Page 41 of Owned By the Hvrok

The only sound was the deep, pulsing moan of the cooling core as the ship finally—mercifully—settled into stillness.

Silence.

Kyhin remained strapped in place, muscles tense, heart pounding with a rhythm that matched the dim emergency lights. Through the haze of smoke and the cracked forward glass, he could see Anakris in full now—its dark surface stretching into a hellish, mist-wreathed expanse. Thunder rolled in the distance.

TheLyxaiwas wrecked.

Maybe beyond repair.

And now they wereonAnakris.

He knew the world by reputation alone—Nalgar territory. Blood-drinkers. Warlike. Highly dangerous. Creatures that moved in packs and tore apart anything they didn’t recognize.

He had no illusions.

If they’d seen his descent, they would come. Curiosity first. Hunger after.

But let them come.

He woulddestroythem if they stepped one foot near his ship.

Nearher.

His thoughts turned sharply to his human. Still locked in her quarters. Still strapped to the emergency restraints. Fragile. Soft. Her fear would be rising now, sharp and hot, pouring into the air like a signal flare.

She was utterly defenseless.

But she washis.

And he would kill anything that touched her.

She would be frightened. She would cry. But he would go to her. He would comfort her. Touch her gently. Let her know:shehad nothing to fear—because the most dangerous thing on this world had already claimed her.

He unstrapped himself, rising from the command cradle as the floor groaned under the strain.

He would send a signal. Contact his most trusted. Offer a fortune for retrieval and silence.

But until then…

They wouldsurvive.

And no one—no one—would take her from him.

CHAPTER 25

The world ended in a scream of metal.

One moment, she was curled on the alien bed, fuming, muttering oaths under her breath. The next, theshipconvulsed around her as if it had struck something immense and unforgiving at full speed.

The restraints clamped tighter.

Not crushing. Not painful. But firm—adaptively firm. Flexible enough to shift with her body as it jolted, hard enough to keep her in place while the room around herhowled.

The lights strobed violently, red and white, flickering as the bed jerked with the force of the impact. Somewhere beyond the walls, she heard a deep, grinding sound, like something ancient being torn in half. The ceiling quaked above her, groaning. The air felt thick.Too thick.

She couldn’t see anything. Couldn’tdoanything. She just lay there, bound, helpless, while the room shook around her.

Her heart was trying to claw its way out of her chest.

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