“You believe he is responding to you?”
There was a note of disbelief in Dr. Lyn’s voice that put Mya instantly on the defensive.
“And why would that be a problem? Is it because I’m Hakron?” Mya asked. “Is there any reason why he
couldn’t
be our Third?”
She couldn’t actually believe she was asking the question because the whole idea of finding another bonded mate and forming a Triad was a minefield for her.
Dr. Lyn rose from her seat. “I think it’s time you talked to Major Esca and my boss. Come with me.”
Mya followed her into a different part of the medical complex and endured the unusually high security checks, both physical and mental, before she was allowed into yet another large office with comfortable chairs that looked out of place on a military base.
A man came to greet her, his hand held out. He wore the formal white garb she normally associated with members of the Senate.
“Captain Jong? I’m Dr. Frith. It’s a pleasure. Please come and sit down.”
He ushered her into a chair opposite Major Esca, who was looking rather conflicted.
“Jong.”
“Major.”
Dr. Frith cleared his throat. “Dr. Lyn tells me that during your mandated sessions with her you have been struggling with your telepathic connection to the male you know as Rekk.”
“I wouldn’t say I was
struggling
with it, sir. I just don’t seem to be able to shut him out.”
“Which has made you wonder whether you are actually mated to him, correct?”
Mya heard both sympathy and condescension in his tone and stiffened. “I wish to understand why the connection still exists. Obviously, I would need to consult with my current mate to see if we both recognized Rekk as our Third.”
Gods, there she went again talking her mouth off as if finding a Third was something she’d always wanted.
Major Esca sat forward. “Jong, what we are about to discuss is confidential and not to be repeated outside this room, okay?”
“Yes, sir.”
Dr. Frith consulted his notes. “We extracted DNA, blood, and did all the other necessary tests on our guest and the results were… unexpected. There were also other abnormalities. Whoever was holding him on that Etruscan moon interfered with his ability to shield and tampered with his nervous system. That collar and the metal shackles he wore all contained probes that constantly monitored his every physical and telepathic response.”
“He said they were experimenting on him and enjoyed causing him pain,” Mya said. “He also said that he was visually monitored day and night.”
“We should be able to help him restore his shields and improve his nervous system, but it will take time.” Dr. Frith hesitated. “More worrying is his loss of memory and his sense of alienation from his own people.”
Mya shifted in her seat. “Don’t you think he has a perfect right to be angry about being abandoned like that? I still can’t believe it happened to him. If he was military, how come no one went back for him?”
“Why do you assume he was military?”
“Why else would he be in space?” Mya glanced at Major Esca and then at the doctor. “’What am I missing?”
“We think,” Dr. Firth said carefully. “That Rekk’s bloodline and telepathic abilities come from the Pavan dynasty.”
“One of the families that originally settled this planet? Didn’t they all die out centuries ago?” Mya desperately tried to remember her history. “That doesn’t make sense.”
“We also think he’s about one hundred and twenty-five years old.”
“Wow.” Mya just about remembered how to shut her mouth. “That’s not possible.”
“The Oracle is older, and the last surviving member of the Pavan dynasty died at almost two hundred years.”
“How do you know Rekk is Pavan?”
“Because some of his ancestors left their blood samples in our memory banks, and we also have some more distant relatives like our own Senator Ash who share some similar genetic traits.”
“So Rekk is kind of an anomaly. Have you told him?”
“No. In our opinion, he isn’t ready to receive the information yet. We are currently focusing on detaching him from the collar and cuffs and boosting his immune system to cope with the current climate.”
Mya tensed. “Did he agree to you doing those things to him? The last time I saw him, he was rather anti-scientist.”
For the first time Dr. Frith looked slightly uncomfortable. “He was… resistant to any interventions.”
Mya held her breath. “You put him under, didn’t you? I wondered what was going on today. I thought that maybe he’d broken the connection after all, but it hasn’t gone away completely.” She shook her head. “He’s going to freak out when he comes around. Don’t you think you might have waited until he was more stable to start messing with him again?”
Major Esca shook his head. “We needed to get the Etruscan probes out of his system as fast as possible. We cannot have their spy systems tracing him here.”
“I should imagine the Etruscan government knows exactly where he is already.”
“No, that’s the weird thing, Jong. We have heard nothing official about his loss at all.”
Mya frowned. “The guard I met there said we were off the grid and that no one would know what had happened to me. The whole place was shielded from telepathic thoughts. It was only because Lieutenant Roberts works on a different frequency that I was able to get through to him.” Mya leapt to her feet and started pacing. “Maybe the Etruscan government doesn’t know what was going on in there, either.”
“You might be right, but we still had to get rid of those probes. It might help restart his memory as well.” Major Esca glanced at Dr. Firth. “We were intending to ask you to remain as Rekk’s primary contact, but I gather from what Dr. Lyn is telling us that this might be a problem?”
For a second Mya hesitated. She
must
have imagined there was a connection between her and Rekk. He was from the premier family of the planet, whereas she was from a small Hakron village buried in Quoxor Province. She’d only been given a chance in the military because her father had been one of the Oracle’s Temple bodyguards. There was no chance in hell that they were mated. She should be relieved, but she wasn’t feeling it yet.
“I don’t think there will be a problem, sir.”
Dr. Lyn leaned forward. “With all due respect, Captain, I think your…
attachment
to Rekk might cause all kinds of problems for both of you.”
“But we don’t have a choice, do we?” Mya focused on Dr. Frith, knowing Major Esca would give her his backing regardless. “Perhaps when Rekk recovers from his surgery, his shields will have reset automatically and there won’t be a problem. I won’t know until I see him. And if you don’t let me work with him, I suspect he might get agitated like he did on the ship home.”
“Yes, Roberts told me about that,” Major Esca said. “He also said that Rekk’s power level dropped significantly when you were with him acting as a shield and anchor.”
“Then let me at least talk to him,” Mya offered. “If I find it too difficult, I’ll walk away and get Roberts to handle him or something.”
Dr. Lyn frowned. “Perhaps you should get Lieutenant Roberts to perform this duty anyway.”
“I wish I could, but Rekk has specifically asked for Captain Jong. “ Major Esca stood up. “We need to get Rekk to see the Oracle. She is the only person who can truly verify if he is who we think he is.”
“Then you wish me to accompany him to the Temple? I can do that. It isn’t far.”
“We can’t fly him down there. Number one, he’s not going to be willing to be put back on a plane, and two, last time we sent a Senate-registered flyer down there, it was attacked by the Etruscans and I nearly lost my mate.” Major Esca’s expression was grim. “So this journey will have to be in civilian clothes and in civilian transportation. An undercover operation. Just a couple going to visit the Oracle at the Temple to find out who their Third is.”
Mya immediately thought of Orin. “Can I share any of this with my bonded mate?”
“No, I’m sorry, Jong.”
“Can I at least ask him to meet me at the Temple? We were supposed to be going there after this mission to find our Third anyway.” Mya hesitated. “I
promised
him.”
“Okay, I know he is worried about you—he’s been calling every damned day, so meet him at the Temple if he wants that.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“But don’t tell him a thing about Rekk or how you are going to get to the Temple. I don’t want any mistakes.”
“Understood, sir.” Mya saluted and then looked over at Dr. Frith. “I’ll contact Orin, and then I’ll be ready to see Rekk when he awakens from the surgery.”
“Mya, thank the
Gods
you are all right.”
She studied Orin’s drawn features on the vidscreen as tears rose in her throat. He looked so safe, so darling, and so familiar. After the last week of dealing with Rekk and the overwhelming force of his abilities, the reality of Orin was just what she needed.
“When are you coming home? I’ll get leave. Don’t worry about that—I’ll do whatever it takes—”
She pressed her fingers against the curve of his jaw on the screen. “I… can’t come back yet.”
His expression stilled. “What’s wrong? Are you hurt? Or in trouble, or—”
“I can’t tell you anything except that I’m fine, and I’m still involved in this mission.”
He stared at her so intently he might as well have been in the room with her. “What’s wrong?”
“There’s nothing wrong.”
“I don’t believe you.” He shoved a hand through his short, dark hair. “Look, if this has got anything to do with all that shit I dumped on you just before you left? Then forget it all. I was an idiot. The most important thing I have in my life is you, and I’m not going to fuck that up.”
Mya found herself smiling at him. Unlike her, he’d never been the kind of person to hold back his thoughts. “It’s okay. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking as well. I can’t be with you right now, but I’d like to meet you at the Temple in Quoxor Province when I’ve completed my mission.”
If she could contemplate having Rekk as a Third, she couldn’t deny Orin the chance either. Sometimes in life one had to take a leap of faith, and Orin deserved everything she had.
“At the Temple?” He blinked at her, his voice unsteady. “Mya, love, you don’t have to do that. I’m not going to force you to do anything you aren’t ready for.”
“I want to try. I can’t let my past hold me back for the rest of my life. Do you think you can get leave to do that?”
“To meet at the Temple? Yeah. I think that’s mandatory if you are looking for a bonded mate.” He blew out his breath. “Mya—that’s just amazing of you.”
“I’m not sure exactly when I’ll get there, but I’d reckon about a week from now.”
He nodded. “That’s fine. I know you won’t be able to keep in touch while you’re working, but let me know when you’re close to getting there, and I’ll take the first flight out. I promise.”
She blew him a kiss, her fingers unsteady. “I love you, Orin. I’ll tell you everything I can when I see you, okay?”
“I’m counting on it. I love you, Mya.”
“You, too, Orin.”
His face faded to be replaced by a blue screen and military logo. Damn. She still felt horrible concealing the rest of it from him, but some things needed to be discussed in person, and what had happened between her and Rekk definitely qualified as one of them.
Would Orin understand? Mya hoped he would understand better than she did herself. Unlike Major Esca, she didn’t belong to an exclusive mated Triad who only bedded each other. She only had Orin, and had deliberately kept it that way, so her liaison with Rekk shouldn’t bother anyone. Except it bothered her, and if she was affected by it, Orin would be, too.
But what if Rekk
was
their Third?
She pushed that thought away. He was an anomaly. A male out of his own time and with a telepathic power almost never seen anymore. How could she even
consider
he might belong to her and Orin? Major Esca was probably right that she simply proved to be a good anchor to Rekk’s shattered shields. And if that was what he needed from her—she would do her best to give it to him.
Opening one cautious eye, Rekk forced himself to acknowledge that he had woken up in another sterile white room with machines attached to him. He fought to stop screaming. He wasn’t back with the Etruscans, and whatever his current physicians had done to him hadn’t left him in more pain than he’d been in before. Both of those things were good.
He still hated it, though.
“Rekk?”
He opened his other eye as his Female came out of a chair beside his bed and peered down at him. She was a tall, queenly woman. Her black hair was unbound and lay around her shoulders, framing the perfection of her face. He wished she was curled up beside him on the bed again.
“Mya.”
Her smile was sleepy. “You okay in there?” She put her hand on his bare arm, the green contrasting with his more golden tones. “Don’t panic or anything. They’ve been taking your collar and cuffs off and extracting all the probes embedded in your skin and nervous system.”
“That is good.”
“Yes.”
He carefully put his hand over hers. “You will stay?”
“If you want me to.” She indicated the chair beside the bed. “It’s quite comfortable, actually.”
She wore a soft blue shirt and pants that reminded him of a much less formal version of her uniform. Of course, he’d seen her naked, which was even more pleasing to his eye.
Her shields slammed into place, making him jump, and she carefully eased her hand away from him.
“Do you want something to eat or drink? I’ll go check in with the medical staff as to what you’re allowed.”
“Mya.”
She was already turning away from him.
“Yeah?”
“I did not mean to embarrass you.”
“You didn’t.” She flashed him a quick smile. “Let me just go and fetch your nurse.”
He frowned as she went out. What had changed? Had the loss of his Etruscan shackles altered his telepathic abilities as well? Mayhap it was for the best. He had no idea who he was, and he was hardly a fit mate for a fine upstanding Female like Captain Jong. He’d been little more than a prostitute chained to a bed and forced to perform any sexual act demanded of him. No wonder she didn’t even want to look at him.