The Mall Fortress breathed.
It wasn't alive, not in the way the old world understood life... but Liam could feel it all the same. The walls pulsed faintly with system energy, faint blue veins of light tracing along the stone and steel. Power. Territory. Dominion.
And yet, he stood alone at the war table, fingers splayed across the carved surface, staring at the map that updated with every heartbeat.
Zone 14 blinked red.
Unclaimed. Untouched.
Unfinished.
Rain lashed against the shattered skylight above, leaking through the reinforced glass in slow, steady drops. The storm outside was nothing compared to the one brewing in his mind.
Behind him, the sound of soft footsteps on stone.
Sarya.
She moved like she didn't belong in a warzone... graceful, unhurried, every motion precise. Her crossbow was slung across her back, her dark hair braided loosely over one shoulder. She wore only a thin tunic now, the fabric damp from her patrols, clinging to her skin.
"You're brooding again," she said, voice smooth as silk. "That's my job."
Liam didn't answer. His eyes remained fixed on the map.
Eleven wives.
And one of them… wasn't his. Not really.
Sarya walked closer, circling the table, her gaze flicking to the blinking zone indicator.
"Stormclaw Wilds," she murmured. "You going to chase her?"
He didn't need to ask who.
Nysera.
The Huntress of Shadows.
---
> [System Alert]
Bond Count: 11 / 99
Loyalty Sync: 83% – Stable
Mall Fortress: Fortified
Zone Coverage: 13 Claimed – Stability Moderate
Horde Threat: Rising – Drone Clusters 4 KM East
Predicted Convergence: 72 Hours
Companion Rotation: Active – Current: Sarya (Resource Hunt Lead)
Unfulfilled Bond: Nysera – Status: Resisting
Zone: Stormclaw Wilds (Zone 14)
Directive: Complete Bond – Time Limit 18 Hours
Warning: Loyalty Degradation Detected – Unclaimed Wives Risk Instability
Reward: Shadowstep Skill / Clan Alliance Trigger
Penalty: Bond Opportunity Loss – No Second Attempt
---
The system's pulse was cold and final.
Sarya leaned against the edge of the table, one leg swinging lazily, her gaze never leaving Liam's face.
"She's still watching you," she said. "Out there in that storm. Every day you wait… she grows stronger."
"And more distant," Liam said softly.
Sarya smirked, pushing off the table, closing the distance between them. Her hand found his, fingers curling tight.
"You let her walk once. Beastkin don't forgive weakness. You want her? You'll have to break her."
Her voice dropped, heated.
"Just like you did with me."
Liam's grip tightened. He remembered that day... Sarya, fire in her eyes, resisting until the moment she didn't. Until she chose him.
He turned toward the door.
A deep tremor shook the fortress walls.
The Horde… drawing closer.
Sarya stepped in front of him, her breath warm against his skin.
"Tonight's still mine, Overlord. I'll help you prepare for her… or whatever else comes crawling."
Her hand slid down his chest, slow, possessive.
"But tomorrow… you hunt."
Liam nodded once.
The storm outside was nothing compared to the one he was about to walk into.
Nysera waited.
And this time… she wouldn't run.
---
---
The storm outside was nothing compared to the storm inside.
Rain lashed the skylight above the bedroom, the wind shrieking against the Mall Fortress walls like a beast denied. Lightning cracked the sky, its white-blue flashes slicing across the ceiling in brief, violent pulses.
Liam stood by the window, bare-chested, his coat thrown carelessly over a chair. His sword leaned against the wall nearby, but his focus wasn't on the Horde that stirred in the distance.
It was on her.
Sarya.
She lounged across the wide bed, one leg bent, the other stretched lazily toward him, the sheet tangled around her hips. Her skin was bronzed by sun and battle, lit now by the flickering stormlight. Scars marked her thighs and arms... not ugly, not flaws. Badges. Proof that she survived. That she killed.
Her eyes didn't waver.
"You're tense," she said softly, her voice low and rough like velvet dragged over stone. "Thinking of her?"
Liam's gaze returned to the window.
"Zone Fourteen just activated. The system won't let me ignore it."
Sarya sat up, the sheet slipping lower, exposing the curve of her back. She didn't pull it up. She didn't hide. She never had.
"And Nysera?" she asked, voice darker now. "The shadow bitch?"
He didn't correct her.
"She's there. Waiting. Watching."
Sarya stood and crossed the room without sound. She moved like smoke... no wasted steps, no softness. A predator who chose when to purr and when to strike.
Her fingers slid along his shoulder.
"Then go," she murmured. "But not yet."
He turned to her, their eyes locking.
"You're not afraid I'll lose her?"
Sarya's lips curled.
"I'm afraid you'll let her think she's in control. Beastkin don't respect patience. They respect strength. And shadows?"
Her fingers trailed lower.
"They only obey fire."
Liam caught her hand, pulling her close. Their bodies pressed together, heat against heat, breath against breath.
"And you?" he asked, voice rough.
She smiled, slow and wicked.
"I obey nothing. But I follow you. There's a difference."
They stood like that, locked, breath ragged, until the system interrupted again.
---
> [System Alert]
Bond Rotation – Sarya: Active
Loyalty: 92% – Stable
Rotation Override: 2 Hours Remaining
Zone 14 – Stormclaw Wilds
Bond Target: Nysera – Status: Untamed
Final Bond Opportunity Triggered
Mission Requirement: Depart by Dawn
Failure = Bond Slot Locked, Loyalty Decay Imminent
Warning: Horde Surge Building – 62 Hours to Convergence
Mall Fortress – Status: Stable / Under Threat
---
Liam exhaled hard.
He could almost feel her. Nysera. Out there in the wild, her silver eyes glowing, watching him. Judging. Waiting to see if he was man or prey.
Sarya stepped back, walking toward the bed. She picked up her crossbow, checking the string, but her eyes never left him.
"You'll go to her," she said, voice calm, "and you'll make her submit."
He moved toward her slowly.
"And if I fail?"
She arched an eyebrow, brushing her dark hair over one shoulder.
"You won't. Because I won't let you crawl back here without her."
Her hand slid to her hip, gripping the crossbow.
"I want to see her kneel."
He stared at her. Strong. Fierce. Unyielding.
But behind it… loyalty.
The bond between them thrummed tight, electric.
She approached again, close enough to touch, to taste.
"Tonight, I stay," she whispered. "And tomorrow…"
Liam nodded.
"Tomorrow, I hunt."
And far to the east, in the depths of Stormclaw Wilds, Nysera's shadow waited.
But Liam Voss would not come crawling.
He would come to conquer.