Page 40 of Loaned to the Leonid Knight

“What? What do you mean?”

“When I started this idea, I only cared about rebuilding Felid lives, Felid families. I lost my wife and our four cubs that she was carrying.”

Sasha clapped a hand over her mouth. “Oh, Marcus,” she whispered, stricken. “That’s so horrible. And I know every single person in this galaxy has a similar tale.”

“It’s true. So when Layla arrived here, as freight, human cargo to be shipped to the Lynxian System, there were rumors going around that the Lynxians were hunting humans for sport. Layla made no secret she’d been drugged and trafficked by a shady boyfriend, but she honestly didn’t seem to mind leaving her planet. To her, work was work, and a contract to be someone’s maid or someone’s surrogate was the same to her, and one paid a lot more. When I had the chance to test something I was working on, the chromosomal compatibility booster, I pressed Rupex into considering her as a surrogate. And they fell in love. Their ‘business agreement’ became a family. Years later? Abi, another human who’d been trafficked and had become a dear friend of mine, was ready to start a family before it was too late. Well, I thought, so do I. Two friends who want a child might try co-parenting a cub. Nope. My heart was hers even before we kissed.”

“These are sweet stories, Marcus.” Sasha wiped her hands on the pleats of the airy crimson dress she’d donned. “I like Gideon very much. I could see... well, I’ve never met anyone as wonderful as him,” she admitted, but then clamped her lips shut tight.

“I still know our species needs to be rebuilt, Sasha, but I’m not so sure if ‘surrogacy’ is the right method based on how intimate this action is and how long it can take. It’s just that I’m a doctor. I think in terms of medical solutions, medical applications.” Marcus took off his glasses and shook his head. “It does need medical oversight to run this protocol, and medicine can be cold and clinical. But making a child ought to be something that has some sort of warmth and love behind it.”

“There is! Love for your people, for those who are suffering with losses, who are desperate for a family.” Sasha leaned forward and patted his paw comfortingly, happy to have a chance to use a little of the bedside manner she had never gotten a chance to use as a nurse or physician. “It’s why I’m here. I had standards that I wouldn’t break, not for any amount of money. Yes, I knew I would have to have a sexual relationship with the father of the cub, but I thought it would be an act for the greater good, for the love of a beautiful, kind galaxy that’s been through so much.”

Marcus gave her a weary smile. “I agree with those reasons, Sasha, and I, too, have those standards. Maybe at first they were marred by grief that was much fresher, and years of isolation. This crew has grown, this family has grown, and my view is changing. I think that there is a way that we can rebuild a population, and yes, there will be a medical aspect to it,” Marcus sighed, “but it has to come second. I’ve been looking through candidates for the surrogacy program, the Felid candidates—and they’re all males, all doing well financially, all eager to have a family—and all single. Why? Because if they were not, only the most reprehensible ones would likely consider bedding someone who was not their true Queen. Those fortunate enough to have survived, either by sterilization or just pure good fortune, have done what Abi and I are doing and are looking to adopt cubs that are already born.” He gave a sudden smile, shaking his head. “What I need are matchmakers, or simply an influx of willing women to come to Felix Orbus. There are very few right now.”

“That’s because they don’t understand how wonderful you are—and maybe because some people can’t get past the fur, teeth, and tails.” Sasha gave him a bashful look. “I wasn’t sure I could, but I thought... Well, I’ll have to. And now?”

“Now, you think Gideon is the most handsome of males, I can tell.”

“He has a handsome heart,” Sasha said, almost defiantly.

“Indeed, he does. Do you two truly want to procreate and have this child be raised by another?”

Sasha’s face fell, all traces of relaxation wiped away. “What?” she whispered, clutching her knees.

“It’s not too late to change your mind and restructure this with me. I’m reaching out to speak to the males who have been approved for the program to see if they would perhaps consider the fertility protocol as part of something larger. Family-building services. It will mean that we have to add more moving parts to this scenario, but I’m willing to do things well instead of simply do them, period. I don’t know why I was so blind before. I can only say that heartbreak clouded my judgment at first, and then I thought perhaps my story and Rupex’s story were unique. Now, I don’t know if that is true.”

“But... The contract. The money that I was promised for this—”

“Would still be yours, Sasha, if you and your chosen partner have a child. You would be our first testimonial, and you are still one of the ‘test’ cases that various medical boards have requested to prove that this treatment is truly safe in numerous cases, not just a dozen across the galaxy. You would be a paid test subject.”

“But what about the other women you recruited to be matched?”

“Matched is the key word. If my hunches are correct, when I speak to the possible fathers today, I suspect many will be open to not only finding a mother for their cub, but a partner for their lifetime. Now, if there are others who are not interested in such a thing, like Farhet, let’s say, then I will put them on a waiting list to be one of the first contacted when an artificial insemination technique is perfected. You know that, right now, such a thing doesn’t exist. My first priority was proving that a human and aFelid could produce a child. Now, my priority will be to teach other doctors the protocol while I work to perfect an artificial insemination technique. I think we’re only three or four years away from that point.”

Sasha’s face felt hot, then cold, as emotions rushed through her. “I would have the credits to start a life with Gideon? How? This isn’t part of my contract.”

“You came. You began the program. If I terminate your contract, with your blessing, my dear, then you are due full payment, with or without conception and delivery.”

But Gideon’s freedom. His credits. The life he was planning. He’ll lose them all if Farhet doesn’t get a child—or at least an attempt from Gideon to make one.

“Farhet won’t pay Gideon anything if he doesn’t at least try. And the bonus, the money he would get to start a whole new life—he won’t get that unless Farhet gets a baby out of this.”

“But—”

“He deserves this shot at freedom, Dr. Marcus. He’s been a prisoner of a society that treats him as a second-class citizen because he’s a ‘servant,’ and worse, he’s been employed by someone like Farhet, who can’t get past the color of his fur, and that region is full of snobs. I... I can’t do that to him.”

“I see.” Dr. Marcus gave a grave nod, but he smiled a little. “That’s an awful lot of love in a short time, Miss Cordovair.”

“He has a lot to give,” Sasha fired back, rising. “I think your plan is a good one. I think... I think I’d be willing to be a test case, a testimonial, whatever. But I refuse to take Gideon’s future from him.”

“At least talk to him, Sasha? His future may not be based on credits, but on something far more rare, something you truly cannot buy.”

“All right.”

“Tomorrow afternoon, another shot, another round of bloodwork, okay?”

“Okay.” Sasha rose, ready to bolt.