Page 54 of Alien Warlord's Fury
My tail rested lightly across her legs, a constant point of contact.
"Sleep," I murmured against her hair. "I'll keep watch."
She made a small sound of protest, but her eyes were already closing. "Just for a little while," she mumbled. "Wake me for my turn."
I didn't answer, knowing I had no intention of waking her until she'd gotten the rest she desperately needed. Instead, I held her, listening to her breathing even out as sleep claimed her. My fingers traced the path of a silver marking that curved along her shoulder, marveling at how it seemed to pulse in time with her heartbeat.
The bond between us hummed, a constant awareness of her presence even as she slept. I could feel her dreams starting to form, fragmented images and sensations that leaked through our connection. For now, they seemed peaceful, free from the visions that had been tormenting her.
I stared up at the ancient ceiling, tracing the patterns of energy that still flowed through the ruins despite centuries of neglect. My people feared these places, and with good reason. The Great Division had taught us the dangers of tampering with powers we didn't fully understand.
And yet, here I was, deep in the heart of ruins corrupted by Hammond's experiments, bound to a human womanwhose connection to the Nexus made her both powerful and vulnerable.
The council would call it sacrilege. They would say I had abandoned my duty, betrayed my training and my people. Perhaps they were right.
But holding Claire against me, feeling the steady beat of her heart and the quiet hum of our bond, I couldn't bring myself to regret any of it.
She stirred slightly in her sleep, murmuring something unintelligible. Through our bond, I sensed a flicker of distress beginning to form. I tightened my arms around her, sending calming energy through our connection.
The distress faded, replaced by peaceful warmth.
"I have you," I whispered, though she couldn't hear me. "Always."
The promise settled into my bones, as irrevocable as the bond itself. Whatever came next - Hammond, the council, the corrupted Nexus - we would face it. Not because we were stronger together, though that was true.
Not because the bond compelled us, though its pull was undeniable.
But because I had chosen her, as she had chosen me. Beyond duty, beyond reason, beyond the careful control I'd maintained my entire life. I had chosen the wild, unpredictable, brave human woman who challenged everything I thought I knew.
And I would choose her again, every time.
CLAIRE
Iwoke slowly, wrapped in Nirako's warmth. His arm curved protectively around my waist, his chest pressed against my back. The cave's chill barely touched us.
For a moment, I kept my eyes closed, savoring the peace of being held without urgency or danger. Just this—his breath against my neck, the steady rhythm of his heartbeat against my spine. His tail rested lightly across my legs, a constant point of contact.
"You're awake," he murmured, his voice a low rumble that vibrated through me.
I turned in his arms, wincing at the pull of sore muscles. "How long have you been watching me sleep?"
"Not long." His eyes traced my face, searching. "Your markings have stabilized."
I looked down at my arms. The silver lines no longer pulsed erratically but glowed with a steady, cool light that matched the rhythm of Nirako's lifelines.
"They're following yours," I said, touching a finger to the spiral pattern on his forearm.
He nodded. "The bond is settling."
The bond. Last night we'd crossed a line that couldn't be uncrossed. Mate bond, he'd called it.
The enormity of it should have terrified me, but instead, I felt strangely calm.
"You have a cut," I said, noticing a thin line across his shoulder that hadn't been there before. I touched it gently.
"From the guardian construct. It's nothing."
I sat up, pulling away from his warmth. "Let me see."
