Page 17 of Owned By the Hvrok

Stars.

So many stars.

Beyond them—beyond that endless stretch of darkness—was Earth.

Home.

Her parents. Her friends. Her coworkers. Her life.

She bit her lower lip to stop its trembling. The collar at her neck felt heavier than before. As if it had tightened in response to her thoughts. She wanted it gone. Gone forever. But to accept a new one? Even a beautiful one?

She wasn’t ready.

The stars blurred in her vision, but no tears fell. Not yet.

She straightened. Lifted her chin.

“I’m not yours,” she whispered, even though she knew he wouldn’t understand.

Still, he didn’t move.

She walked to the window and sat on the narrow bench beneath it, curling her arms around her knees.

Behind her, the glittering collar waited.

But for now, she ignored it.

Because she wasn’t ready to decide.

And for some reason, he seemed willing to let her wait.

CHAPTER 12

She stood there like a statue carved from defiance.

Kyhin didn’t move. Not yet. He had learned long ago—on a hundred battlefields and a hundred blood-soaked planets—that stillness was more powerful than force. And now, here in the quiet chamber of his ship, he wielded that stillness like a weapon.

The human’s blue eyes were wide, but they did not dart or flinch. Instead, they fixed on the collar in his hand, then on him, as though daring him to explain what this was.

She didn’t like it. He could see that plainly.

The current collar around her neck—the slaver’s device—sat heavy and raw against her skin, clearly designed for pain and obedience. It clashed jarringly with her soft form. Even standing tense, guarded, she was still the softest thing he’d seen in a universe made of blades and plasma.

This new collar was different. Deliberately so.

The gemstones embedded in the black alloy caught the light filtering through the viewport, refracting pale blue sparks across the walls. He had chosen it the moment he saw it in the Dukkar trader’s inventory. Not for aesthetics—though it was beautiful—but for what it symbolised.

Power. Ownership. Protection.

And now, the human stood there, breathing shallowly, her jaw clenched. He could see her thoughts racing behind those ocean-bright eyes. Rage, confusion… and fear.

But not terror. Not the kind he was used to seeing.

He wondered if she knew what she looked like—standing barefoot on the dark metal floor, hair tousled from stress, arms tense at her sides, her golden skin flushed with emotion. Her very presence stirred something beneath his skin, something ancient and possessive.

He let the silence hang.

The Hvrok had always known the value of silence. Spoken words were the weapon of the lesser races. Silence was command. Silence was challenge. Silence broke down barriers faster than any threat.

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