“I remember everything. My past, being imprisoned, escaping, and making my way to the outer planets, fishing you out of that swamp. I remember it all. And Maya, you are still my mate. I remember, but nothing has changed.”
She shook her head and immediately regretted it as the room spun around her.
“But I can’t be. You already had a mate. And plus I don’t even know who you really are.”
“You are my mate,” he repeated. “I know it with every ounce of my body; it doesn’t matter that I have my memories back. If anything, it just confirms that what we have is real. Much more real than anything I felt before.
“Channa and I never had the chance to complete the bond because she was already in love with someone else. The bond was one-sided.” Ranek took a breath. “It is a long and complicated story, but you deserve to know. I just pray that once you know my past, you will still want me.”
He told her about how Channa had bonded with someone else whom her family had not approved, and the two had taken their lives when her family tried to force her to choose Ranek. “She hated me,” he finally concluded. “And I’d gone mad, fighting everyone and blaming them all. I injured my brother badly, crushing his hand, which he needed for his job as a medic. What you saw on Vasek is a biomechanical prosthetic. He was the favored son, and our father had me locked up. He’d drilled it into our heads from a young age that mates were not for us. He blamed me for ruining the life he’d built for us.”
Maya stood and listened, her heart breaking for him.
“That was many years ago. I’ve had years to mourn the life I could not have, years to realize that Channa and I were never close. Even before I escaped, I questioned whether she was truly my mate. It was one of the first things I told my brother when I found him again. But still, I was too afraid to truly believe it.
“When my sire passed, and the credits to keep me in a cushy facility ran dry, they sent me to the mines. It was a lot easier to escape than my previous location. The locals hated the Dominion and what they’d done to their planet, and a local miner transferred his ID to me as he died trapped under a cave-in. The only thing he wanted was for me to tell his mate that he would always love her.”
“Oh.” Maya was afraid to breathe lest she start sobbing.
“I transferred all his credits to her, and she helped me get off the planet, smuggled aboard a delivery vessel. But it was still a struggle, and I had to do a lot of unsavory things until I got word out to Kean, and he sent someone to escort me to Vosthea.
“Then I met you, and it was like the Stars started shining again. I felt it the moment I touched you, but I was so afraid to believe it. I believe it now. I believe it with everything in my being. You are mine, Maya. My mate. You are my only chance at a happy life, and I’m not leaving here without you in my arms.”
The walls Maya had put up cracked under the weight of his words. Perhaps the alcohol had helped a little, but the tears were streaming down her face now.
Ranek wiped away a tear with his thumb. “I love you, Maya. I know it will take time for you to love me, but I have all the time in the universe.”
“I think that ship already sailed. I already love you.”
“You do?”
Then he was on her, his mouth crushing hers, hot and demanding, and so full of possessive need that it melted her resolve. She clung to him as his tongue thrust deep, claiming and tasting her, and making her whimper against him.
It felt so good to be in his arms again where she belonged. She clutched at his shoulders, nails biting into his muscles, and he hauled her closer. He devoured her, and it was wild and messy, every second a promise that he’d never let her go again.
The sound of Grant clearing his throat was the first moment Maya realized they were no longer alone.
“I’m glad that worked out,” he said, grinning at Faith next to him.
“You knew!”
“We did. But thought it was best if you found out on your own.”
“Ranek still had my comm contact,” Faith explained. “He called, looking for you. Then Grant had this wonderful idea. Our first experience trying to get these pups to the rightful owners proved it’s going to be a dangerous job. We needed someone we could trust. We’ve contracted Ranek to do all our deliveries from now on. And he’s expressed the desire to keep Commander Chaos himself. We did request that he acquire a larger ship if he wishes to keep the pup on it.”
“That was in the works already. I have grown fond of the pup.” He turned to Maya. “And I knew you did not wish to give him away.”
Faith handed him the tablet with the documents. “It’s everything we discussed. All we need is your digital seal, and he’s all yours. Maya, too, as long as you bring her back in the morning.”
“Faith!” Her friend was practically pawning her off!
Ranek was already pressing his comm unit to the tablet, signing the agreement.
“And Maya, we have a temporary job for you. A couple on board theNew Horizonneed some help training an animal called a tunnel verlak. Ranek says you’ve met them on the planet.”
“I have.” She remembered the little furry menaces.
“Since it’s going to be months before we have viable eggs again, and even longer while they incubate, I figured you could make some extra credits by taking the job. It’s on a ship, though, and if you really don’t want to, I can send one of the new handlers you’ve been training.”
