Page 78 of Owned By the Hvrok

He smiled. Because shewantedto see him. She didn’t know what he was—not fully, not what he was capable of… but she would have sensed something.

And still, she wanted to know him.

If only…

But not now. Not yet.

Not while the sky outside bled black and the winds howled like beasts beyond the cliffs. Not while the Nalgar hunted the dark.

He reached up instead, letting his hand settle against the back of her head. Her hair was impossibly soft, like starlight caught in strands. He stroked it gently, slowly.

And murmured the words he hadn’t spoken aloud in a long time. His voice was low, almost reverent in his native tongue.

“Ka’laa kahan.”

“Rest now.”

She stilled.

Her eyes widened. She didn’t understand the words—not truly—but she seemed to understandhim.

She blinked slowly, as if trying to stay awake, but exhaustion pulled at her. He could see it clearly now: the faint shadowsbeneath her eyes, the pallor behind the flush, the way her body sagged heavier against his with each passing moment.

How long has it been since you were allowed to rest, little one?

The thought twisted something cold and quiet in his chest.

Heknewwhat the Dukkar were. What they did.

What they did tofemales.

The way they’d kept her—collared, objectified, dirtied—it made his blood run cold.

They’d treated her like livestock.

And he’d purchased her with the intention of using her for his amusement, his pleasure, without thought for whether she had free will or not.

He’d purchased her as an object, a toy, something to covet and possess.

And now…

Now she lay in his arms, breathing softly. No longer trembling. No longer resisting.

No longer just a possession. Now, he realized she was a living, breathing, intelligentbeing,and he wanted to please heragain.

And again.

To see her react like this, to have her look at him like this.

All of a sudden, it occurred to him that he didn’t even know hername.

He couldgiveher a name, a Hvrok one, as he’d planned on doing before—but now it felt distasteful to even consider such a thing.

He couldn’t understand how she’d gotten to him so quickly—how she’d caused such a shift in him, to the point where he wanted to destroy the ones that had harmed her.

He would deal with the Dukkar. In time.

But not tonight.

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