I steadied myself, breathing hard, and felt my own desire echo back through the bond, amplified fourfold.
They knew.
"I'm ready," I whispered.
The bond answered immediately, thrumming beneath my skin.
Come to us.
The words weren't spoken aloud, but I felt them in my bones. A command and an invitation all at once.
I knew exactly where they were—the tether pulled me like a compass needle toward magnetic north. A room I'd never been in before, buried deep in the ship's heart where the crew rarely ventured.
Their sanctuary.
I walked through the corridors, the fabric of my dress whispering against my thighs with every step. Constellations drifted across the material with each movement, galaxies swirling and reforming.Crewmembers froze as I passed, eyes widening, mouths falling open. Some looked away quickly. Others stared.
Let them look.
They could want all they wanted. But I belonged to four men now, and no one else would ever touch me.
I stopped in front of a door I'd never noticed before—dark metal etched with flowing script I couldn't read, glowing faintly red in the dim corridor. My hand hovered over the panel.
The door slid open before I could touch it.
Heat rolled out of the room beyond—not temperature, but something deeper. Presence. Power. Anticipation.
I stepped inside.
The sanctuary was nothing like the rest of the ship. Low light emanated from bioluminescent strips along the walls, casting everything in shades of amber and crimson. The air smelled like incense and something earthy I couldn't name—woodsmoke and spice and salt. Furs and soft fabrics covered the floor in layers, creating a space that felt ancient, sacred, utterly removed from the cold functionality of the Starbreaker.
And in the center of it all, they waited.
All four of them. Shirtless. Watching me.
Torvyn stood at the front, his golden eyes molten in the dim light, every muscle in his broad chest and shoulders carved like a weapon. Dark ink traced patterns across his ribs—Zorathi script I couldn't read but somehow understood meantloyalty, honor, bond. Kaedren loomed beside him, arms crossed, his scars stark against dark skin, his expression fierce and hungry. The jagged line that cut across his chest told a story of survival, of violence endured and overcome. Lyrin's hazel gaze tracked my every movement, his lean frame deceptively relaxed, his empathy already reaching for me through the bond. Silver tattoos spiraled down his arms like vines. Vaelix hung back slightly, his sharp features shadowed, but I could feel his brilliant mind cataloging everydetail—the flush on my skin, the rise and fall of my chest, the way I trembled. Geometric patterns marked his collarbone, mathematical precision made art.
They looked at me like I was the only thing in the universe that mattered.
My breath caught.
Torvyn stepped forward, and the movement was deliberate, reverent. His golden eyes burned—not just with want, though I could feel that hunger rolling off him in waves—but with something deeper.
Hope.
"Doctor Kira Vale." His voice was formal, but it shook at the edges. "Welcome to our sanctuary. This room is sacred. Only those who surrender themselves to the Zorathi tether may enter."
My heart hammered. This wasn't just sex. This was ritual. Commitment. Forever.
Lyrin moved to Torvyn's side, his hazel eyes soft but serious. "We don't tell you this to coerce you." His empathy wrapped around me, gentle and grounding. "We tell you this so you understand the choice before you. The tether is more than physical. It's emotional. Mental. Physiological."
I nodded, my throat tight. I knew. I'd felt it already—the edges of what they were offering.
The bond hummed beneath my skin, pulling tighter with every word they spoke. My pulse quickened.
Vaelix stepped forward, his brilliant gaze locked on mine. "We share everything as one, yet we remain individuals. The tether binds us, making us stronger—together and apart." He paused, and I felt his mind brush against mine through the bond, a whisper of complex equations and fierce devotion intertwined. "But know this: if you join us, you will never be alone again. No matter where you go, we will be with you."
A promise. A warning.
