attacked. Some used blasters, others used swords, but whatever the method of attack, he took them down.
As she tried to rush toward him, it was evident he was hurt. His movements were becoming sluggish.
He was covered in blood. His blood or his attackers’, she did not know. All she knew was that he was hurt, and she needed to help.
She must have made a sound because, in all the chaos, Kyro turned to look her way.
“Stay back!”
Nope. Sorry babe.
This wasn’t his fight alone.
A door opened beside her and a guard rushed out. Gripping the blaster, she fired, not bothering to try and aim.
She pressed the trigger as many times as she could, till the guard was standing no more.
The sound of the firing caught the attention of another guard coming down the corridor and she did the same, depressing the trigger as quickly as she could.
That one she cut down in just three shots.
A door opened to the side behind Kyro and another guard appeared, blade raised to bury it deep into Kyro’s back.
“Hey!” she shouted, catching the attacker’s attention for just long enough for him to look her way. Pointing the blaster, she pulled the trigger, bracing against the wall as the shot burst forth and she emptied the cartridge.
The guard’s body fell.
Throwing that blaster to the ground, she grabbed another one lying close by.
More guards began streaming out of the doors and something kicked into gear within her.
Her eyes locked on Kyro.
He was fighting for her.
He hadn’t left her for dead.
And most importantly, he’d given away his lifelong secret just for her. No one could survive.
They all knew what he was now.
Call it survival instinct, call it adrenaline, call it the power of love—she didn’t know what it was. All she knew was that something fierce was channeling through her.
Getting to her feet, she fired at an incoming guard.
They were going to survive this.
And they would survive it together.
42
It was only when he reached close to the bridge that the last of the guards was taken out. His chest heaved as his breaths came barreling through his body.
He was wounded, he could feel it. Yet, he couldn’t shift out of his current form.
Not yet.
Protect her.
He needed to protect her.
He had to keep fighting.
As he stumbled along the corridor, he could barely make out the sound of a soft, feminine voice beside him.
Turning his head, he felt her body against his as she tried to help him support his weight.
He stumbled once more, his feet almost giving way and she stumbled along with him, his weight pulling her down.
He needed to stop moving or he would hurt her.
Leaning against the wall of the corridor, he slid along it till he was sitting on the floor.
“Kyro!” Her voice pierced through his consciousness and judging from the concern on her face as she came into his vision, she had been calling his name for some time.
“I’m fine.” His eyelids felt heavy as he outstretched his hand towards her. Brushing his finger against her cheek, he saw the blood there.
“You’re hurt,” he murmured, trying to rise. There must be a med bay somewhere. He could get her looked at.
“Sit! Don’t move.” When he focused back on her, there were tears in her eyes.
“You...” she began, and her throat moved as she swallowed hard.
She moved towards him then, her lips meeting his in a passionate kiss, and for that brief moment, the world went still. His wounds were nonexistent. Everything was right again. It was just her lips on his, the feel of the one woman who’d awakened what he’d been too scared to face on his own.
He wasn’t sure which one of them broke the kiss first, only that he was staring into her beautiful eyes.
Through his heavy eyelids, he could see the strong emotions moving in her eyes.
“I was an idiot to think I could do without you. An idiot to think there was life without you.” She gripped her hands around his neck as she rested her forehead on his. “I can’t do without you, Kyro. I don’t want to.”
Grimacing as he lifted his arms, he held her close to him, pressing her soft body into his.
“Ev-ren...” He groaned.
“You’re all I need.” She lifted her head, a sniffle leaving her nose.
It was the exact words he had wanted to hear and the exact words that he dreaded.
She was easing out of his arms now, and he wanted to protest her leaving.
“You’re hurt. You’re hurt really bad.” Her wide eyes met