Chapter 99 | A Three-Step Plan for Household Stability

She had seen what happened to Heroes with unique utility Aspects. They got bought. Sold. Controlled. Their entire lives became about who had access to them and when and under what terms. Some of them never saw combat at all. They just became breeding stock for powerful families trying to lock down the genetic advantage.

Lukas wouldn’t be Lukas anymore. He’d be property.

Over her dead body.

She lay back down beside him, wrapping herself around him again. Tighter this time. More possession than affection.

"You’re not going anywhere," she whispered. "Do you hear me? You stay right here."

He didn’t answer. Too deep in sleep to register her words.

Good. She needed to think without him looking at her with those amber eyes that made her brain go soft.

Facts. She needed facts.

First: her Aspect felt stronger after sex with Lukas.

Second: she felt better in general. Happier. More energized. Like she’d gotten a full night’s sleep and a spa day combined.

Third: this wasn’t normal. She’d had plenty of good sex in her life. None of it had ever made her powers hum like this.

Conclusion: Lukas had some kind of enhancement effect that activated through physical intimacy.

Which meant Sloane had it too.

Diane’s stomach dropped.

Sloane had been sleeping with Lukas for less than a day. If the enhancement scaled with repeated exposure, Sloane was sitting on a power boost she didn’t even know she had.

A power boost that would show up on diagnostics if anyone bothered to run a comparison scan.

Diane’s mind started racing through scenarios. Halloran ran full Aspect profiles on every student at enrollment. They did quarterly assessments after that. If Sloane’s output jumped between her entrance exam and her first diagnostic, someone would notice.

And they’d start asking questions.

Questions that would lead back to Lukas.

Questions that would end with Lukas in a lab or an agency contract or worse.

She needed to manage this. Carefully. Before anyone else figured it out.

First step: confirm the theory. She needed data. Her own Aspect readings before and after. Sloane’s performance metrics over the next few weeks. Something concrete that proved what she suspected rather than just feelings and intuition.

Second step: make sure Lukas understood what he was. Not in a way that scared him. Not in a way that made him think she was using him. Just enough that he’d be careful. That he’d keep his head down. That he wouldn’t go around sleeping with every girl who batted her eyes at him.

Third step: lock him down completely. No more secrecy about what they were doing. No more pretending this was casual. If she was right about his enhancement ability, every ambitious female Hero with half a brain would be gunning for access.

Diane had to be first. Had to be permanent. Had to be unshakable.

She pressed another kiss to his temple.

"You’re mine," she whispered again. "Say it."

Nothing. Still asleep.

"Say it," she repeated, louder this time. Enough to pull him partially out of sleep.

"Mmm?" His voice was thick. Confused.

"Tell me you’re mine."

He blinked slowly. Processing. His amber eyes found her face. "I’m yours."

"Good boy." She kissed him properly this time. Deep and possessive. "Go back to sleep."

He did. Within seconds.

Diane didn’t.

Her brain was still spinning through logistics. Through risk assessment. Through every possible way this situation could go wrong if she didn’t control it perfectly.

Tomorrow she’d go to work. Handle the Victor Sterling crisis that was eating up her schedule. Pretend everything was normal.

While she was gone, Lukas needed to work on Sloane.

Sloane was hurt right now. Angry. Feeling betrayed by both of them. But Sloane was also competitive. Territorial. She hated losing more than she hated sharing.

If Lukas framed it right, he could flip her.

Not tonight. Tonight was too raw. Too fresh. Sloane needed time to sit with the anger before she’d be ready to hear any kind of proposal.

But tomorrow? Tomorrow could work.

Diane shifted, pulling Lukas closer. Her hand slid down his chest to his stomach. Lower. She wrapped her fingers around his soft cock, not trying to wake him up. Just holding him. Claiming him even in his sleep.

"You’re going to spend all day tomorrow making Sloane happy," she whispered. "You’re going to apologize properly. You’re going to be sweet and patient and everything she needs you to be."

She gave him a gentle squeeze.

"And when she’s ready to listen, you’re going to explain why this arrangement works. Why it’s better than making her choose. Why she gets to keep both of us instead of losing one."

Her thumb stroked along the underside of his shaft. Still soft. Still warm.

"You’re very good at talking when you want to be," she continued. "Use that. Make her see what I already see."

Another kiss to his shoulder.

"And if you do a good job, I’ll reward you. Would you like that?"

No response. Too far under to register her words.

Perfect. She wasn’t actually asking anyway.

Diane finally let herself relax. Her grip on him loosened. Her breathing synced with his. The adrenaline from sex started to fade, replaced by the comfortable warmth of a bed she’d been away from for three days.

Her last conscious thought was sharp and clear.

If anyone tried to take Lukas from her, she’d destroy them.

Not professionally. Not through her agency connections. Not through legal channels or careful manipulation.

She’d just destroy them.

Whatever it took.

Diane woke before dawn.

The house was still dark. Still quiet. Lukas was pressed against her back, one arm thrown over her waist. His breathing was deep and even.

She extracted herself carefully. Got dressed in yesterday’s business clothes. Checked her phone.

Forty-seven messages. Most from her assistant. Three from the agency head in Chicago. One from a client who apparently thought texting at 3am was acceptable.

She ignored all of them and opened her messaging app.

Found Lukas’s name.

Started typing.

Diane:

Morning, sugar. I’m heading to the office early. Crisis management. You know how it is.

She paused. Added another message.

Diane:

Sloane is hurt. You need to fix that today. No excuses. Make her breakfast. Talk to her. Apologize properly.

Another pause.

Diane:

And Lukas? Be careful. You’re more valuable than you realize. Don’t let anyone figure that out except me.

She hesitated over the send button. Reread the messages.

Too cryptic. He’d ask questions.

She deleted the last message. Rewrote it.

Diane:

I’ll be home late. We’ll talk about Sloane then. I love you.

Better.

She hit send.

Put the phone away. Grabbed her purse. Took one last look at Lukas still asleep in her bed.

Mine

, she thought.

Then she left.