Kean? This was the infamous kingpin turned ruler of Vosthea? They’d explained on the trip here that it had been Kean who’d implored Gallus to get Ranek back to his compound in one piece. Ranek had said they were friends, but Maya hadn’t been ready to meet royalty. Or was he more mafia than monarch?
Either way, she was glad Ranek had friends in high places. Kean’s order had most likely saved his life.
“I heard it from Ranek himself. He called me from Fortuna II after he hit his head, telling me he’d found his mate. A human.”
He looked Maya up and down, and suddenly Maya felt teeny-tiny. She shored her courage and stood a little taller. He didn’t scare her… much.
“I told him it was impossible,” Kean continued. “He told me he was certain.”
Maya gathered her wits.
“I know I can’t actually be his mate,” Maya confessed. “I know he had a mate already. I told him I wasn’t his, but he asked me to give him a chance. So I did. He ran out there to face the pirates alone because he thought he was saving his mate.” The tears were back now, and she hated how it made her look and feel completely out of control. “I owe it to him to be here when he wakes. And if he remembers his past and rejects me, then so be it. I won’t make a fuss.”
She was desperate to get in there to see him.
Vasek’s shoulders sagged, and he stepped aside. “Go.”
“Thank you.” Maya turned to Kean. “And thank you too for getting him here.”
Then Maya stepped into the room, and Kean pulled Vasek aside to talk.
The sight of Ranek in the med bed, naked, injured, and completely vulnerable, had her wanting to cry again. There were several red, angry slashes across his abdomen and chest, the source of all the blood she’d seen before.
She didn’t understand how the high-tech alien beds accelerated healing, but she’d been in one before so she knew better than to mess up its work by reaching in to touch him, even though she really wanted to, just to convince herself that he was really alive. She pulled up a chair and sat next to him.
She was so freaking tired. She couldn’t even be in awe that she’d personally met the infamous kingpin-turned-ruler of Vosthea.
They’d managed to convince her to jump into a cleansing unit and change into a set of clean clothes. She was grateful that they’d managed to retrieve her belongings from the delivery ship.
She didn’t know how long she’d been dozing off in the chair when Ranek woke with a start. His brother was at his side in an instant to stop him from thrashing.
Ranek blinked up at his brother, looking confused.
“You are safe in Kean’s compound. Tell me what you need.”
Ranek tried to speak, but all that came out was a single raspy word. “Channa.” He groaned like it hurt to speak. Then said the name again. “Channa.”
Maya’s stomach sank. That was his true mate’s name. Ranek had finally woken, and the first thing he did was ask for her,not Maya. It felt like the entire world was being ripped out from under her.
Ranek went limp, like the simple request for his mate was too much, and he was out again. His brother carefully lowered his form back into the medical bed. Pity practically radiated off Vasek’s face as he turned to her. Maya had never felt so unwanted and humiliated before in her life.
Instead of telling her to leave, he said, “Sometimes memories take a while to fully return. Kean showed me the recording he had of Ranek. I haven’t seen him this happy in years. Stay and forgive him his words while he is not himself.”
Oh, so that was what the two had been doing outside. That still didn’t change the fact that Ranek had immediately asked for his ex and not her. It didn’t make the hurt any less.
“I understand.” She stood awkwardly. “I think I need some air.” Then she ran out of the medical bay.
She didn’t stop until she was out in the gardens.
“Maya! Maya!” Faith had followed her out; Maya had forgotten that her friend was out in the medical wing’s large guest area. “What’s wrong?”
Maya shook her head as the first tears broke the dam and spilled over, streaming down her face. “We should go home. Now.”
“But…”
“Ranek is fine. He woke up, and he remembers everything.”
“That’s good, right?”
