Page 2 of A Mate for Vasek (Tallean Mercenaries #11)

What she hated the most wasn’t even dying. It was that she was going to die here. In New fucking Rhea. And right before her chance to get back to Earth.

A few weeks ago, Dawn had caught news of a group of human slaves planning a ship heist. Unlike many in these parts who tried to escape to Reka 5, these future runaways planned on flying the ship to Earth. They had a route and everything. Even figured out ways to refuel on the way.

Dawn had heard from plenty of other survivors that Earth wasn’t a good place to return to anymore.

And everyone knew the best place for displaced humans to go was Reka 5.

The colony, where humans and Talleans had equal standing and ownership of intelligent beings was completely outlawed, was just a hop and a skip from New Rhea. But she wasn’t interested.

There was also Kean’s compound. According to a few people she’d spoken to, if you made it to his compound, the drug lord-cum-ruler of Vosthea would offer you a job, an actual credit-paying job, and protect you from whomever you escaped from.

But Dawn wasn’t interested in that either. She just wanted to see home one last time before she croaked. And this outlandish escape plan had been her chance.

Too bad Bakum had shown up and fucked it all to hell by murdering her owner and dragging her all over this backwater hellscape over some stupid disagreement.

Now she was going to die without ever making it home. She didn’t even know what day it was. There was a big chance she’d already missed the proverbial boat, and her friends were already up in the great unknown, making the big trek home.

Dawn forced herself to be grateful for all the little things, like the fact that she was sitting on a comfortable chair instead of the hard floor, and the fact that the blanket around her smelled really nice. Was that the medic’s scent? It was so much better than dirt and sweat.

The medic knelt in front of her. Unlike Bakum, this Tallean male had kind eyes. His face was another matter. Several scars interrupted his right cheek crease, giving his otherwise handsome face a dangerous look. The creases were the most inhuman part of Tallean faces.

“What’s your name?” he asked, looking directly at her.

All Talleans had green eyes, though they varied in shade.

Bakum had yellow-green eyes, and her now-dead owner had bright, emerald-green ones.

But Dawn had never seen this particular shade before.

The medic’s eyes were so dark she would’ve thought they were black if it weren’t for the glint of green that shone through when he tilted his head.

Then, realizing she was staring, Dawn cast her eyes down.

They landed on the large claws that stuck out of the front of his thick-soled boots.

That was one part of the aliens she’d never gotten used to.

It was hard not to be afraid of those claws when she’d witnessed them tearing someone apart more than once. She looked down at her hands instead.

“What’s your name?” he asked again in his rich baritone.

“Dawn.”

“Dawn. I’m Vasek. When did this illness start?”

Did Vasek plan on treating her anyway? Or was he just curious?

Dawn hesitated, unsure how to answer. The days had been a blur, and she hadn’t been keeping track. She looked over at Bakum, who was lying quietly on the bed across the room. He wasn’t awake, but she didn’t know how close he was with the medic.

Was it safe to let the medic know she’d been stolen? Would he tell Bakum she squealed?

“Shortly after Bakum … acquired me. About ten days ago.”

His brows raised at her hesitation before the word “acquired,” but he didn’t push as he pulled the blanket away, then frowned at the state of her clothes.

The simple long-sleeved shift dress was shaped like the ones for slaves, but the edges of the sleeves and hem had been decorated with gems and jewels.

But right now, the whole affair was dirty and ripped; there was mud caked on the gems at the wrists, and Bakum had sold several of the large jewels on the bottom hem to pay their way as they ran from their pursuers.

Ever since being taken from Earth, Dawn had been paraded around like a prize but treated like shit by every Tallean male she’d met. Except for Bakum. He just treated her like shit. But then again, all they’d done so far was run.

Dawn’s first job after getting abducted from Earth was as a prize to a Dominion captain for a job well done.

That hadn’t lasted long. He’d lost her in a bet during a night out drinking and partying during shore leave—or was that planet leave since they were in space?

This new guy had taken her to the outer planets, then promptly gotten murdered by a rival.

She’d stayed with the rival for a while, until he was murdered as well. Notice a pattern yet?

Then, she’d been picked up by the barkeep, who’d sold her to a small-time arms dealer who supplied some very unsavory types. She stayed with Kotch, the arms dealer, the longest. She didn’t mind him too much.

For one thing, Kotch already had two Fiete girls keeping his home clean and his bed warm. He’d only picked up Dawn because human females were all the rage, and he’d wanted to show her off at the warehouse office. The fact that she helped him organize his work and keep his records was just a bonus.

During this time, Kotch had several strokes of phenomenal luck and made a shit-ton of credits.

And since he’d bought her right before the first instance, he’d been convinced that she was good luck, at least for his business.

But she wasn’t, because he was now dead, and his crew was after her and Bakum, the newest in her long line of asshole Tallean males.

The medic lifted her from the chair effortlessly and deposited her at the edge of the bed before picking up something that looked like a scanner.

After warming the metal part of the device quickly with his hands, the medic carefully lifted her dress and held the device to her chest, moving it around to cover the whole area, before doing the same on her back.

Then he read the report on his screen, frowning, before continuing to examine her with gentle hands and finally scanning the rash on her leg.

“You’ve been in the wilds.”

Dawn looked down at her dirt-caked dress. Yeah, no shit, Sherlock.

“I have detected multiple issues. The first is from the toxin of a common noxious weed that grows nearby. It doesn’t usually affect Talleans long term, unless their immune system is depressed.

And even then, it usually only shows as skin rashes.

It seems to affect humans more strongly.

But there is something else. Did you drink from any puddles in the wilds? ”

She thought of the river crossing where she’d almost gotten eaten.

She’d almost drowned, too. It was the only part of the river without a strong current, but it had been murky and stank horribly.

She’d gotten several vile mouthfuls of that water.

The storm that rolled in shortly after that had washed her clean, but that had meant she’d been cold and miserable.

“I accidentally swallowed some disgusting water when we crossed the river,” she admitted. “But no puddles.”

“You were in the water. That explains it. The bacterium is easy to deal with. You’ll be feeling yourself again soon.”

He turned to prepare the medication, and Dawn reached for the gem barely hanging on near the rip at the hem, removing it and rubbing it as clean as she could with her palm.

This one was a dark red. She’d learned in the years since leaving Earth that diamonds were plentiful and easy to create, and the Talleans usually favored gems that were more colorful.

Not every gem on this dress was real; Kotch didn’t have enough credits and so had the tailor use a few fakes to fill in the pattern at the back.

Dawn knew which ones were fake, but Bakum didn’t.

One of the gems he’d used to barter with the last guy had been fake, but the fool hadn’t known either.

This one in her hand was real, and it was a decent-sized stone too.

Putting jewels on a favored female was a common way for Talleans to show their wealth, and yes, that included slaves like her. It was like saying, “Hey look, I’m so rich that even my slaves are dripping in gems.” Dawn had always thought this custom stupid, until now.

Kotch had owned one and only one such dress, and he’d had her wear it only when he had meetings.

She’d sit there looking pretty when she wasn’t pouring drinks or wheeling out the delivery.

He’d called it a business expense. It was during one such meeting where things soured and Bakum pulled a blaster on Kotch, killing him.

Her life had been full of thugs, thieves, and murderers ever since she left Earth. But this medic was opting to treat her, even though Bakum had been clear he wouldn’t pay him, so that was new. Sadly, it was the nicest thing anyone had done for her in a very long time. He deserved this gem.

The medic was back, holding a device that looked more like a gun than a syringe. Dawn narrowed her eyes at it, and Vasek reacted with a throaty chuckle. “It looks worse than it is. I promise.”