Chapter 38

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

KHORAHN

The scent of Cenar's lust filled my nose as Vya stepped closer to me.

"Thanks for the offer, but I think I'll stick with Khorahn." She reached out and took my hand in hers. No fear or worry flavored her scent as she smiled at me. Only contentment.

Cenar glanced at me. "You are blessed by the light to have won such a female's favor."

I was blessed, but I wasn't about to admit it in front of this tuber who was desperately trying to gain her favor from me.

"Is there anything on this station you would like to see?" I asked her instead.

"I want to see what you normally do when you turn in bounties."

"Bounties?" Cenar echoed, looking troubled.

Vya turned toward him. "Yes. Is there a problem with that?"

"Esteemed female, perhaps you are unaware of how dangerous it is to associate with bounty hunters. They are men with questionable ethics and unlikely to have been educated in the proper care of a female."

Vya released my hand and opened her arms wide.

"Do you not see my very proper dress along with all my well-cared-for bits? I think Khorahn is doing a damn fine job."

I grinned, loving Vya more than I'd thought possible.

"Of course, my beauty," Cenar said with a slight bow. "Are you hungry or thirsty? I can show you to the galley. We have an?—"

She turned her back on him. "Show me what you do when you come to a Helix station."

She may not have left her planet understanding the ways of the systems, but she was quickly learning.

I smiled at her and grabbed the handle of the cargo cube that held all five of my bounties. Due to the gravity reducers, it floated just above the floor and weighed very little as I towed it through the docking bay. Vya kept pace alongside me, and Cenar kept pace with her.

He expounded on the features of the Helix station—the grow bays, the galley stocked with human-grade foods, the access-protected hallways, and a room he'd prepared for her if she wished to rest—all while I strode toward the docking bay exit.

"Thanks, but I'm already well-rested," she said.

The exit door opened at our approach, and we entered an unusually vacant hallway.

"It would be safer if you rested, beauty," Cenar said.

Vya looked up at me. "Would it?"

I considered the Oebri.

"Unlikely. I don't think it would be more dangerous, though, either. You don't seem as affected by this one."

She glanced at Cenar and smiled slightly. "You're right. I don't feel a thing from him."

Cenar made a small amused sound. "You've almost completed your bond with this one. Bonded or not, I would still happily serve you in any way you require."

I felt a surge of hope and jealousy. Were Vya and I truly almost bonded? Did that mean she would stay?

"No serving needed," she said. "Lead the way, Khorahn."

I turned down the hall that led to the registrar's bay. As we neared, the door opened, and another of my kind strode out. When he saw me, he smirked. When he saw Vya, he froze.

"Impossible," he said. "It actually worked?"

Vya glanced at me. "What worked?"

The male answered her. "His founder has been cloning himself to extend his life until he or one of his clones attracted a breeding female. You're human, right? Extremely fertile?"

She glanced at the male, her annoyance plain in her scent. "So I've heard."

"I can give you a dress with more links, a ship with more plants, and more chit than this tuber can," the male said.

"No thanks. I'm a picky eater and like how Khorahn tastes."

The male frowned and glanced at me.

"Her teeth are blunted," I said.

I read the concern in his gaze and fought not to laugh as I pulled the cargo cube past him.

He said nothing more as he watched us enter the bounty registrar's bay. Inside, it wasn't as empty as the hallways. Other hunters stood with their bounties, only a few of them in stasis, as they waited for their turns with the registrar.

My gaze swept the space. Most of the bounties were in stun restraints and subdued as they waited. However, a few struggled with their captors.

"It is not safe for a female to be here."

Every eye turned at Cenar's words.

Vya's fear spiked as she found herself the center of everyone's attention. Her gaze darted around the room, and she stepped closer to me.

"Tell me I'm safe," she said softly.

One of the bounties who'd been struggling used the distraction to pull free of his captor. Bounties and hunters were on the tuber before he progressed two steps in Vya's direction.

"You are safe, my Vya," I said. "Not all races are like the Wsoau who would use a female for their gain. And few males are like the one on the floor, who would risk your safety for the sake of his own freedom."

"Apologies, esteemed female," Cenar said. "I can take you to the sleep bay I've prepared if you would like to rest."

Vya glanced at the male and frowned. "The only way I'm leaving Khorahn's side is if you rip me away from it. Now, stop trying to get me to leave him because I'm not going anywhere alone with you."

One of the bounties chuckled and said, "Wise female."

"My intention wasn't to separate you from your chosen male but from these coarse males who are unfit for your company."

Vya's gaze swept to the pile of males who were subduing the one who'd escaped.

"Unfit? I didn't see you move to stop the one who was ready to run me over in his attempt to reach the door."

Several males exchanged glances, but none dared to correct her. The male hadn't been intent on reaching the exit but her .

She looked up at me, missing Cenar's shame-filled and longing gaze.

"So what do you do next to turn in a bounty?" she asked.

The pile of men quickly untangled, and the bounty's hunter pulled him to his feet. The male who'd attempted to reach Vya could barely stand upright. He was bleeding from his mouth due to a missing canine, his eye was swelling shut, and he wore a second set of stun restraints. I doubted he even knew his captor was leading him to the registrar's desk.

"Warrant 093857-124, Drunvid Con," the hunter said, setting his tracker and his bounty's hand on the scanner. It validated the warrant, and chit instantly transferred to the hunter's account with a beep.

The Oebri manning the desk took charge of Drunvid and pushed him through the oneway bromin barrier into a holding cell. The male stumbled forward a few steps and then collapsed against the back wall.

Vya looked up at me. The scent of her fear was still strong, but pity had mixed with it.

"What was his crime?" she asked.

The hunter who'd captured him answered. "Unwilling confinement of a female."

Vya's pity faded. "Is she okay?"

"The female is unharmed."

"How long did he keep her?"

"Three arcs," the hunter said. "He'll be lucky if he's only sent to a prison planet for the rest of his life."

Vya's gaze swept over the males—hunters and bounties alike—who were still avidly watching her before returning to me.

"Wait…he'll get life in prison for kidnapping a woman for three hours and not harming her? What about the Wsoau? It wasn't just one. There were hundreds. What about all the…the… things I was forced to touch and the shocks I got for not moving fast enough to make them happy." Her anger grew, not only in her scent but in how she held herself. She fisted her hands and glared up at me.

"I've sent your scans to the Senwar trade station. Your people know your treatment on Narlin Four. They and the prime council will ensure those responsible are punished." Even if her people didn't, the Oebri there would. They understood how precious each female was.

"Even if it's all of the Wsoau?" she asked.

I gathered her in my arms and held her close the way she liked. She wrapped her arms around my waist in return and pressed her cheek to my chest.

"Even if it's all of them," I said. "Long ago, when a different race threatened the systems, they were sentenced to death. All but one of their race to prevent complete genocide."

She lifted her head and looked up at me. "It was only the men who mistreated me. I didn't see or touch a single female while I was there unless they're all anatomically the same."

"They are not," I assured her. "Many are aware of how the Wsoau treat their own females. I doubt they will share the same fate as their males."

She nodded and released me. When she noticed she still held everyone's attention, she asked, "Is my being here really a problem?"

"No," several of the bounties and their hunters said.

"You might be the first female beside their birthers they've seen," I said.

"Never seen mine," a hunter said.

"I'm a tuber," a bounty said.

"Tuber?" Vya repeated.

"Grown in a tube, not birthed by a female," the bounty clarified. "It's common in species who are close to extinction and for those who want clones."

Pity swelled in her scent again. "Would you mind if I watched more bounties being turned in?" She didn't ask me but everyone else.

I could only recall once that a bounty volunteered to turn himself in. It had been when I was a youngling. Yet, at Vya's softly spoken question, several of the bounties hurried toward the registrar without their hunters.

Smiling, I stood with Vya and watched as the number in the holding cells grew. The hunters lingered after they finished. Many stood by the warrant streams as if selecting their next bounty. But I knew they were simply lingering to watch Vya and listen to her softly worded questions.

When it was our turn, I removed the stasis panels from the cargo cube and started the reactivation process as I registered the warrants. Each bounty was moved into a cell before they became fully aware of their surroundings.

"Your chit has been transferred," the registrar said. His gaze flicked to Vya. "No one is going to believe me when I retell this day."

Rather than acknowledge him, she took my hand and weaved her fingers between mine.

"Are we done?"

"We are. Is there anything else you would like to see?" I asked.

"Nope. I'm ready for you to take me back to the ship."

A hint of her arousal teased my senses, and my mating shaft, which I'd forcibly returned to its dormant position, jolted painfully.

"Wait," Cenar said when we turned toward the exit. "We have entertainment prepared for?—"

"No thank you," Vya said. "Please stop trying to detain me. It makes me feel trapped, and I don't like it."

Cenar paled and stepped back. "Apologies. The supplies we've prepared are waiting in the docking bay near your ship."

No one else tried to stop us from leaving.

The docking bay we'd used was once again empty when we arrived.

"Is it always like this?" she asked.

"No. They've ensured your safety and dedicated this bay to our arrival."

"Was I rude just now when I refused to stay longer?"

I placed my hand against the side of her face, letting my thumb stroke over her soft skin. Everything about her was soft. Fragile. Even her gentle thoughts toward males who'd likely never experienced anything like it before.

"Nothing you could do or say would ever be considered rude, Vya," I said. "Your presence is something most will only ever know once in their lives. It will be a treasured memory regardless."

"Well, that just makes me sad for them," she said. And she felt it too. It soured her scent and prompted my need to do anything to bring her joy again.

I kissed her forehead and moved to load the supplies into the cargo cube with the empty stasis pods.

"What do you think of my occupation?" I asked as I worked.

"It's interesting. Doesn't seem too dangerous for the most part. Better than that other thing you did."

I knew she was referring to my terra collection and chuckled.

"I don't do that other thing often."

"Better not," she said, following me into the ship.