Freeing Luka By Victoria Aveline Review

Luka realizes that while Maya "freed" him from the cage, he is now utterly captured by her. He struggles with the guilt of his weakness during the escape, but Maya shuts him down. "You didn't need to be a hero today, Luka. You just needed to survive."

Luka is a Clecanian warrior who has spent the last year in a dark, damp cell within a rogue faction’s high-security compound. Captured during a border skirmish, he has been subjected to experimental suppressants that dull his senses and keep his inner beast—and his hope—shackled. Freeing Luka by Victoria Aveline

They spend the night in a hidden cave. As the suppressants wear off, Luka’s heightened senses return with a vengeance. The "bond fever" common to his species begins to stir. He is overwhelmed by Maya’s scent—vanilla and ozone—and the realization that a human risked everything to pull him from the dirt. The Resolution Luka realizes that while Maya "freed" him from

Maya finds Luka’s cell at sub-level four. When she drops from the ceiling, Luka doesn't see a savior; he sees a hallucination. He is a mountain of muscle gone lean from neglect, his golden skin scarred and his violet eyes clouded. You just needed to survive

As they reach the perimeter, the alarm blares. Luka’s instincts scream at him to shield Maya, but his body fails him. In a moment of desperation, Maya uses a Clecanian flash-grenade and drags him into the dense, purple-leafed jungle surrounding the compound.