Page 145 of Star Claimed Omega
‘The northwest corridor leads to command-tier storage. She’s not chipped, but I’ve got a weakened thermal signature, an anomaly moving near the old drone bay. Might be her, it moves like her.’
‘Got it,’ Santi murmured. ‘Kaal, you aim for the control centre and report, brother.’
‘On it.’
Santi peeled off from the Kaal, his shimmer cloak dimming to a whisper.
His body loosened. Then cracked.
Bones rippled, his skin shimmered, and in the blink of a breath, his form dissolved into radiant wolf-shadow.
A beast of amethyst and gold-glow streaked down the hall, paws leaving no trace. No sound. Only heat bleeding into the air behind him.
He darted past flickering hatches, gutted out tech bays, and collapsed quarters where broken pirate gear lay rusting beside unwashed bedding.
Her foil deepened, scents of jasmine, vanilla, and spice.
He shifted back, muscles folding into place, skin knitting over sinew as the shimmer dropped.
He inhaled deeper, her scent now so strong it was a trail.
A shadow flitted in the corridor up ahead.
He moved faster, scarcely audible, slipping into the central hallway.
The silhouette sprinted across the far arch.
Petite, quick, cloaked.
Soleil.
He didn’t think. He reacted and bolted in pursuit, a fast, swift, freakin’ blur.
In two bounds, he was at her rear.
She twisted, but before she had the chance to react, he surged behind her, one arm sweeping around her waist, the other clamping over her mouth.
She gave a muffled gasp, her body instinctively struggling for a heartbeat, and then freezing as she recognized him.
Santi pulled her into a maintenance supply room and kicked the door closed after them.
Metal shelves lined the walls, filled with ragged filters, binding tape, and corroded drone components.
The space was generous, covered with old pressure seals, rusting hydro-valves, and storage crates stacked to the ceiling.
A single weak glow strip hummed overhead, casting dull light over their faces.
Soleil stared at him, eyes dilated with shock.
Sweat and soot streaked her cheeks.
Her lips trembled with half-formed words.
Santi stared at her, breathing hard.
The heat of her in his arms, the scent of her skin, the ache of everything he’d been holding in, almost knocked the wind out of him.
She blinked. Her breath caught. ‘Santi?’
