I spent the journey up the skystalk in meditation, trying to draw on the strength of my ancestors for calm. It was only partly successful, and whatever benefits I got from it faded quickly once I arrived. The space station was as crowded as I remembered it, and in worse shape. In theory, all the clans of Crosos pooled their resources to maintain our shared spaceport. In practice though, the rest left it to the Rohar, which had worked out fine until recently. Now that we needed our resources to rebuild, though, the station was suffering and no one else was picking up the slack.

I glared around as I stepped out of my travel capsule, looking at the state of the place. Some of the other clans at least made a bit of an effort — the Perhar, for all their faults, understood that if they couldn't export the food they grew their own wealth would fade quickly. But all they did was hire some jumped up thugs as security. As soon as I get my own island in order, things will change up here, I promised myself.

Things seemed worse than usual. Even getting away from the skystalk and into the main spaceport took me too long, a fight between some ship's crew and the Perhar 'security consultants' blocking the exit and making me take the long way around. Glancing at the time, I fumed. At this rate, I was going to be late to meet this Gemma Wexler.

It wasn't easy to make my way through the crowds, even when they realized who I was and tried to get out of my way. And not everyone cared enough to make way for me. With an effort I managed to push and shove my way to the dockside and found the right docking port, only to be told that the Cordillan Wanderer's passenger had disembarked.

"What? Why did you let her off the ship?" I demanded of the captain, who paled and laughed nervously. A Trisoxan, he was slender as a reed and his neck frills extended in a submission display.

"Sir Protector, I beg your pardon if I've offended," he said, voice a lyrical sing-song that got on my nerves instantly. "I knew no better. All I was told was that she would be met on the dockside, yes? And she was, she left willingly. If the wrong men took her, then that is no fault of mine."

I snarled at that, turning away before I put my fist through his nervous face. If someone else had the human female, then I had no time to waste on him. "Which way did they go?"

"Ah, I did not see, Sir Protector." The captain backed away as he talked. "But it was a Kalpan group who took her, yes? Perhaps that will help you find her?"

I stalked away without answering him. It helped, but not much, and I didn't have long. If she was in danger, then I had to be quick. Kalpans were a bad sign. Mercenaries and thugs, they cared only for profit, not honor or law, and if they'd taken the human... well, the best case was that they'd hold her for ransom. More likely they had a worse fate in mind.

My comm bracelet hooked into the starport's security system, scanning quickly. Kalpans were common enough, unfortunately, but humans were rare here. The two together ought to be easy to find. As the system worked, I shoved my way through the crowds, heedless of who I insulted now. If anyone wanted to duel me over it, they could challenge me later. My obligation to the human female came first.

The scan took longer than I'd expected. Several parts of the system weren't functioning, either damaged or down for maintenance, and it seemed that my quarry was in the affected areas. I frowned, looking at a hologram map of the station. Too much of it was dark.

Scanning back through the cameras' memory, I found a glimpse here and there of Kalpans accompanying a human female. It had to be them. Unfortunately, every time I had a lead they'd vanish into from view. Almost as if they knew which cameras weren't working.

Time to try something else. Where could they be going? I turned the hologram quickly, looking at the dark areas the cameras couldn't see. If I couldn't track them directly, I perhaps I could work out where they were headed.

There. One of the observation ports was in the affected area, and it was shut for maintenance too. That was the most likely place for them to be hiding. The problem was, they would be alone there, and there were a dozen Kalpans. There was nothing to stop them from doing whatever they wanted with the human female.

Noting apart from me.

Breaking into a run, I shoved my way through the crowd, sending visitors from a dozen worlds scattering in my wake. There was no time to try and get a security team to that location — there weren't enough of them, for a start, and they were stationed far away from the observation port. Perhaps that was why the Kalpans had chosen that particular place to take their victim? If so, they'd chosen well.

Not well enough to be safe from me, though. I raced through the corridors of the station, speeding up as I left the crowds behind me. I didn't even consider the possibility that I was wrong, that they weren't at my destination. They simply had to be.

And they were. Bursting into the viewing gallery, I saw the pack of Kalpans surrounding their prey, cackling like the scavengers they were. Seeing her brought me up short for a moment, frozen in surprise at my own reaction.

Her scent filled my nostrils, an enticing spice, and I couldn't stop looking at her. Her soft pink skin, her dark mane of hair, her wonderful curves. My body responded instantly to her presence, my manhood hardening against the fabric of my pants. No one had ever inspired such a response from me before.

Don't be ridiculous, I snarled at myself. There isn't time for this nonsense.

But it was too late to salvage the element of surprise. My shock at the sight of the human gave the Kalpans a chance to react to my presence and they turned to face me, baring their teeth in a threat display.

One Kalpan would be no threat to me but a pack of them could be dangerous. And any backup was too far away to reach me in time.

"You go," their leader snarled, feathers bristling and a hand on his knife hilt. "Go now, Crosan, all good. Stay, we kill you both."

My heart filled with anger at that. Not just the cold anger that they'd dare threaten me, but a hot rage at the thought that they'd hurt the human. I would not allow that to happen.

Stepping into the room, I drew myself up and looked down into the thug's eyes. "I give you one chance to back down, Kalpan. Get off my station and never come back, or I will kill you all where you stand."

Several of the pack exchanged glances, some backing away, others bunching together behind their leader. Taking another step closer, I kept the pressure on him. Behind his bluster I could see the cowardice of a bully — his kind were perfectly capable of ganging up on a helpless female stranded in a spaceport. A trained warrior was another matter.

Perhaps the Kalpan leader was more afraid of his men than he was of me, or perhaps he thought I was a coward too, just hiding my fear. Whatever his reason, he snarled and leaped at me, drawing his blade as he came and slicing at my stomach. I'd been expecting that attack, but he was still fast enough that I barely got out of the way in time, and then the rest of the pack closed in around me.

Cowards and thugs they might be, but that didn't make them harmless. The Kalpans' lean bodies were made of muscle, and they knew how to use the blades they carried. Worse, they fought as a group, and had no sense of honor.

One jumped for my back, thinking that I couldn't see him. My fist smashed into his face before he could reach me, and I felt the shock of impact, the crunch of breaking bone. He dropped to the floor, howling in pain, and the others paused for a crucial moment.

I had to take advantage of that before they swarmed me. Fortunately, one moment was all I needed. Rushing forward, I ducked past the pack leader's blade. He was fast, well trained, but I had been taught by the best warriors on Crosos and his skill was no match for mine. The knife grazed my arm as I blocked it and then my hand was on his, trapping the blade.

Swinging a powerful punch into his ribs with my free hand, I roared a challenge. All around me the pack took a step back as their leader gasped in pain, the air driven out of him. Another blow took him off his feet, and I twisted to throw him down hard.

The thought of this creature laying hands on the human female drove all thought of self-control out of my mind, and I followed him down, raining punches on him as he tried to get away. The other Kalpans backed away, standing mute witness as I delivered a savage beating to their leader. Not one of them would risk being the next to feel my wrath.

Stopping was hard, almost impossible. The urge to simply keep punching until the creature was dead nearly overwhelmed my mind, and I only hauled myself back at the last moment. My foe was unconscious, helpless, and I was no murderer.

Taking control of my breathing, I looked up at the others. They shrank back one step, then two. Then they turned and fled, howling in fear.

Only when they were gone did I let go of the pack leader's arm and look at my wound. Blood welled from a cut the length of my forearm, stinging and painful, but it wasn't serious enough to impede me. Wrapping the injury in a bandage, I looked up at the Kalpans' intended victim.

She was staring at me in turn, her beautiful eyes wide. They were blue, I realized, a shockingly clear blue that I could lose myself in forever, like the wide skies on a cloudless day. Her dark hair stuck to the sweat of her brow as she backed away against the viewport; framed against the background of stars she looked stunning.

It took an effort not to run to her and sweep her into my arms.

She is not my mate, I told myself fiercely. She is simply my responsibility until I can get her home.

I didn't know why I was responding to her presence as strongly as I was. Perhaps it was some effect of a human's biology? Certainly her scent was driving me wild, and I could feel my erection straining at the fabric of my pants as I stepped closer. But I would not indulge my physical desires. That wouldn't be fair to her, aside from anything else. She'd been uprooted from her home, brought here to a planet she didn't know, and attacked — all because my Elders thought to play a cruel trick on me.

They wouldn't win. I was not some token to be matched off, for one thing, and for another, the human deserved better than to be dumped into Crosan politics like this. The fear in her eyes hurt to look at, and I did not want to be the cause of her pain.

"You are safe now," I assured her, speaking slowly for the benefit of the translator unit I saw at her neck. Her slender, beautiful neck... stop that. Focus. "I am Corvax, Protector of Clan Rohar. I will take care of you. In future you should be more careful of strangers in a spaceport. Especially scavengers like those Kalpans."

A flash of anger in her eyes got through the fear and she answered, her own voice echoed by the translation. "I should have been safe enough with the man who was supposed to meet me at the dock. But somehow that jerk wasn't there to meet me!"

The translator was good. It carried the accusatory tone perfectly, and it hit me hard. I snarled, baring my teeth, and regretted it instantly. Self-control is important to a Protector, and I wasn't going to let my emotions get the better of me. Especially when she had a point. I did have some responsibility for the danger she'd gotten into.

"If you'd waited—" I started, then bit off the argument. It wasn't going to help matters, and it was unfair. I should have been there, would have been if not for the delays.

She stalked forward, advancing on me as though I was her prey. It should have been amusing. The human was tiny compared to me, her skin soft and delicate, and she was unarmed. No threat at all. But there was something in her eyes that stopped me from taking her lightly. I held out a hand to stop her, only to have it batted aside.

"I wasn't safe next to the ship," she said, glaring up at me. Her body was so close to mine now, almost touching, and I could feel her warmth. "I knew I was in danger. What I didn't know was where to go or who I could trust to take care of me. No one told me anything about what to expect when I got here. And they knew your name, so I thought I could trust them."

Frowning, I put that aside to investigate later. If that was the case, then this wasn't some random attack and that needed my attention. But right now so did she, and that took priority. Gemma's fury was covering pain and fear, but that didn't make it any less real. I ached to take her in my arms and comfort her, to tell her that she was safe now, but I knew that if I tried that I'd just get hit. And I wasn't sure I didn't deserve that.

It doesn't matter. She's going back on the first ship heading for whatever backwater planet she came from, I reminded myself. It's not my fault she's here, and it's certainly not my fault that she wandered off and nearly got herself captured by slavers.

No. That wasn't fair. It might not be my fault, but as Protector it was my responsibility to keep her safe, even if she wasn't my mate. Which she wasn't going to be.

It was hard to think when I was this close to her. Taking a step back, I bowed low.

"Let us start fresh," I suggested. "Many mistakes have been made to get us to this point, and I apologize for those that were mine."

Her simmering rage subsided a little at that, as I'd hoped.

"I am Corvax Rohar, Protector of the Rohar clan and of the skystalk," I continued. "My clan elders called you here to be my mate, but that was a mistake. I will see to it that you are safely put back on a ship headed to your homeworld, and that you are well looked after until such a ship arrives."