Dax's eyes flicked to Chris, briefly amused, then soft again, because it was Chris asking, and Chris was allowed to ask him things no one else survived asking.
"If they are alphas," Dax said, calm, "they need a mate. It doesn't matter what label you give them. A dominant alpha's biology is still a dominant alpha's biology."
Chris's mouth tightened. "So the word 'enigma' doesn't change the rules."
"It changes what other people think the rules are," Dax corrected, and there was quiet contempt in it. "It doesn't change the body."
He kissed the top of Nero's head with startling gentleness, like the action was instinctive, like he couldn't help marking his son with affection instead of teeth.
"I'm not fully," Dax added, voice dropping a notch, "but I have traces. Enough to influence other dominants, but not enough to shift someone into the perfect mate."
"What?!" Chris jolted.
