l engine a low growl. Inside, the ride was smooth, but n

connecting with her hand, his voice pronouncing her a "calculated loss." The

alarm blared through

!" Mya yelled from the front. "M

eren't wolves. They were something worse. Biomechanical hounds,

nts. A faint, distant part of her registered the increased shouting, the engi

st began to beep a frantic, high-pitch

the slight slackening of her jaw, the flicker of resignation in her

He didn't curse

de again, stepping into the teeth of the

with unnatural speed. Their alloy jaws snapped, and their opt

istol. He produced a compact launcher, loaded with

esitation, he raised

rized everything in its blast radius. The biomechanical hounds were instan

f ozone and burnt metal clinging to him. He settled back into h

setting up a defensive perimeter,

ntion was so

loss is at critical. And the scanner confirms it-trace amounts of the R-ty

th a flick of his wrist, smashed it against the

id, his voice da

retreated witho

formed a protective shield over hers. Dex, catching the movement in the rearview mirror, felt a genuin

ensuring she kept breathing. His lips moved, barely audible, forming words that were

ar. His whisper was a hot, possessive caress against her cold ski

ying a terrifying weight of obsession. "If y

se beating weakly in her throat. He could feel her life, faint and flutte

ightly. "Mya. Activat

me through the internal c

ow

red and folded away, replaced by a sterile, stainless-steel platform

recise. As he peeled away the layers of clothing, revealing the bruised and wounded skin beneath, a complex storm of emotions w