Page 78 of Shattered Silence

“You did it, Enki. Anuk has found her host, and Alexis…” She trembled slightly. Tears glistened in her eyes. “I don’t really know what it all means yet, but… it’s a miracle.”

Enki didn’t quite understand what she was talking about, so he simply retracted his claws and curled his fingers around hers, relieved that movement was returning to his limbs so quickly. “It’s all because of you,” he whispered, pulling her toward him. He reached out and stroked the side of her face. “My mate.”

Now that the danger had passed, the others—even the General—stepped back, giving them space. In the background, Zharek was doing something with the Tharian/human/host/whatever it was, but Enki didn’t care about that.

A sense of wonder unfurled inside his chest as he sat up and took Layla into his arms. Here she was, unafraid, unflinching, accepting him completely—flaws and all.

Sitting on the wet floor, naked, surrounded by the aftermath of a strange and unholy chaos, he embraced her, stroking her hair, planting soft kisses on her forehead, her cheeks, her lips. He tasted saltiness and realized there were tracks of moisture running down her cheeks.

Layla curled her arms around his neck, returning his kisses. “You’re free,” she whispered, spearing him with a look of absolute tenderness, “free from everything, except me.”

“And that I don’t mind,” he rumbled, kissing her again. She tasted sweet and pure and good—everything that was the opposite of the darkness in his head.

And he vowed that he would hold onto her and protect her and cherish her with every savage fiber of his being.

Chapter Thirty-Two

Layla sat at the human’s bedside, not sure whether to call her Anuk or Alexis. The human slowly stirred as the sedation started to wear off.

Zharek had been left with no choice but to knock her out. When Layla had finally been allowed to enter the lab again, the human had been terrified, incoherent, screaming her lungs out as a group of scary Kordolians loomed over her. Jeez, Layla didn’t blame the woman. She probably would have had the same reaction.

And then there had been Enki. Layla had screamed and banged on the door as she watched him on the holo—lying on the floor, blind fury and fear twisting his features—until they had let her in.

Watching him like that—it had felt like a piece of her heart was being torn out.

Layla made a beeline for him, not caring that the intimidating boss-Kordolian had him pinned on the floor, not caring that he was wild and frantic and naked, his claws out, his fangs bared, his eyes unfocused and filled with the most unimaginable darkness.

An emotion she couldn’t even define. Something utterly alien.

Catching sight of Layla as she passed, the woman had screamed out her name. “Layla Rose, it’s me, Alexis Carter. We were on the Malachi together. Please, help me!” Then her speech had descended into incoherent babbling as she flailed around on the floor, accidentally cutting herself on a shard of glass, and Zharek had no choice but to stick a needle in her arm, sedating her.

He’d done some mysterious medical stuff on her, stabilized her, and brought her to the pod. Confused and worried, Layla had insisted that the first face she saw when she woke should be a familiar one. Only me.

Because really, how fucking terrifying would it be to go from all the death and chaos on the Malachi to waking up in a dark alien ship, surrounded by scary Kordolian faces?

“I think she’s stirring,” she said softly, and the dark, reassuring presence behind her grunted in agreement.

Of course Enki was there with her, but he was standing in the corner, out of sight; a phantom in the shadows, so silent he might not have even been there if Layla didn’t know any better.

Her guardian.

Ever since the fog of insanity had cleared, he’d refused to let her out of his sight. The old Layla might have considered his behavior overbearing and stalkerish, but after what they’d been through together, she didn’t just accept his unwavering presence at her side, she reveled in it.

He was Kordolian. They seemed to do things a little… differently.

“If she does anything unpredictable, just step back. I will handle it.”

“I don’t think she’ll cause any trouble, but let’s see. Don’t hurt her.”

“Of course.” Enki snorted. “There are many ways to immobilize a human without causing harm.”

“Oh?” She raised an eyebrow in mock-surprise.

“Maybe I will show you later.” Enki’s voice became a deep, seductive rumble, and Layla almost forgot about the task at hand.

It was so good to have her sexy Kordolian back. After the incident in the labs, Enki had been quick to recover his composure, his diamond-hard exterior falling back into place, leaving no trace of the darkness inside.

That was her mate, going from mind-shattered victim to hardened warrior in an instant. She didn’t know what had happened to make him react so strongly, and she suspected she might never know all the details—it wasn’t Enki’s style to bare his soul to the world—but that was okay. He was back, and he was fine, and that was all she cared about.

---