The Control Protocol

A Sci-Fi Romance of Guarded Hearts, Reluctant Trust, Hidden Scars, and the Dark Side of Academia

By: Victoria Vyx

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

Locked in together. No way out. No room to hide who they are.

Iris Wynn survives on order. Her life is measured in crisp collars, precise timetables, and rules she never dares to break. Rules keep her safe. Rules keep the past buried. But when the academy assigns her to a mandatory “wellness trial,” she finds herself locked in a restricted residential wing—sharing quarters with Leo Strahan: chaotic, rebellious, seemingly confidant, but struggling with his own quiet fury.

Leo doesn’t trust the academy. He doesn’t trust Iris, either—not at first. But when they’re forced to share living space, therapy sessions, and far too many sleepless nights, he begins to see the cracks in her perfect control. And she begins to see the man behind his snark and hidden vigilance.

As surveillance tightens and secrets start to bleed through the walls, trust becomes as dangerous as desire. One wrong move could ruin them both… but the closer they get, the harder it is to remember why they ever wanted to stay apart.

For readers who love:

• Dark academia romance with locked-room tension

• Healing touch and reluctant trust

• Protective hero × perfectionist heroine

• Secrets, surveillance, and emotional slow burn heat