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"To them, you're both." She gestures at my body. "Unmarked human DNA is valuable. Some collectors want to study you. Others..." She trails off, looking away.

I think of Jack's warnings about his superiors, about the danger. He tried to protect me from this. And now I'm here, about to be sold like a piece of exotic art to the highest bidder.

The tears come without warning, hot and desperate. I curl into myself, shoulders shaking as sobs wrack my body. All those times I thought my life was falling apart - bad breakups, losing my scholarship, fighting with my parents - seem laughably small now.

"Please don't cry." Mar'oo takes a hesitant step forward. "The process isn't painful. They'll make sure you're comfortable-"

"Comfortable?" I choke out a bitter laugh. "While they study me like a lab rat? Or keep me as what - a pet? Or even a…oh god."

She drifts closer, her tentacles rippling with what might be distress. "Some masters treat their humans very well. Like precious treasures."

"That's supposed to make me feel better?" I swipe at my cheeks, but fresh tears replace the ones I wipe away. "I had a life. A job. Friends. And now I'm just... property?"

Mar'oo kneels beside me, close enough that I can see patterns swirling beneath her scales. "I wish I could help. But the collectors... they own everything here. Including me."

Something in her voice makes me look up. Those silver eyes hold a shadow of understanding, of shared captivity. She reaches out with one delicate hand, hesitates, then gently touches my shoulder.

"I'm so scared," I whisper, the admission breaking something loose inside me. Fresh sobs bubble up, and to my surprise, Mar'oo pulls me into an embrace. Her scales are smooth and cool against my tear-stained face.

"I know," she murmurs, her musical voice carrying notes of sorrow. "I know."

I sink into Mar'oo's embrace, my mind drifting to Jack. Not the alien version that shattered my reality, but the man who made me laugh during laser tag. Who kissed me under the stars. Who made me feel like I was the most fascinating person he'd ever met.

The image of him crumpling to the ground plays on repeat. That mercury-like creature appearing behind him. The sickening thud. The way his eyes - those impossible black eyes - had locked onto mine in that final moment, filled with desperate love and regret.

"He tried to warn me," I whisper against Mar'oo's scales. "He pushed me away to protect me, and I thought... I thought he just didn't want me anymore."

My chest aches with the weight of everything unsaid. I'd been ready to tell him I loved him. Now he's probably lying dead in that alley, and I'll never get the chance.

"The man they took you from?" Mar'oo's tentacles brush soothingly against my hair. "The one who changed form?"

I nod, unable to speak through the fresh wave of grief.

"He wasn't like the others," she says softly. "Most observers maintain strict distance. They never... fall in love."

Love. The word pierces through me like a blade. I'd been so careful with my heart, built walls so high after every disappointment. Then Jack came along with his strange questions and intense focus, and somehow slipped right past every defense.

"I loved him back," I admit, the words barely audible. "God, I loved him, and I never told him. And now…"

CHAPTER21

JACK

Iwake with a splitting headache and the taste of blood in my mouth. The pavement beneath me is cold, but my rage burns hotter than any sun in the galaxy. Vanessa. They took her. My failure to protect her claws at my insides like a rabid beast.

"Computer, track the last quantum signature from this location." My wrist device flickers to life, scanning the residual energy patterns. The kidnappers' transport left a trace - sloppy work typical of black market operators.

My body trembles as I pull myself up, switching forms back to my Vakutan self. No more hiding. The signature matches a known trafficking route to Glimner. Of course it would be Glimner - that cesspool of corruption where anything can be bought and sold.

"Access Project Veritas mission files - cross reference known slave trade operations on Glimner." The data streams across my vision, each new piece of information stoking my fury. Humans are considered exotic, commanding astronomical prices. The thought of Vanessa being auctioned off like property makes me want to tear the whole planet apart.

I slam my fist into the wall, leaving a crater in the brick. This is my fault. I should have told her everything sooner, protected her better. Instead, I let my feelings cloud my judgment until it was too late.

"Prep emergency transport to Glimner, priority clearance." To hell with protocol and mission parameters. I'll burn every bridge I have to get her back.

The coordinates lock onto a sprawling market district, a maze of neon and shadows where the galaxy's worst predators gather to trade their "merchandise." I know exactly the kind of monsters I'll find there. Good. They'll learn what happens when you take something precious from a Vakutan warrior.

Back home,my PerComm chimes with an incoming transmission. Commander Vex'tra's hologram materializes, her expression carved from stone. "Agent Jorun, return to base immediately. That's an order."