Chapter 21
GARK
He woke in his bed, head pounding and his mouth dry. His eyes felt gritty like he’d been stupid enough to go into the desert in a sandstorm without a mask. He slowly pried them open, thankful that the light was low with the glow of the sleep cycle.
He knew without turning that Aletta was next to him, her breathing deep and even. He turned his head to look at her with a smile, which quickly turned into a frown as he took in her rumpled clothes and the dark circles under her eyes. She looked utterly exhausted, even in sleep.
The last thing he remembered was running to The Lady. Then nothing.
He scowled. That wasn’t exactly true. He remembered Aletta rejecting his claim and the feeling of being torn in two. And he remembered the gradual loss of control over himself.
He brushed a stray lock of hair from her forehead, then pulled his hand away reluctantly. She wouldn’t want him touching her. His chest tightened like a band was squeezing the air from his lungs.
Had he succumbed to mate fever? He raised a hand to his forehead. But he was cool, not sweaty, and he was thinking perfectly clearly.
Except he didn’t remember the last…how long had he been asleep?
Lady’s tits, had he locked himself in his cabin with Aletta?
Horrified, he eased himself from under the covers and swung his legs to the floor. Something crunched under his foot.
Gark looked down, lips curling with distaste at the mess strewn over the floor of the cabin. Clothes, shoes, towels…the entire floor was covered. And the chairs.
He lifted his foot, grimacing at some kind of pudding on a tray from the mess that clung to his sole. This was disgusting.
Aletta stirred next to him, eyes opening and blinking as she yawned. She stilled, pushing herself to sit. “Oh, good. You’re awake.” She slid over to his side, sitting cross-legged on the bed.
“What happened to my quarters?”
She snorted. “You happened to your quarters.”
He stood up, careful to find a clear spot on the floor, which was difficult. ”What?” He looked down at himself. He was naked except for a pair of shorts he wore when training. “I don’t understand.”
Aletta patted the mattress next to her. “Sit, and I’ll tell you.”
He sat.
“What do you remember?”
Gark frowned. “The transport, and the cages.” He thought for a second. “Running with you to get back to The Lady.”
How I felt when you rejected me.
Gark leaned his elbows on his knees and dropped his head into his raised palms. He knew the stories.
A Gnaggarian male’s unrequited mate-bond would send him mad.
He’d kidnap the woman and run off with her.
Exile planets were full of low-class males who had felt the call to an Elite woman and were exiled by her family.
Those males were feral, barely fit for coming into town for supplies once a quarter turn. Some towns banned them. Others had a designated day for them to collect their orders. But outside of that time, they would be arrested at best, or executed as a danger to the community.
Gark locked his fingers behind his head. “Did I hurt you?”
If he had, he’d exile himself. Nobody would need to send him away; he wouldn’t be able to bear it if he had hurt her.
“No.”
Gark sagged, releasing a long breath.
“But you wouldn’t let me leave.”
He grimaced, face heating, and sat up to meet her eyes. She reached out with one hand, and he stared at it until she wiggled her fingers. He slid his larger hand into hers, swallowing her small fingers and palm.
“Tell me everything. Don’t leave anything out.”
What if he had hurt her? She was so much smaller than him and he could easily have killed her with one hand. He felt sick.
“Enough of that, Gark.” She snapped her fingers in front of his face, and he jerked. “No feeling sorry for yourself.”
His lips twitched, but he nodded. Nobody ever spoke to him like this. And if anyone else had, he’d have them off the ship at the next stop without a second thought. But she was his mate. He was conscious of every breath, every twitch of a muscle, every sound that she made.
He felt that he’d know where she was even on the other side of the universe. That he was connected to her in a way that he’d never been connected to another. And would never be connected to another person ever again.
But he forced himself to focus on her words and listen as she told him of their trip back to The Lady, of how he’d wrapped himself around her and refused to let anyone near. Well, anyone except Dylan. Somehow, he’d known his mate’s sister was kin.
She told him, with an amused note in her voice, of how when she’d gotten him to his quarters he’d been so fevered he had lifted her shirt and pressed his cheek to her stomach and refused to move.
Of how she’d had to sponge-bathe him to keep him cool, and take instructions from Klath over the comm because Gark wouldn’t let him in the room.
The one time Vox had tried to deliver some food in person, Gark had flown into a rage and pulled everything out of the storage lockers in the room.
“That explains the floor.” He grimaced, and Aletta snickered.
“Yeah, you should have seen the look on Vox’s face.”
Gark’s lips twitched, and then settled back into a frown. He’d been so driven by his biological desire to protect his mate, to keep her from all others until his claim had been accepted. That was clearly what he’d been doing. But how come he was now able to control himself?
“So what’s changed?”
Aletta looked away, the most delightful shade of pink spreading up her neck and over her cheeks. She rolled her lips inward, then looked down at their joined hands.
“I accept your claim.”
Gark froze. He must not have heard her correctly. “Can you repeat that?”
She swallowed. “I was afraid. My whole life, I’ve been the one in charge.
I looked after Dylan after our parents died.
I sacrificed my own future so she could have hers.
And I did it willingly. I’d do it again in a heartbeat.
She deserved the best education, and we could only afford that for one of us, and even then barely.
” She looked down at the floor. “But somewhere along the way, I became so used to being the one who looked after everyone else, I didn’t know how to look after myself.
I didn’t know what I wanted.” She shook her head with a snort.
“It sounds silly, but I didn’t want to rely on anyone.
Every time I’ve relied on someone, they’ve died, or left.
And then Dylan was gone, and I was all alone.
If I let you in and you left me too—” Her voice broke.
“And then we almost died getting off that transport—death was so close, too close—and I realized that you only get one chance at this. And it was worth the risk. You were worth the risk.”
Gark’s heart pounded so hard he thought it would beat right out of his chest.
He tipped a finger under her chin. “You are the bravest of women. The most self-sacrificing and strong woman I’ve ever known.”
She smiled sadly. “I’m not brave, Gark. I’m terrified. I’m so scared that things won’t work out, and that you’ll leave me, too. But I’m more scared of not trying.”
“Nothing is certain, Aletta. But I can tell you that a Gnaggarian mates for life. Nothing can break the bond between mates. Not even death.” He lifted a hand to smooth a lock of hair behind her ear. “I wouldn’t want anyone else, even if I could have them. You are perfect, just as you are.”
She smiled. “Thank you, you’re pretty damned perfect yourself.”
He laughed at that. “Me? No—”
She snorted and laughed. “Did you not hear me?”
He frowned.
“I said I accepted your claim. Gark, I’m your mate, and you are mine. You are perfect for me. I don’t give a fuck about what anyone else thinks. I thought I would lose you. I thought you were going to die.” She swallowed, eyes filling with tears. “You were out cold for more than a day, Gark.”
He felt his eyes widen. How could he have been out for that long?
And then a tear spilled over her cheek, and his heart tore in two. He pulled her into his arms, straddling his lap. “Don’t cry, my little fighter.”
She sobbed into his neck. “I hated the thought that you would die not knowing how I felt. So I told you, even though you couldn’t understand. But somehow you did. You knew what I was saying, and your fever broke right then and there.”
The joy of Aletta accepting his claim made him want to beat his chest and scream his love for her to the whole ship.
“So my heart beats only for you, my love.” He gently pulled her back from him, smiling as she wiped her face with her fingers and laughed through the tears.
“That’s so sappy.”
He didn’t know what that meant, but nodded. “Yes, sappy. And you love me."
She narrowed her eyes at him. “I didn’t say that.”
He lifted a brow. For his little fighter to have shed tears over him? She loved him. He said as much, and she rolled her eyes.
“All right, I love you. There. You must be happy now.” She grumbled, but the smile still played over her lips.
“More than you can guess, my mate.” His heart swelled to bursting, and he dipped his lips to brush against hers.
“Oh!” She pulled back from him. “I need to shower. I’ll go back to Lara and my cabin—”
The thought of her returning to A’Kar’s old quarters had something fierce and primal flaring inside him. “You will never use that space again.”
“There’s that mate bond,” she said, poking him in the ribs with a finger.
“Yes. I must warn you, it’s likely to be intense for a time.”
She nodded. “Klath warned me.”
Gark scowled. “Did he tell you what will make the intensity more bearable?”
She shook her head. He pulled her closer, sliding his nose along her neck. He licked the skin below her ear, and she shivered.
He put his lips to her ear. “Making the claim official. Do you know how a Gnaggarian male officially claims his woman?”
She shook her head, her breath coming in little pants.
“I will bite you—”
She gasped.