Page 12 of A Mate for Vasek (Tallean Mercenaries #11)

Vasek

Vasek trudged through the woods, stomping his booted feet on the forest floor on the path back from the perimeter alarm Morad and his males had barged through. He’d finished setting it back up and was on his way back to the shuttle.

When he’d left, he’d been certain that there was no way for Dawn to escape or hurt herself, but now he wasn’t so sure.

He’d been monitoring her through his comm unit, pulling up the video feed from his shuttle.

She’d done everything he’d predicted she’d do.

She’d tried the door, then moved to the navigational panel before trying to get into his cabinets, which were all locked.

And finally, she’d screamed something about fornicating rodents—that he’d not expected—and sank down to the floor of the shuttle and started crying.

He had not been ready for that. Especially when he’d turned on the sound and heard her pitiful sobs. It had made his chest feel so tight that he’d looked around to see if a patch of gasweed had sprung up in the area. It hadn’t.

Then she’d gotten up, wiping the tears from her eyes, and marched over to the transport parked at the back of the shuttle.

She opened the door and climbed inside. Vasek had left the access chip inside the transport, but it also required a code to start, so he wasn’t worried that she’d try to drive away.

Even if she could get the transport running, it was magnetized to the floor of the shuttle.

Not to mention, the back door of the shuttle would not open to let the transport out.

But when she failed to come out after a prolonged period, he started to worry. What the hell was she doing in there? Now he regretted not installing cameras in his transport too.

He had quickly finished resetting the alarm and was now heading back to the shuttle. Morad was nowhere in sight, and he hadn’t caught any scent of him except for the old lingering one from when he’d been here last.

Speaking of scenting, he was now extremely curious about why Dawn had made the decision to brave the wilds alone.

He was pretty sure that it wasn’t to get back to a secret lover.

It would’ve been difficult to hide any sexual liaison from Kotch or Morad anyway.

She would either return smelling of sex or of cleansers, both of which would be highly suspicious.

And that would be true for both male and female paramours. What else could it be? He suddenly remembered the spare PPC he’d let her use to pass the time. He’d check that when he returned.

The cave and the shuttle came into view. It was still in one piece and hadn’t blown up or caught on fire. That was a good sign. Opening the door, he carefully stepped inside, ready to defend himself should the little human launch an attack, but none came.

In fact, his shuttle was suspiciously quiet. He quickly removed his clothing and boots and stuck them into the clothing decontaminator in case he’d picked up any irritants during his trip.

A quick search found Dawn still inside the transport. She was still naked, curled up in the fetal position in the back, and seemed to have cried herself to sleep.

He sighed, and leaving the door to the transport slightly ajar, went to look for clues in the PPC.

The last place she’d visited was the ordering portal for one of the larger mega depots at Port Number Two.

But she hadn’t used his account to do the shopping.

She must have used Kotch’s. He couldn’t tell what she’d ordered aside from the fact that she had most definitely ordered something.

She’d also looked at a map of the area focusing on the land between here and the port.

That confirmed that Dawn had been trying to return to the port, rather than trying to escape into the wilds.

Had she ordered supplies needed to survive on her own?

Was the plan to make it back to port, pick up the supplies, and return to the wilds?

Or did she have somewhere else to go? Someone who’d hide her?

It occurred to him that whoever it was didn’t need to be a lover. It could be a friend.

He was still wondering this when his stomach let out a loud growl.

They’d skipped a meal, and he hadn’t eaten much earlier this morning.

He went to his food replicator. It was a rare thing to have in a shuttle this size, but since he spent so much time in it hopping from planet to planet, it had been a worthwhile investment and one he used often.

If he was hungry, then Dawn must be as well.

There was another similarity between their species.

They both needed to eat every day. But if they had to, Talleans could survive a long time without a meal.

Humans, from what Vasek knew, usually ate multiple times a day.

And they couldn’t survive nearly as long without food.

Technically, Vasek knew what humans needed to consume nutrition-wise, but had no clue what they preferred to eat taste-wise.

Up until now, he hadn’t needed to know more than what he needed to treat the few humans he’d come across.

Dawn had eaten the food he’d given her yesterday, but had she enjoyed it?

As the replicator prepared his meal, he looked up what humans on the outer planets liked to eat.

He didn’t recognize many of the dishes, but after a quick look into it, he realized they were either Tallean dishes altered to include Earth flavors—the spices and herbs imported from Earth, or cultivated in Reka 5 or Vosthea—or they were Earth dishes reimagined with locally available ingredients.

Many of the dishes listed their origin as Reka 5. Some of them were from Vosthea.

He imagined humans working in mines and plantations throughout Dominion space would have their own dishes too, as they created new customs and traditions unique to themselves. Much like how Talleans from different regions had distinct cultures.

Dawn had never been to Reka 5 or Vosthea.

At least not that he knew of. She’d recognize none of these meals.

Still, he chose an Earth-inspired dish made with local ingredients that would be easy for her to consume inside the transport, installed the instructions onto his replicator, and set it to work as he started on his food. .

The “pee-zah” was a flat dough baked with a generous layer of ingredients on top.

It smelled savory, and he recognized the meat chunks often used in the replicators scattered on top.

To his surprise, it also used the curded milk frequently eaten by those who came from his sector of the inner planets.

The original ingredient was near impossible to find in these parts, but a local substitute had been getting more popular on the outer planets in recent years. Was it because it worked as a substitute for an Earth-based food as well? That would explain it.

Vasek actually preferred the substitute over the memory of the real thing. It had been so long since he’d had it. Was it like that for the humans too?

Carefully, he brought the “pee-zah” and a disposable pouch of water to the transport, opened the door, and set them on one of the pull-out surfaces in the back seat.

Dawn woke, looking confused, before noticing him and scrambling back, tucking her feet under her like she expected him to drag her out of the transport. Did she think him a monster?

But the more he thought about it, the more it made sense why she reacted the way she did to the males in bloodlust. It wasn’t something humans did, and it usually meant that violence was imminent. She was not meant for this life. It was best that Vasek drop her off at Kean’s as soon as possible.

While the drug lord-cum-ruler of Vosthea had a violent streak himself, those living inside his compound lived a sheltered and well-protected life, especially when compared to the rest of the planet.

Going back to his PPC, Vasek made the call and soon had the ruler of Vosthea on his screen.

“Vasek.” Kean looked remarkably unstressed for someone who held the future of an entire planet in his hands. “Are you here to accept my offer?”

Kean meant the offer to work as a medic at the compound. Ulkin had suggested it years ago, and the offer had been outstanding since.

“Not yet, Kean. Maybe in a few years.” This was his response every time.

“Then to what do I owe this call?”

“I’ve found myself in possession of a human female.”

Kean chuckled. “You say that like a human female just suddenly fell into your lap.”

“That sounds about right, ” Vasek said, remembering how Dawn had felt in his lap during takeoff. “Is your compound still taking in escaped slaves?”

“You’re not keeping her yourself? You’ve worked hard, you deserve someone.”

Of course Kean would say that. He was completely enamored with his human mate. The poor sap. Luckily for Kean, the mating had only increased his reputation for being ruthless since it gave him something more to protect on top of everyone else in his compound.

“I have no way to protect something so precious. She will be better off at the compound.”

Vasek wondered if Kean knew about his family’s luck with matings. He might, since he was also ex-Dominion, and Goddess knew how rumors spread through the ranks.

“I’m sure we’ll find a position for her. When will you be here?”

“I’m leaving New Rhea now.”

“Good. Then we will expect you soon. And you will be just in time for the big celebration. You never did reply to my invitation.”

Fuck. He’d forgotten about that. Kean had been throwing these big bashes every year since he took over all the major ports and cities on the planet.

It was a celebration of the unification and development of a planet that had once only been home to outlaws and thieves, and everyone who was anyone was invited.

There was usually at least one attempt on Kean’s life, so it was the perfect way to lure out any disloyal players.

Vasek wasn’t the type for big parties, but he was stuck with it now.