Page 9 of Trove’s Purpose

That actually made it easier to whip his head around, breaking that connection between them. And that hurt too. Looking at her, looking away – there was no answer that offered him relief. Not from this sudden surge of hormones and drive and despair.

But looking away did allow him to follow after his captain. Though each step was heavy, and each breath a struggle to pull in. His difficulties did not go unnoticed by Tanin who, although he looked at him, said nothing as Trove exited the room.

The door sealed shut, locking her in, and Tanin turned to Rok. “Get the others. We’ll meet in the mess hall.”

“Aye, captain,” Rok, oblivious to Trove’s torment, just nodded and lumbered off to do as he was bidden. Only once he was gone did Tanin look at him.

He said nothing. The silence, the weight of his gaze, made Trove wince.

“I’m sorry,” Trove said, almost meek. Tanin was shorter than Trove, but he was menacing. He was powerful. And of course, he had Trove’s total respect. Disobeying his captain was an affront he would not normally have committed, even accidentally.

“What happened?” Tanin asked, no anger or judgement in his voice. Just calm control. Because he knew something was different, and he needed to account for that variable.

“I saw her,” Trove started before clenching his jaw and his eyes shut. He had to turn away before admitting. “She’s my mate, captain. I… I don’t know how… I just… I do know. I do. But I don’t know how I could…”

His words sputtered out, unable to form a complete thought.

“I see,” Tanin said simply, and maybe he did. Tanin knew of his past. He knew of his present. He knew everything Trove had gone through, and probably even what he was going through now. “What an interesting coincidence.”

Not expecting those words or that tone to be the first out of Tanin’s mouth, Trove was able to focus back on his captain again.

“What do you mean?”

“You domini know your mates by sight, yes?”

“Yes. That’s how the bond is triggered. I know that’s what she is to me.”

“I believe you. What I want to know is if this Hyde person knew that as well.” Tanin crossed his arms, looking at the door through which Chee was sitting in an empty room. Just waiting.

“How could he?” Trove, asked, frowning. “No one could possibly know that.”

“How did he know where we were? How did he know about Alred? How did he know to send a human female at all? He knew exactly how to approach us, knew exactly how to tempt us, and knew exactly the right kind of person to send. Is it really just happenstance that the female he chose is mated to one of us?”

“Considering our track record with human females…?” Trove asked sardonically. Tanin, Sway, and Vytln were three of his seven brothers, and all three of them had mated human females. Though Alred had not claimed to mate her, he’d made no secret of his desire for Goldie. Trove wasn’t sure what a technological being could do to mate a biological one, but he certainly didn’t begrudge his brother’s desire for her. He even wished them well.

Yes, indeed, it seemed human females were their weakness. That wouldn’t be hard to figure out since every female on their ship was a human.

But knowing Chee was his mate? No. That was simply impossible.

Sure, there was a way to find mates without meeting each other. There was technology used by the True Match matchmating service that scanned the souls of people within subspace. They then used some kind of technology to match souls without ever meeting them. Trove was aware of the technology, he was aware of how popular it was and how the new industry was growing. But it had nothing to do with him. He had no desire to have a mate. He’d never subjected himself to the very deep and detailed scan for such a match to happen. And that was the only way that someone would know his mate before he laid eyes upon her.

No, this had to be a coincidence. He was sure of that, even as Tanin continued to look doubtful. But his captain let the subject drop as he instead focused on the more immediate problem.

“What do you want to do about her?”

Trove opened his mouth, but there wasn’t an answer waiting on his tongue.

Do with her? He wanted her away from him. He wanted her right beside him. He wanted to drown in her. He wanted to drown himself. He didn’t want this to happen, but it was too late to undo. He had recognized her by sight, and now he was trapped into needing her.

“I don’t know,” he finally said. Because he genuinely didn’t. He was still reeling from the first sight of her. Still grappling with the pain of it, the need for her. Too much, too fast, too new. He couldn’t possibly make a decision right now.

Could he just… leave her?

No. He’d seen her already. Part of him had been irrevocably changed already. They were not mated, not yet. The bond had been triggered. Primed, in a way. He had to go through the mating process in order to actually make her his mate.

The domini mating process was slightly more complex than others – though not nearly close to the most complex of mating procedures. He had to fight her protector to claim her, he had to gorge her on food to satisfy her, then he had to bring her to their nest and allow her to mate him. A series of steps that had to be followed in order to seal the bond in place.

A series of steps that, biologically, he would yearn for until they were completed. It would nag at him constantly. A need in the back of his head that would never fully fade. He’d only known her for a few moments, but there would never be another moment in his life where she wasn’t going to have a place in his brain. He’d always want to complete the mating. He’d never be able to forget her.