Page 81 of Owned By the Hvrok

The thought chilled her faster than the storm outside.

Don’t be stupid. He’s fine. He’s built like a tank. He could probably survive anything.

He was probably out there now, wings slicing through the wind, a shadow among shadows.

Still—

Sylvia stared out into the storm,

For the first time since she’d collapsed in his arms, warm and sated and too tired to think, she felt small again.

Vulnerable.

And very, very alone.

Then, she saw it.

At first, it was just a blur—shadows shifting within shadows, the snowstorm slicing violently across the cockpit window in sharp streaks of white.

Then, she sawhim.

Tall. Towering. A dark silhouette cutting through the blizzard, unmistakably his: wings folded tightly, massive strides carrying him forward with startling ease. The storm seemed to part around him, as if nature itself feared his presence.

Her breath snagged in her throat.

He was back.

Relief surged through her chest, fierce and unexpected—but it vanished in the space of a heartbeat.

Because he wasn't alone.

Shapes emerged behind him—indistinct at first, mere distortions in the violent swirl of white. But then theysharpened, resolving into figures: faceless, armored in silver, moving swiftly, low to the ground with predatory grace. Her pulse quickened, dread slithering through her veins like ice.

Who were they? Where had they come from?

Inhabitants of this planet, or pursuers from space? The ones that had attacked this ship?

There were more than she’d first thought: ten, maybe twelve, possibly more hidden in the blinding chaos.

And they weren't merely trailing him.

They were hunting him, closing in fast, flanking from all sides, eerily silent even as they approached. Blades ignited in their hands, glowing swords of blue-white light that sliced through the darkness, illuminating the shadows like veins of lightning.

Energy blades?

Fear tightened her chest, trapping her breath as she soughthislarge figure in the maelstrom. She wanted to warn him, to shout through the glass, to run outside… but she couldn’t move, couldn’t do a thing.

The storm would destroy her. The aliens would kill her.

The ship… she probably couldn’t even get the doors to open if she tried.

And… the male she wanted to warn…

She didn’t even know his name. What a ridiculous situation.

Still, the attackers advanced, but he had already stopped, his entire body going rigid. Heknew.

He sensed them even before he saw them.

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