I took care of business quickly. My mind wouldn't shut up, kept circling back to the same questions. What had I agreed to? What did being his mate actually mean? Was I ready for this? Did I even have a choice anymore, or had accepting the knife locked me into something irreversible?
I'd known Nyx for weeks. Had been actively avoiding him for most of that time. And now I'd jumped straight into the deep end without checking if there was water in the pool.
Smart, Lexa. Real fucking smart.
I finished and stood, adjusting my weapons belt. My hand found the knife automatically, thumb running over the pommel. The leather was soft, broken in despite being new. Like he'd worked it specifically to match the calluses on my palm.
How long had he been planning this? How long had he been carrying this blade, waiting for the right moment to offer it?
Since the Skalanth holiday and our throwdown? Earlier?
The questions wouldn't stop. I needed to talk to him. Needed to ask what this meant, what he expected, what the hell I'd signed up for by saying yes.
But I wasn't ready for that conversation. Wasn't ready to see the certainty in his eyes, the possessive satisfaction that had been there last night when he'd buried himself inside me and called me his.
I needed time to think. To process. To figure out what I actually wanted versus what my traitorous body was demanding.
The sound of footsteps snapped me back to the present.
Multiple sets. Moving fast.
My hand went to my knife, fingers wrapping around the grip. I turned toward the sound, every sense suddenly screaming danger.
Six figures emerged from behind the rocks. Human and wearing dark armor. Armed with blasters that I recognized, the distinctive shape of military-issue energy weapons from Earth.
They surrounded me in a formation. Military training evident in the way they moved, the way they covered angles, the way they kept their weapons trained but not quite aimed.
I froze. My brain tried to catch up with what I was seeing. Humans. Here. Armed. Looking at me like I was something they'd been searching for.
"She's safe!" one of them yelled. A woman, maybe mid-thirties, with short dark hair and the kind of scars that came from combat. Relief flooded her voice, made it crack slightly.
Safe from what?
I opened my mouth to speak. To ask what the hell was going on, who they were, how they'd found us.
Sound erupted from around the corner. The scuffle of bodies hitting stone. A growl that I recognized, that made my heart lurch sideways in my chest.
Nyx.
He was awake. Fighting.
The blaster shot cracked through the air. Distinctive sound, the whine of energy discharge followed by the sizzle of impact.
"Monster secured!"
The words smacked me in the face.
Monster.
They'd shot him. These humans had shot Nyx and were calling him a monster and probably had him restrained or unconscious or hurt.
Rage ignited in my chest. White-hot and all-consuming. I moved without thinking, took two steps toward the corner before hands grabbed my arms.
"You're safe now." The woman who'd yelled earlier. She was in front of me, blocking my path, her expression a mix of concern and determination. "It can't hurt you anymore."
It.
They thought they were rescuing me. Thought Nyx was a threat, a captor, something I needed saving from.
