Page 14 of Rescued By the Alien Hit Man

“I don’t know what a soulmate is,” he said, his glowing yellow gaze piercing through the shadows, latching onto mine with an intensity that felt like a physical force. “If it means a fated mate… then yes, you are mine, Mia Clarke. And I am bound to you, beyond genetics, beyond any mission I was engineered to complete.”

I swallowed hard, the lump in my throat making it difficult to speak. My instincts screamed at me to flee, to survive, but something primal within me whispered that survival might lie in the embrace of the danger before me.

“Can I truly trust you?” The question escaped my lips before I could stop it, a vulnerable admission that laid bare my inner turmoil for him to see. It wasn’t just about trusting him—it was about trusting myself to make the right choice.

Cikarius’s hand cradled my jaw with a gentleness that belied his strength. His thumb brushed against my lower lip, sending a thrill through me that was both exhilarating and terrifying.

“Trust is not given lightly,” he said, his words vibrating through me. “It is earned, moment by moment. Let me earn yours, Mia.”

I was caught in the gravity of his gaze, his presence, his inexplicable sincerity. A shimmering cocoon seemed to form around us, isolating us from the rest of existence. In that suspended reality, my guard lowered, inch by precarious inch. The hardness that had armored my heart softened, molten by the warmth emanating from his skin.

“Maybe…” I started, my voice barely a whisper, “maybe I can learn to trust again.”

The corner of his mouth lifted in a ghost of a smile, offering a glimpse of the man who might exist beyond the assassin, the protector. His touch lingered, branding me with the promise of what could be if we dared to explore the connection that drew us inexplicably together.

His hand slid from my face to the nape of my neck, drawing me closer. The space between us closed, and I could feel the steady rhythm of his heart against mine. His touch was gentle, almost reverent, as if he recognized the fragility of the trust that weaved between us.

In the cocoon of his arms, the world outside faded into insignificance. The dangers lurking in the jungle’s shadows, the labyrinthine politics of Alfataken Station, even the haunting secrets of Talamhmar—all paled in comparison to the immediacy of his embrace.

I tilted my head back, looking up at him, searching his glowing eyes for the truth I so desperately needed. There, in the depths of his gaze, I found something that transcended fear, something pure and unwavering. It was protection, it was promise—it was the assurance that he would stand between me and any threat, no matter the cost.

“Stay with me,” he said, his voice a low rumble that resonated through my core. “Let me keep you safe.”

CHAPTER 7

CIKARIUS

Iwaited, the air between us charged with unspoken tension. The jungle’s cacophony faded into the background as I watched Mia process the reality of her situation, my revelation hovering over us like a specter. Her life was in the crosshairs because of me, and the weight of that truth bore down on my shoulders with an intensity I hadn’t anticipated.

“Will you let me protect you?” I asked, my voice low, barely a whisper against the din of Dufair’s nightlife. I needed her to say yes, not only for her safety but for the sanity that was slipping through my fingers like grains of sand. The Sionagog Syndicate wouldn’t let go easily; they were as much a part of me as my own flesh and blood—a flesh engineered for one purpose.

Mia’s eyes held mine, green pools reflecting a depth of emotion that made my heart clench. She didn’t know the battle raging inside me, the war between the cold assassin I was created to be and the man, no, the creature, yearning to break free from those chains. A creature who now stood at the precipice of change because of her.

“Even if you decide to leave, I will follow,” I said, the confession scraping against my insides. Acknowledging it felt like defeat and victory all at once. Carelessness had led her tosee the message, my orders to eliminate her—orders I could no longer obey.

Mia’s gaze never wavered. “You were sent to kill me…”

“Was,” I emphasized the word, allowing the past tense to hang between us. “Now, I’m choosing to defy them. For you.” It sounded like a vow, and perhaps it was—the first one I’d ever made of my own volition.

“Can a weapon really forsake its nature?” she asked, her words a caress against the harsh truth we faced.

“Perhaps not,” I admitted, feeling the predator stir within me. “But this weapon is yours now, if you’ll have it.”

A slow nod. Consent given. Relief flooded through me, though the taste of danger lingered on my tongue, a reminder of the precarious edge we balanced upon.

Her shoulders, previously tense as coiled vines, slumped in resignation. “I’ll stay with you,” she said, her voice a whisper that barely rose above the sighs of the wind through the luminescent leaves. “At least until we’re off Dufair and back on Alfataken Station.”

The words were a salve to the raw edges of my conscience. She would stay. And in her eyes—an emerald sea reflecting the moon’s glow—I read not just acquiescence, but the beginnings of trust reborn. Affection simmered there, a promise of warmth in the cold expanse that had become my existence.

“Then we need to move,” I said, pulling her gently by the arm. “The slavers will still be searching for you. We must reach the landing hub to find transport.”

We ducked under hanging ferns, their fronds glowing like ghostly fingers. The air was thick, redolent with the scent of soil and the distant tang of rain waiting to fall.

“Your vehicle—can’t we use it?” Mia’s question cut through the cacophony of nocturnal creatures stirring in the underbrush.

I shook my head. “It’s compromised. Since resigning from the Sionagog Syndicate, I can’t trust it hasn’t been sabotaged.” My admission hung between us; an unsaid understanding that the odds were against us—that we were vulnerable in ways we couldn’t afford to be.

With every step, the jungle closed in, a living entity aware of our plight, its whispers a siren song of both beauty and danger. But the determination in Mia’s stride told me she had no intention of succumbing to fear, nor the darkness that sought to claim us.

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