Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
Maelic
They both froze.
A thunderclap. But there were no clouds. No storm.
Maelic knew that sound. The displacement of atmosphere from a ship breaking through the sky.
He looked up.
The vessel descending through the gray clouds was black and jagged, built for speed and brutality. He had spent cycles hunting that ship. Memorizing every line. Every weapon port. Every weakness. The ship that had taken his parents.
Barvarti.
Every muscle in his body locked.
No. Not here. Not now.
“Del.” His voice came out cold. The voice of an Axiom, not the male who’d just been ready to kiss her senseless. “Listen to me very carefully.”
“What is that?” She was staring at the ship, face pale. “Maelic, what’s happening?”
“That is the male who killed my family.” He gripped her shoulders. Forced her to look at him. “And he is here for me.”
Her eyes went wide.
“The large tree at the edge of the clearing. The one with the split trunk. Do you remember it?”
She nodded. He could see her trying to be brave. Trying not to panic.
Good. His brave little human.
He pulled the transponder band from his wrist and pressed it into her palm. “Put this on. Press the center three times. It will cloak you. Do not move. Do not make a sound.” He held her gaze. “No matter what you see. Do you understand?”
“Maelic, I’m not leaving you to fight alone—”
“You are not leaving me. You are staying hidden so I can end this.” He pressed his forehead to hers. Breathed her in. Memorized her. “I will come back to you. I swear it. But I cannot fight if I am worried about protecting you. Please, astara. Let me do this.”
Her jaw trembled. Her eyes were wide. The silent prayer he sent to the goddess was that she would listen to him and move.
To his immense relief, she nodded.
“Go. Now.”
She ran.
Maelic watched until she disappeared behind the tree. Until the shimmer of the cloak flickered to life.
Then he turned to face the descending ship.
His wings spread. His fangs descended, venom pooling hot and ready. He reached for his phaser, then swallowed as he realized he didn’t have a weapon. He was glad he still had claws on his left hand.
Come then, Barvarti.
I have been waiting for this.
The ship touched down in the clearing. Snow melted beneath its thrusters, scorching the earth black.
The ramp lowered with a hiss.
Three males emerged first. Armed. Spreading out to flank the clearing. Maelic recognized two of them from his short time undercover. Krel and Voss. Brutal but stupid.
The third was new. Younger. Eager.
Then Barvarti descended.
Tall, even for a Suilide. His big body a deep crimson—the color of dried blood. His eyes were black pits that reflected nothing. He moved with the lazy confidence of a predator who had never met anything he couldn’t break.
Maelic remembered those eyes. Remembered them watching as his Papeer fell. As his Mamir screamed.
“Well, well.” Barvarti’s voice was smooth. Amused. “The little orphan survived after all.”
Maelic said nothing.
“I thought that shot finished you. Imagine my surprise when your signal reappeared on this miserable little planet.” Barvarti tilted his head. “Hiding among the primitives. How fitting for the son of a coward.”
Do not react. Wait.
“My Papeer was not a coward.”
“No?” Barvarti smiled. It didn’t reach his eyes. “He died screaming for mercy. Begging me to spare his pathetic mate and whelp.” He took a step closer.
Lies. Papeer had begged them to run—begged his mate and son to save themselves. Not mercy. He'd never have begged for mercy from this vrekker.
Something cracked inside Maelic’s chest as the memory of that day flooded him. He gritted his teeth.
“You talk too much,” Maelic said quietly. “Especially for a male about to die, you should save those sounds for your final words.”
Barvarti laughed. “And you are too soft. Tell me, little Axiom—” He spread his arms wide. “What will you do? You have no weapon. No Mamir to shield you this time.”
Maelic moved.
He hit Krel first.
The male barely had time to raise his weapon before Maelic’s claws tore through his throat. There was no hesitation—just the wet snap of cartilage giving way and the hot spray of blood across the snow. Krel gurgled, hands clutching at the ruin of his neck, and dropped.
Voss fired. The bolt seared past Maelic’s shoulder—close enough to singe fur and flesh. The acrid smell of ozone stung his nose, fueling the rage. He pivoted, caught the male’s weapon arm, and snapped it backward.
The crunch of bone was loud, sickeningly audible over the hum of the ship. Voss screamed, a high, thin sound that cut off abruptly as Maelic silenced him with a strike to the chest that caved his ribs inward.
Two down.
The young one had hung back, weapon raised, waiting for a clean shot. His hands were shaking.
Barvarti hadn’t moved. He watched with that same amused expression, arms crossed. He wouldn’t make a move to attack. He wanted to watch the show. Sick, sadistic bastard.
“Impressive.” He sounded almost proud. “You have learned some tricks since last we met, when you were but a pup.”
“I learned more than tricks.”
Maelic moved toward the young male—
His Mamir's scream echoed in his ears—phantom but piercing—his Papeer's anguished roar following in his mind.
He hesitated. His vision swam. Heat flooded through him, pheromones destabilizing him without warning.
The same chaos that had frozen him at fourteen cycles old.
His movements turned sluggish, his focus fracturing
No. Not now.
He forced himself forward, but his body betrayed him— half a second too slow.
The shot caught him in the side.
Pain exploded through his ribs. He stumbled, went down hard on one knee. His side burned like someone had shoved a hot poker through it.
Careless. Stupid.
Barvarti laughed. “Still too slow, little orphan.”
The young male moved closer. Weapon aimed at Maelic’s head. His hands weren’t shaking anymore.
Get up. Get up.
His body wasn’t cooperating. He could feel his systems trying to compensate, but he didn’t have the time to spare for this.
It wasn’t enough.
“Any last words?” Barvarti called. “I’ll be sure to pass them along to your captain right after I mount your head on my wall.”
Maelic looked toward the tree. The shimmer of the cloak was barely visible—just a ripple in the air.
She was still there. Still hidden.
Good.
At least she will live.
The young male’s finger tightened on the trigger.
“HEY!”
No.
"Didn't your Mom teach you not to kick someone when they were down?"
Maelic’s head snapped toward the sound.
Delaney burst from behind the tree. Running toward them. Screaming his name.
No no no—
Everything happened at once.
The young male turned. Startled. Fired on instinct.
The bolt caught her in the chest.
She went down.
Maelic heard himself roar. It didn’t sound like his voice.
The world around him turned to static.
Mamir falling. The barbaric silo guns used to shoot through her chest. The way her eyes went empty.
His Papeer’s scream of anguish before the second shot silenced him forever.
Blood on the floor. Blood everywhere. And Barvarti standing over them, smiling.
Not again.
NOT AGAIN.
I cannot lose her.
He didn’t remember standing. Didn’t remember crossing the distance.
The young male died with Maelic’s hands around his throat. He crushed it. Felt the cartilage give way. Didn’t stop squeezing until something snapped.
Then he turned. Moving toward Barvarti.
The slaver’s expression had finally changed. Barvarti looked uncertain.
“Wait—”
Maelic didn’t wait.
He slammed into Barvarti with the full force of his body. They went down in a tangle of limbs and fury. Barvarti was strong—stronger than Maelic.
This wasn't a fair fight.
This was something else entirely, he had lost everything again.
Maelic was beyond pain. Beyond thought. Beyond anything except the red haze of rage that had been building for all these cycles.
He was the thing Katan had found in that slaver hold. The feral, broken creature who had survived by becoming something truly monstrous.
The bonding chemical flowed in his mouth, something he may never use on his Delaney. Not now. It would act as a paralytic venom to anyone but his Luminance.
“This is for my parents.”
His fangs found Barvarti’s throat.
“This is for my mate.”
He tore again. The chemicals seeping out into the male's blood. The taste was disgusting, but distant—nothing mattered but ending this.
Barvarti gurgled. His body went still from the venom. His black eyes finally showed something—fear, maybe, or just the animal recognition of impending death.
“You think…” Barvarti choked on his own blood. “…this changes anything?”
Maelic’s claws tightened. “You’re dying. It changes everything.”
Barvarti’s lips curled into something almost like a smile. Red blood bubbled between his rancid teeth.
“Piotecha doesn’t… forget.” His voice was barely a rasp. “Your captain knows. Ask him… about Neraxis.”
The name meant nothing to Maelic. But something in the way Barvarti said it—the way those black eyes glinted with malicious satisfaction even as life drained from them—made his blood run cold.
Barvarti’s eyes glazed over in death.
The name echoed in Maelic’s mind. Neraxis. What did it mean? And why had the slaver looked so pleased to deliver it?
Maelic knelt over the body, breathing in ragged gasps. He was covered in blood—dark and thick, already cooling.
It was done.
Finally done.
He felt… nothing. Empty. The rage had burned through him and left ash.
The ship’s engines roared to life. Barvarti’s crew—fleeing like the cowards they were.
Maelic’s head snapped up. The ship was lifting off. Evidence. Logs. Proof of Barvarti’s operation. Everything Katan would need to track down the rest of the crew.
He took a step toward it.
Then he heard it.
A soft whimper of pain.
Del.
He spun around.
She was on the ground, pale—too pale—her hand pressed to her chest where the bolt had hit. The fabric burned away, revealing angry red skin beneath. Internal damage—phaser burns cooked from the inside out, radiating from the entry point.
The ship rose higher, thrusters scorching the earth.
Maelic looked between them. The ship. His mate.
His entire life’s work or the female who’d become his entire world in less than a week.
No choice at all.
He ran to her, dropping to his knees. His hands shook as he pressed them over hers, moving them gently away from her chest so he could see the full extent of the burn.
“Hey.” Her voice was barely a whisper. “Did you… did you get him?”
A sound escaped his throat. Half laugh, half sob.
“Yes. I got him.”
“Good.” She tried to smile. Winced. “That was… really hot, by the way. The whole… murder thing.”
Above them, the ship disappeared into the clouds.
Gone. All of it. The evidence. The proof. Everything he’d hunted for the last fifteen cycles.
He didn’t care.
“You were supposed to stay hidden,” he choked out. “Why did you not stay hidden, you impossible female?”
“He was gonna kill you.”
“So you decided to get shot instead?”
“Seemed like… a good idea at the time.”
“You are infuriating.”
“You love it.”
He did. Goddess help him, he did.
Her breathing was shallow. Labored. He could see her systems starting to fail, the way her lips were losing color, the glassy look entering her eyes.
No. No no no—
His transponder band. The emergency beacon Katan had given him access to.
He slapped it, hard, activating the signal. It pulsed red, broadcasting his location across every frequency the Axioms monitored.
Please. Please let him be close enough.
“Stay with me, Del.” He gathered her carefully into his arms. “Katan is coming. He will fix this. You just have to stay with me.”
“I signed the papers,” she mumbled against his chest.
“I know. You told me.”
“I’m coming with you.”
“I know.” His voice cracked.
“I’m your mate.”
His heart clenched so hard it hurt.
“You are. You are my mate, and you are not allowed to leave me. Do you understand? I have only just found you. You cannot—”
The air split with the sound of atmospheric entry.
Maelic’s head jerked up. A sleek Axiom flier tore through the clouds, descending fast. Katan’s ship.
Thank the goddess. Thank the goddess.
The ship touched down, ramp lowering before it fully settled. Katan emerged at a run, medical kit already in hand.
“How bad?” he demanded, dropping beside them.
“Phaser. Point blank. Chest.” Maelic couldn’t make his voice work properly. “She is human. I do not know if—”
“Move.” Katan’s hands were already working, scanner running over Delaney’s torso. His expression darkened. “Internal burns. Severe. But stabilizable if we act now.”
He looked up, meeting Maelic’s eyes.
“Get her on the ship. Med bay. Now.”
Maelic didn’t need to be told twice. He lifted her, cradling her against his chest as he ran for the ramp.
“Don’t let me die,” Delaney whispered, her hand weakly clutching his jumpsuit. “Not… before the fun part.”
“I would not dare.” He pressed his lips to her forehead, wings curling protectively around her as he ran up the ramp. “Rest now, astara. I have you.”
“Hey, Mr. Stark,” she mumbled, her words slurring. “I don’t feel so good.”
“Who is Mr. Stark?”
Her head lolled against his chest. Her eyes fluttered closed.
“Del?” His voice cracked. “Del, stay with me—”
“She is unconscious,” Katan said, already prepping the med bay. “It is better this way. The treatment will be painful.”
Maelic laid her on the medical bed, his hands shaking as Katan attached monitors and began working with practiced efficiency.
“Will she—”
“She will live,” Katan said firmly. “I will make certain of it.”
The ramp sealed. The ship lifted off.
Maelic stayed by her side, one hand wrapped around hers, watching her chest rise and fall.
She had to be okay.
She had to be.