Page 38 of Bounty Hunter's Match

I shoved the glove into my pack with more force than necessary. The sooner I finished packing, the sooner I could leave.

Return to my real life.

Forget the way Camden’s hair felt sliding through my fingers. How her body fit against mine. The trust in her eyes before I broke it with my silence.

Something fluttered to the floor as I grabbed my backup tac-vest. One of the twins’ infamous cultural guides. The cover proclaimed “Cross-Species Romance: A Practical Guide to Interspecies Dating.”

I should have burned it weeks ago. Should have spaced every copy they tried to slip into my gear. Instead, I picked it up, letting it fall open to a well-worn page.

“Recognition of True Compatibility,” the heading declared in the twins’ flowing script. “When two beings form a genuine connection, certain signs become impossible to ignore...”

Images flooded my mind. That first day in Camden’s office, watching her handle Vask with effortless control. The way she’d seen through his bluster to the insecurity beneath. Just like she’d seen through my coldness to the hunger I tried to hide.

The first time I made her laugh - really laugh, not the polite chuckle she gave clients. We’d been reviewing security footage of a Mondian attempting traditional Earth courtship rituals. “At least he didn’t try interpretive dance,” she’d said, eyes bright with mirth. “Though I’m not sure the station’s structural integrity could handle it.”

How she handled difficult clients, reading their true needs beneath surface demands. The Sylphid who wanted to merge molecular structures with their beloved. The Zeqnid obsessed with “perfectly resonant” harmonics. Each time, she found the real desire hidden under elaborate requests.

The realization hit like a physical blow. I’d been an idiot. A complete fool.

My heart hammered against my ribs as ancient knowledge surfaced. Vinduthi courtship rituals passed down throughgenerations. The sacred claiming bite that would mark her as mine.

Create an unbreakable bond between us.

Memory struck - watching my older sister’s claiming ceremony as a child. My sister’s joy as her mate’s markings became her own. The depth of connection in their eyes.

I could have that. Could share that with Camden.

If I wasn’t too late.

The guide hit the floor as I bolted for the door. I had to reach her. Had to explain.

“Barek!” A Sylphid phased through the corridor wall. “We wanted to thank you for your assistance during the Gala-”

“Later.” I dodged around their shifting form.

“But the resonance patterns-”

I was already gone, taking the maintenance shaft shortcuts I’d learned during security sweeps. Had to reach Perfect Match before-

“Such passion!” Madame Hara’s delighted cry echoed through the station’s promenade. “The pursuit of true love! I must document this for my next novel!”

“Keep moving,” I growled, but she followed, datapad at ready.

“The determined warrior racing to claim his beloved! The dramatic declaration of eternal devotion!”

I lost her somewhere around deck seven, but others appeared. The Merrith trade representative. Three separate Poraki delegates. Each with questions or congratulations or requests for cultural exchange documentation.

None of them mattered. Only Camden mattered.

Perfect Match’s doors slid open at my approach. The twins’ recording drones hummed to life, capturing every angle.

“Finally!” Risa clasped her hands. “We thought you’d never figure it out!”

“The viewers will love this,” Rina added. “Such dramatic timing!”

“I trust you’ve come to rectify your previous oversight?” MIRA’s tone practically dripped with satisfaction.

“Where is she?”

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