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  Soith frowned. “Find her? Did she run?”

  Aldrun shook his head. “She was taken in a kidnapping for ransom.”

  Soith shrugged. “Her employer should just pay the ransom.”

  “He refused.” Mekked got his breakfast processing in the prepper, and he ran his hands through his hair. “I am going to seek her out.”

  Soith paused. “Can you do that?”

  Aldrun chuckled. “He touched her mind. He can do it.”

  Mekked sighed as he got his meal. “I have never used it to find a girl I wanted before.”

  He watched the other two get their meals, and they ate efficiently as they did when they were on their way to a mission.

  “We don’t have official authorization to do what I am about to do.” Mekked finished his food and put the plate in the recycler.

  Soith shrugged. “You are just meditating, and we are going for a flight after breakfast. In our suits.”

  Aldrun chuckled. “It is an exercise, like jogging.”

  Mekked nodded. “I am going to do the sweep. I will be back in half an hour.”

  He went to his tower and settled on the bed, letting the automated systems support him as he spun his mind outward. There were only three of her kind on the planet, so he just needed to look for the one that was not next to another one.

  He sent his mind out in a net, and when he opened his eyes, he grinned. “Found her.”

  * * * *

  She wasn’t in the cage. “What happened?”

  The folks wearing the concealing shadow suits were surrounding her. One of them grunted. “You passed out.”

  “What?”

  “Like you did when we knocked you out. You passed out.”

  “Oh. I will be fine. This is part of that defect I was mentioning.”

  One of them nodded. “Right. That would do it.”

  “Put her back in the cage. The auction is still rising. Defective or not, she is going to make us some money.”

  She was grabbed, hauled back to her cage, and thrown inside. She fell heavily to the floor and winced. That was going to leave a mark.

  She grunted and got back to her feet before settling on the cot. She wished for her class materials or even tables to tidy up. Misty kept her focus. She wasn’t dead yet, and if she didn’t miss her guess, Mekked had touched her thoughts and knocked her out. She was happy he had made it home safe.

  * * * *

  Mekked used the subsurface vehicle and got next to the base. Soith powered up his hands and nodded with his breather in his mouth, dropping out of the wet entry and swimming over to the building’s exterior before he sent the charge through it. The signs of light and life in the underwater base went silent.

  Aldrun flexed his fingers, and Mekked attached the vehicle to the bottom of the base while the bots made an entry hole. Soith joined them, and when the hole was complete, they entered, one by one. Mekked knew that his team had his back, and he also knew that they were amused by his sudden obsession. They didn’t understand. Couldn’t understand. She was his key to completing the evolution of his secondary abilities.

  He carefully did not make contact with her again but, rather, counted all the others in the building and looked for the hole. He had his target. Now he just needed to rescue her.

  Mekked snorted softly as he knocked one of the kidnappers aside in the darkness. He had never rescued anyone with a raging erection before. This was a day of firsts.

  * * * *

  Misty crouched in the darkness, and she listened to thuds and screams. There were three new minds in the building, and one of them had hot thoughts. She wrapped her arms around herself and made herself small. They were getting closer.

  Cowering wasn’t her favourite thing to do, but the complete lack of light confirmed her suspicion that she was underwater. She wasn’t suited to being underwater on Vecchin. She didn’t float. There was something about her body and the density of the water here, but she didn’t float. Entering the water was a death sentence.

  Sparks lit the darkness, and the scream of something cutting metal hurt her ears. She saw sparks tracing in an organized line, and then, the door to the cage was moved. Hands touched her, and she knew that scent. She lunged at him and hugged Mekked. Whatever happened to her afterward, she was relieved right now.

  She pressed her lips to his neck, and he jolted in surprise but kept his arms around her as he let out a series of soft clicks and then carried her through the absolute darkness. The occasional footfall behind them was confirmation that the other two were with them.

  Mekked dropped down and kept her carefully tucked against him. When they landed in the vessel, the other two dropped down, and there was a whirring from above.

  Once the noise above was over, the three exhaled. Mekked chuckled. “Misty, you smell.”

  She blushed and tried to push away from him. “I am sorry. I... there was nowhere to bathe.”

  Mekked sighed. “I apologize. You have been in that cage for four days?”

  “Yes.”

  “Soith, can you get us to the med centre near the house?”

  “We are on our way.”

  She kept pushing to get away from him, but Mekked sat on a sideways seat and held her against him.

  Aldrun chuckled. “Don’t worry. We normally reek after four days in our suits, too. What are you wearing?”

  “Ohgod.” She put her arm over her breast and angled the other over her groin. “It is the dress from the bond auction. They put everything on display.”

  Mekked chuckled. “It certainly has that effect.”

  She closed her eyes. “How good is your night vision?”

  Aldrun laughed. “Mine is good. His is perfect. Soith needs us to guide him.”

  Mekked chuckled.

  She could feel their ship rising, and soon, they were out in daylight and cruising along the shore and heading for a very affluent neighbourhood until the ship settled on top of a medical centre. Mekked lifted her, and he opened a door with a palm scan before carrying her across the roof and into the centre.

  Mitzy felt tears prick her eyes. “I don’t have enough for medical treatment. Please, put me down.”

  “The defenders’ fund will pay for it.”

  She felt ill. “I doubt it. They wouldn’t even cover your bill. That’s why I was sent to the auction.”

  He tensed. “Who did you talk to?”

  “Someone named Yusilo.”

  He cursed, and they were met by some personnel in an exam room. Mekked set her on a med bed, and he pulled the scanning unit over her.

  Misty was shaking from cold and hunger, she was bruised and grimy and smelled, and they were all looking at her.

  The doctor said, “Relax, girl. This won’t hurt.”

  She tried to relax, but cold and hunger locked her muscles. “I can’t relax.”

  Mekked walked toward her and whispered, “I will put you out. All right?”

  She nodded. “Go ahead.”

  He touched her mind gently, and everything went black.

  * * * *

  Mekked watched as the physician did the scans and focused on her hips.

  The physician frowned. “You said she was taken?”

  “Yes.”

  “She has internal injuries. She didn’t mention it?”

  Mekked stiffened. “What kind of injuries?”

  “There is no vaginal tearing, but there are claw marks along her inner walls.”

  Mekked’s body went rigid. “What?”

  The one thing he had been certain of was that they would not injure a woman on the way to the bond auction for fear of losing value.

  The long line of the marks was displayed on the scanner, and they were rendered in three dimensions showing that something had shoved a claw into her and pulled it out. It had to have been after the auction, as there is no way she would have been bonded out with that kind of injury.

  “It’s infected. It will take a few days to clear. She has a massive bruise on her left hip, another on her arm, and her entire body is scattered with minor assault damage. She’s also thermally unstable, and her metabolic rate is so far down, I would guess they haven’t fed her today.”

  Soith frowned. “They couldn’t return her to the bond auction for full price in that state.”

  Mekked stroked her hair. “Will you take care of her, doc? When she wakes up, make sure she is treated with respect. I am guessing that she hasn’t had much of it.”

  Aldrun frowned. “Where are you going?”

  “Back to that base to find someone with claws.”

  “We will come with you.”

  Soith nodded.

  Mekked looked at them, nodded, and sent a message to Hazda. She responded that she was on her way.

  He spoke to the physician. “Hazda is on her way. She will remain with Misty until I return. I am not letting her be swept away from me again.”

  “Understood. We will take care of her. When will she wake?”

  “About three more minutes.”

  “Will you wait and explain things to her? I don’t think she should wake with the regen cylinder inside her and no idea what is going on.”

  Mekked paused and then looked at Misty’s blank face. “Right. I will stay for a bit.”

  He crouched next to her and stroked her hair back from her face. He was next to her with his hand on her head when her lids fluttered, and she woke up.

  She saw him, jerked a little, blushed adorably, and then blinked. “Hi.”

  “The scans have been done. Someone clawed you internally, which will need to be repaired. Hazda is coming to make sure that nothing else happens to you before we can get you safe.”


  She stared at him. “Well, that explains the blood. I thought my birth control failed and I cycled.”

  “The claws also infected you, so that is going to require a regen rod inserted to the point of irritation.”

  “Oh. Delightful.” She winced.

  She shuddered and inhaled sharply. “Now?”

  The doctor finished setting the rod. “You were relaxed and distracted. Now that this is at work, we can supplement you and get your surface damage repaired. They were not gentle with you.” He checked something. “You are very deep.”

  Mekked watched her blush and then scramble for composure.

  “Yeah. That much I can remember.”

  “The medical team will take care of you and maintain your dignity. Hazda will be here soon, and she will enforce it. Are you all right if I leave?”

  She nodded. “Go and do what you need to. I will be fine. Am I going back to the auction when this is done?”

  He pressed his lips to her forehead. She was hot. “No. You are coming with me.”

  “Uh... oh.”

  “Do you have another male in mind?”

  “No.”

  He smiled. “A female?”

  “No to that as well.”

  “Do you find me unpleasant?”

  “Um, no. You are very... I mean... I like... Can you just knock me out before I say something stupider?”

  He laughed. She looked so flustered. “No, and when we have time to work on it, we can stop that response.”

  “How?”

  He kissed her forehead. “I will explain it later. For now, relax and heal. I need all of you in full function and that treatment to work.”

  The doctor snorted.

  She nodded. “You can go. I have been in worse situations.”

  He blinked. “You have?”

  “You just pulled me out of a cage in an undersea base. So, yeah, this kind of thing happens more than it should. I guess I am just not cut out for life in the stars.”

  Mekked felt the resigned despair in her, and he sighed. “We are going to fix that. It is a few small things that will change how you can live. Wait until I get back, all right?”

  She nodded. “I am not going very far with this rod in me.”

  He grinned. “Interesting thought.”

  He kissed her gently on the lips and then got up and led his team back to the ship.

  Soith muttered, “What’s the plan? The peacekeepers are already on site, getting them out.”

  “I want to find the one with the claws and remove his hands.”

  Aldrun tutted. “That will be a lecture and a meeting with the board.”

  “Fine. I will find the one who smells like Misty, and I will crush their claws.”

  Soith snorted. “They might let you do that. It is a sexual assault, after all.”

  Mekked nodded as they headed to the site where the peacekeepers were on a floating platform. He rarely felt like ripping someone’s arms off and stuffing them down their throat, but this was one of those times.

  Chapter Three

  Hazda came in with a beaming smile. “Misty. How strange that we should meet again.”

  Misty chuckled and sat up. “You may want to turn around and wait in the hall. They are going to use a sonic scrubber on me.”

  “Aw, you are sweet, but I have been desensitized to those sounds.”

  Hazda took a seat on a chair near Misty’s head, and she pleasantly nodded to the attendant who was there to give the bath. The woman straightened, smiled, and was completely professional as she cleaned Misty of the four days of skin, oil, and dirt.

  Misty waited until she was clean, front and back, and then, the cleaning sheet was removed from under her and taken away.

  “Hazda, why does everybody kind of stiffen up and pay attention when you and Mekked show up?”

  She chuckled. “Ah, that involves our family lines. Mekked is my uncle, and my grandfather is the overseer of the region.”

  “Region?”

  “Star system.”

  “Oh. So, your parents are acting as guardians somewhere?”

  Hazda nodded. “Over on Siloven. My mom is the daughter of the overseer, and she found and rescued my dad two years before I was born.”

  “If they are on Siloven, why are you here?” Misty paused. “Is that rude?”

  “No. Sensible. I have another sibling, and they are being groomed for Siloven. Vecchin is Mekked’s, and I am here as his assistant. I do the interfacing between the team and the governing bodies, with the knowledge that Mekked gets veto power.” She chuckled. “Or he gets in a mood and shatters the senate. That had happened once when they stopped offering protections for bondservants. They started considering you and yours dispensable. Mekked put a stop to that.”

  Misty sighed. “I was almost looking forward to just burning out at a mine. They leave you alone there.”

  “They would put you into stress relief. They don’t let females manage equipment in the mines.”

  “Stre—oh.” She grimaced. “I understand.”

  “Good. Considering what I am guessing Mekked has in mind, it is the same variety with a singular patron.” Hazda grinned. “He’s so careful with you. It’s sweet.”

  “You weren’t here when he was here.”

  “I watched the security videos. I watch all of the security videos.” She laughed. “I am the Vecchin comptroller and the liaison with the defenders.”

  “Oh.” Misty looked at the cuff that kept ports under her skin. “Do you know how long I have to be here?”

  “No. How is that regen unit doing?” She looked innocent.

  “It’s fine. It’s warm and humming, but I am ignoring it.”

  Hazda chuckled. “The look on his face when the doc said you were deep was hilarious. It was hopeful and predatory all at once.”

  “Oh. Wow. That is more information than I need.”

  Hazda laughed. “My family is very frank about sex. We are all here because my grandmother has the same kind of brainwave projection that you do.”

  “What?”

  “She’s companion class. A deep-sea Vecchin.” She grinned. “Grandfather met her and was astonished when she was found to be suitable for him. She tried to swim off, and he caught her. She was very surprised that his wings worked underwater, and as she keeps telling us, very grateful that he can hold his breath for a long time.”

  Misty covered her mouth and giggled.

  “So, what do you want to do here, Misty? What do you want out of your life?”

  Misty looked at her and stared while her mind whirled. “Um. I don’t know the answer to that.”

  Hazda smiled. “What was your plan before you were taken to the bond auction?”

  “Take some courses for office work. Find a job and eventually go for citizenship and find a place of my own.”

  “Don’t you want a mate or family?”

  She shrugged. “Wasn’t in my plans. I don’t like the idea of being dependent on someone, which I would be in that situation.” She smiled slightly. “One day, my world was hit by a giant rock, and two years later, I am lucky to be here. At home, all I wanted to do was move out on my own and live my own life. Then I did, and now, I am here, and I have to start all over.” Misty sighed. “On my world, I had to do for my family what you do here. Walk between them and explain things. Now, I am finally speaking for myself, and I need to learn how to do it.”

  “What if you find a mate who will help you with that?”

  Misty chuckled. “You mean Mekked.”

  “Correct. You two move at the same frequency.”

  “What?”

  “Your minds. You two are the same frequency. It is very rare. My grandparents have that same connection. My parents are close, but you and Mekked are a match. That is what I believe, and I am never wrong. That is my talent.” She smiled. “I can’t lift like my uncle, but in this, I am his superior.”

  “Uh-huh. What is he doing right now?”

  Hazda chuckled. “Blowing off some steam. He was... upset... at your condition. That they had injured you in that way indicated that they were not going to return you to the auction.”

  Misty shivered. “Yeah, I guessed as much. I really hated being in an underwater facility as well.”

  Hazda blinked. “Why? Half of our population is in facilities like that?”