Page 99 of Claimed by an Alien Warrior

The screen returned to the male and female who were presenting the news, both sitting at a wide desk. In the corner, a small image depicted Ren in the moment of his attack on the enforcer.

“The FBI says that they have information stating Weston and her companion may have been spotted outside of Kansas City early this morning,” the male said. A picture of Zoey with Ren behind her, arms full of vending machine food and drink, appeared on screen. The restrooms they’d stopped at that morning were in the background.

“If you see Zoey Weston or her companion, authorities say you should not approach them under any circumstances,” the female said. “Here are some local numbers for us around the Columbus area to call, if they happen to come through this way.”

A series of symbols and numbers appeared on the screen, many of which were meaningless to Ren, but he understood the implication: Zoey’s people were now against her.

The picture returned to the two humans at their desk. “What a wild story,” the male said.

“Absolutely,” the female replied. “And that video is amazing. Very well done. Always interesting when something on the internet turns out to have such significance. This may be the key in bringing a murderer to justice.”

“Well, I don’t—”

Ren turned off the TV. He stared at the black screen for a while before pulling himself out of his daze; it wouldn’t do them any good to dwell on what had happened or to wish things had gone differently. This was their situation, and they would face it head-on.

He took one of the sandwiches out of the bag, paired it with a drink in a red can, and ate in silence. The sandwich was good. The drink, on the other hand, was overly sweet, and he cringed involuntarily after the first sip. He set it aside for Zoey and drank from one of the water bottles instead. It was a strange meal for him; eating had always been a matter of filling his body with as much fuel as possible in a short time to counteract the additional energy burned through use of his nyros.

This time, he made his food last, taking his time to enjoy the flavors and textures.

When the sandwich was gone, he took out the Twix she’d obtained at their last stop and placed it, unopened, on the bed. He found he enjoyed it more when he shared; Zoey’s pleasure, no matter how small, immensely enhanced his own. He’d wait until she was ready and eat it with her.

The shower came on in the bathroom shortly after, preceded by a brief bout of squeaking — likely from Zoey turning the control knobs. Ren listened to the running water and forced his mind away from gloomy thoughts of how everything could all go wrong.

Eventually, the shower turned off, and Zoey emerged a little later, clad only in a towel. The cloth wasn’t large enough to cover her completely, and the sides spread from where she held them together at her breasts, revealing her middle and the entirety of one pale, curvy leg.

Despite that enticing display, it wasn’t her body that caught his attention.

Ren pushed himself to his feet, eyes wide. “What happened to your hair?”

She raised a hand and touch the short, damp, reddish-gold locks. Before she’d entered the bathroom, her dark hair had cascaded to a point midway down her back. He’d loved to see it draped over her shoulders and chest, to run his fingers through it.

Now her hair was many shades lighter, with that reddish tint, and barely hung past her jaw. Some of it was swept over her forehead, shorter than the rest, to brush her eyelashes.

“Does it look bad?” she asked with a timidity in her voice he’d never heard before.

He closed the distance between them. The scent of unknown chemicals wafted from the bathroom, and he picked up some of it from her. He reached forward and took a lock of her hair between his fingers. Even its texture had changed; the difference was subtle, but henoticedit.

“What did you do?” he asked softly.

“I changed it so people won’t recognize me.” She looked up to meet his gaze. The evidence of already shed tears was apparent in her reddened eyes and the lightly swollen flesh around them.

His chest felt suddenly hollow, and then seemed to collapse in on itself like a star imploding to leave a black hole behind. This was his fault. She’d had to change because of him, because of his interference in her life. Because he hadn’t exercised more caution.

But it was more than just her hair; it had been so much more since the beginning. This was simply a visual, physical representation of all she’d given up for him so far. Zoey hadn’t considered her lifegood, but it had beenhers. She would’ve figured it out, would’ve found her way. He’d taken everything from her.

And even if it weren’t too late to change course, Ren couldn’t bring himself to let her go.

She’d worked her way into him, into his life, into his mind, into his deepest desires. She was as much a part of him as his arms and legs, his eyes, his heart, his nyros. She washis. Losing her…

He should’ve been prepared for it. Should’ve accepted the possibility days ago. Losing the people he was close to had been a constant threat throughout his life, and he’d always taken that risk as an unavoidable truth. There’d never been reason to rail against it, never been a reason to reject it, but even the slightest thought of losing Zoey was heavy enough to crush him.

“It’s horrible, isn’t it?” she asked, turning her face away.

“I see you.” He cupped her cheek and guided her face back to his. “I will always see you,kun’ia. And you are beautiful.”

Zoey’s smile began as a sparkle in her eyes an instant before it slowly spread across her lips. She settled her palms on his shoulders, and Rendash lowered himself just enough to wrap his arms around her, lift her off the floor, and draw her against him.

Their mouths met in a sealing kiss, tender and raw all at once, filled with unspoken words. Her fingers delved into his crest, and she slipped her legs around his waist as he carried her to the bed. Once there, he laid her upon it and drew back. The towel fell to the sides, revealing her bountiful curves. She lay before him, a vision of all that was beautiful, of all he desired, and everything else faded from his awareness.

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