even bigger. The moonlight carved shadows across his sharp face, highlighting the scars and the hard lines of his body. My breath caught. Heat flared between my thighs again. God, what was wrong with me? This man was intimidating as hell, and all I could think about was how those big hands would feel on my skin. Ezra mumbled an apology and ran off.

I stood up slowly, heart racing. The wind whispered through the trees, carrying Gerald’s scent to me again—wild, masculine, addictive. He didn’t move closer, but it felt like he filled the entire space between us.

"What did he mean?" I asked, voice barely above a whisper.

Gerald stared at me for a long moment. The night wrapped around us, dark and intimate. Moonlight painted his face silver. His eyes dropped to my mouth, then lower, tracing the curve of my hips like he couldn’t help it. I felt my body respond instantly—pulse throbbing, skin tingling, a slick warmth building.

"You really don’t know anything," he said. Not a question.

"No. I don’t."

He stepped closer. Just one step. Close enough that I could see the rise and fall of his chest. Close enough to feel the heat coming off him. My nipples ached. I wanted to reach out and touch those scars, trace them with my fingers, maybe with my tongue. The thought shocked me, but I couldn’t push it away.

"You accepted a job here without asking questions," he said, voice rough.

"My grandfather recommended it. Evander Monroe."

That surprised him. His eyes flashed. "Evander."

"You know him?"

He didn’t answer. Instead, he looked into the dark forest, jaw tight. The shadows around him seemed to move, like they belonged to him. I shook my head. Exhaustion was making me see things.

"Everyone keeps calling me human," I pressed.

His gaze snapped back to mine, intense and burning. "Because you are."

My breath hitched. "And what are you?"

The question hung between us. Something dark and painful crossed his face. For a second, the dangerous mask slipped, and I saw raw suffering. Years of it. It made me want to step forward, press my body against his, and chase that pain away with heat and touch. Stupid. Reckless. But the pull was so strong it scared me.

He took another step. Now we were almost touching. His height towered over me. I had to tilt my head back to meet his eyes. The air felt electric. My lips parted. I could imagine it so clearly—him grabbing my waist, pulling me hard against that solid chest, kissing me like he was starving. Rough. Deep. Claiming.

"I stopped being human a very long time ago," he said, voice low and gravelly.

Chills raced down my spine, but heat flooded everywhere else. My core throbbed. I was wet. Aching. For him. A man I barely knew. A man who looked like he could break me in half.

"What does that mean?" I whispered, barely able to speak.

His eyes dropped to my throat, watching my pulse jump. I saw his hands flex at his sides, like he was fighting the urge to touch me. The tension stretched so tight I thought I might snap. One more inch and I might throw myself at him. Kiss him. Beg him to take me right here against the cabin wall.

He leaned in slightly. His breath brushed my ear. "You should get some sleep, Doctor."

Then he turned and walked away, I watched frozen as he disappeared into the shadows. One moment he was there, tall and powerful. The next, the darkness swallowed him whole. Like he had never been real.

My heart slammed against my ribs. Fear mixed with raw desire, making my knees weak. I stepped forward, but the path was empty. Just wind in the trees and the heavy beat of my own pulse between my legs.

What the hell was this place? Gerald wasn’t just the owner, he was something else, something dangerous and magnetic and despite the fear crawling up my spine, I knew one thing for sure, I want him badly.

I went back inside on shaky legs, body still humming with unspent tension. The files lay open on the table, but I couldn’t focus. All I could think about was his voice, his eyes, the way he looked at me like he wanted to devour me.

I lay in bed later, staring at the ceiling. Sleep wouldn’t come easy tonight. Not with the ache he left behind. Not with the memory of his scent still clinging to the night air.

Moonridge Haven was hiding secrets, big ones and Gerald Green was at the center of them, I touched my lips, imagining his mouth on mine. Rough hands sliding under my shirt. That deep voice growling my name while he drove into me, hard and relentless.

A soft moan escaped me in the dark cabin, this job was going to be a lot more complicated than I thought.

I sat up around three in the morning, staring out the window at the black forest. “What the hell is wrong with me?” I whispered. People don’t just vanish. But I saw it. Or I thought I did. The stress from the last few weeks was messing with my head, my cheating ex, my sister stabbing me in the back, my whole family turning away. Maybe I was losing it, eventually I crashed, but the dreams were full of grey-green eyes and rough hands.

Morning light hit the cabin and someone knocked softly. I opened the door and found little Ezra standing there with a big basket.

“Good morning, Doctor Ciara,” he said, holding it out.

I smiled big. “Morning, buddy. What’s this?”

“Breakfast. For you.”

Inside I found warm bread, fresh fruit, coffee that smelled amazing, and scrambled eggs. My heart melted. “Thank you, Ezra. This is really sweet.”

He shuffled his feet, those golden eyes watching me carefully. Kids usually warm up to me fast, but Ezra studied me like I was the weird one here.

“Do you like it at Moonridge?” I asked while sipping the coffee.

He nodded fast. “It’s safe.”

Safe. Not fun. Not pretty. Safe. That word hit me hard.

“How long have you lived here?”

“A long time.” His voice got small. “I don’t have parents.”

I felt a sharp pain in my chest. “I’m sorry.”

He shrugged like it was nothing. “Gerald says family isn’t always blood.”

Those words stuck with me as we walked toward the main medical building. The place looked different in daylight, huge mountains all around, tall walls, guards everywhere, cameras on every corner. This wasn’t a normal children’s home. It felt like a fortress.

Kids played outside on the grass. One little girl laughed loud and jumped. Not a normal jump. She flew six feet straight up, easy, and landed soft like a cat. My mouth fell open.

I stopped dead. “Ezra… did you see that?”

He glanced over. “Oh. Yeah.”

Just “oh.” Like it was normal. My pulse started pounding. No kid jumps like that.

Before I could ask more, Nyra appeared with a stack of files. “Good, you’re up. Rounds start in twenty minutes.”

I followed her inside, trying to shake off what I saw. But the kids here kept surprising me. One boy’s fever disappeared in minutes. Another had silver eyes that almost glowed when he got excited. One girl got upset and the lights above us flickered like crazy. I stared at the ceiling. They went back to normal. No one even blinked.

What the actual hell was going on?

Around noon I stepped into the nursery. One nurse looked wiped out. “This little guy cried all night.”

The newborn was red-faced and screaming his lungs out. I picked him up gently, rocking him against my chest. Almost right away he stopped. The whole room went quiet.

The nurse whispered, “Again…”

I looked around. “What do you mean, again?”

Nyra walked in right then. She saw the calm baby in my arms and her face changed. “Interesting.”

I was really starting to hate that word. “What’s so interesting?”

Nobody answered. The baby grabbed my finger with his tiny warm hand. He felt hotter than a normal baby, but he smiled up at me and settled right down.

Then the door opened and Gerald walked in, everything in the room got tense in a second, my breath caught hard. He wore all black again, tight shirt stretched across his wide chest, pants hugging strong thighs, heavy boots. Fresh cuts marked his knuckles like he’d been fighting something dangerous. He looked rough, wild, and so damn hot it made my thighs squeeze together.

His stormy eyes locked straight on me Or maybe on the baby. I couldn’t tell, heat rushed through my body, my nipples tightened under my top. God, this man made me feel things I had no business feeling at work, the baby in my arms suddenly smiled wide and reached for him.

Gerald looked shocked. The nurses looked shocked. Nyra raised her eyebrows.

“What?” I asked.

“He doesn’t like men,” Gerald said, voice deep and rough. It vibrated through me and settled low in my belly.

But the baby kept reaching. Gerald stepped close, real close that I could smell him again, pine, leather, and pure male. My mouth went dry. He took the baby with those big, scarred hands, holding the tiny boy with shocking gentleness. His fingers brushed mine as he took him. Electricity shot up my arm. I almost gasped.

The baby laughed. A real happy sound. For a second, something soft crossed Gerald’s hard face. Not quite a smile, but close. It made him look almost human. And it made me want to touch him so badly my fingers tingled.

The moment ended fast. He handed the baby back. Our hands touched again, longer this time. His skin was hot. I felt that heat race straight between my legs. I was getting wet just from a simple touch. Pathetic. But I couldn’t stop it.

Gerald looked at Nyra. “Outside. Now.” His voice went cold.

She sighed but followed, they left the door cracked, I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop, but their voices carried down the hall.

“She’s human,” Gerald said.

“I know.”

“This is dangerous.”

“She doesn’t know anything.”

Then quieter, “The children are reacting to her.”

My stomach flipped. Reacting? What did that mean?

Nyra spoke again. “Maybe that’s why she was sent here.”

“I don’t trust humans.”

The words cut deep. I hadn’t done anything to him. Why did he keep calling me human? What broke him? The pain in his voice made me want to walk in there and hold him. Or kiss him until he forgot whatever hurt him.

A few minutes later Gerald came back out. He stopped when he saw me standing there. Our eyes met. The air got thick. Heavy. I felt his stare like hands sliding down my body. My cheeks burned. I wanted him to push me against the wall right there.

“You should stay away from the eastern forest,” he said.

“Why?”

“It isn’t safe.”

“What’s there?” I crossed my arms, trying to look tough even though my heart was hammering.

His jaw tightened. Those eyes dropped to my mouth for a second. “Things you don’t understand.”

“Nobody explains anything around here!”

“Because you wouldn’t believe it.”

“Try me.”

We stood close now. Too close. I could see the flecks of green in his grey eyes. My body leaned toward him without thinking. Heat rolled off him. I imagined his rough hands grabbing my hips, pulling me in, his mouth crashing down on mine. Hard. Hungry.

“You’re kind to the children,” he said suddenly.

The compliment surprised me. “I like children.”

“They like you.” His voice got lower. “It’s more than that.”

“What does that mean?”

He looked away, fighting something inside. “I don’t know.”

For a moment we just stared at each other. The tension was so thick I could barely breathe. My pulse throbbed between my legs. I wanted him. Bad. Even though he scared me. Even though he clearly didn’t trust me.

Then a loud alarm screamed through the whole building. Metallic. Terrifying. Everyone froze—nurses, guards, even the kids. Pure fear showed on every face.

Gerald changed in an instant. The softness vanished. The cold, dangerous leader was back. His whole body went tight, muscles flexing under his shirt.

“What is that?” I asked, voice shaking.

A guard ran in. “Movement at the north perimeter.”

“How many?” Gerald’s voice was ice.

“Unknown.”

Nyra looked at him. “Could it be them?”

Gerald nodded once. Then his eyes found me. Real fear crossed his face this time—not for himself. For me. It made my chest tight.

“Take the human to the bunker,” he ordered.

My eyes went wide. “The what?”

Nobody answered. A guard grabbed my arm gently but firmly. Gerald watched me the whole time as they pulled me away. His stare burned with something dark and protective. Something possessive.

As I was rushed down the hall, I looked back. Gerald stood like a storm ready to break, fists clenched, eyes locked on me. My body still hummed from being near him. Fear and desire twisted together so hard I felt dizzy.

This place was full of secrets. The kids weren’t normal. Gerald wasn’t normal. And whatever was coming at the perimeter scared even him.

But the craziest part? Even with danger everywhere, all I could think about was his hands on me. His mouth. His voice growling my name in the dark. I was in deep trouble and part of me didn’t want to be saved.

~Gerald pov~

The alarm cut through Moonridge Haven like a blade, every light along the outer walls shifted from white to red, bathing the entire sanctuary in a glow that reminded me far too much of the laboratories, for one terrible second, I was nineteen again.

Cold steel, blood on the floor, scientists screaming, children crying from inside cages, I buried the memory immediately.

"Lock down the eastern sector," I ordered.

The guards moved without hesitation, Moonridge had survived because everyone knew their roles. Panic killed people. Fear created mistakes and mistakes got hybrids captured. Marcus appeared beside me, his breathing uneven from running.

"Thermal cameras picked up movement."

"How many?"

"Three vehicles."

Military, the answer settled heavily inside my chest, hunters rarely came in groups that small. Genesis teams did, I walked toward the security room while dozens of thoughts collided inside my head. Had they found us?

Impossible, the sanctuary had remained hidden for years, nobody knew these mountains except the rescue teams, unless— my jaw tightened, traitors existed everywhere. Inside the command center, several large monitors displayed the forest surrounding Moonridge. The cameras captured movement among the trees, black vehicles, armed men, professional formation, my blood turned cold.

Genesis.

After all these years, I would recognize them anywhere, the same black uniforms, the same tactical movements, the same people who walked through laboratories carrying needles and chains while pretending they were scientists, one of the younger guards swallowed.

"They found us."

"No."

I stared at the screens.

"They found something."

Moonridge itself held little value to them, the sanctuary housed survivors, children, wounded hybrids. Genesis wanted assets, weapons, experiments, something had brought them here, my thoughts immediately returned to her.

Ciara. The human doctor, the woman who walked into my sanctuary carrying sunlight in her smile and kindness in her hands, the woman who made the newborns stop crying, the woman the children trusted instantly, none of it made sense and that frightened me more than the soldiers outside.

Nyra entered the room.

"She's in the bunker."

I nodded once.

"Did she panic?"

"No."

Of course she hadn't, even after everything life had done to her, Ciara Monroe still chose courage, that alone made her dangerous, dangerous to me because for the first time in years, I had looked at a human and not immediately remembered pain and I hated that, because humans created Genesis, humans built the cages, humans tied children to tables, humans cut us open, the scars covering my body existed because human hands put them there, I still remembered the smell of the laboratory.

Bleach, blood and fear, at ten years old, they locked me inside a room without light for twenty-seven days because my shadow abilities became unstable, at twelve, they forced me to fight another hybrid until one of us stopped breathing, at sixteen, they called me Subject H-13 and discussed killing me while I listened through the walls, not once did they use my name, not once.

Then Ciara arrived, a human doctor, everything I should hate, yet the babies calmed inside her arms. Ezra trusted her, even the frightened children who hid from strangers followed her through the medical wing, the sanctuary felt different around her and I did not understand why. Marcus looked toward me.

"Orders?"

I pushed my thoughts aside.

"Move the children underground."

"What about the rescue teams?"

"Keep them inside the perimeter."

Nyra crossed her arms.

"You think this is a scouting mission."

"Yes."

Genesis never attacked immediately, they watched, observed and studied weaknesses, the men outside were not soldiers, they were hunters and they were looking for something, one of the monitors suddenly flickered and a face appeared, older with gray hair and cold eyes, every muscle in my body locked. Doctor William Kane, one of the men responsible for Facility Zero, one of the men who designed me.

The room became silent, nobody movef or breathed. Kane smiled, even through a screen, the sight of him made my skin crawl.

"Gerald."

His voice had not changed, I could still hear it inside my nightmares.

"Leave."

The smile widened.

"We know she's there."

My blood turned to ice and Nyra's eyes widened, Marcus cursed, the room suddenly felt too small.

"Who?" I asked.

But I already knew, Kane leaned forward.

"The human."

Every instinct inside me roared, Impossible, they had never met Ciara, she arrived only yesterday, nobody outside Moonridge should know she existed.

"She's very important to us."

My shadows stirred beneath my skin, the lights flickered, several guards stepped backward, Kane watched carefully.

"Interesting. You still lose control."

"I said leave."

His expression became colder.

"The woman belongs to Genesis."

Rage exploded inside my chest, no, absolutely not, Ciara knew nothing, she was innocent, she had spent her entire life helping children while monsters like him destroyed them, Kane continued speaking.

"We have searched for her bloodline for decades."

Bloodline? My breathing stopped, what did that mean?

"Hand her over and we leave."

The entire command center waited for my answer, I remembered another room, another doctor, another order, get on the table, hold him down, inject him again, no. Never again, not her, not the woman who smiled at frightened children, not the woman who looked at scars without fear, not the woman who made me remember I still possessed something resembling a soul, my shadows spilled across the floor, darkness crawled up the walls, several monitors shattered. Kane smiled.

"There he is."

The monster, the weapon, the experiment, everything they made me become, I leaned toward the camera.

"If any of you enter my sanctuary, I will bury every one of you in these mountains."

His expression never changed.

"You've become attached."

No, that was impossible, I had known Ciara for less than two days, humans lied, humans betrayed and they left. Yet somewhere deep inside me, something ancient and violent had awakened the moment I saw her holding that infant.

Mine.

The thought appeared suddenly and terrifyingly, mine to protect, mine to keep safe, just mine.

The camera feed died and silence returned, Marcus finally spoke.

"What do we do?"

I stared toward the underground bunker hidden beneath Moonridge, toward the woman sitting below the earth, completely unaware that powerful men had crossed mountains searching specifically for her.

A human doctor, a broken heart, a woman who should never have entered our world yet somehow she had become the center of it, I turned toward the doors.

"Prepare my team."

Nyra stepped forward.

"Gerald—"

"They came for her."

"They said they know her bloodline."

My jaw tightened, that frightened me more than soldiers, because if Genesis knew something about Ciara, something her own family never told her, then bringing her here may have placed her directly in the middle of a war she never knew existed and for the first time since escaping the laboratory, I was afraid, not for myself, not for Moonridge but for her, because Genesis only hunted things they wanted.

And they never stopped until they got them.