Epilogue
The power relay had fried itself from the inside out.
Daax crouched beside the junction box, his hands moving with the ease of long practice as he ran his fingers along the scorched housing.
Surge damage. The whole unit would need replacing, not just the coupling. Probably happened during the storm a week back, but Goraath had only noticed when his heating system started cycling wrong.
It was a big job, but that was fine by him. He liked work that kept his hands busy and his mind quiet.
The morning air bit cold against his face. Goraath’s ranch spread out around him, purple snow blanketing the fields, the mountains rising sharp against the pale sky. Peaceful. The kind of silence that sank into your bones.
The sound of an approaching transport cut through it.
Daax straightened, shading his eyes against the twin suns. He recognized the vehicle before it pulled to a stop. Gaauth. Goraath’s uncle, the one whose ranch Goraath managed alongside his own. He frowned. The old male didn’t usually come by this often.
But then, news travelled fast in a small colony. Especially news like mating marks.
Gaauth climbed out, moving with the stiffness of joints that didn’t work quite right anymore. He spotted Daax and changed direction, approaching him rather than heading for the house.
“Daax.” A nod of greeting.
“Gaauth.”
The old male stopped beside him and slid a glance sideways toward the house. From here they had a clear view of the porch, where Goraath stood with his arm around his human female. Juni. She was laughing at something, her hand pressed flat against his chest, her face tilted up toward him.
And Goraath—
Daax blinked.
He’d never seen that expression on the grumpy rancher’s face. Soft. Open. Like every hard edge had been sanded down to nothing. The male looked at his mate like she’d hung the moons in the sky just for him.
But then, there was a lot about Goraath that no one had seen. The colony was still buzzing about him being a krin hunter. All these years, and no one had known. Daax’s lips quirked at the corner. They all had secrets.
“Huh.” Gaauth’s voice was gruff. “Stubborn pup finally pulled his head out of his ass.”
“Looks like.”
“Glad he stopped fighting it.” The old male shook his head, but he looked satisfied. “Took him long enough.”
They watched in silence for a moment. Juni said something and Goraath’s shoulders shook. Daax had known the male for years. Never once seen him laugh.
Goraath curved around his mate like she was the centre of his universe. Like nothing else existed.
Daax’s chest tightened. What would that feel like?
His comm unit crackled.
“Hey, Daax.” Aida’s voice cut through the static. “Quick question. How opposed would you be to me rerouting the backup power grid through the secondary coupling?”
His hand was on the comm before she finished speaking. “Don’t touch it.”
“It’s fine. I’ve done this before.”
“That coupling is unstable. I flagged it for replacement three weeks ago. The part hasn’t come in yet.”
“Yeah, well, the grid needs fixing now. I’ve got it handled.”
“Aida.” He bit out her name. “Do not touch that coupling.”
A pause. Then a laugh, short and sharp. “Relax, boss. I know what I’m doing.”
The comm clicked off.
“Draanth it. Draanthing female!”
He was already moving, tools abandoned on the ground, his stride eating up the distance to his transport.
The relay could wait. Everything could wait.
Because that female had no sense of self-preservation and the secondary coupling had a fault line that could arc if someone breathed on it wrong, and she was about to stick her hands right in the middle of it.
“Better you than me,” Gaauth called after him. “Too old for that kind of madness.”
The transport door slammed behind him, engine firing before he’d even strapped in.
That female was going to be the death of him.
Thank you so much for reading