Page 26 of Alien Warrior’s Claim (Nyxari Bondmates #1)

The glow from the salvaged emergency lights cast harsh shadows across the command center. Claire lay sedated in the adjacent chamber, her silver markings pulsing faintly beneath the restraints. Three days since our raid, and she remained our only success.

"Sir?" Martinez appeared at the entrance. "Phillips is ready to begin tomorrow."

I set down the disc-shaped artifact we'd recovered from the ruins, its intricate patterns still warm beneath my fingertips despite the cool night air.

"Tell Phillips to wait," I said. "I want to observe the subject's reactions to these artifacts once more."

The raid had yielded less than I'd hoped. The settlement still stood. Duvane remained free. But we had Claire—and these objects from the underground chamber, whatever they were.

I placed the disc near Claire's restrained wrist. As before, her markings brightened in response, pulsing with increased intensity as though recognizing something familiar. When I removed it, they gradually dimmed.

"They're connected," I told Martinez, who watched from the doorway. "These artifacts and whatever's happening to the marked women."

I recalled the moment during the raid—the glowing objects my men had pulled from that buried chamber, how they'd heated in proximity to the marked women. Duvane's reaction had been strongest, her markings flaring like captured starlight. No coincidence there.

"The Nyxari are hiding something," I continued. "Something buried beneath their settlement that they don't want us to find."

I studied Claire's face, so peaceful in sedation. Unlike Duvane's complete transformation, her markings remained limited—concentrated at her wrists and throat. The perfect test subject.

"Tomorrow, Frakes begins his examination," I decided. "I want to understand exactly what these markings do and how they function."

"And if we can't determine that, sir?"

My jaw tightened. The disc-shaped artifact pulsed once in my hand, almost as if responding to my thoughts.

"Then we neutralize the threat," I answered quietly. "By any means necessary."

The artifacts might hold the key to humanity's survival on this hostile planet. I wouldn't allow alien influence to undermine what remained of our species—even if it meant sacrificing those already lost to contamination.

"Humanity will endure," I said, setting the artifact aside. "No matter the cost."

* * *

The crash didn’t kill me, but this bond just might. Silver markings spread across my skin like wildfire, tying me to Kavan—a seven-foot, emerald-skinned alien healer whose touch ignites sensations I never knew were possible.

One little activation of ancient technology, and now we’re psychically linked—sharing every thought, every memory, every forbidden desire. When we’re apart, I ache for him. When we’re together, I burn.

But this planet isn’t just changing me—it’s killing others. A deadly epidemic is sweeping through the human settlement, and the cure lies in the alien medicine I can only unlock through my connection with Kavan.

Commander Hammond doesn’t care about the cure. He sees our bond as a threat, branding me as "contaminated" while using my friend Claire as a test subject. Meanwhile, storms are ripping the planet apart, and every tremor weakens the bond Kavan and I need to survive.

I never asked for this connection. I never asked to crave him. But now, saving my people—and the alien who owns my heart—means risking everything.

The clock is ticking. The storms are coming. And if we fail, we’ll lose more than just each other.

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