Page 116 of Zayrik

I rose. Shoulders still locked tight despite every word of reassurance from the medics. Through our bond, I felt Nyla’s presence, distant but steady. Fighting her way back.

Commander Raxor stepped into view. His expression was serious, but not unkind. The face of a warrior who’d walked this path before. Who knew what it meant to find your other half.

“I’m sorry it came to this,” he said. “But I’m glad we got there in time.”

I nodded once. “Thank you.”

For coming. For understanding. For bringing an entire warship to save my mate.

He rested a hand on my shoulder. The gesture of a brother, not just a commander.

“I would’ve burned the galaxy if someone touched Gabby. I know what this is.” He smiled.

He looked to Nyla, then back at me. “I’m pleased you found your fated mate.”

A pause.

Then, lightening the moment. “Maybe now you’ll stop teasing me about mine.”

I huffed. “Doubtful.”

The familiar banter felt like coming home to family.

That’s when Gabby stepped in. Silent but smiling, her hand resting lightly on Raxor’s back as she leaned forward to get a better look at Nyla.

The mate who understood. Who’d survived her own trials. Who’d changed a warrior into something more.

“Did you miss me, Gabby?” I asked, mostly to get Raxor to scowl. Just to pretend everything was normal.

Like I wasn’t measuring time by the rise and fall of Nyla’s chest.

Gabby’s grin widened.

Raxor rolled his eyes, and his tail flicked behind him. “She’ll regret waking up to you.” The words carried affection beneath the snark. Relief that I could still joke.

Gabby ignored him, her gaze sharpening. “Does she know what you are? Protectorate. Warrior. Fated mate. All of it.”

The question hit deeper than she knew.

“She knows,” I said quietly. “She just doesn’t know what it means to me.”

Because Nyla didn’t need reminding of titles or truths already spoken.

She needed proof I wasn’t just another male with a claim.

That being hers wasn’t about duty.

It was about choice.

Mine. Hers. Ours.

Gabby held my gaze, something softer in her eyes now.

Like she understood exactly what I hadn’t said.

“She will,” Raxor muttered. “If you don’t screw it up.”

His way of saying don’t let fear stop you.

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