Page 20 of Thexan

“No,” he said quietly. “It does not.”

I waited.

His gaze dropped briefly to our joined hands, then returned to mine.

“The bond can begin without consent,” he said. “Recognition is biological. Completion is not.”

That landed differently.

I drew in a slow breath. “Meaning?”

“Meaning your body may respond to mine. Mine will respond to yours. Proximity may create stability, attraction, and attachment before either of us has chosen what to do with them.” His voice remained controlled, but the restraint in it felt sharper now. “But I will not complete the bond without your decision.”

For a moment, all I could do was look at him.

That was the first thing he had said that made the ground feel steadier instead of less certain.

“Then I suppose I should understand what I’m dealing with,” I said.

“That would be advisable.”

I almost smiled at that, though the moment passed before it fully formed.

“All right,” I said. “We’ll add that to the list.”

“What list?”

“The one where I figure out how to keep you alive, prevent a group of highly trained hunters from finding you, and apparently navigate a mate bond I didn’t ask for.”

“That is not an efficient allocation of resources.”

“It’s the only one we’ve got.”

“Get some rest,” I said. “You’re going to need it.”

“And you?”

“I don’t have that luxury right now.”

“That is not sustainable.”

“Neither is bleeding out on my table,” I said. “We’ll prioritize.”

He didn’t argue with that.

I leaned back slightly, still close enough that the connection remained intact, and let my gaze drift briefly toward the door again. The quiet beyond it had returned, but it no longer felt empty. It felt occupied by everything that was coming, closing in whether we acknowledged it or not.

“They’re not going to stop,” I said.

“No.”

“And they’re not going to miss twice.”

“No.”

I nodded once, more to myself than to him, and let my focus settle again on the man in front of me—the alien on my cot, the problem I had chosen, the variable that had already begun to change everything whether I was ready for it or not.

“Then we make sure they don’t get the chance,” I said.