Page 26 of Human Reclaimed (Cyborg Planet Alpha #2)

TWENTY-SIX

RUNE

I looked into Talia’s blue eyes and felt something profound shift within me. My hand stroked her soft cheek. “I will always come back for you, Talia,” I said, my voice rough with emotion. “In this lifetime and in every lifetime after.”

The words surprised even me—I’d never considered concepts like reincarnation or eternal bonds before. Such philosophical musings had seemed irrelevant to a cyborg created for tactical warfare. Yet with Talia, these sentiments emerged naturally, as if they’d always been waiting inside me.

The door slid open with a soft hiss, and Aeon rushed in with Olivia close behind. Their expressions shifted from concern to relief when they saw me sitting upright.

“You had us worried,” Aeon said, immediately checking the monitors beside my bed. His fingers moved with practiced precision across the display.

Olivia approached from the other side, her medical scanner already humming. “Follow my finger with your eyes,” she instructed, moving her index finger from side to side. I complied as she continued, “What’s the last thing you remember before waking up here?”

“The pirate ship,” I answered immediately. “Delia jabbed something into my neck after I neutralized her guards. Then Talia… she eliminated the threat.” I glanced at Talia with unmistakable pride.

“Good. Now count backward from twenty by threes.”

“Twenty, seventeen, fourteen, eleven, eight, five, two, negative one, negative four…” I recited without hesitation.

“Remarkable,” Olivia said, looking genuinely impressed as she studied her readings. “The virus has been completely purged from your system. I expect you to make a full recovery. And it appears that, miraculously, you haven’t suffered any amnesia or memory gaps at all.”

She exchanged a knowing glance with Aeon before adding with a slight smile, “Perhaps it had something to do with a certain someone.” Her eyes flickered meaningfully toward Talia.

“I have no doubt,” I agreed, reaching for Talia’s hand and intertwining our fingers. “The power of her love and concern for me probably kept me tethered to reality.”

The sentiment would have felt foreign on my tongue just weeks ago, but now the words flowed naturally. I meant them completely.

Olivia nodded, checking the IV bag hanging beside my bed. “Well, whatever it was, it worked. You can go home once this bag is empty. It’s about two-thirds done now. But I want you to rest for at least a day. Doctor’s orders.”

“I’ll make sure he follows your instructions,” Talia said, squeezing my hand. “He can be stubborn, but I know how to handle him.”

We all laughed, and the sound felt healing somehow. When had I last laughed so freely before Talia came into my life?

“We’ll leave you two alone,” Aeon said, his hand finding the small of Olivia’s back as they moved toward the door. The gentle gesture between them—so natural and so human—no longer seemed like a mystery to me.

When the door closed behind them, I turned to Talia, noting the redness around her eyes still.

“I noticed you were crying when I woke up,” I said softly. “Was it because of my recording on your datapad?”

She nodded, her lip catching between her teeth. “Yes. It was beautiful, Rune. And devastating—thinking I might have lost you forever.”

“Do you want to know if I still feel those things?” I asked, my heart accelerating despite knowing the answer with absolute certainty.

“Yes,” she whispered.

I brought her hand to my chest, pressing it against my heartbeat.

“Every single word,” I said firmly. “Especially about you being the best thing that has ever happened to me and loving you completely—more than I ever thought possible.” I paused for a moment, staring deeply into her eyes.

“I might’ve been created to be a weapon, but you’ve helped me become a man. ”

The last drops of the IV solution finally trickled through the tube in my arm. Talia had watched my IV with fierce concentration for the past hour. She hadn’t left my side since I’d awakened.

“That’s it,” she announced, her fingers already working to disconnect the tube using her battlefield triage skills. “Let’s get you home.”

Home. The word resonated differently now. Before Talia, my quarters had been merely functional—a place to recharge between missions. Now it held something else. Possibility.

I swung my legs over the edge of the bed, feeling a momentary weakness that annoyed me. “I’m fine,” I insisted when she reached to support me.

“Sure you are.” She slid under my arm anyway, her body surprisingly strong against mine. “Let the war hero lean on me just this once.”

The walk through the colony was mercifully short. Night had fallen, and Planet Alpha’s moons cast silver-blue light across our path. Beyond the buildings, the jungle’s nocturnal symphony had begun—the strange clicking insects and distant calls of creatures we still hadn’t fully catalogued.

Once inside my quarters, Talia guided me to sit on the edge of my bed and then moved to the adjoining bathroom.

“I’m running you a bath,” she called over the sound of rushing water. “Doctor’s orders.”

“Olivia didn’t mention a bath,” I remarked, enjoying the domestic sound of her moving around my space.

“No, but I’m prescribing one.” She reappeared in the doorway, her smile soft but determined. “You smell like the medical bay antiseptic.”

I watched, transfixed, as she approached and began untying my boots. Something profoundly intimate about the gesture struck deeper than our physical encounters had. She continued upward, helping me remove my shirt with gentle efficiency.

“Stand up,” she instructed, and I obeyed without question. Her fingers worked at my belt and then my pants until I stood before her, completely exposed.

“Your turn,” I murmured, reaching for her.

She allowed me to undress her, my movements slower and more deliberate than hers had been.

Each inch of golden skin revealed felt like a gift.

When she stood naked before me, I felt a surge of possessiveness that I would have once considered a programming error.

Now I recognized it as something deeply human—the fierce, protective instinct of a man for his woman.

“Come on,” she said, leading me into the bathroom where steam rose from the tub. She helped me in first and then slid in behind me, her legs cradling mine and her chest pressing into my back.

I sighed as the hot water enveloped us, easing muscles I hadn’t realized were tense. “This feels…”

“Good?” she supplied, her lips brushing my shoulder.

“No. Perfect.” I leaned back against her, surrendering to her care. The sensation was still new to me—this willingness to be vulnerable. Before her, weakness had seemed unacceptable.

Her hands moved over my chest, tracing the scars there. “How are you feeling really? The truth.”

“Better with you here.” I covered her hands with mine. “You saved me today. With the virus and… before that.”

“Before that?”

I turned slightly to see her face. “By giving me something to fight for beyond duty. Something of my own.”

Her eyes softened as she reached for the soap, working it into a lather between her palms before applying it to my skin. We sat in comfortable silence as she washed me with reverent attention.

“I’ve decided something,” she said finally, her voice quiet but sure. “I’m staying on Planet Alpha.”

I went still, hardly daring to believe. “You’re staying?”

“Yes.” Her hands never stopped their gentle ministrations. “I’m not going back to Earth. My life is here now. With you. You mentioned plans for us, and I want those plans. All of them.”

I turned fully in the tub, water sloshing over the sides as I took her face in my hands. “Nothing would make me happier, Talia. Nothing.”

Her smile bloomed, brilliant and unguarded. “So, what are these plans of yours, Commander?”

“First,” I said, leaning closer until our lips nearly touched, “I’m going to make you my wife.

Second, we’re going to build something lasting here—a home, maybe a family someday.

” The words tumbled out with surprising ease.

“Third, I’m going to spend every day proving that kidnapping you was the best mistake I ever made. ”

She laughed then, the sound echoing off the bathroom walls. “Your tactical errors turn out surprisingly well.”

“Only this one,” I murmured before capturing her lips with mine. The kiss deepened, and I pulled her closer, water cascading around us.

“I love you so much, Talia,” I breathed against her mouth.

“I love you, too,” she breathed softly, her hands sliding into my hair.