Day 84 Post-Impact - Night
Zara came to him after midnight.
She'd changed out of her formal uniform into something simpler. Combat pants, a fitted tank top, her hijab still in place. But her dog tags were visible, glinting in the low light. A soldier, even now.
"I talked to them," she said without preamble. "Ishani. Serena. Nisha."
"And?"
"Ishani said if I hurt you, she'll kill me slowly. Serena calculated that I have a 94.7% chance of being good for the network. Nisha just smiled and said welcome to the family."
"Sounds about right."
She stood in his doorway, shoulders squared like she was about to breach an enemy compound. Sarnav crossed the room and pulled her inside, closing the door behind her.
"You're nervous."
"I'm terrified." She met his eyes. "I've jumped out of helicopters, cleared buildings full of hostiles, faced down monsters that shouldn't exist. This scares me more than any of that."
"Because you can't control it."
"Because I don't want to control it." She stepped closer. "That's what terrifies me. I want to let go. I've never wanted that before."
Sarnav reached up and touched her face. She leaned into his palm, eyes closing briefly.
"Then let go."
He kissed her. Not gentle this time. Not a promise. A claim.
Zara made a sound against his mouth, surprise and hunger mixed together. Her hands came up to grip his shoulders, fingers digging in hard enough to bruise. When he pushed her back against the wall, she went willingly, the impact drawing a gasp from her lips.
"The uniform stays on," he said against her throat. "Most of it."
"Yes."
He liked that. The immediate compliance. The way her voice had already dropped, the commanding officer disappearing into something softer, needier.
His hands found the hem of her tank top, sliding underneath to map the planes of her stomach. Muscle and softness, the body of a soldier who'd never stopped training even after the world ended. She shivered at his touch, stomach tensing under his fingers.
"Tell me what you want."
"I told you. I want to stop thinking."
"That's not specific enough." He bit the junction of her neck and shoulder, felt her whole body jerk. "Tell me exactly what you want me to do to you, Captain."
Her breathing had gone ragged. "I want... I want you to take control. Completely. I want to follow orders for once instead of giving them."
"Good girl."
The words hit her like a physical blow. Her knees actually buckled, and he had to catch her, pressing her harder against the wall to keep her upright. Her eyes had gone wide, pupils blown.
"You like that." Not a question.
"I didn't know I would." Her voice was wrecked already and he'd barely touched her. "Say it again."
"Earn it."
He stepped back, and she made a sound of protest at the loss of contact. But she stayed where he'd put her, back against the wall, chest heaving, waiting for instruction.
"Take off your shirt."
She obeyed immediately, pulling the tank top over her head. Sports bra underneath, practical and military-issue. Her dog tags settled between her breasts, metal against skin.
"Now the bra."
Her hands trembled slightly as she reached back to unclasp it. When it fell away, she resisted the urge to cover herself, standing there exposed under his gaze. Her breasts were full, dark nipples already tight with arousal. The dog tags hung between them, a reminder of who she was outside this room.
"Come here."
She crossed the space between them and he caught her by the waist, lifting her easily. She wrapped her legs around him instinctively as he carried her to the bed, dropping her onto the mattress and following her down.
His mouth found her breast and she arched off the bed with a cry. He took his time, learning what made her gasp, what made her moan, what made her curse in Malay under her breath. She was responsive in a way that suggested years of denial finally breaking free, her body hypersensitive to every touch.
"Please." The word seemed to cost her everything. "Please, I need..."
"Need what?"
"More. I need more."
He pulled back to look at her. Thirty-two years old, career military, special forces captain. Spread out beneath him with desperation in her eyes, begging for something she'd never allowed herself to want.
"You've really never done this before."
"No." She met his gaze, defiant even in her vulnerability. "I told you. Career military. No time, no interest. Until you."
"What changed?"
"You almost died." Her voice cracked slightly. "And I realized I'd rather have this one night than spend the rest of my life wondering what it would have been like."
"One night?" He ran his hand down her stomach, stopping just above the waistband of her pants. "You think I'm going to let you go after one night?"
"I think you're going to ruin me for anyone else."
"That's the plan."
He stripped away her remaining clothes with efficient movements. She lifted her hips to help, then lay there naked except for the dog tags, watching him with hungry eyes as he removed his own clothes.
When she saw his cock, her eyes widened. "That's... you're..."
"Having second thoughts?"
"No." She spread her legs wider in invitation. "Just realizing why your wives always look so satisfied."
He positioned himself between her thighs, one hand bracing beside her head, the other guiding himself to her entrance. She was wet, soaking actually, her body more than ready even if her mind was still racing.
"This will hurt," he warned. "First time always does."
"I've been shot twice. I can handle pain."
"Look at me."
She did. And he pushed inside her in one smooth thrust.
She screamed. Not just in pain, though there was pain. There was pleasure too, the sound of something finally, finally happening after years of self-denial. Her nails raked down his back hard enough to draw blood as her body struggled to accommodate him.
"Breathe," he ordered, holding still to let her adjust. "That's it. Breathe through it."
She forced herself to relax, the tension in her body slowly easing. When he felt her inner walls soften around him, he pulled back slowly, then pushed in again.
"Oh god." Her head fell back against the pillow. "That's... that's..."
"Good?"
"More."
He started to move properly. Slow at first, building a rhythm, letting her body adjust to the invasion. But she wasn't having it. Her hips rose to meet his, demanding more, harder, faster.
"Please. I need it harder."
He gave her what she wanted. The bed frame slammed against the wall with each thrust. She was loud, much louder than he'd expected from someone so controlled, and she didn't seem to care who heard.
"That's it," he growled against her ear. "Let everyone know who you belong to now."
"Yours." She was chanting it between moans. "I'm yours."
He changed his angle, hitting something deep inside her that made her whole body seize. Her mouth fell open in a silent scream, back arching off the bed.
"There. Right there. Don't stop."
He didn't stop. He drove into that spot over and over, watching her unravel beneath him. The composed military officer was gone completely now, replaced by something raw and desperate and beautiful.
"I'm going to... I think I'm..."
"Come for me."
She did. The orgasm hit her like a physical force, her whole body convulsing around him. Her inner walls clamped down so tight he couldn't move, could only hold himself deep inside her as she rode out the waves.
"Good girl," he said, and she came again, a second orgasm triggered by the words alone.
When the aftershocks finally subsided, he started moving again. She made a sound of overwhelmed protest.
"I can't... I just..."
"You can. And you will."
He flipped them, putting her on top. She stared down at him, dazed, unsure what to do.
"Ride me."
"I don't know how."
"Figure it out."
She braced her hands on his chest and started to move, awkward at first but improving quickly. She was a fast learner, military training serving her well even in this context. Soon she'd found a rhythm that worked, rising and falling on his cock with increasing confidence.
"That's it. Just like that."
She leaned back, changing the angle, and her eyes rolled back in her head. "Oh fuck. Oh fuck, that's..."
"Found your spot?"
She couldn't answer, too focused on chasing the sensation. Her movements became faster, more desperate. He reached up to play with her breasts, rolling her nipples between his fingers, and she made a sound that was almost a sob.
"Come on, Captain. Show me what you've got."
She rode him harder, the bed creaking under the assault. Sweat dripped down her body, collecting in the hollow of her throat, making her dog tags shine. She was beautiful like this, fierce and vulnerable and completely his.
Her third orgasm built slower but hit harder. She screamed his name as it crashed through her, her whole body shaking. This time he let himself follow, spilling inside her with a groan.
She collapsed on his chest, breathing hard, completely spent. He wrapped his arms around her and held her there, feeling her heartbeat slowly return to normal.
"I can feel it," she murmured against his skin. "The bond. It's... strange."
"You'll get used to it."
"I can feel them too. Your other wives. They're aware of what just happened." She paused. "Ishani's satisfied I passed some kind of test."
"That's just Ishani."
"It should bother me. It doesn't."
She lifted her head to look at him. "Is it always like that?"
"Like what?"
"Intense. Overwhelming. Like your whole world is narrowing down to a single point and then exploding."
"It gets better, actually."
"Better?" She looked genuinely concerned. "I might not survive better."
He laughed and kissed her. "You'll survive. You're tougher than you think."
"I thought I was tough before. Now I'm not sure." She settled back against his chest. "You broke something in me tonight."
"I didn't break anything. I unlocked it."
"Same difference."
They lay there for a while. Through the network, Sarnav could feel the configuration stabilizing. Zara's presence was different from the others. Steadier, more grounded. A soldier's discipline translated into emotional stability.
"Again," she said suddenly.
"What?"
She pushed herself up, straddling him. There was a new light in her eyes, something predatory. "I want to do that again."
"You're supposed to be recovering."
"I recover fast." She reached down between them, finding him already hardening. "So do you, apparently."
"Zara..."
"You said it gets better." She positioned herself above him. "Prove it."
She sank down onto him before he could respond, taking him to the hilt in one smooth motion. Her head fell back and she moaned, the sound reverberating through the room.
This time she knew what she was doing. This time she rode him like she meant it, like she was trying to break him the way he'd broken her. The dog tags bounced against her chest with every movement.
"Fuck," he breathed. "Where did this come from?"
"Thirty-two years of repression." She was grinning now, feral and satisfied. "I have a lot of time to make up for."
She rode him through two more of her orgasms before he finally came again, emptying himself inside her. When it was over, she collapsed beside him, boneless and satisfied.
"I think I understand now," she said quietly.
"Understand what?"
"Why they stay. Why they're happy. It's not just the sex, though the sex is..." She laughed weakly. "The sex is insane. But it's more than that. It's the connection. Being part of something bigger."
"That's the network."
"It's more than that." She turned her head to look at him. "It's you. You make people feel like they matter."
She stretched lazily, completely unselfconscious about her nudity now. The soldier who'd come to his door nervous and terrified was gone, replaced by a woman who'd found what she didn't know she was looking for.
"What happens now?" she asked.
"Now you sleep. Tomorrow, we figure out the new normal."
"The Ascendancy won't stop. They'll send someone else."
"Let them." He pulled her closer. "We'll handle it."
"You sound confident."
"I have nine wives now. Ten different power sets I can draw from. And we just beat their S-rank leader." He kissed her forehead. "Let them send whoever they want."
She smiled and closed her eyes. Within minutes, her breathing had evened out into sleep. Soldier's habit, grabbing rest whenever it was available.
Sarnav lay awake a while longer, staring at the ceiling. The system notification finally demanded his attention.
[BOND ESTABLISHED: ZARA HASSAN] [WIFE #9 REGISTERED] [ABILITY SHARED: WEAPON SUMMONING] [COMPATIBILITY: 96.2%] [VIRGIN BONUS: +15,000 ESSENCE] [BONDING ESSENCE: +63,000] [TOTAL ESSENCE GAINED: +78,000]
[CURRENT ESSENCE: 954,100 / 1,000,000]
[TRIBULATION THRESHOLD: 95.4%]
Less than 50,000 essence from Tribulation. One more wife, maybe some combat essence, and he'd break through to S-rank.
And somewhere out there, the Ascendancy was planning their response. They'd already dispatched their best assassin. Elena Volkov. S-rank. Shadow Arts specialist. The woman they sent when they wanted someone dead without question.
Let her come. He'd turned enemies into allies before.
He had a feeling she'd be no different.
[DAY 84]
[WIFE COUNT: 9/32]
[ESSENCE: 954,100 / 1,000,000]
[TRIBULATION: 95.4%]
[ZARA HASSAN: BONDED - WIFE #9]
[NEXT: ALLIANCE]