The hidden facility was enormous.
Far larger than Sienna had initially imagined.
White hallways stretched endlessly beneath the earth, lined with every equipment or facility she could ever ask for.
Everything gleamed with sterile perfection.
The deeper she walked into the underground complex, the more disbelief settled into her chest.
Just how much money had been poured into this place?
And more importantly.
How had they built all of this secretly inside Dilrik without government detection?
It was insane.
"You must've been very certain I'd agree to treat you," Sienna muttered as she stepped out of one of the examination rooms, trailing her fingers lightly across a polished steel counter.
Her voice carried reluctant admiration.
Behind her, Isaac walked calmly through the facility as though none of this was extraordinary.
"No," he answered simply.
His voice remained smooth and emotionless as always.
"This entire operation was a gamble. You just happened to walk directly into it."
Sienna sighed internally.
Of course.
Everything had spiraled because of one reckless night and one terrible decision.
Now she was standing inside a secret underground hospital owned by a hidden foreign prince suffering from a near-fictional disease.
How wonderful.
"Craig will register your handprint," Isaac continued. "You'll be able to access the facility independently afterward."
Then his eyes shifted toward Craig.
"Give her the primary entrance code too."
Craig nodded.
Without another word, Isaac turned and walked back upstairs toward the daycare.
Sienna watched him leave briefly.
Then finally looked toward Craig.
The man moved quickly immediately after Isaac disappeared.
His usually composed demeanor looked strained now, his eyes constantly darting toward the staircase Isaac had used moments earlier.
Worry radiated off him openly, or… fear.
Sienna noticed it instantly.
He was terrified Isaac might lose control outside.
"Relax," she said casually while placing her palm against the biometric scanner. "Your master survived a boring tea shop. I doubt a peaceful and joyful daycare is what would make him lose control."
Craig gave a tight, humorless smile.
"You haven't seen him fully lose control yet, Doctor Rivers."
The way he said it made her glance at him briefly.
Fifteen minutes later, her access registration was complete.
Craig carefully wrote the security code onto a folded slip of paper before handing it to her.
Then together, they returned upstairs.
The atmosphere inside the daycare was peaceful.
Children laughed loudly while running across colorful mats.
Some daycare workers chatted nearby while helping toddlers build towers from brightly colored blocks.
And standing slightly apart from everyone
Was Isaac silent and watching?
Sunlight spilled across the side of his face from nearby windows, softening the sharpness of his features slightly.
Children occasionally ran near him before quickly retreating again, both fascinated and intimidated by the impossibly beautiful stranger standing alone in the corner.
Isaac watched them quietly.
There was no expression on his face.
Yet one could sense something painfully lonely in the way he looked at them.
A childhood he never had; he never had that freedom, laughter, or scraped knees from running too fast. Only locked rooms, chains and hatred and fear directed at him.
Meanwhile, some of the daycare staff were openly losing their minds over him.
Several women stood nearby pretending to organize books while blatantly staring at him with flushed faces.
One nearly walked into a shelf because she couldn't stop looking at him.
Sienna almost sighed aloud, hopeless, absolutely hopeless.
Unfortunately for them, this man didn't give a fuck about them.
From her interactions with Isaac so far, Sienna had come to a disturbing conclusion:
He was emotionally disconnected from almost everything around him, not exactly cruel.
Just… detached.
Like someone who had lived too long separated from normal humanity.
"We're done, Master."
Craig's voice finally broke the silence.
Isaac nodded once.
Then suddenly he stopped moving.
Sienna frowned faintly.
So did Craig.
But unlike her confusion.
Pure terror exploded across Craig's face.
"Master…"
His hand shot toward his bag instantly.
Too late.
The shift happened immediately.
Violently, the air itself seemed to change.
Isaac's body stiffened.
Veins rose sharply beneath pale skin; his breathing deepened into something rougher.
He slowly lifted his head, and his eyes glowed bright red.
The daycare atmosphere shattered instantly. An overwhelming pressure flooded the room so suddenly several children burst into frightened tears.
One worker screamed; another stumbled backward into a table.
Isaac no longer looked human.
He looked beastly, like something wearing human skin.
Craig reacted instantly.
He ripped the tranquilizer injector from his bag and lunged forward, but Isaac moved faster.
Far faster than any human should.
His arm swung out casually, and Craig flew across the room.
CRASH.
His body slammed violently into a bookshelf before collapsing onto the ground.
Children screamed louder, and chaos erupted everywhere.
Staff rushed desperately to shield the kids while backing away in horror.
But Isaac ignored everyone.
His blood-red gaze locked directly onto Sienna.
And instead of fear, excitement lit up her eyes.
Pure scientific excitement. Her heartbeat quickened from fascination. A living neurological phenomenon was unfolding directly before her eyes.
Every medical instinct inside her ignited violently.
Her hand moved immediately into her coat pocket, and she retrieved a syringe she had taken from the medical facility; it was filled with sedative.
"DR. RIVERS, RUN!"
Craig's voice tore through the chaos.
Blood streamed down the side of his face as he struggled desperately to stand again.
"You can't stop him!"
Sienna ignored him completely.
Isaac suddenly lunged.
The movement blurred.
One second he stood several feet away; the next he was already upon her.
So fast.
Sienna's eyes sharpened; without a tiny bit of hesitation, she drove the syringe upward toward his neck with precise medical accuracy.
One clean injection. That was all she needed, but instead...
His hand caught her wrist midair.
Her breath hitched violently.
His grip felt inhuman.
Iron-like.
Every survival instinct inside her screamed instantly.
She miscalculated.
He still possessed danger recognition even in this state.
The realization came too late.
Her pulse thundered.
In the next second, he would break her arm, throw her across the room, or even rip her apart.
All those didn't happen instead.
Isaac pulled her into his arm.
Sienna froze completely.
One powerful arm wrapped tightly around her waist while the other locked around her shoulders possessively.
Then he buried his face into her hair.
The entire daycare fell silent.
He inhaled deeply and desperately.
Like a starving man finally breathing after drowning.
Sienna could physically feel the tension in his body beginning to dissolve.
The violent trembling beneath his muscles eased gradually.
His breathing slowed.
The crushing pressure flooding the room weakened.
Then finally…
"I was right."
His voice returned, clear and human.
Isaac slowly lifted his head.
The red in his eyes faded completely.
The monster disappeared as suddenly as it arrived.
And just like that.
He was himself again.
Craig froze in total disbelief.
Even the daycare workers stared speechlessly.
Sienna looked up at Isaac, stunned.
"…Don't tell me…"
"Your scent," Isaac answered calmly.
He released her carefully.
"It calms me."
Silence swallowed the room.
"This time," he continued, "my memory remained clear during the episode."
His gaze shifted away from her afterward.
Almost thoughtful.
"I suspected it after the hotel incident," he admitted quietly. "Your scent consistently relaxed and reduced my agitation."
He paused briefly.
"So I came today to test the theory."
He said it so casually.
As though he hadn't just revealed something medically impossible.
Sienna's brain spun violently.
This contradicted every documented theory surrounding IAD.
No external sensory stabilizer should've worked.
Especially not scent-based neurological suppression.
Unless his episodes were more chemically responsive than previously believed.
Unless certain olfactory triggers could interrupt the adrenal override process…
"Dr. Rivers."
Isaac's voice cut cleanly through her spiraling thoughts.
"Craig needs treatment."
Reality snapped back instantly.
Sienna hurried toward Craig.
Her clinical instincts immediately took over.
He suffered a head injury, a minor concussion, and a fractured leg.
Painful but manageable.
"First-aid kit," she ordered sharply toward one of the frozen daycare workers.
The woman jumped in shock before scrambling away immediately.
Within seconds, Sienna was already stitching Craig's forehead with swift, practiced precision.
Her hands moved flawlessly.
Even while injured, Craig found himself staring in admiration.
It's no wonder she was regarded as the miracle Doctor Rivers.
Pop!
Craig hissed sharply as Sienna reset his leg in one brutal movement.
"There," she muttered calmly.
Then she scribbled medication instructions onto a small notepad and handed it over.
"Rest properly."
Craig accepted it gratefully.
"Thank you, Doctor Rivers."
"It's nothing."
She stood up while dusting her hands lightly.
"We should leave before this place completely descends into trauma."
Throughout the entire treatment, Isaac had remained unusually quiet nearby, watching her closely.
Then finally he asked.
"Why didn't you run?"
Sienna looked at him.
"When Craig warned you," Isaac clarified. "Why stay?"
She blinked once.
Then frowned slightly.
"Well," she answered dryly, "I was operating under incorrect information."
Isaac raised a brow.
"I thought you completely lost all awareness during your episodes," she continued. "So naturally, I assumed I could sedate you before you noticed."
A pause.
"Clearly, that was optimistic."
"That was stupid," Isaac said bluntly.
Sienna's eye twitched instantly.
"If I had killed you," he continued calmly, "who exactly would treat me afterward?"
Her jaw tightened.
"Fortunately you didn't kill me," she snapped.
She turned sharply and stormed toward the exit.
Behind her, Isaac watched quietly.
Then slowly shook his head once like an exhausted parent dealing with a difficult child.
Craig stared at his master in disbelief.
Since when did this man tease people?
Something was seriously wrong here.
Together, the two men followed Sienna outside into the fading gold of the afternoon sun.