Braden had not been able to sleep that night. Thinking about Alison facing the king made him feel like he was just punched in the stomach. He was well aware of the interest that Medeas had in Alison's work, and he knew for a fact that the king had not just recently taken interest in the biomagical field. In fact, it had been about two and a half years since the king first heard about it. Whether Alison knew it or not she was about to be horribly exploited, and unfortunately there was nothing Braden could do to stop it. He had been called to the capital earlier in the week so that he could be told to his face that if he warned her at all he would never see the end of their harassment. This arrangement was the reason he had never pursued Alison before, but eventually he just couldn't take it anymore and he had to be with her.He had been instantly smitten with Alison the very first day they worked together. While she was classically beautiful, she also had a penchant for making