Chapter 6

Chapter

Six

DROXAN

" W hat do you mean you won't be able to get here for a week?" I growled at the coms, the static-filled screen sparking with the grainy image.

The human that greeted me—a Quadrant Patrol officer currently on duty fielding calls—looked frazzled. He let out a sharp breath.

In the universal tongue, he lowered his voice and told me, "Look, it's been a nightmare. There's still forty or more pods missing. It's all over the news channels, in all Four Quadrants. The Uranian Federation already wants an investigation into the wreck and Starlight United is trying to wash their hands of it. Every last Patrol agent we have in the area is out looking for the missing pods. Your female? She's unharmed, yes?"

At my nod, he let out another sharp breath.

"And judging from your record here, you have no criminal charges brought against you in any of the high courts. You are a wealthy, highly respected member of Luxiria's society. Ullima is not a dangerous planet, though it does have its share of storms."

Like he needed to remind me.

"What I'm trying to say is, she's a low priority for us. But I'm glad you found her, I can cross her off our missing beings list. Lyra, you said her name was? Lyra Kye?"

He tapped on a com screen I couldn't see on the video feed.

When he looked back at me, he said, with another world-weary sigh, "She's unharmed, she has food and housing. You'll be able to apply for a credit with Starlight United for any fees that taking care of her incurs?—"

A dangerous growl left my throat. "I don't need a single credit to take care of her. I just… vrax ."

Need her gone before I get attached to her , I finished silently.

But what this human male was telling me…she'd be here a week. At the very least . If there were forty pods still missing, it could be longer. And every minute she was here pretty much guaranteed that my Instinct would latch deeper and deeper onto her.

"What about bringing her to a transport colony?" I asked. "I have the fuel to reach?—"

"All transport colonies are being suspended temporarily. Like I said, it's a nightmare. We don't want any of the crash victims being picked up and trafficked out of the Quadrant. Especially with the Jetutians' threats as of late. It was a direct order from the Uranian Federation itself."

"She's from Wero," I argued. "It's not out of the Quadrant."

The human whistled out a breath. "Wero? No chance. The only colony that transports there is Neppon. Which, you guessed it, is shut down until the victims are located. You think you have it bad? Can you imagine the transport colonies right now?"

He shuddered.

" Vrax ," I growled under my breath.

"My thoughts exactly," the human said.

Then I steeled my spine. I looked back at the screen and inclined my head, knowing there was no way around it.

"Very well," I said. "I'll wait until the Quadrant Patrol arrives for her."

"Remember about the credit application," the human supplied unhelpfully.

If only he knew how insulting it was, telling me to apply to be reimbursed for taking care of my own damn mate .

"I'll alert her kin if she has any, to let them know she's safe," the human said, already distracted by something he spied on his other coms screen. "Thank you for calling Quadrant Patrol."

I stiffened as the line went dark.

Kin .

For the first time, I wondered if she had a mate already. A male. How could she not?

I didn't like the thought of that building in my gut. Thinking of another male's hands on my fated mate. Marking her with his scent. Planting his seed deep in her belly. But what right did I have to her? She had her own life. I would've never known of her existence had Starlight United not been the biggest joke in the Quadrants' history.

Standing from my coms, I navigated back out to the central hub. Coming to terms with the fact that she'd be here for the foreseeable future, all while knowing my Instinct would refuse to let her go when the time came.

Lyra was still washing so I went to the kitchen, rummaging through the cold box to find her the best cut of meat from my hunt and the tenderest, most flavorful vegetables I'd harvested from the garden.

The meat was already seared, drizzled in fat and seasoned with kasha flakes I'd dried myself, and the vegetables were roasted on the hydro-flame when she finally appeared.

I could hear her stomach growl again when I plated the food. Catching her gaze, my belly clenched with tight need when I saw her dressed in my tunic. White in color and soft, it was spun for hotter Luxirian summers and as such, it was thin, grazing her peaked nipples and curving lovingly along her full breasts. The length stopped just above her knees and she seemed less self-conscious in it compared to the ‘ bikini,' as she'd called it.

Had I picked that particular tunic on purpose to give to her?

Perhaps.

Her cheeks were flushed from her shower. Her skin clean, her face practically glowing. Her hair was washed, completely dry already since she used the heat blast in the shower pod.

"It smells amazing ," she exclaimed, throwing me a disarming smile that had my cock twitching again. She slid up to the counter and I set the plate down for her, watching her hop up onto one of the stools that swung out at my touch on the control panel.

"I figured humans must eat meat," I murmured. "Considering our shared ancestry."

She eyed me knowingly. Human females had once helped restore my own race after a deadly toxin from our enemies had nearly wiped out our entire female population. My great, great, great grandmother had been human, after all.

"I haven't had it in a while. It's hard to come by on Wero," she admitted. "But I do love it."

I grunted. "I hunted recently. This is fresh."

She picked up her eating utensils and I leaned against the counter, watching as she sliced a delicate piece off and lifted it to her lips.

"You hunt too?" she asked.

Shrugging, I murmured, "There's no food supply line here. No marketplace. If I want fresh meat, I have to get it myself."

"All while building your own fortress," she added with a smile that struck me as teasing. My Instinct went prowling in my chest again and I pressed my palm into the edge of the counter hard , the pain helping to dull some of my desire. "When do you find the time?"

I shrugged again.

She gave a little moan of delight when she finally ate the piece of meat and my cock nearly exploded out of my pants. My nostrils flared, my gaze pinned to her intently as I watched her tiny jaw work as she chewed.

"It's so good!"

Vrax , I would not get through this week, I realized with a stab of dismay. I would not get through a week with her without bending her over this damn counter and rutting my need into her. I might not even get through a single day.

"What is it?" she asked softly, noticing that I was staring.

"Nothing," I bit out harshly, my dull claws scraping against stone. "I contacted Quadrant Patrol."

She straightened, her eating utensil lowering. "You did? What did they say?"

"They won't be able to come retrieve you for a week. At the earliest," I added, studying her expression carefully as I told her.

Her shoulders sank. "No, no, I have to get back. I have an appointment with…with…well, it doesn't matter. It's just, I've had this appointment for five months. I can't miss it."

"I'm sorry, female," I told her, shaking my head. "They've locked down all transport colonies too. There are forty life pods still missing after the crash. They are trying to locate them quickly, given how inhabitable some of the nearby planets are. You're on the rescue list last because at least they know you're safe. Others? Not so much."

The gravity of my words pulled her hitched-up shoulders down.

"You're right," she said quietly, staring down at her food with unseeing eyes. "I'm…I'm being selfish. Of course, Quadrant Patrol needs to use their resources elsewhere. To track down the rest of the pods before something terrible happens. Gods, I hope they…I hope they find everyone. Did you find out if anyone else landed on your planet?"

"I ran a scan," I said, shaking my head. "No signs of another pod. Just you."

She blew out a shaky breath. Then she looked up at me. "I guess I'm one of the lucky ones. That's a strange thing to think, isn't it? After surviving a crash like that. But I am."

We held one another's gazes for longer than I thought was normal.

Back on Luxiria, I'd always thrown myself into my work, building up my own name, literally . My business had single handedly built up entire developments on Luxiria. I'd been chosen for a contract to build an entire city, an offshoot of the capital, shortly after I'd come of age. It had made me one of the wealthiest Luxirians in our history. With my designs, with the supplies I sourced from the very best manufacturers—stone from Tyion, wood from the forests of the Ijina, tech from Qik'li—and with my team, we'd always been in high demand.

Until greed changed everything.

Until my own family nearly ruined my entire reputation.

I prided myself on quality. Above all things. Make the foundation strong first. Build things right the first time. That had been my philosophy.

My family?

My brothers? My mother?

They just wanted more . More of everything. And quickly.

I'd thrown myself into work until I found that I couldn't stomach it anymore. Until I realized that I wasn't happy, until I realized that my family was steadily sucking away any happiness I tried to find.

And so, it was strange to me, to be standing in the kitchen I'd built alone, staring at this human female who was entirely too pretty, who I wanted to look at forever, all while knowing that I could never keep her for myself.

Females had come and gone throughout my lifetime, attracted to my wealth and my name. Looking back, however, I realized I'd never had time for them. If I prided myself on quality, shouldn't my time be the same?

Lyra's cheeks were growing pink.

Now I had my fated mate, right here , and all I was concerned about was pushing her away. Because I was afraid she would be like all the rest?

Perhaps…perhaps the week we had would turn out to be a blessing in disguise.

"I know it's not what you want to hear," I said to her carefully. I hadn't talked so much in a single day in nearly three years. "But you don't have to be afraid. I'll take care of you. I promise."