“Ah. That’s another problem. We don’t even know if he has any. We did a brainwave test to check for his arousal response to various stimuli and it remained flat. He was in such a panicked state that nothing registered. There were a few things that registered as highly negative, but that’s all. It’s in his file. I’ve been seeing him off and on for a few months now. We’ve put him through three diagnostic videos with scenes of male Dominants in just about every fetish and sexual play one can imagine, and the only one he could get through was a Daddy/boy dynamic. He watched it. He didn’t become aroused, but he updated his needs to indicate an interest in aftercare. That was three weeks ago. His father determined he was well enough to return to duty and he was sent back out on training missions.”

Training missions are not real. They’re for Dominants and submissives who are trying to reintegrate back into active duty. “Pseudo or not, how is that not a disaster? A submissive this unstable shouldn’t be out on missions. And no one took advantage of him?”

“Submissive only. He was at Camp Poquete.”

Camp Poquete is a base filled with submissives. It isn’t a prison but Liam thinks it sounds like one. The submissives there are so unstable they can’t be allowed near Dominants.

Correctly interpreting the disgust on Liam’s face, Dr. Chang says, “I agree with you. That’s off the table now. They just shipped him over to me two weeks ago because he collapsed. I thought I had him evened out but I didn't. However, I’ve received word that his father is in an induced coma, which means Daniel is currently under my complete jurisdiction, so I want to act on it while I can.”

“How long would I have with him?”

He shrugs. “I don’t know. A week? Two? It depends upon how long it takes General Burrows to recover enough to yank Daniel from us.”

“What about his cycle? Does he have one?” Liam is just close enough to his that he’ll have to take suppressants if they’re drawn to each other. “Mine’s due in a week.”

“You’ll need to check him. I’ve been doing blood tests only, and there’s enough hormonal change that it’s hard to tell. We’ve never been able to get the ultrasound inside him.”

“Why the hell not?”

“I’m under orders that didn’t allow it. No penetration of any kind.”

“That is insane. This is like those countries that don’t allow vaginal examinations because they think it takes away one’s virginity or something,” Liam argues. It’s sad. And enraging.

Submissives need penetration to settle. Hormones released during mating allow a submissive to get rid of stress toxins, leaving them emotionally stable and happy.