Page 27

Did I see a cat?

The station was a cylinder with a thick ring around the center that had huge pylons for ships to dock on.

We wouldn’t see more than this shopping area, and that was perfectly fine with me.

I clung to Seth as we walked around the busy station.

My eyes were wide as I glanced around. Aliens I’d never seen before and some familiar species filled the space.

There were two levels of shops selling anything that I could possibly imagine.

Sometimes, I even had a hard time guessing what was for sale.

I spotted clothes, glowing crystals, jewelry, even large-ass beetle-looking aliens selling what smelled like poop.

Bars, restaurants, and what might have been a brothel—I tugged Seth away as fast as physically possible.

It was a madhouse of activity that was impossible to follow.

Every shout, scrape, and whistle made the tension in my muscles ratchet up until I thought I was going to shatter under the strain.

Seth was as tense as I was, but for a very different reason.

Seth had social anxiety, and crowds stressed him out; I was worried some asshole was going to abduct and sell me to the highest bidder.

I tried to remind myself, repeatedly, that Don was on the station, and everyone had a touchstone.

One word and Kal, Fyn, and Mindy would descend for their mates.

It was the one time I was actually happy that Kal was a possessive fucker. I imagined he was hanging around waiting for Seth to call him.

To top it off, Caleb looked fierce as hell in his black tunic and trousers, both topped with black leather armor.

He walked with a metal cane that had a white grip, bouncing every few steps in excitement.

For once, his wings were properly tucked beneath his shirt; I hoped he hadn’t hurt himself to achieve it, but it wasn’t my business.

Caleb and Camden had become fast friends in a short time, laughing and joking about everything in loud voices that carried over the bustling crowd and hawkers yelling about their wares.

Brad and Teddy were talking, or more accurately grunting and giving a single sentence every once in a while. They seemed to be getting along, despite their age difference. Roman walked beside them, as silent as ever, but he was watching the crowds, like I was, and his body was tense.

Pierce floated between conversations with ease.

We explored all the market had to see, which was a lot.

Seth bought jewelry and clothes for Kal.

He offered to get me whatever I wanted, but I was content to look—until I saw a crystal instrument.

It was long, with glowing strings as fine as hair.

The shape reminded me of a traditional Korean instrument, a gayageum, but it was made of crystal and shorter, not to mention it glowed when the strings were plucked.

“You want that?” Seth asked. “Why? You were never musical in the past.”

“Don. He likes music. I don’t even know if he can or would want to play it.”

“What’s going on with you two?”

Apparently, now was the time to disclose certain things. “We’re friends with benefits.”

His mouth opened in surprise.

“What? We’re consenting adults. We talked about it. Permissions, he called it. I really like those, FYI. He doesn’t want anything serious and neither do I, but we get along.”

“If it works for you.”

“It does.”

“Then I’m glad.” Seth walked forward and bought the instrument, scanning his touchstone.

I had no idea what the cost was, but it had to be substantial.

The seller put it into a metal case, and Seth handed it to me.

“Here. Give it to Don. Kal would want his brother to have whatever he wants. Don doesn’t spoil himself. ”

“Thanks.”

We started forward again. Seth grinned, and I asked, “What?”

“I hated permissions. In the past, I did whatever my partner wanted whether I liked it or not. Kal wouldn’t let me do that. He wouldn’t touch me, for the most part, until I told him what I wanted. It helped. I just hated talking about it.”

“I liked it. It made me feel safe,” I said before thinking about it.

Seth glanced at me, eyes narrowing. Being “safe” had never been a worry of mine in the past. He didn’t say anything or ask any questions, and I was glad. I didn’t want to talk about it, because it didn’t matter . Maybe if I told myself that enough, I would believe it.

I froze. “Is that a cat?”

He glanced at a shop with glass doors, which was full of cats with the fanciest cat towers and toys I’d ever seen—like, they were actually trees. The cats even had a damn waterfall and pond with fish moving in it.

“Yeah. Because I brought Lucy, my cat, with me, cats are popular. The Coalition tried to outlaw it, but there was a huge illegal market on cats, so they changed the law. Any cats born in space can be traded, but Earth cats have to be left alone. It’s closely regulated, because the Animal Regulation wants to make sure they are properly cared for and not used as breeders. ”

I wanted one. I could have a pet, an actual Earth pet. A furry friend to snuggle with would be so nice when I needed support or another presence, but I couldn’t. I was going home, most likely, probably; I didn’t know. This was temporary, though, and animals were a lifelong commitment.

Seth leaned closer, and I tensed as usual, not to mention I pulled back because I didn’t want him to touch me, but my pulse remained even, which was odd. Shouldn’t I be turned on or feeling something?

“To tell you the truth, I lied to Kal,” he whispered.

“I told him it was a cultural law not to move when cats sleep on you. Like it’s super illegal and no one does it.

He believed me. It’s spread. Then Caleb made up the fact that we worship the house gods and have shrines with towers, water features, and catnip, not to mention naming towns after cats.

When you buy a cat, they literally make you sign a legal document that you won’t break the cultural law of Earth.

It does deter people from randomly getting one. That, and they are very expensive.”

I burst into laughter, and Seth turned bright red. Shock lining my voice, I asked, “You did that?”

“I didn’t think it would matter. Caleb also verified it. It was the first thing he told all the humans we rescued about. All of them have agreed to keep it quiet. It’s become like a secret that belongs to us.”

I liked that. So much had been taken from us. Now this silly lie had become something we all could hold onto.

We moved past the shop, following the group.

We all stayed pretty close together, though everyone was shopping on Caleb, Teddy, and Seth’s dime.

When we agreed to become citizens, we would get a stipend to live on until we could find work or we mated someone who could afford to care for us.

From what Caleb and Seth had hinted, it was pretty much expected everyone would touch the Crystal and find their soulmate.

Teddy had point blank refused. He didn’t love the soul type testing, because he thought it was stupid, but he utterly refused to touch the Crystal. He didn’t want to chance Mindy not being his soulmate. He also didn’t want the genetic link and the mind-to-mind talking.

Caleb laughed loudly, his deep voice booming above the crowd.

I glanced at him to make sure everything was fine, then paused.

Don was sitting at a restaurant. Alone. His eyes were closed, but his tail wiggled and moved incessantly.

I bit my lip. He was working, but I would rather hang out with him than wander the station.

It felt safer. Besides, it would be fun to see everything through his eyes.

Mindy was supposed to get Teddy at some point anyway, then everyone was going to go back to the ship.

But I imagined Caleb would drag Fyn along in exploring the station, and Fyn would invite the rest of the humans because Caleb would want him to.

Seth would probably chill in his room, recovering. That was what he used to do, anyway.

“Hey, do you mind if I leave?” I asked.

“Are you going back to the ship? We can all go. We probably shouldn’t wander alone.”

“No.” I gestured to Don.

“Sure. Here.” He took the instrument. “I’ll see you later.”

I gave everyone a quick goodbye before winding through the crowd.

I kept Don in my sight at all times. He had to know I was coming, but he didn’t help me, because I didn’t need it.

The closer I got, the more his tail moved.

It was like a barometer to what he was feeling.

A very cute barometer. I had the utmost urge to kiss and stroke it, but I wouldn’t, because Don didn’t want me to. Yet. Soon. When we fucked, maybe.

I slid onto the stool next to him. His tail wrapped around my ankle, and I smiled. I didn’t say anything to greet him, as he was probably shuffling through the crowd's thoughts. I had no idea what he was looking for, but it had to be important.

A server who was bright orange and fuzzy like moss wandered over. They had four stocky legs that sort of jabbed out of their bullet-shaped body and four pitch-black eyes. They were odd, but perfectly understandable thanks to my touchstone as they asked for my order.

What they served was a mystery, and Don was busy. I didn’t really want to eat, but I needed to. I had to gain weight. I asked for whatever they recommended for drakcol, because I could eat pretty much the same things they did. If it would kill me, I assumed Don would stop me from eating it.

His tail squeezed my ankle, and I took that as an affirmative.

The orange alien returned with a plate of noodles smothered in yellow sauce with a large slab of black meat on top.

The noodles had the same texture as pasta, and the sauce was surprisingly sweet with a citrus undertone.

The meat was gamy, but not bad or underseasoned.

I silently ate as I watched the crowd and tried to keep my thoughts as calm as possible to not distract Don.

When I finished, I put my hand on his thick thigh.

I didn’t want to bother him, but I, for some reason, needed physical reassurance beyond his tail that he was beside me, that I was safe with him, that Don wasn’t going to vanish.

He didn’t react. I had no idea how much time passed with us being quiet and sitting together, but it was pleasant and calming to my tense nerves.

The server didn’t bother us more than to bring me red juice with bright green leaves—it was sweet with a minty flavor—and to refill the metal cup when it was empty.

Eventually, I rested my head against Don’s arm and breathed in his scent with a low groan.

I was happy. It was odd. I hadn’t felt this way in so long, and here I was so content sitting with him.

We weren’t doing anything, and we didn’t need to.

When I had been on Earth, if I wasn’t at work, I was socializing.

I went from party to party, event to event.

It was a rare night where I sat and did nothing or chilled.

Now I relaxed with Don nightly before he helped me sleep. I loved it. The slow pace. The unhurried need to do anything. I didn’t love my lack of willingness to move when I was alone, but that would pass. I was sure of it. I needed time.

If I was going to stay here, I’d have to find an occupation or the nothingness would drive me up the wall, but maybe I didn’t need to be as busy as before.

I would rather chill with Don. We worked well together like that.

He could sing or play something for me, and I would listen and read.

I did love to read, even though I’d yet to pick up a book since I’d been here.

We could just be, couldn’t we?

How much had I changed in the time I’d been gone? Yeah, a lot had happened, but still… I was me, but I was different too. Who would I have been if I’d never been taken? I couldn’t hazard a guess, nor did I even want to try.

Right here, right now, I was safe, happy, and content.