Page 104 of Rejected By My Shifter Billionaire
“Technically, we’re still in trial mode,” I offered. “And our soft launch was supposed to be invite-only, but there was a clerical error.”
“Ah yes. Miss Bones and her... colorful history.” His attention shifted to Ada, who somehow managed to sink even lower in her chair. “Wasn’t she responsible for the Moonlight Masquerade Incident last spring?”
My cheeks burned. “That was a misunderstanding involving invitation protocols—”
“The one where she accidentally invited a pack of feral werewolves to a formal vampire gathering?” His tone was conversational, but there was steel underneath. “I believe the cleanup required three separate Council interventions.”
“In her defense, the guest list formatting was very confusing—”
“And then there was the Valentine’s Day Catastrophe,” he continued relentlessly. “Something about serving a room full of vampire delegates...what was it again, Miss Bones?”
Ada made a sound like a dying mouse.
“Silvered champagne flutes and garlic-infused canapés,” I said quickly. “But that was a catering mix-up that could have happened to anyone—”
“Could it?” Prince Alexei’s smile was sharp enough to cut glass. “And what about the Spring Equinox Disaster? The one that resulted in three different events being scheduled in the same venue simultaneously?”
“Ada makes mistakes,” I said lamely. “She’s still learning. But she’s dedicated and loyal, and I’m not going to fire her just because she has an unconventional approach to event coordination.”
“Unconventional.” He repeated the word like he was tasting something bitter. “Miss Gray, your assistant has single-handedly caused more supernatural incidents in six months than most people manage in a lifetime.”
“And yet here we all are, alive and unharmed.” I smiled brightly at him as I said this...because it was really all there was to say. Ada’s mistakes were indefensible, but not impossible to overturn. All was not lost, and that was what mattered.Right?
Prince Alexei gazed at me thoughtfully. “Indeed.”
Oh, phew.
I started to stand, saying, “If that’s all, Your Highness—”
“It’s not.”
I sat back down.
“The technology you created can be as useful as the discoveries and advancements made by Etienne Hirsche.”
“Possibly.” The Caro prince was a living legend, with all the technologies he had introduced to protect both humans and preters from vampires. All I’m working on is making sure that the right preters find each other. Etienne Hirsche, however, was about keeping all of us safe.
“But the data you require from preters is...concerning.”
“I understand, Your Highness. But my agency operates under strict ethical guidelines. Every match is alpha-approved and bond-cleared. All data stays internal. No permanent pairings without council oversight.”
“And yet you took it upon yourself to broker new bonding protocols without consulting L’Alliance.”
The temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees. I forced myself to maintain eye contact, even though every instinct I had was screaming at me to look away from those pale, calculating eyes.
“We’re still in testing phase. Every trial participant is a volunteer who’s been fully informed of the experimental nature of the process.”
“Experimental,” he mused. “Yes, I suppose that’s one word for compatibility ratings that shouldn’t be theoretically possible.”
My heart skipped. “Your Highness?”
“Your system achieved a pairing score of 98.7% even without the use ofsangferia,” he said, and his pale eyes never left my face.“That’s not just unprecedented, Miss Gray. According to every expert we’ve consulted, it should be impossible.”
The silence stretched between us like a live wire. I could feel Ada’s panicked energy radiating from beside me, but I couldn’t look away from Prince Alexei’s penetrating stare.
“The system is still being calibrated,” I said finally. “Some readings may be anomalous.”
“Anomalous.” He stood slowly, moving to the window to look out at the impossible view. “Tell me, Miss Gray, what do you know about the history of human-shifter bonding?”
