Page 43 of Star Crossed Delta
Miral leaned against the frame of the test bench, arms folded. ‘You interested in more than just observation?’
Saba met her gaze. ‘Very.’
Miral exchanged glances with Boaz. ‘What do you think, boss? Shall we speak to Mak and Xander? Get her roped in?’
Boaz grinned. ‘If you’re sincere about being involved, there’s room for you on the hydrogen propulsion team. We’re stretched thin. You’d be welcome.’
Saba exhaled, heart thumping with a sense of dormant reawakening. ‘I’d be honored.’
‘You’d be badass,’ Miral added. ‘Given what we now know about your DNA.’
Miral discovered Saba’s latent lycan abilities after analyzing her blood work post-bite, realizing Mak’s fang had awakened a dormant gene passed down from an ancestor who once defied the earth-borne wolf clans by binding her bloodline to an alpha in secret.
The news, delivered by Miral a few mornings ago, had hit hard with Saba lost in disbelief and wonder, while Mak, stunned into silence, stared at her in awe.
For both of them, it was a crack of fate splitting open: the bond between them, once accidental, now felt inevitable, predestined by blood, power, and an ancient fate that neither of them dared admit.
Now, Boaz scratched his jaw. ‘You find any more anomalies, bring them to me. I’ll keep you informed about our calibration sessions. We meet every third rotation on Deck 22.’
‘Copy that,’ Saba said, already thinking through the equations she’d left half-solved that morning.
As she walked back to the lift with grease on her hands and schematics in her head, Saba felt more grounded than she had in years.
The chance to work with savvy engineers like Boaz and Miral was more than an outlet for her boredom. It was an exciting step into purpose and partnership.
That evening, as the sun dipped behind the horizon, setting the lake aglow with amber light, Mak joined her on the patio chaise where they’d settled after their meal.
He recounted his day, sharing the burdens of leading the Sauvage dynasty while managing Signet’s ever-expanding operations.
She listened, offered insights, and at times challenged his thinking.
More than anything else, she loved that he welcomed it.
She hadn’t expected to become his confidante, but that’s what she was becoming. And more. He trusted her judgment.
Their bond deepened through those quiet conversations, building a layered and enduring connection.
His gaze lingered on her in a blend of intensity and admiration.
After a moment, he shifted toward her, wine glass in hand.
‘So Miral and Boaz hit me up today,’ he said, his tone thoughtful. ‘Seems you’re not the kind of ? arim content to spend your days arranging flowers and attending ceremonial brunches.’
Saba tilted her head. ‘Is that right?’
Mak’s mouth curved. ‘Woman, admit it, you need more of a challenge.’
‘Whatever gave you that idea?’ she said dryly.
‘It’s the glazed look in your eyes when I ask how your baking turned out,’ he laughed.
She hid a simper, touched by how well he read her.
‘So, about this opportunity to work in engineering,’ he continued. ‘You really want in?’
Saba nodded. ‘I do. I got the lowdown from Miral and Boaz on how they’ve hit a bottleneck on long-range fuel propulsion, because of hydrogen instability in the Wildlight Expanse. It’d be awesome to help them nut it out.’
Mak smiled at his wife. ‘Indeed. We aim to develop a new hydrogen engine, improved scoops, and filtration arrays that can withstand the Expanse’s gravity shifts.
Miral started the framework, but she needs someone to co-lead.
Boaz has the logistics; Miral has the prototype theory.
However, the data modeling, calibration sequencing, and framework evaluation, that’s where you’d come in.
Your involvement would make a significant dent in getting us to Pegasi faster. ’
Saba’s pulse picked up. ‘You mean it?’
‘Enough that I cleared it with the pack this morning,’ Mak said, eyes locked on hers. ‘You’ve got the skill set. You’ve done systems analysis and energy extrapolation work before. This isn’t ceremonial. It’s essential.’
She laid a hand over his, pride swelling in her chest. ‘I’d be honored. Truly.’
Mak lifted her hand to his lips and kissed her palm.
‘ Fokk yeah. When that’s completed, perhaps you can start exploring alternatives to the heavy metals and nuclear-leeched ores we’re relying on.
We’re bleeding environmental damage into our fleet production.
We need sustainable composites for next-gen battery units and manufacturing cores.
Organic bonding agents, alloys, that kinda thing. ’
‘That’s ambitious,’ she murmured.
‘That’s the point,’ Mak said, pulling her into his lap. ‘We don’t just want to lead. We want to change the fokkin’ blueprint.’
She leaned into him as their conversation continued, delving deeper into engine schematics, fuel filtration models, and the intricacies of engineering under the warping conditions of the Expanse.
For the first time in a long while, her sense of purpose stirred; her mind engaged, and her future no longer just tethered to survival, but to creation.
Later that night, they returned to his primary where they made incandescent love, sending Saba into a rapture she’d never experienced before.
Their passion for the other was serendipitous, she thought, given how they’d battled to get here.
It was wild and untamed, an unrestrained force of nature. Every touch, kiss, and whispered endearment was a testament to a bond forged by fire.
After floundering in neutrality and angst, Saba was convinced their connection now transcended the physical, binding them in ways words could never express.
Perhaps, after all, they were fated, two souls entwined and destined to walk this path as one.
Regardless of the inferno that had brought them together, and no matter where it led.