Page 35 of Owned By the Hvrok

The word lodged in his chest like a foreign object.

No creature had ever compelled him toward such a gesture. Not comrade. Not ally. Not lover.

No one.

And yet…

His hand drifted to the panel.

No.

He clenched his jaw.

This wasnothow it was supposed to be.

He was her master, not her solace. He would not harm her—but he would not coddle her, either. She would learn that discipline and obedience could bring stability. Safety.

He was not cruel.

But he wasfirm.

And still, the thought returned?—

Go to her.

Touch her. Let her know she is not alone.

He stared at the door, caught in the moment.

And then?—

The comm alert chimed sharply in his helmet.

A priority code.

He blinked. Refocused.

A flashing sigil strobed across his visor.

Kroll.

Pursuit vessels.Now.

He exhaled once through the respirator, purging the soft scent of her from his filters.

The air turned cold again. Sterile. Sharpened by the scent of duty.

He turned.

And stalked toward the cockpit.

CHAPTER 22

The cockpit sealed with a soft hiss behind him, and Kyhin moved with precision, every step measured, every motion honed by instinct and repetition. The air inside was cool, filtered, laced with the sterile scent of alloy and fuel.

He seated himself in the command cradle and pressed his palm to the console.

The holo flared to life, an array of translucent symbols and three-dimensional projections rising from the interface like ghost-light. Enemy signals blinked red in a wide arc behind theLyxai, converging fast.Krollinterceptors. A dozen of them.

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