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Daughter Of Wolves

XANDER

X ander woke to the muted hush of the medbay, where soft shadows cast across the walls.

The hum of machines faded into the background as awareness slipped back into him like a tide.

First his breath, then the ache, then her.

He turned to Savvine, his heart convulsing.

Fokk , he adored her.

Her limbs wrapped around him in the hover bed, one leg slung over his hip, one arm tucked over his chest like she’d always belonged there.

Her breath warmed the base of his throat, her dark lashes brushing his skin with every rise and fall, and just like that, it hit him.

Love.

The moment never announced itself.

There was no lightning crack or grand fanfare. It crept in quietly, infiltrating and creeping under his armor, until his soul pulsed with its eternal truth.

He inhaled, jolted with emotion.

He loved her because she was thunder held in check by will.

She carved stillness out of chaos when he needed it, and because when he was being an ass, she called him on it without hesitation.

She didn’t flinch from his lycan nature, didn’t coddle his demons, and she didn’t need saving.

She gave him crazy love that melted away all his nightmares, past and present.

She fit into the hidden corners of his soul that no one ever stepped into.

His mission to safeguard a flotilla of millions to Pegasi remained unchanged.

His lofty ambitions were still the same, but the summit now appeared different because she crested it.

His arm tightened around her waist, his soul fluxing with emotion.

She murmured in her sleep, nose nuzzling the crook of his neck.

He kissed her hair first. Next, her temple. Then, reverently, the corner of her mouth.

She stirred, stretching with a drowsy sigh, one eye peeking open. ‘You’re awake.’

‘Just,’ he rasped, voice cracked with drowsiness and rawness. ‘But aware enough.’

She smiled against him.

His following rasped words surged from the overflow of his heart. ‘Savvine Bianchi, I love you, I adore you, and you have my heart for eternity.’

She jolted, then exhaled, eyes soft, giving in a smile that undid him. ‘Did you think I didn’t know that already?’

He narrowed his eyes at her. ‘Which means you owe me the same. Say it.’

‘Say what?’ she teased, her lips brushing his chin.

‘Say. It.’

‘Hell, he’s a demanding alpha even when half-dead,’ she muttered, then leaned closer to kiss his surly lips. ‘I love you too, Alexandr-Alexandr Levine Roman.’

He let out a snarl, fingers threading into her hair. ‘ Fokk , finally.’

Her laughter echoed in the room as he pulled her to him with a savage growl.

Then his mouth was on hers again, with no desperation, just certainty and truth.

They stayed like that for a while. Wrapped around each other, resting in their shared tranquility.

Because sometimes, love didn’t need fanfare.

It only required your beloved to walk through the fire beside you and come out the other side in stillness and peace.

SAVVINE

The following evening, Savvine stood at Xander’s bedside beneath the soft blue cast of the medbay lighting.

His complexion was no longer scorched, but patches of darkened healing still traced his chest and shoulder.

The hover bed pulsed with a gentle hiss as his body acclimated to the regenerative stasis cycle.

With slow patience, she brought a spoon to his lips, letting him swallow the last of a nutrient gel pack.

‘Hell, its pure piss paste.’

‘Don’t grumble, handsome. It’s helping with your recuperation.’

‘ Fokk this shit.’

‘Who thought you’d be so mouthy when unwell?’

She smirked at his defiance. The man was still too weak to fight, yet strong enough to complain.

Her hand smoothed the curve of his jaw as she adjusted the webbed gel cast around his ribs.

He winced but caught her wrist when she lifted away.

‘Try not to start another war without me,’ he rasped.

She smiled, bent close, and brushed her lips over his brow. ‘Just wrapping up the last one. I love you.’

‘ Te amo, mi reina . Come back to me as fast as you can. I’ll miss you morning, afternoon, and night.’

‘I’ll be counting the seconds.’

She blew a kiss at him, heart already aching as she strode away from him, hating that she had to be away from him for a few days.

Savvine stepped out of Xander’s recovery room, tugging her jacket tighter as the cool air conditioning draft wafted over her.

The corridor was quiet, except for the monitors’ soft beep echoing from other cubicles.

She had half an hour before she departed for the Eterna , and she needed to change.

A flicker of movement caught her attention as she tracked past the room adjacent to Xander’s.

She paused.

Inside, beneath the pale lighting, was a broad-chested man, half-bandaged, thick cords of muscle resting against sterile white sheets.

Violet hair hung past his jaw in uneven waves. A scar slashed diagonally through his left eyeball like a clawed warning.

Bone.

He was awake, upright, and staring at her as if he sensed her approach.

Before she could stop herself, her boots whispered over the threshold.

She hovered beside the bed. ‘You healing alright?’

He gave her no reply, just that steady, unreadable stare, like a storm biding its time.

She cleared her throat, suddenly aware of the tension coiling between them. ‘I’m sure Santi or Kaal shared our appreciation for saving Xander and our collective asses.’

Still nothing. Just more of that piercing gaze, eyes narrowed on her, scorching her skin.

Nonplussed, she waved her hand in farewell. ‘I’ll let you rest now.’

She swiveled to go, and a guttural growl came from behind her.

‘If he hadn’t scented you first, you would’ve been mine.’

She froze and blinked.

She twisted back to face him, brows lifting in disbelief at the raw audacity of his words.

With a tilt of her head, she parsed his tone. It was not flirtatious or cruel.

Instead, it was a simple, honest declaration, almost as if he were stating a law of gravity, a dangerous, timeless truth.

For one shaky breath, she imagined being his and letting that wild spectral energy claim her. It stirred a primal and untamed emotion deep in her belly.

With an inhale, she shook it off, spine straightening.

‘Well, he claimed me first, and I love him.’

Bone’s eyes narrowed on her, then a slight curve appeared on his mouth, accompanied by a nod. Not one of defeat, but approval.

‘Good. Tis serendipity and the way it should be. I shall hunt another to mark.’

His voice held no bitterness, twas only a timbred, hoarse resolution.

Still, the air snapped and charged around him, his words crackling with unspoken intent.

She exhaled, lips curving in amused disbelief. ‘You do that.’

With that, she turned on her heel and strolled out, still reeling, a little unsettled, and somewhat flattered.

She headed for the loading dock, where the última X waited, and made tracks into the armory alongside the bay.

The scent of weapon polish and clean steel inside the vault greeted her.

Each member of the strong guard was already suited or prepping, quiet and focused.

Fortified lockers lined the walls, labeled with Signet crew names etched in metallic cursive. She walked to Xander’s and keyed in his access code.

The locker hissed open to reveal her full Sable Mk VIII armor: deep matte black trimmed with midnight violet, a rare customization gifted to her by Xander.

Lightweight but reinforced with ion-threaded memory mesh, the suit self-adjusted to her heat signatures and pulse fluctuations, like a second skin.

She stepped into the exo-suit piece by piece.

The chest plate latched into place with a subtle click.

The spinal shield slid along her back and merged at the collar.

She rotated her arms and flexed her hands as the gauntlets synced with her neural commands. Her helmet remained in her hand, for now.

Miral emerged from a side chamber, suited in chrome-and-smoke Sable armor. Her eyes gleamed behind her iridescent visor.

Her regenerated form gave off light, the metanoids swirling under her skin like stars behind stormglass.

Kaal stood nearby, his larger bulk encased in an armored suit with added shoulder ballast, meant for close-quarters combat.

He checked his pulse blades, flipped his shield, and nodded at Savvine.

‘You prepped?’ he asked.

‘I’m more than ready.’

Santi entered with his usual irreverent flair, spinning a compact rifle in one hand and muttering lyrics of a Terran kill song beneath his breath.

His cuirass was sleeker, made for mobility and sharpshooting, marked with white sigils along his spine and thighs.

‘You know,’ he said, glancing around, ‘if we don’t die tonight, I say we all take a holiday. On one of the pleasure yachts in the flotilla, complete with re-imagined sea views, beachside resorts, and room service.’

‘Focus, Santi,’ Miral muttered.

‘Tis my way, Miral. If I can’t see the payoff, I struggle with the knockdown.’

He grinned at the pair as he prowled away to board his Corvette.

Miral and Savvine exchanged amused glances, then tracked to the última X , where they got into their crash couches and prepped for launch.

Outside, the docking bay lights cycled from amber to green.

They moved out in three Corvettes, all bearing the matte-black signature of the Signet strike fleet.

The última Zephyr , piloted by Santi, shimmered as its cloaking array activated.

Kaal took the Shieldwake , a tank-class vessel with interior drone launchers and siege cannons.

Savvine marveled at the upgrades to Xander’s ship , which bristled with even more Sable tech.

‘You’ve been busy.’

‘I found myself with downtime while you focused on Xander’s recovery,’ Miral clarified with a grin.

‘This baby is now packed with modifiable hull tech, upgraded weapons systems, hardened shell plating, adaptive camo, and a drop-pod at the base for infiltration landings. She’s fast, stealthed, and now plays dirtier than ever before. ’

Her synth hands flew over the Corvette’s controls, and the engine purred to life.