Page 156 of Star Claimed Omega
That single look pierced him, burning itself into his soul as a permanent mark of failure.
He buried his face in his hands, letting the memory crush him.
Fokkin’ hell, he missed the scent of her skin in the morning.
Also, her crooked smile at him while folding clothes, the dry humor that always got him chuckling.
He yearned for her familiar weight on his chest, her heated exhales against his nape during their lovemaking, and the gliding touch in his hair that always undid him.
She had been warmth, a sense of belonging, the overwhelming realization that she was his only home.
Now, his world was cold, empty,fokkin’ meaningless.
He curled into himself, grief a raw, gnawing animal in his gut, tearing at his sanity.Be strong,he commanded his aching spirit.
She’s gone. You have to be brave.
But his next breath hitched, and a whisper, piercing and broken, escaped his clenched jaw.
‘Holyfokk, it burns.’
MIRAL
A crescent moon hung aboveThe Sombra’slake, painting pale trails across the water.
Miral stood at the steps of Santi’s terrace, eyes on the agitated man before her.
She’d kept a close watch on him as he unraveled in silence for days.
Now, his grief was exploding outward.
Faced with his rage, a drunken, roaring spectacle on the beach, she took the liberty of summoning Kaal and Xander.
The pair emerged from the trees lining the lagoon.
The CO locked gazes with Miral, who shrugged.
He needs your pack power to knock some fokkin’ sense into him.
They approached their anguished mate as Santi paced the sandy fringe outside his cabin.
He was barefoot, half a flask of grappa clutched in one hand, the other clenched into a trembling fist.
His shirt hung open, his chest rising and falling in jagged, uneven ripples. His spectral markings flickered beneath his skin, wild, erratic, and unstable.
He was unmoored in grief.
‘I should’ve saved her,’ he muttered, voice cracking with venom. ‘I might’ve. But I blinked like a fool,fokk, I waited, wanting to face off with Varnok and for my vanity, shefokkin’ died.’
He hurled the bottle into the water. It skipped once before sinking with a hollow splash.
Xander moved closer. ‘Santi.’
‘Don’t,’ his XO snarled, head whipping around to him. ‘Don’t you dare say my name like you understand. None of you do. Not one of youlosther.’
‘Brother, we’re losing you,’ Kaal grunted. ‘You’re falling apart and that’s not healthy.’
‘That’s because Ibroke her,’ Santi growled, his timbre splintering. ‘I made her feel like a criminal. Now she’s gone, forever.’
