Chapter 3
Claire did not look at Reed.
Because Titan was no longer looking at him.
Titan’s ears had shifted.
His head turned toward the mess hall doors.
His body went rigid in a different way now.
Not anger.
Recognition.
Claire followed his gaze.
The doors had opened.
A man in a commander’s uniform stood at the entrance, one hand still on the handle.
Commander Ethan Vale.
The room snapped straighter without anyone giving an order.
Even Reed stiffened.
Claire had never met Vale in person.
But Titan had.
Three years earlier.
In smoke.
In blood.
In a place no one at that base was supposed to talk about.
Claire’s breath caught.
Titan remembered him.
Of course he did.
Titan never forgot a scent.
Never forgot a voice.
Never forgot the people he had pulled back from death.
Claire looked down at her dog.
Then back at the commander.
Her voice was barely above a whisper.
“Titan remembers you.”
The words hit Commander Vale like a shot.
His face changed.
The hard command mask disappeared for half a second.
In its place was shock.
Then recognition.
Then something close to grief.
Titan gave one sharp bark and stepped fully in front of Claire as Reed tried to move around him.
Reed jumped back.
The mess hall went dead silent.
Commander Vale walked forward fast.
Not hurried.
Not panicked.
Controlled.
May you like
But every step carried weight.
Read Part 4 to find out what Commander Vale revealed about Claire and Titan in front of everyone.
