Page 46 of Alien Warlord's Fury

"Your markings are still unstable," I observed, moving my hands slowly down her arms, tracing the silver patterns with my fingertips. "The corrupted energy damaged their natural flow."

"Is that your professional diagnosis?" Despite her weakness, her sarcasm remained.

"It's what I feel through our bond." The admission hung between us. We hadn't needed to name it explicitly before now; it simplywas.

Claire's eyes met mine. "You feel it too."

It wasn't a question. "Yes."

The silence stretched. I continued working on her markings, my lifelines brightening where they connected with her silver ones. The energy exchange was intimate, a merging of life forces.

"Why did you really come with me?" Claire asked suddenly, her voice quiet. "The truth this time."

My hands paused on her arms. "I told you. The younglings need?—"

"No." She shook her head. "Not the task. Why didyoucome? You could have sent others."

The question stripped away my defenses. In this quiet clearing, her life force intertwined with mine, evasion felt hollow.

"Because I couldn't bear the thought of you facing this alone." I met her gaze directly. "Because from our first encounter, there had been an undeniable resonance, a pull I couldn't explain. Because when you left the settlement, it felt like..."

I searched for the right words. "Like a part of me was being torn away."

Claire's markings brightened at my confession, silver light casting soft shadows on the ground around us. "A mate bond," she stated, understanding dawning.

"Yes." The admission cost me nothing and everything.

"You fought it."

"I did." I resumed the gentle movement of my hands along her arms, soothing the unstable energy patterns. "I had responsibilities. Duties."

"A bond—especially with someone as... spirited... as you—seemed like a complication I couldn't afford."

"And now?"

I looked at her—truly looked. The determination in her eyes despite her exhaustion. The strength that pushed her beyond limits. The compassion that drove her to risk everything.

"Now I understand that some things are chosen for us." My voice dropped lower. "And some choices we make for ourselves, regardless of duty."

Claire's hand found mine, stilling my movements. "I almost died back there."

"I know." The memory sent a surge of protective energy through my lifelines. "Don't do that again."

"I can't promise that," she said honestly. "Not when those younglings are suffering."

"I know that too." I threaded my fingers through hers, our markings and lifelines creating patterns of light between us. "But there's a difference between sacrifice and recklessness."

"Says the warrior who followed a 'reckless' human into danger."

A flicker of dry humor crossed his face. "Perhaps we're more alike than I first thought."

I smiled slightly, then grew serious again. "Claire, what you did with that energy conduit—channeling corrupted Nexus energy through your own markings—it nearly killed you."

"It worked, didn't it?"

"This time." I squeezed her hand. "But what happens when we reach Hammond? When we find the younglings? Your markings are still unstable, your connection to the Nexus unpredictable."

Claire looked away. "I'll do what needs to be done."

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