The next afternoon, the sun beat down on the Wolven High campus.
Ren walked into the infirmary, throwing her backpack onto the sofa. The air conditioning was on full blast, a welcome relief from the heat outside.
Dr. Luke was busy with a student who had sprained an ankle during combat training. He waved at Ren. "Hey! Dinner is up to you tonight. I'm swamped."
Ren nodded and walked toward the small kitchenette in the back. But as she passed the main desk, she noticed Juan.
Alpha Juan was sitting in his usual spot, but he wasn't sleeping. He was staring at a laptop screen, his brow furrowed slightly. He wore a loose white shirt today, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, revealing forearms that were deceptively lean but packed with power.
He looked up as Ren approached.
"You're late," Juan said, his voice lazy.
"I had class," Ren replied, grabbing a glass of water.
Juan watched her drink. His eyes lingered on her throat as she swallowed. Then, he stood up and walked over to the medicine cabinet behind Luke's desk.
"You finished the bottle from yesterday?" Juan asked casually.
Ren paused, the glass halfway to her mouth. She remembered the scene in the hospital corridor. He knew about the pills. He knew about Vera. But he hadn't said a word about it until now.
"Almost," Ren said, her guard going up.
Juan unlocked the cabinet. "I got a new shipment. Higher dosage. Cleaner synthesis."
He reached for a bottle on the top shelf. To do so, he had to lean over Ren.
He didn't ask her to move. He just stepped into her personal space.
Suddenly, Ren was trapped between the desk and Juan's chest.
The scent of winter cedar and snow enveloped her. It was overwhelming. She could feel the heat radiating from his body, could hear the steady, slow rhythm of his heart.
He was too close.
Ren instinctively tried to step back, but her lower back hit the edge of the desk.
Juan paused. His hand was hovering near the top shelf, but his face was inches from hers. He looked down, his dark eyes locking onto hers with an intensity that made her breath hitch.
"You're tense," Juan murmured. His voice was a low vibration that she felt in her bones. "Are you afraid of me, Ren?"
Ren looked up, meeting his gaze. She saw her own reflection in his abyssal pupils. "I'm not afraid of anything."
"Good," Juan whispered.
He reached up, grabbed the bottle, and then—instead of backing away—he leaned closer. His lips brushed past her ear, his breath hot against her skin.
"Your mother won't bother you again," he said softly.
Ren froze.
Juan pulled back, a faint, lazy smile playing on his lips. He dropped the bottle into her hand. His fingers brushed against her palm, lingering for a fraction of a second too long.
"Cook something spicy tonight," Juan said, walking back to his sofa as if nothing had happened. "I'm bored."
Ren stood there, clutching the medicine bottle. Her heart was beating faster than she liked. She looked at his back, narrowing her eyes. This man... he was dangerous in more ways than one.
***
Twenty minutes later, chaos erupted in the infirmary.
"MASTER!" Luke screamed, nearly knocking over his medical tray.
Ren poked her head out of the kitchenette, holding a spatula. "What now?"
Luke was staring at his laptop screen in horror. The screen was flashing red, filled with cascading lines of aggressive code.
"We're under attack!" Luke shouted, his fingers flying across the keyboard uselessly. "Someone is brute-forcing the encrypted drive! It's a Type-9 Cyber Assault. They're trying to wipe the data!"
Juan sat up on the sofa, his expression darkening. "Is it the Council?"
"I don't know!" Luke was sweating. "The firewall is crumbling. They'll be through in sixty seconds. I need to get the physical key from the Principal's office to lock it down manually!"
"Go," Juan ordered.
Luke scrambled up, grabbing his keys and sprinting out of the door like a madman.
The infirmary was suddenly quiet, save for the hum of the cooling fans on the laptop, which were spinning like jet engines.
Juan looked at the screen. He wasn't a hacker. He was a warlord. He could crush a skull with one hand, but digital warfare wasn't his specialty.
He sighed, reaching for his phone to call his technical team. But he knew they wouldn't make it in time.
"Move," a cool voice said.
Juan looked up.
Ren was standing there. She had put down the spatula. She pulled a chair over, sat down in front of the flashing red laptop, and cracked her knuckles.
"Ren?" Juan raised an eyebrow. "This isn't a video game. This is military-grade encryption."
"I know," Ren said calmly. "It's a polymc-worm. Nasty stuff."
She didn't explain how she knew. She just put her hands on the keyboard.
And then, she began to type.
Juan watched in silence.
Her fingers were a blur. The sound of her typing was a rhythmic staccato, faster than anything he had ever seen. She didn't use the mouse. She navigated the command lines with terrifying speed and precision.
On the screen, the red warning lights began to recede.
*Line 400: Isolating virus.*
*Line 800: Rerouting traffic.*
*Line 1200: Counter-strike protocol initiated.*
Ren's eyes were focused, reflecting the blue light of the screen. Her face was devoid of emotion, cold and calculating.
"Got you," she whispered.
She hit the 'Enter' key with a sharp *clack*.
The screen flashed white, then settled into a calm, steady blue. A message popped up: **[ THREAT NEUTRALIZED ]**.
Ren sat back, exhaling a breath she had been holding. She picked up a nearby lollipop, unwrapped it, and popped it into her mouth.
"Done," she said, spinning the chair around to face Juan. "Your data is safe."
Juan stared at the screen, then at her.
He had suspected she was **'Q'**, the legendary hacker. But seeing it... seeing the way she dismantled a military-grade attack in under thirty seconds... was different.
It was undeniably attractive.
"You," Juan said slowly, standing up and walking toward her. "Who exactly are you, Ren?"
Ren shrugged, chewing on her candy. "Just a high school student who likes computers. And your cook. Dinner is ready, by the way."
She stood up to go back to the kitchen, but Juan blocked her path.
He looked down at her, his eyes gleaming with a mixture of amusement and possession. He didn't push for an answer. He liked the mystery.
"Remind me," Juan murmured, "to give you a raise."
Just then, the door burst open. Luke ran in, panting, holding a physical hard drive key.
"I got it! I got it!" Luke yelled. "Master, is the data gone?!"
He looked at the peaceful blue screen. He looked at Ren, who was walking back to the kitchen, and Juan, who was standing there with a smirk.
"Uh..." Luke blinked. "What happened? Did the hackers give up?"
Juan sat back down on the sofa, crossing his legs. He looked at the kitchen door.
"No," Juan said softly. "We just had... technical support."
**[Chapter 12 End]**