Page 113 of Rok's Captive
Rok leads the way through the winding canyon, his powerful body moving with effortless grace. I follow, surprised to find that I’m keeping pace without struggling. Just days ago, I could barely walk an hour without needing to rest, my lungs burning, my limbs shaking with exhaustion.
But now? I feel like I could run a marathon. Well, maybe not a marathon, but definitely more than I should be capable of after nearly dying multiple times on this planet.
“You are quiet,” Rok’s thought brushes against my mind. “This is not like you. Does something trouble you?”
“I’m just thinking about how weird all this is,” I reply, gesturing vaguely between us. “This mind-reading thing. The fact that I’m suddenly feeling better than I have since I got here.”
He glances back at me, his golden eyes assessing. “Your body is adapting to the dust.”
“Yeah, but why now? And why so suddenly?” I push my hair back from my face, frustrated. “It doesn’t make sense.”
Rok slows, falling into step beside me. “Some things do not need to make sense, Jus-teen. They simply are.”
“That’s a very…alien way of looking at it,” I mutter.
He tilts his head. “Alien zen?” The thought comes to me haltingly, like he’s turning it over in his own head.
I snort. “No, just—wait, how do you even know the word ‘zen’?”
His nostrils flare slightly. “You thought it at me. With images.” A pause. “Small man with fur obscuring his mouth.Strange sitting pose.” His claws flex. “Why does he not fall over?”
“Mother of—, you’re literally inside my head watching my mental reruns of Kung Fu Panda?” My face burns. “Forget I said anything.”
His amusement ripples through me anyway, warm as the sunlight. After a few moments, he glances at me. “Perhaps you are right, my light. Or perhaps you think too much.”
“Story of my life,” I sigh, but I’m biting back a grin.
As we walk, I can’t help but notice the way Rok positions himself—always slightly ahead of me, his massive body between me and any potential threat. He scans the landscape constantly, nostrils flaring as he scents the air, ears twitching at the slightest sound.
At first, I thought it was just caution—the same way he’s been since he found me. But there’s something different now. Something in the way his eyes track back to me every few seconds, as if he physically can’t go too long without confirming I’m still there. The way he shifts his body whenever I move, maintaining a perfect shield between me and the open desert.
It reminds me of documentaries I’ve watched about certain animals after they mate—wolves, eagles, some big cats. The way they change, become attuned to their partners on a level that goes beyond simple attraction.
I remember what he said in the cave: “As real as the pain I feel whenever you are not near. As if part of me is missing.” At the time, I thought it was just a romantic exaggeration. But what if it wasn’t?
Rok isn’t human. He’s something else entirely—wild, beautiful, deadly. An alien creature with instincts and biology I can barely comprehend.
What if he’s…what if he’s imprinted on me?
He said he’d have killed me, but something stopped him.
A shiver goes down my spine at the thought that I came so close to dying and didn’t even know.
And then there’s the fact that his dick emerged, thick and perfect, just the way I like it.
Oh my God…this can’t be real.
He turns at that moment, catching my gaze, and something in his golden eyes makes my breath stop in my throat. The intensity there…it’s devotion. Something ancient and unshakeable.
“What?” I ask, feeling strangely vulnerable under that stare.
“You are beautiful under Ain’s glare,” he replies simply, and the sincerity in his mental voice makes my heart flip.
Before I can respond, his entire demeanor suddenly changes. His head snaps up, nostrils flaring, muscles tensing. I freeze, recognizing the signs of danger.
“What is it?” I push through my thoughts as I scan the terrain for threats. “Rival clan again?”
Rok doesn’t answer. His eyes narrow, focusing on something in the distance that I can’t make out.
