Page 44 of A Mate for Vasek
Didn’t the simulator lock when in use? That was one way to hide safely for a little while. And she could see these Earth scenes for herself.
She was greeted by a lit hall with dozens of doors on both sides. The plaques here didn’t have English, but she could read well enough to understand that some rooms were for training in groups and others were for single players. She chose one of the latter and stepped inside.
Vasek
Punching one of the compound’s guards in the face might not have been Vasek’s best idea, because he immediately found himself surrounded by about half a dozen more. He was ready to fight all of them too, and had already started going into blood lust when a sharp prick had him staring at his chest. The assholes had drugged him.
His limbs went limp as they dragged him back to his table. He couldn’t even talk.
“Sorry, my friend.” Kean’s face greeted him. “I can’t have you fighting my guards. Don’t worry, it will wear off soon. The chemical works synergistically with the Euphora so just a tiny bit will put you on your ass if you’re already high. Gives you a few minutes to cool your head. I developed it myself. Works great to de-escalate fights at parties.”
Zharor leaned over, his head of fine braids swinging. “Our mates were sick of all the guests bleeding and in our lockup at the end of the night. We told them it’s normal for Tallean parties.But they insisted there must be a better way. They call it the Time Out chemical. You’ve been put in time out.”
Vasek wanted to smear the smug look off his face.
Sure enough, as the song changed again, Vasek started getting movement back. And after a few more minutes, he was ready to go after his mate again.
“Keep your ass seated,” Zharor warned as he placed another drink in Vasek’s hand. “Normally, I’d think someone acting like this is too drunk, but I think you’re not drunk enough.”
“I need to go after Dawn.”
“No, you don’t. We know where she is. She signed into one of the training simulators. You won’t be able to get in anyway while it’s running. Just relax. I’ll let you know when she comes out, and you can go find her.” The look in Zharor’s eyes said Vasek should listen if he knew what was best for him.
Zharor was the muscle and violence behind Kean’s razor-sharp intelligence and cutthroat business know-how, and Vasek wasn’t stupid or desperate enough to challenge that. Not yet. But every minute that ticked by without his mate by his side made him reconsider.
His mate! Dawn was his mate! He’d been a fool to think he could stop it in time.
Did that mean it was too late? Or had it already been fated? Carved in stone like the river had carved the canyon, and he could never have bested the curse. Dawn had run from him. He’d told her she was his, and she’d run. She hadn’t even spared him a single word.
Vasek had always wondered what type of male he’d be if and when the curse caught up with him and the universe gave hima mate who didn’t want him. Would he be the one to watch and pine for her from afar, slowly going insane from the lack of contact and the unfulfilled bond? Or would he be the type to steal her away and attempt to force a bond? This was the most common route, especially since many times the bond eventually filled in.
But Dawn wasn’t Tallean, and humans didn’t form mate bonds. It might never work with her. Would they need to lock him up?
Vasek poured himself more of the drink, trying to dull the sharp pain in his chest. It didn’t work. Every second seemed to drag on, and it felt as if Dawn had been in that training room for hours. He couldn’t focus on the dancers, the sex performers, the fight arranged for their entertainment, or the knife-throwing competition.
By the time Zharor nudged him, he was ready to fight everyone to get to Dawn.
“She’s out.” Zharor checked his comm unit again, frowning. “There’s another guest there. Let me pull up the feed.”
Vasek looked around him, really taking in the scene for the first time in a while. Ranek was gone. Fuck! His brother had seen them together, and he’d seen Vasek go after her.
He didn’t wait for Zharor to check the feed. Vasek stood and headed toward the door. And this time, no one stopped him.
Chapter 23
Dawn
The soft female voice telling her that the simulation was going to time out soon had Dawn standing from the park bench she’d been sitting and crying on for the past who knew how long. The training sim was easy to use, and there were even English translations available on the screen. She’d selected spectator mode, opting for scenes from Earth.
At first it had been tempting to visit the Eiffel Tower and the Taj Mahal, but in the end, she’d selected Central Park. She’d gone to Columbia University and had spent more than her share of afternoons there. It was autumn in the setting, and the show of orange, gold, and red was exactly as she remembered it. There were even NPCs wandering around, making the scene more realistic.
Squirrels too. But they didn’t quite behave the same way the real ones did.
She’d taken the route she used to take, but the moment she’d tried to leave the park, she’d hit a wall—well, not a hard wall, more like a giant marshmallow—and was reminded that this wasn’t real. This was just virtual reality, a simulation of the realthing. And that had brought her to tears. The Euphora hadn’t helped.
She really missed the Dawn of just a month ago, who cried at nothing.
Now, Dawn only had a few minutes left before the door opened and she’d be forced to face Vasek again, and she wanted to make them count. She returned to the screen by the door and scrolled through the options. She frowned at the ones at the bottom. One of them was labeledCentral Park: Time-lapse. There was a paragraph under it, but she didn’t read it. Instead, she just selected the program.
