Page 68 of Alien Warlord's Fury
My markings flared wildly, responding to the flood of sensation. Through the bond, I felt Nirako's lifelines doing the same, the energy patterns seeking each other, merging where our bodies connected.
"I can feel you," he said roughly. "Everything. Your heart. Your breath."
"Don't stop," I begged, my head falling back against the wall. "Please, don't stop."
He wouldn't. I knew it as surely as I knew my own name. Nirako would never stop, never leave me, never abandon me to face the darkness alone.
Not by choice. The only thing that could separate us now was death—and even then, I wondered if the bond would survive.
My climax hit without warning, a wave of silver energy crashing through me. I cried out, unable to contain it, and Nirako covered my mouth with his, swallowing the sound. His own release followed immediately, our energies so intertwined that one couldn't peak without bringing the other along.
At the peak, I felt the smooth strength of his tail lock around my thigh, a possessive anchor in the storm.
For a moment, we were pure light—silver and gold merged into something new, something that transcended both.The bond between us stretched, strengthened, solidified into something unbreakable.
When I came back to myself, we were on the floor, Nirako cradling me in his lap, still joined. His breathing was as ragged as mine, his heart pounding against my cheek where I rested against his chest.
"That was—" I started, then stopped, unable to find words.
"Yes," he agreed, understanding without explanation.
We stayed like that for long minutes, neither willing to break the connection. The children's pain still pulsed at the edge of my awareness, but it seemed more distant now, as if the bond with Nirako had created a buffer.
Eventually, Nirako shifted, lifting me slightly to separate our bodies. The loss of physical connection made me shiver, but the bond remained strong, a golden thread tying us together.
The intensity of what had passed lingered in the air, but the urgency of the mission pressed upon us. Wordlessly, we gathered the remaining masking paste. My hands weren't entirely steady as I finished applying the cool mixture to the points on Nirako's chest and arms we'd missed earlier.
When it was his turn, his touch against my spine was purely functional, yet heat still bloomed on my cheeks, my markings flickering beneath the fresh paste. He paused, his thumb brushing my shoulder blade.
"Ready?" he asked, his voice rough.
I nodded, pushing aside the blush and the memories. "Ready."
Chapter Twenty Four: Nirako
I watched the distant explosions bloom like deadly flowers against the night sky. Ravik and Zara's diversion was working—alarms blared from the southern sector, drawing Hammond's security forces away from our intended infiltration point. The chaos unfolded exactly as planned.
"Now," I whispered to Claire.
She nodded, her silver markings barely visible beneath the masking paste we'd reapplied. The compound's outer perimeter lay ahead, a mix of modern human construction and ancient Arenix ruins—exactly the vulnerability we needed to exploit. The layout felt alien, nothing like the sterile labs Rivera had navigated to free Claire before.
This place was older, the corruption deeper.
I pressed my hand against the small of Claire's back, guiding her forward through the darkness. The masking paste dampened our energy signatures, rendering us nearly invisible to Hammond's Nexus-attuned sensors. Ravik's intel on sensor blind spots had been precise, allowing us to slip between detection fields like water through stone.
We moved as one unit, our steps synchronized through our bond. Claire's breathing matched mine—controlled, measured, deliberate. I didn't need to speak to communicate my intentions; she sensed them through our connection, responding with subtle shifts in direction or pace.
My tail moved in tandem, aiding my balance over the uneven, debris-strewn ground.
A guard patrol passed twenty paces to our right. I pulled Claire behind a fallen column, our bodies pressed together in the narrow space. Her heart raced against my chest, but her mind remained focused.
The bond pulsed between us, alive with shared purpose.
The patrol moved on, their attention drawn to the explosions rocking the southern perimeter.
"The entrance should be ahead," Claire breathed, her voice barely audible.
I nodded, scanning the ruins for the access point Ravik had described—an ancient maintenance tunnel, half-collapsed butstill passable. There, partially hidden by overgrowth and debris, a dark opening gaped in the foundation wall.
