Page 122 of Fractured Souls

“I presume the living one over there is the hostage?” Lodan said softly, giving them a wide berth. “I will take him away and give you two a little space.” He gave Alexis a strange look, shaking his head slightly in disbelief.

Lodan of all people would struggle to understand this human softness. Suddenly, Nythian’s thoughts were clearer, and he gave Lodan an appreciative nod as the pilot unceremoniously picked up the unconscious Sarkiss and hauled him out of the chamber.

Ah, his brother was always the calm one, the logical one, even though he craved violence just as much as Nythian.

“You okay?” Alexis slid into his embrace as Lodan disappeared with Sarkiss in tow. He cupped the sides of her face and looked down, diving into her shimmering eyes.

She started to tremble ever so slightly. That’s when he realized that she was barely holding herself together.

She pointedly avoided looking at the blood and dead bodies around him.

Nythian cursed softly in his mother tongue. Of course this scene would stir up bad memories for her.

Before she could say a word, he lifted her into his arms and took her away from the carnage, retreating through dark, narrow passages, his bare feet silent on the metal floors.

He returned to the Mhyndin’s hatch, staying close behind her as she climbed up the ladder, not caring that he still couldn’t form his armor.

When Alexis was safely inside, he turned to the guards. “The ship’s clear. Go down and start the clean-up. Mark anything that might be of interest or value. I’m sure Lodan’s already got the tech team on standby for a clean-and-sweep.”

“He does. We’ll handle it.” The warriors quietly peeled away, not even blinking at his naked, weakened state. Unlike humans, Kordolians didn’t get all squeamish about nudity.

At last, they were alone in the quiet chamber.

He pulled her close, burying his nose in her thick curly hair, inhaling her sweet scent. “You shouldn’t have gone down there,” he growled. “I… slipped.”

“Yeah. I probably shouldn’t have,” she agreed. “I used to be a pretty rational person, but when it comes to you, it’s this that’s calling the shots.” She tapped her chest right over her heart. “Can’t help it. I’m crazy for you. And you didn’t slip, soldier. I saw the bodies back there. Was that a Xargek?” Her hand curled around his wrist, caressing the faint scar-line where his hand had been reattached to his arm. The flesh was still binding together; the scar-line would eventually disappear. “We humans talk. I have an inkling of what you’ve been through. Don’t ever tell me that you’re not allowed to react like a normal flesh-and-blood being like the rest of us, Nythian. You’re not a goddamn machine.”

A feeling of wonder came over him as he pulled back and looked at his mate. How could this creature feel such a way about a brute like him? “You came for me,” he repeated, a little dumbstruck.

“I don’t think I really did anything special.”

“But you came for me.” Nobody would ever care about him as much as this tough, stubborn, clever female. Not even Lodan, who understood him best.

Lust swept over him like a fierce atmospheric storm, and Alexis squealed in surprise as he swept her up into his arms again. “I need you,” he growled, striding down the dark corridor.

“Same,” she said breathlessly. “Always.”

“No, you do not understand. I need you now.” His strides grew longer as the Mating Fever returned with a vengeance.

After violence came lust. Nythian didn’t really understand the forces that drove him anymore.

He just wanted her, and he would have her.

Simple.

Thirty

This time, it was different.

Nythian was quiet and intense, as if possessed.

He was still buck naked, Alexis realized, staring up at his face as he whisked her through shadowy corridors. He looked different too; lean and hungry, his face gaunt, his cheeks hollowed out, his features sharper, more prominent.

More alien.

She realized his appearance was something to do with the damage to his body and the nanites inside him, but she didn’t completely understand it.

It didn’t matter. He was still her big, protective Kordolian.

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