Page 10 of Savior (Most Wanted Alien Brides #7)

9

KARUK

“ A nd another thing. She needs to let me out more. I can handle myself. Look at these claws ,” the cat said. He spread his paws, revealing his natural weapons.

Which would have been impressive if he was, oh, twenty times larger.

Instead, he was a loud, talkative fluff ball that would not shut up.

“I can handle anything that comes my way.” Mr. Fluffikins flounced back and forth in front of him in an effort to look fierce and menacing.

In between telling Karuk all his thoughts about everything, including Jenny and the spaceship, which he hated being stuck on, the creature would not be silent.

The cat was the telepath he heard before, not Jenny.

Not any of the humans.

“I’m a fierce beast, you have no idea,” Fluffikins added.

“Sure, you can, Fluffikins.” Karuk telepathically told the fluff ball.

“And that’s another thing. The name. It doesn’t invoke fear and tremors in my enemies.”

“I’ll add that to the list.”

The cat had been giving him a list of grievances since the creature realized Karuk could hear him.

Karuk rubbed his head. He could barely hear himself think over the cat’s very opinionated views of Jenny and the galaxy.

“Are you sure you’re well?” Jenny asked, drawing his attention away from Fluffikins.

“My brain is overstimulated.”

Jenny looked at her cat. “Mr. F if you’re overwhelming him…”

“I’m not. You’re just the first one of you two-legs that can actually hear me, and I have so many things I need to say!”

Karuk glared at him. “Enough.”

“That’s it,” Jenny scooped up the cat. “You are, well, I don’t know what you’re doing, but you’re giving him a headache, and that’s rude.” She walked over to a door, opened it, and tossed the cat inside.

He let out a series of complaints the whole time, but when the door was closed, it dampened the sound considerably.

“Now, are you okay? Can I get you anything? I think I have some uh, headache medicine, around here somewhere.”

Karuk waved his hand. “No. I should return to my quarters for the sleep cycle.”

Jenny came closer to him. “Do you need a break? Maybe sit first?” She gestured to the couch. “You haven’t sat down since you came in here.”

He shook his head. Though that wasn’t the most pleasant sensation. He hadn’t been overwhelmed with thoughts from anyone like that in a long time.

He fiddled with the cuff on his ear, adjusting the power of it, and it seemed to ease back his ability to hear the animal through the door. Now it backed off to garbled meows.

“I’m sorry. I’m still not sure I get it, really. You can hear him? Like, in words and sentences?”

“He is very articulate.”

“But can you read my thoughts right now?”

He tapped the cuff on his ear. “Not with this on. I’m going to have to check some settings to see why the pet’s thoughts are getting through.”

“If you’re ever going down to Earth, you’d better. There’s cats and dogs and all kinds of pets everywhere.”

“Not going to happen.”

She smiled. “Never say never. I said I would never get to be up on The Bridge and see what the world was like from there, and look at where I am now.”

“You are much achieved much more than the planet-bound station. You are among the first here.”

“True,” she said. She glanced around her little place, and then back at him. “Can I offer you something? A drink or something?”

“No. I need to retire for this cycle.”

“Right. Sure. I get that. I need to sleep too. Gotta go work on those bio rhythms in the morning.”

“Are you adjusting to the cycles here? Sleep cycles in space can be difficult to become accustomed to.”

“I’m getting used to it. If anything, I seem to sleep better here than in my apartment.”

“Why is that?”

She waved her hand. “No particular reason.”

Something about her facial expression. He was certain she had a very good reason for not sleeping well on the planet.

She gestured toward the door, and he took a few steps toward it. He stopped next to it and hesitated. He didn’t want to go.

“Your work, how is it developing?” He enjoyed being in her presence, so instead of leaving, he kept talking. “Will you be finished soon?” How long were they going to be remaining on the station?

And regardless of how annoying her pet was, he didn’t want to see her go just yet.

“I’d say it’s developing well. We did test scanning today, and that was really interesting, adding us to the database to see if there’s any particular matches.”

“Is that why you’re here? To match with someone?”

She shook her head. “No. Just to test things out and make sure that whatever hu—I mean Earthlings—that want to be a part of the program don’t have any weird issues since we’re not actually in the system files.”

Wait. That’s not what he was told before. “They scanned many of us as well, to add us to a database for testing. But we were told it was their entire database.”

“We were told the database that is here is local. Re-lee doubted any matches would be found; it was merely a way to test the data.” She stared at him for a moment. “Did you not want to be a part of it?”

He shook his head. “I’m here for the job. Not the service.”

“I understand,” she said. “What do you do here?”

“Construction.”

She smiled. “Of course. Someone has to build this place.”

“Exactly.”

They stood there for a few moments before he put his hand on the door. “I should leave.”

“Right. Yeah. Well, I’ll see you around.” The door slid open.

“Yes.” He stepped through the open door. “And let your creature wander around more. Here in the station, it’s a confined space. He will be fine.”

“Maybe I will.”

He smiled at her.

She smiled back, and the door closed.

He felt strange.

He did not like seeing that door shut.

Correction.

He did not like that door separating them.

Karuk had just slipped his work uniform on when there was an alert at his door.

He glanced at the crono, and saw he wasn’t late for his shift, but the foreman was standing outside.

When the door opened, the foreman looked him over. “You. Come with me.”

“What for?”

“Come with me,” the foreman said again. His usual scowl was replaced with an even more angry one. The pace he set through the corridor emphasized his anger. The floors quaked under his steps.

Well, that didn’t bode well.

Karuk followed him through the station. Not a word was said, though the foreman’s frustration grew the further they went.

They went past the cafeteria, and Karuk saw Girrick and Resko eating. They both paused and stared as he headed through with the foreman. They made eye contact for a moment.

“Well, that doesn’t look good,” Resko muttered.

Girrick nodded, and they both watched him walk through, as though he was on his way to a sentencing.

Karuk would agree with him if he was in their position.

They continued through the station, moving away from the construction areas and deeper into the station. Areas that he rarely frequented as a builder. He stayed in the less polished areas.

This was not that.

Which did not bode well for him.

Was something wrong? Had he messed up something?

Worse, had the Vorjan House found him here?

He prepared to find himself face to face with more Dalgurians, ready to haul him back to their homeworld for punishment. Or would they just jettison him out into space, never to be seen or heard from again?

Either was possible. The Vorjan House didn’t particularly like orders being rejected. Especially those from their king.

He patted his side as they walked and realized he hadn’t bothered to strap on the knife blade he usually kept on his person. The blade was a tool.

But it was also a defensive weapon.

Facing Vorjan House unarmed was a fool’s choice. Perhaps it was a fitting end for him—dying at the hands of his house, because he refused to be who they demanded.

Sad as he was, at least his travels brought him here, where he met Jenny, the Earthling.

Even her talkative pet brought a spot of light to his darkening heart.

He regretted he would not get to see them again.

The foreman headed toward the administrative offices. No more hard metal floors and ambient noise. This part of the station was clean, had soft flooring, and a sound dampening that removed most of the evidence of being in space.

Except for the windows that showed the stars and the world below.

Jenny would like this view , he thought to himself.

And then pushed the thoughts away. He shouldn’t dwell on her and her little creature. He wasn’t here to make friends. This far away from his homeworld, he remained here to hide.

That was ending.

Maybe it was better this way. That she did not know who or what he really was. Hopefully, she remembered him fondly.

The foreman’s pace slowed as he headed through the hallway.

Karuk prepared himself.

This day was bound to come. If it wasn’t here, it would be in another world or job. His people’s tenacity made legends throughout the galaxy.

They rarely stopped. A few who used their telepathy and other skills for nefarious ends had much to do with the dangerous reputation they had.

They were pretty, yes.

But the Dalgurians were dangerous.

He could have taken his earpiece off. Tried to at least prepare, but it seemed pointless.

His fate was mere moments away.

The foreman came to a stop at a door—this one a bit more ornate than many of the others. Likely a main office.

Exactly where anyone from his world would expect to be taken. The arrogance and entitlement of the senior command staff would expect no less.

“You,” the foreman said. “In there.”

Karuk nodded and stepped forward.

The door came open, and inside was that Earthling, Polly. He’d seen her about the station, and with the others from her planet, but he’d never interacting with her.

She smiled at him. Seemed friendly enough.

“Hi there, you must be Karuk.”

“Yes.”

“I’m Polly. Please, come in.”

The inside was much fancier than the outside. Dark reds and plums decorated the room, a contrast to the trimming of the same silver-gray that the rest of the station had been fitted with. A seating area, with large, ornate furniture gathered around a singular low table, and a vase of flowers in similar colors to the room dominated the table.

From the door, he could smell them. They were real, grown organically. He hadn’t seen a real plant in some time.

Just the smell soothed him, and he realized how much he missed organic contact—walking on a planet’s surface grounded him and gave him strength.

His gaze ran over the room, and noticed other plants, green ones, in opposite corners of the room.

What wasn’t there, however, were any representatives of the Vorjan House.

Now he was concerned.

He lingered by the door, looking for some kind of alternate entrance where someone could come in. His training from his previous life came to life, and he immediately started analyzing and taking in threats.

Though he found none, and that never sat well with him. “What is this?”

“It’s fine, Karuk, please, come in and take a seat,” Polly said, gesturing to the central seating area. “You’re not in any trouble.”

He tentatively stepped forward, still not trusting this. And while the female was friendly enough, none of this felt right.

The door behind him swooshed open.

He spun, ready to fight.

And came face to face with Jenny.

She jumped back. “Karuk?”

“Why are you here?” he asked.

“Uh, well,” she started, stepping into the room, and he backed up to give her space as she spoke. “Re-lee came to get me, saying there was something we needed to discuss.”

His mind shifted.

Maybe this wasn’t about his past at all. Had he broken some kind of rule, speaking with her so casually? He didn’t remember any such regulation. That didn’t mean that there wasn’t an unwritten directive. If so, he wouldn’t put it past Cher and Bardon to notify the foreman about it.

Anything to get him in trouble, and possibly off their team.

“Did she want to talk to you too?” Jenny asked.

“Re-lee,” he said, trying to think who that was.

The female in question spoke, making her presence known to him. “You two know each other? That makes this so much easier.”

“Oh, wow. How funny,” Polly said, grinning.

“That makes what easier?” Karuk asked. He moved, so he was next to Jenny, positioning himself in a spot to protect her, separating her from the other female.

Jenny put her hand on his arm, stepping around him

He grimaced.

She didn’t seem to notice. “What should be easier? What’s going on?”

“You two mating!” Re-lee said, a wide grin on her face.

“What?” both he and Jenny said at the same time.

“Aww, that’s so cute, they’re already syncing up,” Re-lee said. “They’re speaking at the same time.”

Polly started coming closer to them.

“No!” Jenny said, shoving Karuk away from her. “I didn’t come here to find a date! I’m a bioengineer, and I’m here to explore new, new, uh, medicines and technologies!” Her cheeks turned pink, and she stomped her foot.

He couldn’t help it. He smiled at her stammering.

She glared at him. “Why are you smiling? You should be just as outraged as I am!”

This made him grin more.

“Karuk!”

He looked down, avoiding her expression, and neutralized his own, before bringing his head up.

That Jenny looked ready to yell again made it hard for him to remain neutral.

He shouldn’t find this humorous. He really shouldn’t. It seemed that the Universe had put him on the most unusual path, and this just added to the oddity of it.

But instead of being ready to be shipped off, and likely assassinated by his people for his crimes, he finds himself chosen by their database to mate with the one Earthling he’s drawn to?

Yes, the Universe has some interesting ideas.

Jenny still looked upset.

“It will work out,” he said softly.

She glared at him. “This is not looking promising.”

He should have been offended, but he wasn’t.

He was just pleased he wasn’t about to be killed.

He instead focused on Re-lee. “You must be mistaken. We are not mates.”

“According to our calculations, you two will make great mates,” Re-lee said. “Now, if you please, let us all take a seat and we can discuss this.”

Jenny crossed her arms. “I have nothing more to say.”

Karuk watched her as she plopped into her chair, an indignant expression on her face.

If she was that adamant about not being his mate, then he would not force her. He would not force any female to be with him. Though the idea of Jenny being mated with him brought him a bit of joy.

Even though she did not look happy about it.

Why did that very thought make his heart hurt, though?

He’d only just met her.