“Okay, and what were you doing before?” she asked, trying to get more information out of him.
“Nothing.” That was the honest truth. He’d been wasting away in prison, doing nothing.
She frowned. “Okay, Mr. Mysterious, you can have your secrets for now.” She pushed her bowl away. “I’m stuffed. That was good. Maybe it’s because I’m starving, but that was delicious considering what you had to work with. I’m impressed,” Maya said, leaning in close and dragging a fingertip over his forearm. “I might even forgive the mysterious past. So what do you say about testing for compatibility?”
Her forwardness surprised him; he’d been told humans were usually more reserved, but Maya was just as aggressive about what she wanted as a Tallean female. But that wasn’t what had him freezing in place.
He struggled to find the right words, and in the end decided to be brutally honest. “We cannot test for compatibility. I have already found my mate.”
The way her face fell at his words broke his heart.
Chapter 8
Maya
Maya could not believe the words she’d just heard. A mate? He already had a mate? What the hell? The stab of disappointment turned into righteous anger.
“You have a mate? Then why the fuck were you touching me? Kissing me?” Ugh! She felt so dirty now for touching him. She was no homewrecker. And she’d thought it wasn’t possible for someone to cheat on their mate.
“No! You misunderstand,” Ranek said, putting his hands up in defense. “I do not have a mate.”
“You literally just said you did, you lying liar!” she shouted. Her face heated up, and she felt the anger bubble up from the pressure in her chest.
“I said I’ve already found my mate. And I did. She rejected me!” he yelled the last words almost at a roar.
There was nothing but the echo of his voice as the meaning finally reached her. She stood there in shock, mouth agape. A rejected matebond was like a death sentence. Was this why hewas running from a life in the inner planets? Was this why he avoided talking about it?
She opened her mouth, but no words came out.
“It was many years ago,” he said, softer. “She’s no longer among the living. I don’t even remember her face. Sometimes I wonder if she really was my mate, or if she ever even existed.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
“Me too. But Channa has haunted me for long enough, and I’m ready to restart my life.” He looked down at her, and his face was nothing but earnest. “I cannot test for compatibility with you because the most I can offer is a partnership of convenience. It would be wrong for me to lead you on. I understand that many females will not settle for anything less than a mate bond.”
Then he turned and walked out of the medical bay before she could respond, leaving Maya alone and still too shocked for meaningful words.
Damn it! That wasn’t how things were supposed to go.
She cursed herself for reacting before getting all the information. Poor Ranek! A rejected mate bond was bad. According to what she’d heard, most didn’t survive, and the rest went crazy.
Ranek didn’t seem crazy, but then again, she barely knew him. Maybe he was and just hid it well. But Maya liked to think that she was a decent judge of character. Ranek hadn’t displayed any red flags. If anything, he’d been green-flagging it the whole time, from his rescuing her without an expectation of payment, all the way until the moment he told her the truth of his marital… or was that mate… status.
He'd been more than patient with Commander Chaos, even when the pup was gnawing on his ankle. Sure, the dragus pup didn’t have his adult teeth yet, but Maya had been nipped a few times, and those cute little baby teeth still did damage. And he’d even given the pup one of his ration bars. Maya had a really soft spot, like marshmallow-center soft, for guys who treated animals well, and Ranek was a prime example.
And he’d also offered to bring her back to Reka 5. That would take days out of his routine. Days out of his mission to make something of his new life in the outer planets.
Her mind still racing, Maya looked around the infirmary for Commander Chaos. He’d been sleeping under one of the beds, but wasn’t there anymore.
Was she still interested in Ranek now that she knew the truth? One of the appeals of dating a Tallean was the mate bond itself. A mated Tallean had only his mate in his mind. She was everything to him, the sun, the moons, the stars. He was unable to cheat on her or hurt her, unless there was something very wrong with him. Among their kind, harming a mate was one of the highest crimes, proof of a sick and broken mind, not worthy of rehabilitation.
A mate was everything. They were the center of one’s existence. Finding a mate was like finding the other half of your soul. Nothing mattered more.
If Ranek had already found and lost his, then Maya could never be his one and only.
The thought had her suddenly laughing out loud at herself. What the hell was she doing? Was she going to reject the guy outright just because he couldn’t have a mate? She couldn’t form a mate bond either, and neither could any of the millionsof eligible humans in the dating pool. That didn’t mean they couldn’t have a good time, or even find love.
Would she prefer to have a hot, sexy Tallean male claim her as his mate and devote his entire life to her? Sure! Who the hell wouldn’t? But that shouldn’t mean she should avoid anyone who wasn’t the ideal candidate. Imagine all the fun in life she’d miss if she lived like that!
