Page 108 of Enslak

But the deep, abiding knowledge that I was exactly where I was supposed to be, with people who loved me. Who accepted me. Who saw me not as a broken thing to be fixed or a lost cause to be mourned, but as a person still becoming.

Not the person I'd been before—that Enslak was gone, lost to time and trauma.

But the person I was now.

A survivor. A mate. A brother. An uncle. A son.

Enslak.

Whole. Healing. Home.

Epilogue

Siemba - Four Months Later

The third time I read the report, I caught myself smiling.

Not the professional satisfaction of a mission well-executed. Something deeper. Something that felt uncomfortably close to vindication.

Detective Nicole Nguyen and her mate Enslak had successfully infiltrated a trafficking ring that had eluded Asad Intelligence for years. Seventeen captives extracted. Operation's leadership eliminated. Zero casualties on our side.

The datapad's weight felt different in my hands now. Heavier somehow.

From the living quarters, Dixa's patient voice drifted through the open door in answer to my son's question. "But why does the station spin, Mama?"

"To create artificial gravity," she answered. "Remember what we discussed about centrifugal force?"

Kavros. Our middle son. He'd inherited his mother's curiosity and my tendency to question everything. A dangerous combination.

I set the datapad down and leaned back in my chair. The leather creaked—a familiar sound that usually grounded me. Today, though, my mind kept circling back to my first meeting with Nansar and his mate Chloe.

When I'd been skeptical about using a human female operative for Enslak's rescue.

When I'd agreed to it as a trial run. Nothing more.

A calculated risk that could have ended in disaster.

Instead...

The door chimed.

I straightened. "Enter."

Nansar stepped through first, his bearing confident but respectful. Behind him came his mate Chloe, that slight smirk playing at her mouth telling me she knew exactly why I'd called this meeting.

"Nansar. Chloe." I gestured to the seats across from my desk. "Thank you for coming."

"Of course." Nansar settled into his chair with the ease of someone who'd spent considerable time navigating Alliance politics.

Chloe sat more carefully, her blue eyes sharp and assessing. She was Admiral Cullen Blackwood's daughter—it showed in every calculated movement. But there was something else there too. A barely contained excitement she was trying very hard to hide.

"I've been reviewing the Kelvara operation." I tapped the datapad. "Impressive work from Operative Nguyen and her mate."

"They're a hell of a team." Satisfaction rang clear in Chloe's voice. "I told you she'd be perfect."

"You did." I leaned back and studied her. "And you were right. Which is why we're having this conversation."

From the living quarters, I heard my youngest son, Terrik, laughing at something. Then Dixa's gentle reprimand: "Inside voices, love. Your father is working."