by Alana Serra
"I know he can be… abrasive," the Pathfinder said.
"That is putting it mildly," she muttered.
"But we are not permitted a choice. This must be resolved quickly, and the two of you are the brightest minds both of our species can put forth."
Her heart sank even further, and that non-existent ego sank with it. Drol'gan was right. There wasn't a choice here. No matter how unfortunate his personality, Kor'ven was apparently the best in his field.
So she'd make it work. She'd persevered through the ridiculousness of arrogant, patronizing men in the past. For the sake of human and Karuvar kind, she could do it again.
4
Kor'ven hoped with every fiber of his being that his stay at Waystation Helios would be a brief one.
It was pleasant enough, the station set into a wide canyon, the arching cliff-faces seeming to funnel the sun directly into the facility. Smatterings of wildflowers grew in the cracks, lending a much-needed sense of color beyond the stark browns and the clear blue sky. Selene, in contrast, was an all too forgettable location nestled within its shaded forest, one dark color bleeding into the next.
The Waystation was a fine sight, and if Kor'ven were merely sightseeing, he would have appreciated the opportunity. But he was not sightseeing. He had been called upon by his Pathfinder to fix what he hoped was a simple blunder.
Only from the moment he'd received the call, he'd known nothing about it was going to be simple. The very instant he'd seen the human woman's face, had heard her voice, he knew that as faithfully as he knew this galaxy’s planet’s orbited a single star.
She'd been lovely. Hair a shimmering gold, eyes a pale blue, skin creamy white, lips the faintest blush of pink. A manifestation of human beauty trapped within a screen. Her voice had a richness to it that stoked the fires of his imagination. He'd started to get hard in his lab like he was some unruly youngling, and Teiv's presence was the only thing that had kept him from taking himself in hand.
It was ridiculous. Positively absurd. Kor'ven was not blind in the literal or figurative sense. He had never disregarded the merits of the human form or how pleasing it could be. But human females had always been pleasing to him in the same way an arrangement of flowers might be pleasing. Attractive enough to admire for a few moments before he placed them upon the shelf, never to be considered again.
Adi'sun was something else entirely. She wasn't just beautiful, she was dangerous.
His one hope in arriving at Helios was that Drol'gan severely overestimated her abilities as a scientist. Females did not typically occupy the role, after all, and perhaps her talents lay elsewhere. He fully expected to find some issue--some glaring problem amongst her data that would set everything to rights. He was so confident in this thought that he'd left Teiv behind to man his station at Selene.
But when he arrived at the Waystation, after checking in through the intake facility, he found not a chaotic nest of untenable science, but a clean, orderly center that seemed to be at the very center of the Matchmaker efforts, if the many Karuvar and humans present were any indication.
He knew Helios was the Waystation where Verkiir had met his Mei'gahn. It was the Waystation that proved it was possible for humans and Karuvar to mate. He'd just expected something less… impressive.
Be that as it may, Helios as a whole did not speak to the credibility of Doctor Mun'roh or her work, neither of which he'd seen in person thus far. After several minutes of useless meandering, he was forced to ask someone.
"I am looking for Adi'sun Mun'roh," he said to a human youngling who was wearing a Helios badge.
The youngling arched one brow at him in an expression Kor'ven read as a wry sort of human amusement.
"You're the asshole from Selene." She looked him up and down. "Huh. Don't look like much of a scientist."
Kor'ven's lips pressed into a thin line. "I was not aware my area of study had a required look."
Her shoulders lifted in an exaggerated manner. "Just always expect science guys to be a little… scrawnier."
Ah, she was pointing out the differences between human and Karuvar physiology. Yes, their males were quite 'scrawny.' Kor'ven honestly had no idea how they sired kits of their own.
"Dr. Mun'roh's in a meeting right now, but she'll be out soon. You can wait in her office, I guess," the youngling said.
She led him to an office with large windows that exposed its interior for all to see. That, too, was tidy, with anatomical models and books arranged neatly, along with a shelf full of binders that immediately caught Kor'ven's interest.
"Don't touch anything," the youngling warned, as if she could read his mind.
But it was a scientist's prerogative to seek answers, and so the instant he was left alone, Kor'ven made his way to the shelf and opened one of the binders.
Neat, flowing, feminine handwriting greeted him. As he read over her notes, he could almost hear the words being said in her smoky, sultry voice. There was a brevity to her reporting; one Kor'ven could appreciate. But she wrote her observations as if she were witnessing the birth of a star.
Flipping several pages ahead, he found another account--this one written in the same manner, as if by an impassioned observer. It was so very… unscientific. And yet Kor'ven found himself oddly drawn to the words and the fire he saw in them.
He'd made it through three and a half binders before Adi'sun deigned to show. He hadn't read everything in them--that would be preposterous. But he had assembled a solid image of the woman he expected to greet him.
She would be what humans described as "bubbly," though he had never understood why such an epitaph existed. She would be incredibly biased, allowing her heart to rule her rather than her head. Another common human expression. She might be intelligent, but it would be a false sort of intelligence gained only from books, not from field knowledge.
Later, Kor'ven might wonder if he had formed this hypothesis for the sheer benefit of self-preservation, but in that moment, it seemed to fit the image he had of her, and indeed the image that greeted him when she opened her office door.
He sensed her first. Or rather, he sensed something that turned out to be her. He was drawn toward an undeniable presence in the same way space dust was drawn into a central point to form a star. Adi'sun pulled him into her orbit before she even appeared in his line of view.
When he finally saw her, though, every muscle in his body tensed and then leapt as if in attempt to propel him forward. His skin was aflame, as if he just happened to be standing next to an exploding supernova at the precise moment of detonation. His loins tightened, blood rushing southward as his cock stirred to immediate attention.
Everything he had witnessed on that screen was magnified a hundred fold. She was pure, concentrated sunlight, radiant in her beauty, and he wanted desperately to partake of her. No. Partake was too flowery a word. He wanted to possess her. He wanted to swipe the equipment from the table, grab hold of her luscious hips, and bury himself inside of her.
She felt it. He knew she felt it. Something magnetic resonated between them. Her vibrant eyes were glazed with a keen, intelligent desire, her lips wet and parted. She stood in stasis, yet he could feel the energy of her body as if she trembled against him.
There was only one thing that could signify such a response. One tiny, impossible thing.
Kor'ven managed to tear his gaze away from the endless pool of her eyes long enough to look down at her arm. Her implant--and thus her tattoo--was covered by a lab coat.
"Show me your arm," he commanded, the words coming out in a rough growl.
She didn't hesitate. She simply rolled up one sleeve, her gaze never leaving his. There was something so incredibly arousing about that simple defiance that he found himself wanting to cross the distance between them; to drop to his knees and worship this female with lips and tongue.
His implant would not allow it, though. His arm burned, a blistering heat singing along the outstretched tendrils of his tattoo. His gaze fell to her
s, and he knew in an instant that they were a match.
This woman--this human scientist--was his mate.
And yet… a distant memory tugged at him, pulling hard enough to break him out of his stupor. He'd been here before. He'd experienced this before. It was… different then, but no less alarming.
And just as it was not real then, Kor'ven knew it could not be real now. Adi'sun was not his mate. She could not be.
He turned away from her, breaking that connection as surely as if he were severing some manner of symbiotic bond. He almost felt her gasp; almost felt her falter. The urge was strong to return to her--to wrap her in his arms and never let her fall again. Instead, he returned his attention to the binders.
"Your data is terribly outdated," he said, forcing all emotion from his voice.
She was silent for a long moment, then, "…I beg your pardon?"
That voice made him bite back a groan, his cock twitching beneath his pants. Would that he could make those lips caress the sounds of his name…
No. Never.
"Outdated and far from impartial. There is nothing scientific about this."
She crossed the room suddenly and Kor'ven's heart leapt into his throat. The scent of a meadow after a fresh rain accosted his senses.
"I don't remember giving you permission to go through my data," she asserted, snatching the binder from him.
"If I am to find a solution, I must know what you have done thus far so I do not waste my time."
"And what about my time?"
There was fire in her eyes, such an intense mix of loathing and lust that Kor'ven thought his soul was going to combust.
"I asked you to have your data ready, Doctor Mun'roh. If our time is mutually wasted, it is hardly my fault."
"Yes, and I spent the last three hours compiling my data for you." She withdrew a memory stick from her pocket and dropped it on the desk before him. "Unless this is too outdated for you, as well?"
He retrieved the stick and fit it into the tiny dock on her terminal. The screen was overtaken by a presentation slide. How very quaint.
"This will be fine, thank you."
She must have heard something in his tone because she positively balked at him. "You don't get to dismiss me from my own office."
Had he been dismissing her? Perhaps. There was some part of him that very much wanted her to go, if only to fight the part of him that wanted to pull her to him so that he could claim her lips for his own.
"It would be easier, would it not?"
He braved her eyes then, looking deep into those blue depths. Need shook through him, but he fought it with all the knowledge of a scientist who had studied--and manipulated--the various machinations behind mating. And when he managed that, he saw that Adi'sun was struggling just as much as he was.
She did not want this. She did not want him. Not beyond her very physical response.
Still, all she said was, "I'm here to ensure Vazik's implant takes. I'm not here to make your life or mine any easier," before she pulled a chair from another desk and took a seat.
What followed was an agonizing hour and a half of Adi'sun being far too close, the data she explained nearly lost in the jumble of his mind as he devoted every speck of brainpower to denying what would have otherwise been an undeniable connection.
"I will examine the kit and speak with the dam and sire," he concluded before she had finished, unable to stand the sweet caress of her voice any longer. "Then I will begin an independent study. I thank you for your information, Doctor Mun'roh."
Her mouth was open and he knew she was about to hurl fire his way, but he did not allow it. He fled that office as surely as he might flee an active volcano on the edge of eruption, knowing that if he stayed, he would be trapped.
As he made his way toward anyplace that was not in the vicinity of Adi'sun Mun'roh, Kor'ven pleaded with the Stars that this matter would be resolved soon.
He was not certain just how long he could control himself if it was not.
5
By seven that evening, Addison was convinced her new "partner" was the absolute worst being to ever walk the Earth.
He was insufferable. The most arrogant person she'd ever met, and that was saying something, considering she'd dedicated her life to science. He was dismissive of her, condescending, patronizing, and just plain rude.
And he was so inescapably… there.
That was the worst part of it all, by far. She could have spent the day holed up in her office, working off of her data as if Kor'ven didn't even exist. But she could feel him. She could feel every move he made, every step he took further away from her. And, most agonizingly, every step he took closer. Her body was on fire, her hormones clocked into overdrive, to the point where all she could think about was getting him alone and seeing what he looked like under that lab coat.
It hadn't even been a full day since his arrival, and Addison was already miserable. This was the worst possible time for her to find a mate, and Kor'ven was the worst possible Karuvar to be matched with. At this point, she didn't care if her genes were perfectly coded to match with his. She was going to stay far, far away from him, and hope biology was lenient.
That was precisely what she was doing as the sun set outside of Waystation Helios. Away from Kor'ven, but not uninvolved in his dealings throughout the center. He had indeed run a battery of tests on Vazik earlier in the day, and had spoken to Meg and Verkiir, asking an exhaustive list of questions that he'd logged meticulously. As much as Addison could admire how thorough he was, right now it was simply a means to an end. She pored over his data, checking for something she could use--something she could see before he did. After all, if Drol'gan found him to be extraneous, he would be sent back to Selene.
So far, though, he hadn't uncovered anything new, and a headache was beginning to blossom behind Addison's sinuses. When the door to her office opened, it felt like a drill boring into her skull.
"Told you she was still here," Ash announced proudly.
Addison looked up, squinting a little at the light from the hallway. Meg stood with her sister, a concerned frown on her face. Addison had spent enough time around the woman to know exactly what that meant.
"It's not that late. You know very well I've stayed here longer, and for less significant projects."
"Vazik will be fine for tonight. You can start fresh tomorrow morning," Meg insisted.
Addison waved this off. "I'm fine. I'll get my second wind soon. A bit of coffee, and I'll be good as new."
The two sisters exchanged a look. Ash moved to block the door--as if Addison were a wild animal intent on escape--while Meg approached her.
"Come out with us, Addi,” Meg pleaded. "We haven't had a good Girls' Night Out in months."
That was true. Throughout Meg's pregnancy, and even after, the three of them met up at least twice a month--no men allowed. Sometimes it was at Meg's house, sometimes Addison's apartment. Sometimes they even splurged and went to one of the restaurants Everton boasted.
She wanted to go out; wanted to get away from this place. But one quick glance at her mother's portrait chased the idea from her head. She had a job to do here. She wasn't going to do it by wasting precious hours.
"I can't, I'm sorry. There's too much to do, and if Kor'ven finds something before I do--"
Ash groaned audibly. "God, that guy is such a prick. He's got that stick shoved so far up his ass I can see it whenever he opens his mouth."
She wouldn't disagree with that. "They don't often teach 'brilliant' scientists the nuances of personality."
Meg's lips twitched into a smirk. "Even Verkiir hates him. Kor'ven was examining Vazik earlier, and I thought he was going to explode."
"Verkiir hates everyone," Ash pointed out, then amended, "Everyone who touches Vaz."
Meg shrugged at that, unable to deny the truth. She turned back to Addison, a gleam in her eyes. "See? You have to come out with us now. It'll be like that time Dr. High-and-Mighty tried to steal credi
t for your research."
Oh, she remembered. Dr. Higgins was a first-rate asshole, too. He'd piggybacked off of her research on the replication of cells within the biological components of implants, trying to pass her findings off as his own. Absolutely ridiculous. But…
"This is far worse," she admitted.
Her gaze flicked to both of her friends in turn. God help her, she needed to tell someone.
"My implant seems to think…" She gritted her teeth. "That Kor'ven and I are a match."
Ash's response was immediate. And loud. "Holy shit."
Meg's wasn't much better. "Seriously? All this time we've been trying to find your mate and it turns out it's… him?"
"I'm afraid so."
"Oh, honey." Meg's voice sounded genuinely sympathetic, and her hand rested on Addison's arm. "That's it. Get your stuff. You're coming with us."
"But I can't--"
"No buts!" Ash said, snatching up Addison's satchel and handing it to her. "We're going out, and we're getting drunk as hell."
Meg gave her sister a look.
"Two of us are getting drunk as hell," Ash amended.
Addison looked back at the screen, Kor'ven's succinctly typed data staring her in the face; taunting her. She could stay here all night and hope to catch something he'd missed, but deep down, she knew that was a fool's errand. In the end, she'd only be left with a headache.
"Alright. But just a couple drinks."
Just a couple drinks turned into four cocktails mixed with whatever spirits the bartender happened to have behind the counter. Addison had long since passed the bubbly, giggly stage of tipsiness. After four alarmingly strong drinks, she was careening into full-on rant territory.
"I think he's just… genetically modified." She waved as if giving a presentation. "You're either smart, or you're hot: It's a well-known rule."
"Right?" Ash seconded. "It's like they all slam some weird protein shake for breakfast or something."
Meg--who was also on her fourth drink--snorted in the most unladylike fashion possible. "Maybe that's why Verkiir hates him. Science bod."