Chapter 21 Warborn Tech

Chapter 21 Warborn Tech


Serene

I didn’t expect him to ask me to come.

Xavier had spent the last few days watching me like I was a puzzle he couldn’t solve. Not in a cruel way. More like he was waiting. Waiting for me to break. Or heal. Maybe both.

So when he knocked on my door just after dawn and said, “Get dressed. We’re going for a drive,” I blinked at him like he’d spoken another language.

“Where?” I asked, still in my oversized shirt and a messy bun.

“To Warborn Tech. You need a change of air.”

I hesitated. “Why me?”

“You’re under my protection,” he said simply. “That includes your mind.”

He didn’t smile. He never did. But his tone was calm. Like he knew I needed this even before I did.

And maybe I did.

Because I was drowning in my own mind lately.

I still woke up every night, sweating, shaking, clawing at my skin like I could rip the triplets’ bond out of me. Their voices whispered in the dark. Their touches haunted my nerves. Every time I breathed, I wondered if the child inside me could feel them too.

I hated it. I hated them. But the bond… it didn’t care.

So I dressed, pulled on dark jeans and a hoodie, and followed him to the garage.

The car was sleek and quiet, matte black with silver streaks. Electric, of course. Reaper style—silent and fast.

We drove in silence for a while, the forest thinning as the landscape shifted into rocky cliffs and wide open sky. The road curved along a ravine, leading deeper into the forgotten borderlands where rogues used to hide. Now, they built things.

“Warborn Tech?” I finally asked.

Xavier nodded, eyes on the road. “Rogue-born wolves with minds sharper than claws. They build our drones. Upgrade our defenses. If the Phantom Reapers are ghosts, Warborns are the ones who make sure we stay invisible.”

I watched the trees blur past. “And you trust them?”

“With my life,” he said without hesitation.

I didn’t speak after that. Just sat quietly and let the quiet hum of the car calm me.

\---

The gates were hidden.

If you didn’t know where to look, you’d miss them. Just another patch of rock and moss. But as we pulled up, a scanner swept over the vehicle. A low beep sounded, and the ground shifted, stone folding back like puzzle pieces.

The road beneath us lit up faintly in blue as we drove into the mountain.

Inside, it was a different world.

Flashes of glowing tech buzzed across the ceiling. Wolves in battle leathers moved like clockwork, half of them with visible implants—steel fingers, glowing eyes, armor fused to skin. Some wore goggles that displayed data only they could see. Others had packs of tiny drones flying above their shoulders like loyal pets.

And every single one of them turned to look when Xavier stepped out of the car.

I followed him, trying not to stare.

“This place is…” I whispered.

He glanced over. “Different?”

“Terrifying.”

He smirked slightly. “Good. Keeps enemies out.”

A woman strode toward us, hips swinging, a long coat flaring behind her. She had short, spiked hair dyed silver-blue and a metal arm that glowed faintly at the joints.

“Lyric,” Xavier greeted.

She grinned wide, showing a gap between her front teeth. “X! You finally brought your ghost bride.”

I blinked. “What?”

Lyric winked at me. “Relax, Luna-who’s-not-a-Luna. I joke when I’m nervous.”

“She’s not your Luna,” Xavier said dryly. “She’s under my protection.”

“Same thing around here.” Lyric laughed, then added with a smirk, “Didn’t know the great Phantom Reaper took in strays. Cute.”

I stiffened, but she didn’t mean it harshly. More like teasing an older brother.

Another figure appeared—tall, quiet, with a soft gait. His left cheek was scarred, like something had clawed him years ago, but his eyes were warm. Gentle.

“This is Rai,” Xavier said. “He runs the coding lab.”

Rai nodded to me silently. “Nice to meet you. If you want to see where we hack your nightmares, I’ll give you the tour.”

I glanced at Xavier. He gave a short nod.

“Go,” he said. “I’ll handle the deal.”

\---

Rai’s lab wasn’t a lab. It was a living thing.

Screens floated mid-air. Tables shifted shape when he touched them. One drone flew in loops above my head and let out a chirping beep that made me smile.

“That’s Tink,” Rai said. “She likes new people.”

“She’s… adorable,” I whispered, watching it nuzzle my shoulder.

He showed me the holographic map of the compound—blue lines for walls, red dots for motion, and a glowing shield around it all. “This is how we keep your wolves safe,” he said. “Warborn defense nets.”

I leaned closer. “How do you make all this?”

Rai shrugged. “A lot of stolen tech. A lot of broken hearts.”

I looked at him sharply.

He smiled sadly. “Most of us here were betrayed by someone. That’s how we got rogue blood. That’s why we build things no one else understands. Because pain makes you smarter. You learn where the holes are.”

I didn’t know what to say. So I just whispered, “Thank you.”

He tilted his head. “You’re welcome. And… you’re not the only one with ghosts.”

Something in me loosened at that.

\---

Later, Xavier found me in the drone chamber.

The ceiling was open, letting in a slice of sky. Below it, a huge platform held a dozen war drones—sleek, silent machines shaped like birds, wolves, even spiders. All armed. All glowing.

“These are your phantoms?” I asked him.

He stood beside me, arms folded. “Half of them. The others are cloaked. These are just the pretty ones.”

“You trust these people.”

“I do,” he said simply.

“They trust you.”

He didn’t answer.

So I turned to him. “You’re not just a warrior, Xavier. You’re a shield. A builder.”

Something flickered in his face. Maybe pride. Maybe something deeper. His lips twitched just slightly.

“That’s new,” he said. “Someone calling me more than a killer.”

“Maybe they should do it more often.”

He didn’t argue.

\---

We drove back as the sun dipped below the horizon.

The sky was painted in soft pinks and purples, like someone had spilled watercolors across the clouds. The wind was cool, the world quiet.

I leaned my head against the seat, eyes half-closed. For once, the voices were silent. The bond still burned faintly under my skin, but it was quieter now. Like maybe being away helped.

Or maybe… being with him helped.

“Xavier?”

He glanced over. “Hm?”

“Why do you do it? All of this?”

He didn’t speak for a while.

Then, finally, he said, “Because I couldn’t save my brother. But I can save others. And I will.”

I looked at him. Really looked.

The scars. The silence. The weight on his shoulders he never showed.

And I whispered, “I think you already are.”

He didn’t reply.

But I saw the faintest smile touch his lips.

A real one.

And I like it.

Maybe... just maybe I can have a second chance.