Page 76 of Xara and the Xenobeast

He hesitated as a new thought occurred to him. The ship contained supplies, weapons, medical equipment—things that could make their life easier. Things that could help protect Xara and the pups.

But the ship also contained risks—tracking devices and automated distress protocols that might activate despite his programming. The Zarkari were nothing if not thorough in their contingency planning.

No. The safest option was total destruction.

He pressed the sequence, watching as the ship’s systems locked into their final protocol. The entry ramp began to retract even as he leapt from it, landing easily on the forest floor.

The engines hummed to life, a low vibration that sent nearby creatures scurrying for cover, and he stepped back, watching as the vessel rose slowly into the night sky, its sleek form briefly silhouetted against the largest moon.

He tracked its ascent until it was nothing more than a pinpoint of light among thousands, indistinguishable from the stars themselves. Then he turned and began the journey home.

The jungle felt different now. Still dangerous, still wild, but no longer hostile. This was his territory, his world. The place where he had found something he’d never expected to find—peace.

As he moved through the darkness, his thoughts turned to Xara. To the life they were building together. To the future that now stretched before them, unmarked by the shadows of his past.

The Tal’shai had recognized their bond immediately, offering the sacred resin bindings without hesitation. They had seen what he was only beginning to understand—that he and Xara were meant to find each other. That together, they were something neither could be alone.

The cave came into view, its entrance framed by the bioluminescent vines that she was carefully training into awelcoming curtain. She’d started methodically cataloging the planet’s flora, applying her scientific knowledge to their survival with a passion that both amused and impressed him.

Inside, everything was as he’d left it. The fire burned low, casting a warm glow over their home. The pups had migrated in his absence, now curled in a tight pile against her stomach as she slept peacefully, one hand outstretched across the space where he had been.

He slipped silently into their bed, settling carefully beside her. She stirred slightly, her hand finding his arm even in sleep, and a small smile curved her lips.

“You came back,” she murmured, not fully awake.

He covered her hand with his own, his tendrils gently brushing her cheek.

“Always,” he promised, his voice a low rumble in the darkness.

She nestled against him, already drifting back to sleep, trusting and content. The pups shifted, sensing his return, but didn’t wake.

He gazed down at them—his family, his home, his future. Everything he’d never dared to want, never believed he deserved. Yet here they were, trusting him. Loving him.

Somewhere high above, beyond the atmosphere, the Zarkari ship continued its journey into the void. Soon it would be gone, the last physical link to his past destroyed in the vacuum of space.

That life was over.

He was no longer K-7, the perfect weapon, the failed experiment. He was Ash now. Mate. Protector. Father to the pups. And perhaps, someday, to children of his own.

The thought filled him with wonder and terror in equal measure. Could he and Xara even reproduce? Their species were so different. But the Tal’shai had hinted it might be possible, with their help. Their bioengineering skills were subtle but profound.

It was a question for another day. For now, it was enough to hold her close, to feel her heartbeat against his skin, to know that they were safe.

He closed his eyes as his tendrils curled protectively around Xara and the pups. For the first time since he could remember, there was no tension in his muscles, no alertness for danger in his mind.

Just peace. Just home.

And for the first time in his long existence, that was enough.

EPILOGUE

Xara carefully secured the living sample case, watching as the modified plant tissue sealed itself around the glass containment field. Another successful adaptation of Tal’Shai biotechnology. She’d spent weeks perfecting this particular strain—a luminescent moss that absorbed toxins from the air while providing soft, ambient light.

“The germination cycle should complete within three Dotr phases,” Tavi’Sha explained, her scales shifting through patterns of blue-green that Xara had come to recognize as excitement. “The neural pathways will strengthen with each growth cycle.”

“I still can’t believe you can literally grow technology,” she said, securing the case to her belt. “On Earth, we were still figuring out how to make biodegradable plastics.”

Tavi’Sha’s multifaceted eyes blinked in sequence—the Tal’Shai equivalent of laughter. “Your methods were... separate. You built machines. We grow partnerships.”

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