Page 55 of Owned By the Hvrok

His nostrils flared behind the mask. That scent. Undeniable.

Human.

The Nalgar keep humans here?As blood sources?

He considered the possibility for a moment, rage flickering behind his thoughts. They were close—ten spans, maybe less. He could kill them before they screamed.

But then what?

Others would come. This wasn’t Vokar. He had no backup. No second escape ship.

And she was still up there, waiting.

Sylvia.

He clenched his fists, every instinct demanding violence. But reason held firm.

He slipped out the rear exit, into the alley. Darted through shadows. Scaled a wall, then dropped low again, moving past the edge of town.

Once clear, he opened his wings again.

They flared wide with a hiss of metal and membrane.

He leapt skyward, catching the wind in a powerful thrust, shooting up into the night.

Snow flurried below. The wind screamed over the cliffs.

But his mind wasn’t on the cold.

Not anymore.

He found his thoughts drifting—unwelcome, but persistent—back to her.

To the small shape wrapped in blue, those jewel eyes fixed on him with a flicker of trust. The scent of her skin. The feel of her pulse beneath his fingers. The fact that she hadn’t pulled away.

He should be focused.

This was survival.

But still?—

As theLyxaicame into view again, perched against the dark rock, half-shrouded by mist and shadow, he felt it rise in him like heat.

He wanted to go back.

Not to the ship.

To her.

And he would.

He folded his wings in and dropped fast, vanishing into the mist.

CHAPTER 30

The silence was louder than any scream.

She sat curled on the strange alien bed, knees hugged to her chest, trying not to imagine the worst. The walls around her were too smooth, too seamless, like being swallowed by a machine. There was no sound. No ticking clock. No hum of power.

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