Day 82 Post-Impact (Evening)
The NUS campus transformed under their hands.
Wei Ming had done impressive work with limited resources, but Sarnav's team brought capabilities his people didn't have. Jade interfaced with the campus's dormant security systems, bringing cameras and motion sensors back online. Ishani supervised the awakened fighters, running them through formations that would maximize their effectiveness against converted enemies. Serena calculated optimal defensive positions, her probability sense identifying the most likely attack vectors.
And Zara watched it all.
She stood on the roof of the engineering building, observing the preparations with an expression Sarnav couldn't quite read. Professional assessment, certainly. But something else too. Something that looked almost like longing.
"She's struggling," Serena said quietly, appearing beside him. Her probability sense had guided her here, knowing he'd be watching the captain. "Every calculation I run shows the same thing. She wants to be part of this. Not as an observer. As a participant."
"She's military. Following orders."
"She's also human. And her orders don't account for what she's feeling." Serena tilted her head, studying the distant figure. "Probability of her requesting to stay with Harmony after this mission: 67.2%. Probability of her developing romantic feelings for you specifically: 78.4%."
"You can calculate that?"
"I can calculate everything." A slight smile. "Whether I should share those calculations is a different question. But you should know. She's at a tipping point."
Sarnav nodded slowly. He'd felt it too, through less mathematical means. The way Zara's professional distance had eroded over the past week. The way she looked at him when she thought he wasn't watching. The way her voice had cracked when she'd called him "sir" that evening on the observation deck.
"The New Order will hit us at dawn," he said, changing the subject. "Twelve hours. You should rest."
"So should you." Serena touched his arm, a gesture that would have been unthinkable a week ago. "But I know you won't. Just... be careful. My brother's life depends on this mission. I'd rather not lose the man I love while saving him."
She left before he could respond to the confession, disappearing into the building with characteristic efficiency. Love. She'd said it so casually, like stating a mathematical fact. Maybe for her, it was.
The barracks they'd commandeered for the night were spartan but functional.
Sarnav found Ishani in the training room adjacent to the sleeping quarters, working through combat forms despite the late hour. Her light manipulation painted the air with golden streaks as she moved, each strike precise and powerful.
"Can't sleep either?" he asked from the doorway.
"Too much energy." She didn't stop moving, her body flowing from one form to the next. "Always like this before a fight. Need to burn it off or I'll be useless tomorrow."
He watched her for a moment, appreciating the way her muscles moved beneath sweat-damp skin. Ishani was the most athletic of his wives, her former modeling career having given way to something more primal in the post-apocalypse world. She'd always been beautiful. Now she was dangerous too.
"I could help with that."
She paused mid-strike, a smile curving her lips. "Yeah? How exactly were you planning to help, sayang?"
"I have some ideas."
She turned to face him fully, light constructs fading as her attention shifted. Her workout clothes clung to her body, dark patches of sweat highlighting the curves of her chest and the defined lines of her abs. She knew exactly how she looked. Had probably been waiting for him to notice.
"The others are asleep," she said, walking toward him with a predator's grace. "Wei Ming's people are on watch rotations. We have maybe two hours before someone comes looking."
"Then we shouldn't waste time."
She laughed, low and heated. "Straight to business. I like it."
Her hands found his chest, pushing him back against the wall with surprising force. Light manipulation wasn't just for combat, she'd learned to enhance her physical strength with carefully applied energy. Right now, she was using that enhancement to pin him in place.
"I've been waiting," she breathed against his neck. "Watching you plan and strategize and be the perfect leader. Do you know how hard it is to sit in briefings when all I can think about is this?"
"Tell me."
"I think about your hands on me." She nipped at his jaw, teeth sharp. "I think about how you feel inside me. I think about the sounds you make when I ride you until you can't take anymore."
Her hips ground against his, and he was already hard, responding to her heat and aggression. Ishani had never been subtle about her desires. It was one of the things he loved about her.
"Here?" he asked.
"Here." She was already pulling at his clothes, fingers quick and demanding. "I don't care if someone hears. Let them hear. Let them know what you do to me."
The exhibitionist streak that had made her a successful influencer translated perfectly to this. She wanted to be seen, wanted to be heard, wanted the whole world to know she belonged to him.
He spun them, reversing their positions, pressing her against the wall instead. She gasped, surprised and delighted by the show of strength.
"Better," she purred. "Much better."
He kissed her hard, swallowing her moan, tasting salt and need. His hands found the hem of her top and stripped it over her head in one motion. No bra underneath, just firm breasts and dark nipples already peaked with arousal.
"Fuck, sayang." She arched into his hands as he palmed her. "Yes, just like that. Harder."
He obliged, pinching and rolling until she was squirming against him. Ishani liked it rough, liked the edge of pain that sharpened pleasure into something transcendent. He'd learned her body over months of nights like this, knew exactly how much pressure made her gasp versus how much made her scream.
"More," she demanded. "I need more."
Her workout shorts came off with equal speed, leaving her in nothing but a thin scrap of underwear already soaked through. He could smell her arousal, musky and intoxicating, and it made him desperate to taste her.
But Ishani had other ideas.
"No." She caught his wrist as he reached for her. "I don't want your mouth. I want your cock. Now."
"Impatient."
"Always." She worked his pants open, freeing him with practiced efficiency. Her hand wrapped around his length, stroking, testing. "God, you're already so hard. Is this for me?"
"Who else?"
She laughed, pleased by the answer. "Good. Now fuck me like you mean it."
He lifted her, her back against the wall, and she wrapped her legs around him immediately. The position was familiar, comfortable, and she angled her hips with an athlete's precision to take him in one smooth thrust.
"Yes!" The word echoed off the training room walls. "Sayang, yes, fuck, you feel so good."
He set a brutal pace from the start, knowing what she needed. Ishani didn't want gentle. She wanted to be taken, claimed, fucked until she couldn't think about anything else. The stress of the coming battle, the danger they'd face at dawn, all of it burned away in the fire between them.
"Harder," she gasped. "Come on, you can do better than that. Fuck me like you're trying to break me."
He growled and slammed into her, driving deep enough to make her scream. Her nails raked down his back, leaving welts that stung beautifully. Sweat dripped from both of them, mingling where their bodies pressed together.
"That's it." She was panting now, words fragmenting. "That's what I need. Don't stop, sayang, don't you fucking dare stop."
Through the network, he felt the other wives stir. Not here physically, but connected nonetheless. Serena's surprise at the intensity of sensation bleeding through. Jade's grudging acknowledgment. And somewhere back in Harmony, Nisha and Sana and the others feeling echoes of what Ishani felt.
"They can feel this," he told her. "All of them."
"Good." Her grin was wild, feral. "Let them feel me cum. Let them know who's getting fucked right now."
The words sent a spike of heat through him. He changed the angle, hitting that spot inside her that always made her lose control. She threw her head back, throat exposed, and the sounds she made stopped being words entirely.
"Gonna cum." She was close, he could feel it in the way she clenched around him. "Sayang, I'm gonna... fuck, fuck, right there, don't stop..."
He didn't stop. Couldn't have even if he wanted to. She was too tight, too wet, too perfectly his. Her orgasm hit like a wave, her whole body tensing, her pussy gripping him in rhythmic pulses that threatened to pull him over the edge with her.
But he wasn't done.
He carried her to the training mats, still inside her, and laid her down without breaking rhythm. Her legs stayed locked around him, pulling him deeper with every thrust.
"Again," she breathed. "Make me cum again."
"Greedy."
"For you? Always."
He hooked her knees over his shoulders, folding her nearly in half. The flexibility that made her a model made this position easy, and the depth it allowed made her scream.
"Oh god, oh fuck, that's so deep..." She was clawing at the mats, back arching off the floor. "I can feel you in my stomach, sayang, you're so fucking deep..."
The new angle let him watch her face as he fucked her, see every expression of pleasure that crossed her features. Her abs flexed with each thrust, glistening with sweat. Her breasts bounced with the force of their movement. She was gorgeous, powerful, completely surrendered to him.
"Tell me who you belong to."
"You." No hesitation. "I belong to you, sayang. Only you. Forever."
"Good girl."
The praise made her clench, and she came again, harder this time. Her screams echoed through the training room, loud enough that anyone on this floor definitely heard. She didn't care. Neither did he.
Her second orgasm pushed him to the edge, but he held back, not ready to be done. He pulled out, flipping her onto her stomach before she could protest.
"What are you..."
"You know what." He pressed against her ass, the head of his cock nudging where she wanted it most.
"Yes." She pushed back against him, eager. "Please, sayang, yes. I need it. I need you there."
They'd done this before, many times. Ishani loved anal, craved it in a way none of his other wives did. He pressed forward slowly, giving her time to adjust, watching her hands fist in the mats as she took him inch by inch.
"So good," she moaned. "So fucking full. Why does this feel so good?"
"Because you're perfect." He bottomed out, fully seated inside her. "My perfect, greedy wife."
"Yours." She was trembling, overwhelmed. "Move, please, I need you to move."
He moved.
The pace started slow, letting her adjust, but she wasn't having it. She pushed back to meet him, demanding more, harder, faster. Her Malay curses mixed with English moans as he fucked her ass with increasing force.
"Sayang, faster!" The familiar demand, half-plea, half-command. "Lagi kuat! Harder!"
He gave her everything she asked for. The sound of skin on skin filled the room, punctuated by her screams and his groans. His hand found her hair, pulling her head back, exposing the line of her throat.
"Cum for me," he ordered. "One more time."
"I can't, I'm too..."
"You can." His other hand reached around, finding her clit, rubbing in tight circles. "You will."
The combination of sensations was too much. She shattered, her whole body convulsing, her ass clenching around him so tight it pushed him over the edge. He buried himself deep and came, filling her, marking her, claiming her completely.
For a long moment, neither of them moved. Just breathing together, bodies intertwined, pleasure fading to warm satisfaction.
"Fuck," Ishani finally managed. "I needed that."
"Feel better?"
"Feel amazing." She laughed weakly as he pulled out, collapsing onto the mats in a sweaty heap. "I'm going to be sore tomorrow."
"Good thing we have Sana for healing."
"Don't you dare tell her why." But she was smiling, sated and glowing. "God, sayang. Seven wives and you still fuck me like I'm the only one."
"You're all the only one." He lay down beside her, pulling her against his chest. "That's the point."
"Sappy." She kissed his jaw. "I like it."
They lay together in comfortable silence, catching their breath. Through the network, he felt the other wives settling back into sleep, the echoes of pleasure having faded to warm contentment. All except one.
"Serena's still awake," Ishani murmured.
"I know."
"Processing what she felt, probably. Running calculations on how we generate that much pleasure." A pause. "Zara was in the hallway. She heard everything."
"You knew?"
"Light manipulation lets me see through walls. Well, kind of. I knew someone was there." Ishani's smile was wicked. "I may have been louder than strictly necessary."
"You're terrible."
"I'm yours." She stretched, catlike and satisfied. "Besides, that woman needs to understand what she's missing. Maybe next time she'll do more than listen."
The dawn brought war.
Sarnav stood on the roof of the engineering building, watching the New Order's forces mass at the edge of Wei Ming's barrier. Hundreds of converted, their gray skin catching the early light. Behind them, human soldiers in mismatched tactical gear. And at the center, a figure that radiated power like a dark star.
The Sovereign had come himself.
"That changes things," Zara said quietly. She stood beside him, professional distance restored, but he could see the shadows under her eyes. Sleep had not come easily for her. Not after what she'd heard. "Intel suggested he'd stay back, let his forces do the work."
"He wants to make a statement." Sarnav studied the enemy leader. "Harmony killed his Herald. He's here to prove we can't touch him."
"Can we?"
"We're about to find out."
Below, the defenders took positions. Wei Ming's barrier shimmered, ready to absorb the first assault. Ishani gathered the awakened fighters, her commands sharp and clear. Jade monitored communications, tracking enemy movements. Serena calculated, predicted, prepared.
And through the network, eight wives sent their love and their strength, ready to fight beside him however they could.
"Whatever happens today," Zara said, "I want you to know... I understand now. What you've built. Why they follow you." She paused, struggling with words that didn't come easily to a soldier. "It's not control. It's not manipulation. It's..."
"Love," he said simply.
She nodded once, sharp. "Love. I didn't think that could work in war. Maybe I was wrong."
The Sovereign raised his hand. The converted surged forward.
"Positions!" Sarnav's voice carried across the compound. "For Harmony. For Singapore. For everyone we're protecting. Hold the line!"
The battle for NUS began.
[DAY 82]
[WIFE COUNT: 8/32]
[ESSENCE: 856,100 / 1,000,000]
[ISHANI: RECONNECTED, +30,000 ESSENCE]
[ZARA DEVELOPMENT: ACCELERATING]
[SOVEREIGN: ENGAGED]
[BATTLE STATUS: INITIATED]
[NEXT: SIEGE]