Leo

That Enigma could have been me. The thought would not leave my head no matter how hard I tried to suppress it.

Even after Jace was finally rushed into surgery and the surgeons confirmed that he would survive, I still could not get the words out of my head.

By the time Miller and I finally left the hospital, it was already past one in the morning. The entire emergency wing had grown quieter compared to the chaos from earlier, but unfortunately, the outside of the hospital was somehow even worse.

The second the glass doors slid open, flashing cameras exploded directly into our faces.

Reporters rushed toward us, stretching forth their microphones while Miller and I tried to hide our faces.

"Miller Reid, over here!" one of the reporters shouted. "Your home was attacked and an injured omega was brought out of there. What do you have to say about that?"

Neither of us gave any reply and luckily for us, there were security guards around who had already gathered around us, protecting us from them.

"Is the omega connected to Northern Avalanche?"

"Why was he inside Miller Reid’s penthouse?"

"Was the omega hiding from the government?"

"Who exactly is he to you?"

"Did the police confirm the identity of the Enigma involved? Are you related to him?"

The questions would not stop even when the security guards formed a barrier around us.

"Are there more hidden Enigmas living among the public?"

"Did Kayden Vale’s revelation encourage other hidden designations to come forward?"

"Miller, are you involved with this omega romantically?"

"Is Northern Avalanche involved in this case?"

That question made Miller stop walking at once. He looked straight into one of the cameras and shook his head. "No, this does not involve Northern Avalanche and I would appreciate it if you stopped asking any more questions right now," he pleaded, but that did not stop them even as we continued walking.

The questions kept slamming into us violently from every direction while strobe lights fractured the darkness nonstop across the hospital entrance like lightning strikes.

For one brief moment, I genuinely understood how animals felt when trapped beneath floodlights before slaughter.

Miller immediately shifted closer to me while the security guards pushed aggressively through the wall of reporters surrounding us.

One woman practically shoved her microphone directly into my face.

"Doctor Ackerman, is it true the omega almost died from blood loss inside Miller Reid’s apartment?"

Another voice immediately cut through the noise.

"Are Enigmas truly dangerous biologically?"

I stopped walking. That question alone made something ugly twist inside my chest.

Dangerous biologically.

That was exactly how the government described people like us behind closed doors. To them, we were not humans. We were hazards to be contained, something that should not have existed in the first place.

Miller must have noticed the sudden shift in my posture because his hand came down on my wrist, gripping it gently.

"Leo," he muttered quietly.

I forced my feet to move again, but the words kept resounding inside my head.

Security eventually managed to force a path through the suffocating crowd, finally guiding us into the underground parking area beneath the hospital.

The moment the heavy doors shut behind us, the sudden silence felt almost violent after the deafening screaming outside.

Miller released a long, ragged breath beside me.

"Those people are insane," he muttered, rubbing a hand over his face.

I said nothing.

Honestly, I could barely hear him over the roar of my own thoughts because all I could picture was the Enigma from earlier.

The way the police officers had dragged him across the pavement sent chills down my spine knowing that this was going to be the last time he would ever be seen in public.

Miller unlocked the car remotely, the lights flashing in the dim garage before he turned toward me again.

"Leo."

This time, I looked at him.

His expression softened immediately. "Are you alright?"

No. I was not alright because one day that Enigma could be me. I would be taken away and completely erased like I had never existed.

The authorities feared Enigmas too much to ever allow them freedom once they were exposed to the public. And tonight, an Enigma had just brutally attacked an omega in the middle of a luxury district, surrounded by reporters, police officers, and cameras.

There was no coming back from that.

"He is gone," I muttered quietly, my eyes fixed on the oil-stained concrete floor of the parking garage.

Miller frowned slightly. "Who?"

"The Enigma." The words tasted bitter inside my mouth.

Miller’s expression shifted immediately as the realization hit him. "They arrested him," he said carefully. "Maybe—"

"They will erase him," I interrupted flatly.

An oppressive silence followed.

Miller stared at me for several long seconds before speaking again, his voice tight. "You do not know that."

"Yes," I replied quietly. "I do because I have witnessed it."

Because I had spent my entire life hearing the whispers about cases like this from other Enigmas.

People who lost control.

People who got discovered.

People who vanished into thin air afterward.

The government tolerated hidden Enigmas only as long as they remained invisible. The moment they became public problems, they stopped being people.

They became threats.

Miller slowly leaned back against the side of the car. Neither of us spoke for a long time after that. The parking garage felt freezing.

Then finally, he broke the silence.

"Come home with me."

I immediately shook my head. "I cannot."

His brows furrowed. "Why?"

Because I suddenly could not stop imagining myself in the back of that police car instead. Could not stop imagining Miller looking at me with that same sheer terror one day.

Could not stop imagining losing control badly enough to tear apart someone I cared about because tonight proved something terrifying.

Love made Enigmas unstable.

Andrew was right. The stronger the attachment became, the more volatile and dangerous the instincts became alongside it.

"I am going back to Glacier Dome," I said quietly. "I will stay in the clinic apartment tonight."

Miller’s eyes snapped to mine. "You are seriously leaving?"

"I need space."

"You are shutting down, Leo. You barely spoke the entire drive here."

"I know."

"Leo—"

"I said I need space, Miller!" I yelled at him before heaving a deep sigh when I realized what I had done. "Look, I am sorry for Screaming at you, but after tonight, I do not know anymore. I do not know what I might do to you if I lose control or what I might do to others around you."

Miller sighed and rubbed his face before looking at me again. I saw the hurt on his face for a second before it changed into a defensive layer of frustration.

"Fine," he muttered, crossing his arms tightly over his chest. "Go isolate yourself in your creepy little clinic apartment then."

Normally, I would have argued back, but I could not because I was terrified of what would happen once I was exposed.

"I just want you to know that no matter what happens, there is no way in hell I am letting go of your hand. I might be scared of what could happen later, I might even think about it, but there is no way I am ever going to let anyone take you away from me. I love you, Leo, and I will do everything I can to protect you."

I said nothing because deep down, I was not sure anymore.