And that’s what this is. This nesting room has never been used by another submissive. It doesn’t smell like another submissive, not even faintly. The things he’s been digging through, new and chosen with intention for a nest, indicate a Dominant desiring a mate. He knows Liam is trying to give him the full submissive experience, so it’s possible this is just another way for Daniel to really dwell in his submissiveness, but he can’t help but wonder if it’s more.

Maybe Liam is equally drawn to Daniel and wishes it could be more, too. Maybe even forever.

Maybe that’s just a fantasy, but bonding can happen fast. It isn’t unheard of for a Dominant to claim a submissive after one mating. The possibility fills him with joy as well as so many complicated emotions that he doesn’t even want to think about it. Daniel doesn’t need to borrow trouble, get romantic notions when it won’t amount to anything.

What’s more likely is that his father will send for him, and he’ll be so uneven and unwilling to adapt that his father will have no choice but to get rid of him.

For the first time, maybe since this whole genetic modification nightmare started, he lets himself think about whether or not that’s actually true. Yes, his father is a prideful man. Yes, he is stubborn and he can be cruel. But does he really not love his children at all? He’d loved their older brother, and he might have loved their mother. So, isn’t the man capable of love?

When he recovers and realizes his son has experienced being a submissive, is healthy and happy, and stronger than he’s been in years, will he change his mind? Isn’t it more likely he’d be willing to disown Daniel and let him leave the military?

And if that happened, would Liam want him?

He goes to take a shower, uncertain what to do about the plug and losing the come his Dominant gave him only a few hours ago, but surely, it’s too pathetic to go and ask his Dominant what he should do? Daniel is fully capable of making the decision. He takes the plug out, cleans himself and the plug, and works it back inside.

He has the oddest feeling that he’s lost something. He’s done wrong. Should he have asked? How pathetic, he thinks, and realizes there are tears streaming down his face. Daniel wipes them up quickly, needing to be with his Daddy. He’s going to throw the tissue away when he sees a capped, empty syringe in the trash.

What the hell is that?