Chapter 24
Maya
Maya had never been to Kean’s compound on Vosthea. It was a large, multi-building affair, surrounded by the most gorgeous gardens. But Maya was too worried about Ranek to enjoy them. Especially when Ranek’s brother, Vasek, refused to let her into his room.
Vasek stood with his arms crossed in front of Ranek’s private room in Kean’s medical wing, blocking her way. “There is no way I’ll believe that my brother thinks you are his mate. That’s impossible.”
The male who had dropped her off had called her Ranek’s mate, and Maya hadn’t bothered to correct him.
“I don’t care what’s possible or not. I’m not leaving until I know he’s up and awake and well.”
“Let her through, Vasek.” The new voice was a low, rich baritone, and Maya turned to see an imposing figure stepping into the room. He was dressed in a dark silky shirt and leather pants, and he oozed power.
“Kean, you and I both know it’s impossible for her to be his mate.”
Kean? This was the infamous kingpin turned ruler of Vosthea? They’d explained on the trip here that it had been Kean who’d implored Gallus to get Ranek back to his compound in one piece. Ranek had said they were friends, but Maya hadn’t been ready to meet royalty. Or was he more mafia than monarch?
Either way, she was glad Ranek had friends in high places. Kean’s order had most likely saved his life.
“I heard it from Ranek himself. He called me from Fortuna II after he hit his head, telling me he’d found his mate. A human.”
He looked Maya up and down, and suddenly Maya felt teeny-tiny. She shored her courage and stood a little taller. He didn’t scare her… much.
“I told him it was impossible,” Kean continued. “He told me he was certain.”
Maya gathered her wits.
“I know I can’t actually be his mate,” Maya confessed.
“I know he had a mate already. I told him I wasn’t his, but he asked me to give him a chance.
So I did. He ran out there to face the pirates alone because he thought he was saving his mate.
” The tears were back now, and she hated how it made her look and feel completely out of control.
“I owe it to him to be here when he wakes. And if he remembers his past and rejects me, then so be it. I won’t make a fuss. ”
She was desperate to get in there to see him.
Vasek’s shoulders sagged, and he stepped aside. “Go.”
“Thank you.” Maya turned to Kean. “And thank you too for getting him here.”
Then Maya stepped into the room, and Kean pulled Vasek aside to talk.
The sight of Ranek in the med bed, naked, injured, and completely vulnerable, had her wanting to cry again. There were several red, angry slashes across his abdomen and chest, the source of all the blood she’d seen before.
She didn’t understand how the high-tech alien beds accelerated healing, but she’d been in one before so she knew better than to mess up its work by reaching in to touch him, even though she really wanted to, just to convince herself that he was really alive.
She pulled up a chair and sat next to him.
She was so freaking tired. She couldn’t even be in awe that she’d personally met the infamous kingpin-turned-ruler of Vosthea.
They’d managed to convince her to jump into a cleansing unit and change into a set of clean clothes. She was grateful that they’d managed to retrieve her belongings from the delivery ship.
She didn’t know how long she’d been dozing off in the chair when Ranek woke with a start. His brother was at his side in an instant to stop him from thrashing.
Ranek blinked up at his brother, looking confused.
“You are safe in Kean’s compound. Tell me what you need.”
Ranek tried to speak, but all that came out was a single raspy word. “Channa.” He groaned like it hurt to speak. Then said the name again. “Channa.”
Maya’s stomach sank. That was his true mate’s name. Ranek had finally woken, and the first thing he did was ask for her, not Maya. It felt like the entire world was being ripped out from under her.
Ranek went limp, like the simple request for his mate was too much, and he was out again. His brother carefully lowered his form back into the medical bed. Pity practically radiated off Vasek’s face as he turned to her. Maya had never felt so unwanted and humiliated before in her life.
Instead of telling her to leave, he said, “Sometimes memories take a while to fully return. Kean showed me the recording he had of Ranek. I haven’t seen him this happy in years. Stay and forgive him his words while he is not himself.”
Oh, so that was what the two had been doing outside. That still didn’t change the fact that Ranek had immediately asked for his ex and not her. It didn’t make the hurt any less.
“I understand.” She stood awkwardly. “I think I need some air.” Then she ran out of the medical bay.
She didn’t stop until she was out in the gardens.
“Maya! Maya!” Faith had followed her out; Maya had forgotten that her friend was out in the medical wing’s large guest area. “What’s wrong?”
Maya shook her head as the first tears broke the dam and spilled over, streaming down her face. “We should go home. Now.”
“But…”
“Ranek is fine. He woke up, and he remembers everything.”
“That’s good, right?”
“Um, sure. I mean, yes, of course, it’s good. And I’m happy for him. But I don’t think he thinks I’m his mate anymore. The first thing he asked for was his ex.” The words came out as broken sobs.
“Oh Maya.” Her friend wrapped her arms around her, understanding dawning.
“I’m so stupid.” Maya was glad she’d found a secluded area behind some thick bushes. She was a mess.
“No, no, you’re not. I don’t know what you went through on the planet, but trauma bonding is a real thing. I didn’t think that amnesia could mess with their mate bonds. But maybe it’ll just take some time, and he’ll remember you’re his mate after all.”
“No. You don’t understand. He already had a mate. It’s not me.”
Ranek
Beep.
Beep.
Ranek did not recognize the heavy wooden beams on the ceiling, but he knew from the scent that he was in an infirmary. His brother’s voice sounded from the other room, and he pushed himself up to sitting to look around.
Memories of him giving Maya that last kiss right before locking her safe in the room away from the pirates came rushing back, followed by those long moments lying on the mining station floor as his vision dimmed and he realized he would never see her again.
But Ranek was here now, and he was alive. He had to be, because the afterlife surely did not have infirmaries.
Beep.
Beep.
And even if the afterlife did have infirmaries, they wouldn’t have that incessant beeping that made him want to get up and rip the machinery out of the wall just to make it stop.
He inhaled deeply, noting the pain in his healing chest and abdomen. Maya’s scent was in the room, sweet and enticing, but tainted with worry. She was, however, nowhere to be found.
He spotted a large wooden chair with a cushion. Had she been sitting there?
It was the chair that had him realizing where he was. This must be the medical wing in Kean’s compound. He tried to get up and swore at how weak he felt. The medical bed, reacting to his movements, let out another beep, this one louder and longer.
The door to his room opened, and Kean’s personal medic Ulkin walked in; behind him was Ranek’s brother.
“Look who finally decided to stop being a lazy ass and wake up,” Ulkin said with a grin. “How are you feeling?”
“Like dung.”
The older medic chuckled. “You don’t look much better.”
Ranek turned to his brother. “So you finally accepted his offer to work here?”
Vasek scoffed. “No. I’m here because you were in bad shape and Ulkin thought it best I come. And since you asked that, I’m guessing you’ve got your memory back? What do you remember?”
“I remember gutting the pirate after he shot me. Since I’m alive, I guess I won.”
Ulkin huffed. “Just barely. If you all keep hurting yourself, how the fuck am I supposed to retire?”
Ranek looked beyond them to the door. “Where is my mate?”
The two medics exchanged a look.
“Do you remember why you went to Fortuna II?” Vasek asked.
“Yeah. Because my ship fucking sucks and I needed to make the credits to replace it.”
“Hmm.” Ulkin bent lower, a concerned look on his face, and shone a light in Ranek’s eye. “And you remember how you acquired the ship?”
Why were they asking him these questions? And why wouldn’t they tell him where Maya was?
“Yeah. I stole it off a slaver. Now, where is my mate?”
Vasek frowned down at him. “Channa is long gone, brother.”
“No,” Ranek growled. “Not Channa. Maya. Where is Maya?”
The two exchanged another long look. Ranek knew what this one was for. They thought Maya could not be his mate. But she was. Even now, after remembering Channa, he still knew that Maya was his mate. In fact, he knew it even more now.
“She is not here,” Ulkin finally said.
Ranek blinked. “What? I swear I heard her voice. And I smell her in this room.”
“She left.”
“When?”
“After you woke the first time,” Vasek said. “She was here and demanded to stay with you until you woke. When you did, you asked for Channa, and she left. I’m sorry.”
“I… I don’t remember asking for Channa.” He tried hard to remember the foggy moment.
“I remember seeing you. And… I remember being so excited to tell you that our curse could be broken. That Channa hadn’t stolen my one chance at a happy life.
That I found my true mate in Maya.” Ranek’s heart sank into his stomach.
He’d tried to say all that, and all that had come out was that cursed name, and Maya had been there. She’d thought he was asking for Channa.
“I have to go after her.” Ranek shoved himself off the medical bed and almost collapsed when his knees buckled.
Ulkin was there instantly, putting him back on his feet. “You’re not going anywhere in this state.”
“I can walk,” Ranek insisted stubbornly.
“I mean, you are naked. And neither the males outside nor I need to see your dick swinging.”
Vasek guffawed before turning to Ulkin, more serious. “Have you heard of something like this happening before?” he asked.
“If you mean two true mates, then no, unless they are a triad, and then there are two males for each female. But that’s not what's happening here. But if the first bond was incomplete, I have heard of Talleans finding another later in life.”
“That was what I had thought,” Ranek admitted. “But I do not have time for this. I need to find Maya.”
“Maya left a while ago,” Vasek said. “You’ve been asleep and healing since. She is already on her way home to Reka 5. Luckily for you, that's where Dawn and I were heading when Ulkin called me in. We will take you there.”
“But my shuttle—”
“You are in no condition to fly. We’ll tow your shuttle behind. But you’ll need to offload some of the loot.”
“I can do that now.” He wondered how long it would take for them to make a few changes to his vessel, like having a proper sleeping area reconstructed for overnight space travel. He’d removed that in favor of more room for cargo.
“Not so fast. You haven’t been cleared to leave. So sit down and let me take a look at you. The faster we do this, the faster you can go after your mate.”
His mate. Ranek had a mate.
Once he had her in his arms again, he was going to beg her forgiveness. And then he would never let her go.