Chapter 25
Maya
Maya sighed and leaned back on the couch to watch Commander Chaos explore the staff room of the kennel.
Gallus and Miranda had ended up bonding with Princess Peach and decided to keep her instead of Commander Chaos, which meant he, along with Butterball, was out of a forever home.
Privately, Maya was glad to have Chaos by her side right now. She wasn’t sure if she’d survive this heartbreak otherwise.
She took another long glug of her wine. She hadn’t even bothered to water it down like she usually did. Was that super irresponsible? Sure, but she wanted to fast-track her way to numbness ASAP.
At least her heartbreak was enough to have her completely ignore the fact that she’d returned home to find her room broken into and her things left out in the hallway.
Vi, it turned out, had moved her new man into Maya’s room.
Apparently, she’d been acting like the roommate from hell to try to get Maya to leave this whole time so he could move in.
Whatever. She hated it there anyway. But it meant that Maya was now staying in the kennels.
Faith had suggested showing up with Commander Chaos’s parents and forcing the asshole out, but Maya was done.
So her friend had dragged Maya down to the rental office to explain her situation and to have her name removed from the agreement.
The nice Tallean lady at the front desk apologized for not being able to reimburse her, but she did say that the building would be forced to kick Viv out if they could prove she’d broken into Maya’s room.
That was easy enough; the hallway cameras had plenty of footage of Viv and her man carrying Maya’s stuff out of the apartment.
Then Faith had told Maya she could stay in the kennel for as long as she needed. There was plenty of extra room. She didn’t mind. She needed the company right now anyway.
Tipsy from the wine, it took several rings for Maya to realize that Faith was trying to call her. She picked it up, trying her best not to slur her words.
“Hey, I think Grant and I might have found a special home for Commander Chaos.”
“You did?” Maya wasn’t sure if she wanted to be happy for Commander Chaos or cry because she was going to lose him too.
“Yup. And this guy already understands that Chaos is technically just a prototype, and he’d technically be adopting him, not buying him. And he’s spent time with dragus before. But there’s a catch. He’s actually on his way to the kennel now.”
“Now?”
“I know it’s late and we are closed. But can you do me a favor and let him in if I don’t get in on time? I’m rushing over now.”
“Um, ah, sure.” Like there was anything else she could say.
“Okay, thanks. You’re a lifesaver. See you soon.”
Maya stared at her comm. Damn it! She was too drunk for this. She made her way over to the hallway, with Commander Chaos following behind, and looked at her red eyes and messy hair in the mirror. Maybe drinking the amberberry wine straight out of the bottle like a lush hadn’t been the best idea.
Capping the bottle, she corralled the two dragus pups back through the door into the room with their enclosure. Butterball stepped in almost immediately with the promise of a treat, but Chaos, as usual, decided to make a run for it the moment he realized it was time to go home.
She grumbled. She didn’t have time for this.
Not with how much of a mess she looked right now.
She needed to make herself presentable before whoever it was arrived.
She quickly gave Butterball her treat, then closed the door and gave her tons of exaggerated love, pretending not to notice Chaos at all.
She’d learned that Chaos hated being ignored.
Jealous, Commander Chaos barreled into the enclosure to demand pets from her too.
Ha! Gotcha now!
She gave him a few pats of the head and some scritches under the chin so the pup wouldn’t feel like he’d been tricked, and then when he was good and distracted, she closed the door.
Freed from her furry friends, Maya went to the facilities to freshen up.
The mirror was less than friendly. Her eyes were all red, and her hair a frizzy mess.
She did what she could, rinsed her mouth, and hoped she didn’t smell like she’d been drinking since Faith and Grant left for the day.
She’d pulled on some pants and a spare Dragus R Us shirt when the chime rang out through the building.
Wow, that was fast.
She tried to smooth her wayward hair down one more time before she opened the heavy metal doors and gawked.
Ranek stood in front of the door, looking sexy as hell.
He was the one Grant and Faith had convinced to take Commander Chaos in?
The moment he saw her, he stepped in and pulled her into his arms.
“Maya.” There was a desperate sound in his voice, like he’d thought he would never see her again. “My love.”
But she remembered how much it fucking hurt to hear him call the dead woman’s name instead of hers. Maya was not going to settle for second fiddle. She tried to shove him away.
“Ranek, I’m not your...”
He didn’t let her finish. “You are!” he growled vehemently.
“I heard what I heard, Ranek.” She pushed him harder, but she was trapped in his embrace.
“I wasn’t calling Channa’s name. I was trying to tell my brother that Channa wasn’t my mate, you are. Please believe me.”
Her head spun from the wine, and she wasn’t sure what she dared believe.
“I remember everything. My past, being imprisoned, escaping, and making my way to the outer planets, fishing you out of that swamp. I remember it all. And Maya, you are still my mate. I remember, but nothing has changed.”
She shook her head and immediately regretted it as the room spun around her.
“But I can’t be. You already had a mate. And plus I don’t even know who you really are.”
“You are my mate,” he repeated. “I know it with every ounce of my body; it doesn’t matter that I have my memories back. If anything, it just confirms that what we have is real. Much more real than anything I felt before.
“Channa and I never had the chance to complete the bond because she was already in love with someone else. The bond was one-sided.” Ranek took a breath. “It is a long and complicated story, but you deserve to know. I just pray that once you know my past, you will still want me.”
He told her about how Channa had bonded with someone else whom her family had not approved, and the two had taken their lives when her family tried to force her to choose Ranek.
“She hated me,” he finally concluded. “And I’d gone mad, fighting everyone and blaming them all.
I injured my brother badly, crushing his hand, which he needed for his job as a medic.
What you saw on Vasek is a biomechanical prosthetic.
He was the favored son, and our father had me locked up.
He’d drilled it into our heads from a young age that mates were not for us.
He blamed me for ruining the life he’d built for us. ”
Maya stood and listened, her heart breaking for him.
“That was many years ago. I’ve had years to mourn the life I could not have, years to realize that Channa and I were never close.
Even before I escaped, I questioned whether she was truly my mate.
It was one of the first things I told my brother when I found him again.
But still, I was too afraid to truly believe it.
“When my sire passed, and the credits to keep me in a cushy facility ran dry, they sent me to the mines. It was a lot easier to escape than my previous location. The locals hated the Dominion and what they’d done to their planet, and a local miner transferred his ID to me as he died trapped under a cave-in.
The only thing he wanted was for me to tell his mate that he would always love her. ”
“Oh.” Maya was afraid to breathe lest she start sobbing.
“I transferred all his credits to her, and she helped me get off the planet, smuggled aboard a delivery vessel. But it was still a struggle, and I had to do a lot of unsavory things until I got word out to Kean, and he sent someone to escort me to Vosthea.
“Then I met you, and it was like the Stars started shining again. I felt it the moment I touched you, but I was so afraid to believe it. I believe it now. I believe it with everything in my being. You are mine, Maya. My mate. You are my only chance at a happy life, and I’m not leaving here without you in my arms.”
The walls Maya had put up cracked under the weight of his words. Perhaps the alcohol had helped a little, but the tears were streaming down her face now.
Ranek wiped away a tear with his thumb. “I love you, Maya. I know it will take time for you to love me, but I have all the time in the universe.”
“I think that ship already sailed. I already love you.”
“You do?”
Then he was on her, his mouth crushing hers, hot and demanding, and so full of possessive need that it melted her resolve. She clung to him as his tongue thrust deep, claiming and tasting her, and making her whimper against him.
It felt so good to be in his arms again where she belonged. She clutched at his shoulders, nails biting into his muscles, and he hauled her closer. He devoured her, and it was wild and messy, every second a promise that he’d never let her go again.
The sound of Grant clearing his throat was the first moment Maya realized they were no longer alone.
“I’m glad that worked out,” he said, grinning at Faith next to him.
“You knew!”
“We did. But thought it was best if you found out on your own.”
“Ranek still had my comm contact,” Faith explained.
“He called, looking for you. Then Grant had this wonderful idea. Our first experience trying to get these pups to the rightful owners proved it’s going to be a dangerous job.
We needed someone we could trust. We’ve contracted Ranek to do all our deliveries from now on.
And he’s expressed the desire to keep Commander Chaos himself.
We did request that he acquire a larger ship if he wishes to keep the pup on it. ”
“That was in the works already. I have grown fond of the pup.” He turned to Maya. “And I knew you did not wish to give him away.”
Faith handed him the tablet with the documents. “It’s everything we discussed. All we need is your digital seal, and he’s all yours. Maya, too, as long as you bring her back in the morning.”
“Faith!” Her friend was practically pawning her off!
Ranek was already pressing his comm unit to the tablet, signing the agreement.
“And Maya, we have a temporary job for you. A couple on board the New Horizon need some help training an animal called a tunnel verlak. Ranek says you’ve met them on the planet.”
“I have.” She remembered the little furry menaces.
“Since it’s going to be months before we have viable eggs again, and even longer while they incubate, I figured you could make some extra credits by taking the job. It’s on a ship, though, and if you really don’t want to, I can send one of the new handlers you’ve been training.”
“I’ll do it.”
“Great! And our first shipment is going to this ship too, Ranek. Butterball is going to her new home on board the New Horizon with Captain Uzzar and Delaney. The crew is making a rather large donation to Dragus R Us. The captain tells me he knows you, Ranek.”
“He does.”
“Great. Anyway, it’s the middle of the night, so why don’t you go spend the evening together and come back in the morning to pick up the pups so you can start on your next big adventure?” Her friend grinned at Maya, looking very proud of herself and a little smug.
“Sounds good,” Maya said.
And with that, Faith and Grant were off, leaving her alone again with Ranek.
“I cleaned up the shuttle,” he said. “It’s not much, but it’s comfortable and all ours.” He had a worried look on his face, like he thought she’d be disappointed in his less-than-luxurious offering. “I promise I will work hard and provide better for you and our future family.”
Maya grinned. “I know you will. But I’m happy as long as you’re there.”
And the next thing she knew she was in his arms, being carried to his shuttle. And the best part of it all? Even better than the fact that they didn’t have alien pterodactyls after them this time? She knew she was exactly where she belonged.