Page 10 of Zayrik (The Protectorate Warriors Alien Fated Mates #6)

Nyla

I SWALLOWED HARD, PULSE pounding as Zayrik’s gaze pinned me in place.

I’d talked my way out of ambushes, lied to warlords, stolen from men who thought they owned the stars. But Zayrik?

He was something else.

Not just dangerous. Not just observant. He was patient.

And patience? That’s what broke people.

I exhaled slow. Didn’t break eye contact. But I did what I did best.

I deflected.

“So what?” I tipped my head, keeping my voice casual, unimpressed . “You think you can glare me into confessing?”

Zayrik’s expression didn’t shift. Didn’t blink. His body remained close enough that I could feel the heat radiating from him, smell the warm scent that clung to his skin.

“Worked, didn’t it?”

My fingers twitched. Damn him.

I could try lying again. Play dumb. Try making him think this was all one big unfortunate accident.

But it wasn’t. And he knew it.

I glanced at the ship’s readout again, the lines of data staring back like ghosts I’d tried to outrun.

Vask’s network.

This ship was one of his.

Not anymore. Not now that Zayrik had won it in some backroom gambling den. But before?

It had been part of an illegal trade network. The same network I’d been running from. The one I’d barely managed to slip through when I took the crystal.

I exhaled. “It’s not your problem.”

Zayrik’s jaw flexed. Not amused . His eyes darkened as he leaned in, just a fraction closer.

“Wrong,” irritation humming beneath the surface. “You’ve made it my problem.”

I wanted to argue. But... not this time. Because we had bigger issues.

Like the fact that I’d just confirmed he was tangled in something very, very bad.

He didn’t let up. Didn’t move away.

Just studied me like he could pick the truth apart, piece by piece.

“So,” he murmured, voice low. “Let me help.”

I hesitated. Not because I didn’t trust him. But because the second I told him the truth?

He’d either run ... or stay.

And staying?

That would get him killed .

Zep shifted on my shoulder, wings fluttering nervously. His claws dug slightly into my skin, a reassuring pressure. I exhaled through my nose, forcing my pulse to steady.

“You want the truth?” I asked, watching for the first flicker of a reaction. Any tell I could use.

“Fine. The ship? It’s bad news. It belonged to someone worse.”

Zayrik’s fingers flexed against his crossed arms. “Who?”

I hesitated.

He noticed.

His voice dipped lower. “Who, Nyla?”

The way he said my name sent an involuntary shiver down my spine.

I licked my lips, gaze flicking away for just a second. “Vask.”

The air tightened .

Not much. Not loud. But Zayrik went very, very still.

And stillness, from a man like him? That was worse than anger.

Slowly, Zayrik inhaled.

Then— his voice was calm.

A muscle in his jaw flexed. “I had a feeling you were going to say that. Did you steal from him?”

I swallowed. “Borrowed.”

He nodded once. “Right.”

I sighed. “Look, I didn’t have a choice—”

“No,” he cut me off, stepping closer. The movement pressed me further against the wall, his body almost flush with mine. “You had a choice. And you chose this .”

I bristled, placing my hands on his chest to create distance—but the contact only made my pulse skip. “If I’d had better options, I would’ve taken them.”

Nav’s voice chimed in softly. “To be fair, your previous employment options were limited after the incident on Nova Prime .”

“Not helping, Nav,” I muttered.

Zayrik exhaled, dragging a slow hand over his jaw. His eyes never left mine, even as his voice remained calm. Still even.

But there was something else now.

Something calculating .

Something dangerous.

“How long,” he asked quietly, “before they come looking?”

I hesitated.

Because that answer?

Was the worst one yet.

“They already are.”

His fingers wrapped around my wrist, not painfully, but firmly. The touch sent a jolt of heat through my system that had nothing to do with fear.

“What exactly did you take from him?” he demanded.

I swallowed hard. “Something that could ruin him.”

“The data crystal.” It wasn’t a question.

I stiffened. “How did you—”

His voice dropped low. “The Protectorate has been tracking Vask’s operation for half a tenri. There were rumors of a crystal containing his entire network. Names, coordinates, transactions.”

My eyes widened. “You’re after the same thing.”

“Was,” he corrected. “Until my commander pulled me out. Said the intel was bad, the crystal didn’t exist.” His gaze intensified. “But it does, doesn’t it? And you have it.”

I didn’t answer, but my hand instinctively went to my jacket pocket.

His eyes tracked the movement. “That’s why they’re hunting you.”

“That’s why they’ll kill anyone who helps me,” I said quietly.

We stood there, locked in a moment of tension. His body nearly pressed against mine, his hand still around my wrist, my free hand resting on his chest where I could feel his heart beating steadily beneath my palm.

“The rumors are true. The crystal contains every connection in Vask’s network,” I finally said.

“Every corrupt official, every black market dealer, every assassin on his payroll.” My eyes locked with his.

“Everyone who’s ever looked the other way while he destroyed lives.

You should leave at the next outpost,” I whispered.

“Pretend you never met me. Tell them I stole the ship from you.”

I expected resistance. Maybe an argument. Maybe that silence men get before they throw you under the next transport.

Instead—

“No,” he said it like a vow. Like a man who’d already made up his mind, and who wasn’t going to let me change it.

“No?” I repeated, incredulous. “Did you miss the part where being around me will get you killed?”

His lips curved into a dangerous smile that did unfortunate things to my insides. “I’ve been marked for death before.”

“This isn’t a game, Zayrik.”

“I know exactly what this is.” His thumb moved slightly, tracing a pattern on the inside of my wrist that felt far too intimate. “It’s the mission I never finished.”

I stared at him, trying to read his expression. “So, what—now you want the crystal for yourself? For the Protectorate?”

His eyes held mine. “I want to know why you took it.”

The question caught me off guard.

“Because,” I said finally, my voice barely above a whisper, “someone had to.”