Page 6 of Star Crossed Delta

SABA

‘ G et the truth, brother, right fokkin ’ now,’ one of his strong guards growled.

Whipping her head around, Saba locked eyes with the speaker.

It was Xander Roman, the Commander of the Signet company and one of the most influential men in the room.

His mesmerizing eyes narrowed in a careful study of her, measuring her, probably finding her wanting.

Saba started as Mak’s amethyst gaze turned to her, like twin flames that threatened to consume her whole, defying her to refuse.

‘We need to talk.’

His hoarse grunt grated over her burning skin like sandpaper.

The time had come to reveal the truth, to lay bare the secrets eating away at her.

She met his glower with a calmness she did not feel. ‘A quiet place, please, away from prying eyes.’

He jerked his chin in agreement and twisted to nod at one of his strongmen.

Within moments, the ?ar gripped the back of her chair.

She rose as he pulled it out.

He growled at her hesitation to fold her fingers in with his, his firm, muscled hand falling over hers.

Her palpitations ratcheted.

His grip tightened as if sensing her desire to flee.

She had no choice but to move alongside him.

A pair of armed sentinels led them to the back of the pergola.

Whispers followed them, eyes lit with curiosity.

She imagined them murmuring to themselves about how eager they were for time alone, to quench their passion for each other, for a few snatched moments together.

Not that she cared what they thought.

Other than Aveline, none of them were concerned for her.

The guards ushered them down a path that wound towards a grand cabin set within a stand of trees and bushes.

The air grew colder, and the sounds of laughter and music faded into a distant buzz.

Mak’s silver cloak billowed around him while her veil trailed them, catching the breeze as they swept forward like two sails in the night.

They arrived at a secluded lodge, which Mak unlocked and then stepped aside, gesturing for her to enter.

Mak’s strongmen took their place outside the door, which closed after them.

Saba entered and was at once enveloped by warmth and quiet grandeur.

The living room was spacious and expansive, crafted from dark timber beams and smooth slate floors, with textures that were rich yet understated.

Plush furniture invited relaxation, soft leather sofas in deep earth tones, scattered with woolen throws and silk cushions that caught the lunar light filtering through the towering glass portals.

Those doors, framed in black steel, slid to reveal the terrace beyond, where the lake stretched silver and still beneath the night sky.

Moonlight rippled over its surface in molten ribbons, the sporadic breeze sending whispers through the pines along the shore.

Saba was still in awe that this place existed within the heart of a dreadnought ship, and she sighed at the sight, a reality suspended between worlds and galaxies.

A fireplace crackled in one corner, its flames casting amber shadows across the stone hearth and polished wood surfaces.

Bookshelves lined one wall, their contents a mix of tactical manuals, ancient texts, and the occasional relic that spoke of Mak’s storied past.

It was a space of calculated refuge, both opulent and practical, much like its owner. Everything in it expressed style, control, strength, and the rarest kind of wealth on the flotilla, the ability to find uninterrupted peace.

Mak gestured for Saba to sit on a velvet couch.

His expression was unreadable as he shrugged off his ceremonial cape.

He laid it down, and her eyes widened as he eased his tunic open to his waist, revealing his torso.

Her eyebrows rose further when he rolled his sleeves, displaying his sinewed, corded forearms.

Was he planning on getting down and dirty? she thought as he settled opposite her, perching his lean hip on the edge of an armchair, folding his arms over his broad chest, his legs crossed at the ankles.

Or preparing to punish her?

His leonine eyes locked on her, and he jerked his chin at her as if in a challenge.

Damn. Even though he scared the shit out of her, the man was freakin’ handsome.

Her clit fluttered, and she took a shaky breath to control her treacherous reaction to him.

His eyes hardened, dropping to the front of her wedding gown.

To her horror, she glanced down and saw that her nipples were pushing through the ebony silk in stark relief.

‘Cold?’ He smirked as he reached for his silver safin and handed it to her.

She took it, pulling it around her shoulders and over her mantle as he raised a brow, his expression unreadable.

The moment’s gravity fell like a heavy blanket on her, pressing down and grinding her soul.

She met his gaze, heart thudding. ‘Will they be back?’ she murmured.

His eyes narrowed. ‘Who?’

She clarified her words. ‘The freakin’ creature that attacked us? Will they return?’

He huffed. ‘It’s the fifth attack in the last two weeks. Of course, they will come back, ‘tis in their nature.’

‘What was it? A sachem ?’

His eyes were laser-focused on her. ‘How much do you know about fallen lycans?’

She shook her head. ‘Not a lot, I’m afraid. We, the Lisades, like to pretend they don’t exist.’

‘Ignorance in this case is not bliss,’ he grated.

‘They are the antediluvian progeny of the twisted shifter wolves, a part-angel hybrid race exceptional in cunning and wickedness. They’ve been engineered to be a weapon and give in to their base instincts, and little more than a wild creature.

Grotesque, macabre, deformed by genetic manipulation.

They now howl into the darkness of the void, living in nests that somehow travel with the flotilla, and do the bidding of their masters. ’

‘Who are they?’

‘Not sure, yet. Still, trust me, my hermanos and I will be looking into it. You’ve no idea the levels of depravity among those who want to see the end of the Sauvage dynasty and the Signet company.’

She shivered.

‘How did you become a lycan venator?’

The question escaped her lips before she could stop it.

He narrowed his eyes on her and huffed. ‘Curious little thing aren’t you?’

‘You don’t know the half of it.’

He smirked. ‘My strong guard and I, the Signet pack, got caught in an unexplained nuclear accident years ago, back on Earth. As a result, our plasma and biology were altered with regenerative nucleic-powered, aetheric shifting cells. We can shift into transcendent wolves. Kaal and I, for some reason, have the soul venator gift, if you could call it that. We can flit between mortal and spectral form. We can stalk through walls, burn through minds, freeze blood mid-vein, and shred through a small army.’

He tilted his head, gauging her mood. ‘Which means you’ve nothing to fear from the sachem . We have enough claws, fangs, shields, and deterrents to deal with them.’

Part reassured, Saba forced her eyes from him, gazing around her, unable to meet his scorching study of her.

A chandelier floated above them, providing light, and a fire roared in a hearth, warming Saba’s feet.

Still, she trembled, bracing herself for the inevitable with a shaky breath.

She glanced down at her hand and played with the diamond on her finger.

She attempted to slide it off, and as she slid forward, she gasped as the band tightened to the point of causing her pain.

She pushed it back into place, and the fastening eased.

She stared at it, chest heaving. The fokk?

‘You can’t remove it. Each attempt will tighten it without a unique twist that only I know to release it,’ Mak rasped.

Her head shot up at the ?ar’s declaration.

‘What in Sullied hell?’ she snapped.

‘It’s a Sauvage tradition, designed by one of our ancestors,’ Mak growled. ‘To dissuade wayward brides from escaping their groom.’

She shut her eyes to ward off the nightmare. ‘Macabre,’ she whispered to herself.

‘I fokkin ’ don’t care what you think. I’ve also been patient, hellishly so,’ Mak snarled, his chest rising and falling under his crossed, muscled hands with just the right smattering of hair. ‘But now you will tell me everything about your deception. Don’t leave a fokkin ’ thing out.’

She focused on those arms as she inhaled and pressed her lips together, gathering her thoughts before she spoke.

The time for cryptic behavior was over; it was the hour for honesty, no matter the consequences.

‘You were expecting Shiloh,’ she finally muttered. ‘My twin sister.’

His eyes glimmered with surprise as he studied her. ‘I see the resemblance now.’

‘Not many do. We’re fraternal, opposite in most ways but quite close regardless.’

‘More fact, less sentiment,’ he growled.

She jolted at his rudeness and shot him a glare. Even if he was the ?ar , she was done with men treating her with insolent boorishness.

‘I stepped into her place because my family’s fortunes were at stake,’ she confessed, her voice steady despite the turmoil of emotions. ‘Shiloh was betrothed to you, but she became indisposed.’

She hesitated, unwilling to say more, until he tilted his head further and jerked his chin at her.

‘You fokkin ’ Lisades,’ he rasped. ‘This is not the first time you’ve humiliated me with such audacity. You even used the same words your uncle tried on me seven and a half years ago. He said Suri was also ailing when she broke off our freakin’ seven-year engagement. So explain indisposed.’

She blinked at his boorishness. ‘I can’t say more than she had to leave our ark ship before the wedding. So it was either I stepping into her shoes or the never-ending ruin of my family.’

The ?ar leaned in, eyes blazing. ‘Why didn’t you or she have the courtesy to tell me before this charade?’

‘Would you have taken me?’

He raked his eyes over her from head to toe. ‘You’re not Shiloh. You’re not who was promised.’

Even though she’d anticipated this scenario, her face burned with shame and embarrassment, for he must have found her plainness too hard to bear.

She exhaled to cover up the stab of pain that went through her. ‘Oh, I know I’m not the bride or beauty you expected.’