Freya’s POV
Johnny’s expression lit up the instant he spotted Professor Nolan.
"Professor Nolan!" he greeted, warmth threading through his voice. "I was just about to look for you. Hard to believe a man of your stature can disappear in plain sight."
The professor’s brows rose, amusent glinting in his eyes. "Really, Johnny? Flattery already?"
Johnny laughed easily. "More true than moon pearls."
Professor Nolan chuckled. "That saying’s ancient. I haven’t heard it since my first symposium."
"I keep it alive for special occasions," Johnny said smoothly, then turned slightly toward . "Speaking of special—there’s soone you need to et."
The professor’s gaze followed his gesture, settling on —sharp, intelligent, but not unfriendly.
"Freya Stone," Johnny introduced. "We went to university together. She was technically my junior, but in practice, she was the one tutoring half the ti."
I laughed softly, deciding to et the tone instead of hiding behind formality.
"Only because you were too busy charming the professors to finish your projects," I teased, extending a hand. "It’s a pleasure to finally et you, Professor Nolan. I’ve admired your neural-mapping papers for years. Your early work on dual-conscious feedback was one of my references in CUAP’s design."
Professor Nolan blinked, his interest clearly piqued. "You worked on CUAP?"
"She built CUAP," Johnny said, smirking. "From scratch."
I gave him a mock glare. "From a lot of sleepless nights and bad coffee, yes."
That earned a genuine laugh from the professor. "That protocol holds half of our internal communication frawork. You’re that Miss Jane Doe?"
I nodded modestly. "Guilty as charged."
"You just solved one of our biggest mysteries," Nolan said. "I’ve been citing your paper without realizing the author was sitting right here."
Johnny lifted his glass, his grin lazy but proud. "See? Told you she was the real deal."
That opened the floodgates.
Professor Nolan launched into questions—detailed ones, but friendly. "How did you manage the logic compression on that scale? And I’ve been dying to know how your sh system handles hybrid packs without losing data accuracy."
"It’s a combination of adaptive frequency mapping and predictive caching," I replied easily. "Though the real trick was convincing the test subjects not to rip out the neural sensors."
He laughed, delighted. "I know that feeling! My last Alpha subject threatened to bite ."
"Mine actually did," I said lightly. "That’s when I started adding hazard clauses in all my consent forms."
Selene stirred within , a ripple of pride running through my veins. This—this was what I’d missed. No Luna duties. No reputation gas. Just knowledge, alive and exhilarating.
Johnny lingered nearby, silent but steady, his presence like an anchor in a storm of academic energy. When I caught his eye, he smiled—a wordless you’ve got this.
Then his posture changed. A subtle straightening.
I followed his gaze.
Aurora.
She moved through the crowd like she owned the floor—gown a cascade of ice-blue silk, every glance calculated.
"Mr Johnny," she greeted smoothly, tone honeyed and cool.
Her gaze flicked to , and the warmth vanished.
One look. That was all it took to deliver the ssage: You don’t belong here.
Aurora raised her glass—not to , but to Johnny.
A quiet social gesture, elegant and lethal. The kind that could erase soone’s presence without a single word.
Johnny’s voice cut the tension before I could. "This is Miss Howlthorne," he said, turning fully toward . "Freya, my old university friend—and soon-to-be partner at my company."
"So," Aurora said at last, her voice still smooth but her eyes hard, "I suppose that ans I won’t be needed at the SF AI Solutions eting tomorrow?"
Johnny’s answer was effortless. "Bingo."
Aurora’s smile cooled another few degrees. "You seem awfully invested, Johnny. Didn’t think tech conferences were your idea of entertainnt."
Johnny tilted his head, unbothered. "Oh, they’re not. But watching intelligent people dismantle outdated systems? That’s always a good show."
Her eyes flicked to . "How convenient that your ’intelligent people’ happen to include your old university friend."
I t her stare head-on, my voice calm but sharp. "Maybe it’s just hard to ignore competence when you see it. I hear that can be... unsettling."
Aurora’s fingers tightened around her glass. "Confidence suits you, Miss Howlthorne. I hope it lasts once the board starts asking harder questions."
"Oh, I’m counting on it," I said with a small smile. "I tend to do my best work under pressure. It’s a trait so of us had to earn."
Johnny’s chuckle broke the standoff. "Well, now that introductions are complete, perhaps we can all agree the future of AI is in good hands—and good manners."
Aurora’s answering smile didn’t reach her eyes. "Good manners are easy. The real challenge is knowing when to use them."
"Spoken like soone who rarely does," I replied lightly.
For a mont, silence. Then Aurora’s gaze turned to Johnny again, too polished to reveal the sting. "Then I’ll adjust my schedule," she said coolly, and walked away.
Her perfu lingered, sharp as winter air.
I let out a slow breath. “Thanks,” I murmured.
Johnny’s lips curved slightly. “You didn’t need . But it’s nice to have backup when soone tries to turn a gala into a battlefield.”
Before I could respond, movent caught my eye—three wolves near the tall windows.
Levi. Adrian. Silvano.
Levi and Adrian exchanged a confused glance. They hadn’t expected here, much less sparring with Aurora under Nolan’s watch.
But Silvano—
His eyes locked on mine, steady and unreadable.
No anger. No amusent. Just the calm of soone who’d seen the storm coming long before it hit.
Selene went quiet inside .
For a mont, everything else—the laughter, the chatter, the music—faded to static.
I felt his gaze like a pulse under my skin. The sa energy that used to anchor now pressed like weight.
Then he looked away.
And all the air I’d held inside rushed out in one shaky exhale.
"What’s wrong?" Johnny followed my gaze.
Selene let out a low growl.* We don’t need his approval anymore,* she said. *We never did.*
I turned back to Professor Nolan. "Now, about the multi-phase adaptation you ntioned—did you try isolating each data stream with a hard buffer sync before rging the alpha inputs?"
He blinked, then gave a short laugh. "I haven’t. But now I will."
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