Devlin's Darling Read online

  “As far as I know.” Gesturing over his shoulder, Selas glances back at his man at the door to their headquarters. “It might take a little while before they come over to talk. I’m surprised to see you up so early?”

  “I’d like to return before Jenny wakes up. Which reminds me, did you hear anything from the Discovery on her genetic disease? Have they ever seen it before? Is there a cure?” I can’t keep the hopefulness out of my voice.

  With all the chaos of Mahku and his men over the last day, it’s been easy to ignore the other questions I have. Now I’d like answers. Even with the Discovery on its way to Quasar, there’s no reason the ship’s doctors shouldn’t have information for us.

  “I’ll put a communication into them that we are going to contact them later today for an update. Does that sound acceptable?” Selas opens and holds the door for me as I pass through.

  “Yes, thanks. I’ll let Jenny know when I get back. Talk to you later.”

  “Sounds good.” The door slams behind him, echoing through the building as I travel down the stairs to the main floor.

  It’s a beautiful day inside the dome. I may only feel that way because my perfect mate is laying in bed sleeping. I have someone to come home to now.

  It was difficult to leave her, but I didn’t want to wake her either. She needs to recover and there’s so much I need to accomplish.

  As soon as I enter my building, I hear noises from my dwelling. Who the hell is that?

  Not bothering to camouflage my steps, I storm into my living area. I freeze when I find Carten making himself some tea. “You’re so lucky I like you.” I declare, stomping over to the kitchen to set another mug by his.

  Carten snorts as he pours me some too. Settling into a chair by the table, he blows on his hot drink before speaking. “I’ve been waiting for you to come bring my supplies. Imagine my surprise when I check in with Brice and find out they were delivered two days ago.”

  “I’m sorry, Carten.” Starting the water in the sink, I splash my face. “It’s been crazy here.”

  “I heard.” When it’s clear from the long sip, he takes of his drink that he doesn’t plan to expand on that, I quiz him. Sometimes he’s so annoying.

  “Really? What did you hear?” Throwing the towel I used to dry my face, I lean back on the counter top and cross my arms.

  “Well, yesterday I heard the explosion.” I immediately feel bad. It hadn’t even crossed my mind to check on him when the Sanctuary exploded yesterday. He tends to be very introverted, only going to Brice if he’s desperate. “Don’t worry. I learned about the bombs. It’s fine.”

  I don’t feel like it’s fine. I feel like I let him down. “Things have gotten complicated. Did Brice tell you about the mating marks?”

  Nodding, he smirks. “They are kind of hard to miss. You always were a big fucker. Now you look like you’re wrapped in artwork too.”

  Laughing, I sit down across from him. “I know. Exactly. When I first had them show up on my skin, I ignored it. Figured it was some kind of skin disease. But they got darker. Then, I thought, perhaps a parasite? The day I was going to bring down your share, this guy named Selas showed up. He’s taken over for Benard. Have you heard?”

  “Mm.” Setting down his mug again, Carten looks around slowly. “Yeah, I caught that. Brice loves to run his mouth. He told me about how Tangek, Balo, and him were rounded up. As soon as Bren, the captain of the Discovery, ended up on the planet, they were the first questioned. It was chaos for a while there.”

  “Oh?” I didn’t hear any of this.

  “Yes, Matthias ripped his way through the buildings to get to his mate. So, all this is true? I had my doubts. It’s been so long…”

  Nodding, I lean back, wondering what to share with him. Carten’s been a good friend—really my only friend, and he deserves the truth.

  “When Selas came by and told me that I was lucky, I couldn’t believe it. Lucky? To have another female that would get to run my life? To have to be tied to someone again? And not just by law this time, physically tied? Mentally tied?” I shake my head, disgusted and amazed that I was so cynical.

  “That’s all true then? That mates are one mind?” Carten looks fascinated. Similar to how one would be fascinated with looking at an ugly bug.

  I nod yes. “Emotionally tied would be a more accurate description. I can’t read her mind, but I can sense her.” Patting my chest, “Here.” His fascination has morphed into a repulsed look. “I know. I realize what you’re thinking. I imagined the same thing. I wanted nothing to do with her, up here.”

  I tap my head. “Mentally, I wasn’t prepared. You know how terrible my fucking Ermada was. Just the fact that I’m here. But now…” My voice drifts off. The reality of everything sinking in.

  “Now?” Carten’s eyes narrow skeptically.

  “Now I realize, that none of that matters. Sure, it would have been nice to still be on Quasar. But if so, would I have been able to mate with Jenny? Everything is so different with her. She’s not anything like the pampered and entitled female my Ermada was.”

  “But how? How is she so different that this isn’t something you are fighting? You’ve always been the most jaded male I know. Unforgiving. What about her is different?” Carten is genuinely skeptical.

  “That asshole Selas brought a picture over. He said they were going to take her for a tour around the dome. When I saw her, I recognized her from dreams I’ve been having. You're aware I'm terrible about daily reflections?" Carten nods. “Yeah, well in my dreams, she looked different from our females, but you couldn’t really tell how much. All I wanted to do was watch her from a distance.”

  I'm not sure how long my thoughts drift off before Carten cuts in annoyed. “And?”

  “Oh, I saw her there outside, standing next to Selas and another guard outside the building. And she was so tiny!”

  Carten’s eyebrows shoot up. “Really? Smaller than me?”

  “Yes. I'd say she’s at least a head smaller than you. But it’s not even all that. It helped. It made me brave enough to go over and meet her. Knowing I could physically overpower her or outrun her. But Jenny, she’s kind.” That sounds inadequate. It’s hard to explain to anyone what I mean but I try. “She’s thoughtful. She asks instead of taking. Thanks instead of demanding. Thinks about others and how her actions will affect them. She wouldn’t hurt anything or anyone unless it was life or death. She’s giving. When her friend Rachel was taken by the Mahku and he demanded she come join her, she was ready to go. Insisted she needed to go.”

  Carten is leaning forward now, enthralled. “And you let her? Knowing what Mahku planned?”

  “How could I not? I’d do anything to make her happy, including giving her something that’s not in her best interest. The fact that she insisted… it’s part of what makes her so different and special. She doesn’t consider herself any better than anyone else. All lives have value to her.”

  “Well, I bet this has given you much to think about.” He’s shaking his head knowingly. He isn’t wrong either. Maddening, little fucker. We’d argued many times about the value of others in relationship to ourselves. Life in the prison is hard. I’ve become very self-centered. Carten is one of the few males here I care about.

  “It has. Have I ever thanked you for helping me? Thank you, Carten.” His eyes widen and his mouth drops open. It’s humorous and I smile as I finish. “Yes, thank you for saving me from myself during the first year I was here. You realized I was pushing others, both Benard and other inmates to see if they would just finish me. That would have been such a mistake.”

  A sharp stab of terror shoots through my system. Standing, the chair I’m sitting in shoots across the room as I clutch my chest. Ears buzzing, all my senses are on overdrive.

  “What is it?” Carten is looking around as he drops into a crouch next to his chair.

  “It’s Jenny.” I whisper before sprinting for the door. As I crash down the hall, I yell back. “She needs me and I�
��m going to her!”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  - Jenny

  When I wake alone, I feel a bit disappointed. It’s been exciting over the past couple days but maybe this is a good thing? I haven’t been able to use the bathroom properly. After the love making we had last night, I’m looking forward to getting into the shower and actually getting clean.

  I was exhausted after spending the afternoon with Rachel outside the destroyed Sanctuary. My body crashed after the adrenalin high. I’m just relieved that Amari is back. Rachel will be ecstatic when she wakes tomorrow to find him here. I wonder if she knows yet?

  Last night, before we came back to our room, I’d listened to Selas and Devlin talk. They’d discussed some goals that Selas hopes to pull off before the Discovery returns. I was too tired to do more than listen, leaning against Devlin's chest.

  I love that I can understand their language now. By yesterday evening, most of what Selas and Devlin discussed made sense. I love the cadence of Devlin’s speech in his language. His tone is harsher and rougher but it’s one of the things I like that makes him so different from the others.

  He’s more relaxed now. There’s amusement and the bond between us is a tingle in my chest as the pleasure he feels is shared with me. God really knew what he was doing when he created their species to share their emotions with mates.

  I wonder if there would be less suffering on Earth if humans experience pain when they injure each other? It makes sense that if you can physically feel another’s suffering, you’d do your best to stop the pain. Life is hard enough.

  Taking a clean dress into the bathroom along with the toiletries, I take my time getting into the spray. I feel good. My chest doesn’t squeeze like there’s a too tight band around it either.

  Drawing in a deep, experimental breath, I’m surprised when I exhale slowly and don’t detect the need to cough. My lung infection is on the mend. Devlin will be relieved. He’s more concerned about my health than I am. He’s such a sweet man.

  He mentioned getting packing done at his place today. Moving some items into this unit we're in now. It’s strange to say that. I will be living with a guy! Technically, my husband. I mean, I have to consider him that, at least. Mates are more though.

  There’s still a niggle of doubt about our quick relationship. I can’t help it with my upbringing. It just seems wrong to not get married. He did offer to perform a ceremony.

  I should talk to him about having a wedding once the Discovery gets back from Quasar with my friends. It can be small. That’s all I ever wanted anyway.

  Rinsing my hair, I take my time and use the razor that Hannah sent down in my toiletries. It’s different looking with a long handle like a potato peeler but it works great. After taking a long shower, I automatically think about how much hot water I hogged. I climb out and towel off before throwing on my dress with no bra or undies.

  It would be nice to get a robe. Hannah told me to start a list. Now, I just need somewhere to write the list down. Could they possibly have a system that I could verbally enter a list for myself? As I finish combing my hair, I try to make a mental list of things to discuss with Devlin.

  As soon as I exit the bathroom and turn towards the bedroom, I’m grabbed from behind. Freezing, I’m immediately reminded of my kid brother’s scare tactics at home. It wasn’t unusual to have him hop out and scare me from somewhere.

  A large hand slaps over my mouth and I’m dragged backwards. My self-preservation kicks in as I start to struggle, arching my body and throwing my head back. Pain shoots through my skull from the contact with the person holding me. I’d been hoping for his nose, but I must have hit his chin.

  “Don’t fight, little one. I don’t want to hurt you.” The unfamiliar voice just makes me freak out more. Pulling me into a closet just down the hall from the bathroom, I’m even more shocked when he shuts us into the tiny room.

  I don’t recognize anything here except the washer Selas showed me how to use the first day. It’s like a laundry, linen, and pantry all-in-one. I think. What are we doing in here?

  Winding a long cloth around my head, he muzzles me before I can make much noise. The fabric stretches and he wraps three times before tying it off. Trying not to panic, and to breathe carefully through my nose, I don’t struggle as he moves to tie my hands behind me.

  Devlin has to sense my panic. My heart is going a hundred miles an hour! Who is this? Who would be dumb enough to come in here and try to take me?

  He swings me around and I immediately recognize him. It’s Mahku. I got a brief glimpse of his evil face when he called and Selas talked to him. This is the monster that stripped Rachel naked and put her in a cage!

  Outraged, I try to knee him in the balls. Kicking and shuffling away from him in the tiny room, he grabs me, turning me around to face away from him again. “Stop! We are leaving out that hole right there. And if I need to tie your feet and drag you after me, I will.”

  I look at the tiny hole down by the floor. It looks small. I mean, I can fit through there but he’s a big guy. It looks like a cold air return. I didn’t notice it before, so it probably had one of the baskets or bins that is now on the other side in front of it.

  Shaking my head, I start to panic more. Where’s he planning on taking me? Does he have Rachel too? Is this just all starting over again?

  “Oh, fuck it.” He mumbles, before something strikes me on the back of my head, and everything goes black.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  - Devlin

  By the time I reach the building, I have no less than three males chasing me. One of them is Carten. Ignoring them all, I crash up the stairs. The guards stationed outside Selas’ headquarters are still there. Did she hurt herself?

  The panic from Jenny stopped while I was running over. But that doesn't make me slow my pace. How could she go from being so panicked to nothing?

  Freezing and waiting for the door to release for a scan, is an exercise in patience. It’s that or spend time slamming into the frame to break it down. It makes more sense to wait. But it doesn’t keep me from yelling.

  “Jenny! Jenny!” Roaring her name, I finally get in and run through the dwelling. The odor of fear is strongest just outside the bathroom. Checking the bedroom, I shuffle around the room, looking for her or some clue to where she is.

  “What happened?” Selas’ form blocks the bedroom door where he's followed me inside.

  “Here!” A guard behind him has yanks open the storage closet and the scent of another male and fear drift towards us.

  Barging between them, I look down and see that the cover is off one vent. Dropping to my hands and knees, Selas grabs my shoulder. “Wait. We don’t know where that goes.”

  Shaking off his hand, I glance at him before lowering down. “No. But there’s only one way to find out.”

  “Let me get you a light!” His voice echoes through the vent towards me but I ignore him. The metal around me flexes and pops from my weight. It’s tight as I keep pulling myself forward until I reach a branch in the ducts.

  It’s easy to tell which way they went by the scent of fear that is clinging to Jenny. With such a small area, he must have been dragging her. Just imagining anyone manhandling and scaring her drives me crazy. My body is tense with anticipation. My tightened muscle bang against the sides of the vent as I leave a wake of damage behind me.

  The clanking and shuffling behind me, tells me that two other males are trailing me. I try to pick up speed in the tight space. I don’t need anyone stopping me from strangling the male who dared to break into our dwelling and stole my mate!

  Abruptly, the metal tunnel ends. There’s a larger vent, at least twice as wide that runs up and down. Thankfully, there’s a ladder attached. Latching onto a rung, I head down, following the scent of Jenny’s fear. It clogs my nose and head, making me more and more angry the longer I’m exposed to the odor.

  Long minutes pass until I can see the bottom. I drop the last span, landing heavily
on the hard floor that cracks out around my feet at the impact. I’m still standing in the shaft and when I lower myself down, I see that the room is long and narrow with a door at one end.

  There doesn’t appear to be a way to exit the room from this side. No handle or auto-scanner. But I can get my fingers under the slab between the bottom and the hard floor. Crouching down, I thread all my fingers under it and pull up. The metal creaks and groans as I roll the metal up slowly. The first hinge snaps against the frame and then the bottom is high enough for me to crouch and get out.

  Nothing! No one. But I can feel the direction that Jenny is in. Her scent has dissipated so much now, I can barely detect it.

  “He must have had a shuttle down here.” Selas has rolled under the destroyed door and popped up next to me. “This means someone else helped. They would have had to open the door for him to get out. You are the one that damaged it, correct?”

  I want to leave. “Yes. I’m going.”

  Grabbing my arm, he’s hanging on me as I turn. “Wait. Take this.” Slapping a wrap tracker around my wrist, he lets me go. “We’ll get a shuttle and follow behind.”

  Nodding, I take off. I don’t bother trying to orientate myself. Instead, when I hit other branches, I take the one that seems to travel closest to the direction I feel Jenny in. It’s the best I can do.

  My rage builds as I run. Instead of calming, I’m getting amped up. With each footfall onto the ground that has changed from finished flooring to dirt, I seethe. To think others are stupid enough to try to take something from me. Something I care about like I do Jenny.

  She’s mine. Totally mine. To endanger her is a crime. Even now, she could be carrying my child.

  The idea fills me with unspeakable terror as I realize I’ve failed her again. We’ve all failed her.

  She’s surrounded by thieves and degenerates. Males known for their wildness and brutality. I’ve seen males change their mind in the blink of an eye. Anger and greed rule them.