Page 39 of A Mate for Vasek
But Dawn wasn’t the best actress, and she was sure they all knew something was wrong. To their credit, no one said anything.
The next day, she started her new job working in the medical facility. Luckily, Ulkin didn’t remind Dawn of Vasek at all, and his medical wing was nothing like Vasek’s shuttle. The older Tallean asked her several times about Vasek, but when Dawn didn’t reply as enthusiastically as he had hoped, he stopped.
The other day, when Cami had come to pick her up after work so they could hang out, Berus and Ulkin had talked. She couldn’t help overhearing Vasek’s name and the words “curse” and “mating.” They also mentioned someone named Ranek. They tried not to look at her too obviously, but she felt their eyes anyway.
Dawn didn’t know why the fuck she still cared. She forced herself to focus on work. But managing Ulkin’s medical wing wasn’t really a challenge as it was so well run already, much like the rest of the stronghold.
The compound itself was so much bigger than Dawn ever thought it could be. For some reason, she’d imagined it to be much smaller, maybe a few buildings, walled in and almost prison-like. Instead, the stronghold was huge and sprawling, with its own shops, restaurants, and bars, almost like a little town inside a city. And if it wasn’t for her new friends, she would’ve gotten lost already.
Half of the stronghold was indoors, but every building was linked by gorgeous, well-kept gardens. They’d kept many of the more mature trees that had been here before, building around them, and they used the others to furnish the dwellings. The décor throughout the compound had a rustic ski lodge feel, with heavy wood furniture and hunting trophies of alien beasts. And despite everything being oversized, it still felt warm and cozy. It was a beautiful amalgamation of nature and technology.
Everywhere she went, Dawn kept hoping she’d turn the corner and bump into a certain sexy medic. She never did.
“The plasma is coming in tomorrow, right before the big party,” she said as Ulkin walked into the office. He’d been waiting on that since yesterday, and the shippers got held up by pirates.
Ugh! Why was it always pirates?
“I’ll receive the shipment. You just get ready for the celebration. You young folks need to have more fun.” Ulkin was more excited about her going to the party than she was.
Cami was already waiting for her outside the med bay. “Ready for the baths?”
Dawn had heard all about the public baths on Reka 5 but hadn’t known that the compound had a small version of one as well. It was fun, and kind of a big ego boost to have all eyes on them, like they were fresh meat. At least until Berus and Dex showed up, both naked as the day they were born, and all the male eyes looked away. No one dared look in Cami’s direction too long with the bear of a Tallean marking his territory. And Dawn guessed they automatically thought she was with Dex.
Dawn didn’t mind. She wasn’t up for hunting for a bed partner anyway.
Occasionally though, she felt eyes on her, but when she turned there wouldn’t be anyone.
She was still butt-naked when a tall, suave-looking stranger approached their oversized private tub.
“Hey! It’s the male of the hour!” Dex exclaimed. “How’s it feel to be the ultimate supreme ruler for another year, Kean?”
Kean? The Tallean male was well-muscled but lean. He had his dark, wiry hair tied back off his face and wore an almost playful grin that showed the tips of his fangs. He looked like he was ready for a GQ shoot.Thiswas Kean? The big, scary drug lord she’d heard about for so long? He didn’t look that scary.
But then again, he was currently totally naked and unarmed, aside from the eight talons of his feet, which were currently capped with dark shiny wax. Kotch had used something like that for his claws too.
Dawn’s eyes drifted back up to his face, and on their way, accidentally passed over his crotch. She’d gotten used to nudity, but only if she didn’t look too closely. She quickly looked to the right and realized there was a petite human woman hanging onto Kean’s arm.
That was right! Kean was mated to a human. What was her name? Sarah.
For some reason, when the humans back in New Rhea talked about her, they always assumed her to be a supermodel or something. Sarah looked like just any other woman. She had thick brown hair, big, kind eyes, and a friendly smile.
Just as they finished their introductions, Lana showed up. But… what the fuck? That wasn’t Uzzar with her. She was plastered to a Tallean in his prime, who oozed power. UnlikeKean, whose good looks were universal and conventional, this male had a more rugged appeal. He also looked very familiar.
Dawn had a feeling she should know who this male was, but all she was thinking at the moment was that Lana was stepping out on Uzzar! In front of everyone! And she wasn’t even trying to hide it!
“Hey, boss!” Dex waved to the couple.
The two turned to them, smiling, and started toward their tub. No one seemed to care that Lana was with another man. In fact, they were welcoming them in.
What the hell was going on here?
“Oh! You poor thing!” Cami said, giving Dawn a hug. “You must be so confused.”
It was strange to feel another naked body slide up against her, but it wasn’t uncomfortable.
“Oh, right! We never did explain that part to her, did we?” Dex asked.
None of this was making sense.
