In this society, humans live a thousand years and biologically mate through an unexplained chemical reaction.
When Petr Markenson's uncle figures out exactly how to mate two people, he finds himself deep inside the process...and on live television waiting to meet his mate.
Chapter 2a
Stretching only slightly, Petr internally sighed as he knelt in front of a line of trees waiting for his prey to arrive. As he had explained to Jere’s father, this was the last contract he was picking up on her. Next time, they would have to find someone else. Seriously, how many times could you lose your own daughter, anyway?
Jere had been his first contract six decades past and at least once a decade she would disappear and her father would call in a panic asking Petr to find her. Not only could he find her within hours, he knew just where to find her. It wasn’t like it was a secret. Jere led a quiet, sheltered life with a father who would not let her do anything fun. So, once a decade she seemed to rebel, run away, drink, party, and sooner or later she and some male would show up at the small motel Petr was sitting near to fuck all night.
He had gotten to know her on their trips back to her father and quite honestly felt sorry for the woman. Her mate had been killed in a freak accident one year after their mating, so she did not have a lot to look forward to. Once mated, no single individual would touch her for a possible relationship. Scratching his head, he wondered if his uncle could help. If they re-energized the hormone, was there a possibility there was another person with the same SKZ-1 hormone? Might be interesting to find out.
Shaking his head, he chuckled softly. In the two weeks since his uncle had offered him a new life, he had barely been able to think of anything but. True, he wasn’t sure how he would enjoy working for a company. Being his own man fit him better; at the same time, having a steady paycheck and investigating anything strange that crossed his mind might be rather fun.
“Been waiting long?”
Petr looked up and smiled at Jere who was standing a few feet in front of him, her clothes torn and her hair mussed. “Only an hour.”
She smiled. “Thanks for waiting. The other hunters my father has hired burst in on us and didn’t let us finish.”
Shaking his head, Petr stood up and bound her wrists together with the tell-tale bright orange rope all prey were constrained in. “You deserve some happiness too, sugar. Why don’t you go out on your own?” It did not make sense to him that a ninety-year-young woman would live at home under her parents’ thumb.
She did not say anything until seated in the back of his vehicle. “Pa never allowed me an education so I can’t get a job.”
Shaking his head at the stupidity of not preparing one’s child for life, Petr headed towards her father’s home. “I told your father today that this is my last time picking up this contract.”
Her eyes flew to his in the rear view mirror. “Why?”
“Starting a new phase of my life. Think I’m in for a career change.”
“Oh.”
Her disappointment rang through the interior of his vehicle. Not that he could blame her. If he was the only one who let her have sex before he took her back to her father, she probably was not looking forward to the next time. “I have a friend - well an acquaintance really - who is also a hunter. I will suggest him to your father. I’ll warn ya, he isn’t exactly upstanding, but he will probably allow you your time.” Or he will join you and bring his toys, he added silently to himself.
Her expression perked up slightly and they spent the rest of the time in a somewhat easy silence.
Once delivered, he took his credits to the bank, pleased with the small nest egg he had been able to build for himself. If he elected to join his uncle and decided he did not like it, he had close to a year’s salary to live on until he found a new job. That was comforting.
As he got home and let himself in, his aircom buzzed, announcing a message. Pulling it out, he was surprised to find one from Victr. Have you decided yet?
Chuckling, he fed his cat and dog before sitting down to answer. Instead of messaging back, he called him direct.
“Shall I assume this phone call is a yes answer?” Victr answered.
“Something like that. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about the possibilities.”
“Like what?”
Grinning, Petr told his uncle about Jere. “She is a nice woman who had bad luck. I would love to figure out if she could find a new mate.”
“Now see… That is a wonderful thing to start studying. I like the way you think. Are you on board?”
Victr was dogged when he wanted something and he wanted Petr in his company. Grinning, Petr nodded. “Why the hell not?”
“Good. When can you start? I have a couple studies right now I would love to hand over so I can work on the new program.”
Surprised there were already projects Victr was ready to hand over to him, he sat up straight. “I have one more target to go after tomorrow. Then I’m done.”
“Fantastic. Take the weekend to enjoy yourself and then be here Monday morning at seven. Usually, I would suggest my vice-presidents move locally so they don’t have such a long commute, but if you choose to be a part of the program then you will be moving elsewhere for a few weeks anyway. I will wait.”
“Whoa – I haven’t decided on that yet.” Petr thought becoming a guinea pig in a mating program seemed a bit of a risk for him; a risk he was not ready to take – yet.
Victr chuckled. “That is okay. It is still in its planning stages. I won’t start advertising for… applicants for several weeks yet. By then you should feel more comfortable with the way I do things here.”
“All right, see you on Monday.”
“Yes, you will have to tell me Diria’s reaction to you working here.” Victr chuckled as he hung up.
“Damn,” Petr groaned, leaning back in his sofa. He would have to tell his mother he was changing jobs. Not only changing jobs, but working for her eldest brother. That should be interesting.
The next few days were interesting. He turned down thirteen new contracts, put the word out that he was changing jobs, received several scoffing replies, and found himself antsy. Being a hunter, he never had to behave a certain way. He could just be him: laid-back, small-town hunter. He never had to dress or act a certain way, or even had to watch his own words. Hunters were well-known for not being politically correct.
But as of Monday he would be working for a large company where there would assuredly be a dress code, not to mention an action code. He frowned as he drove to his mother’s house for dinner Saturday evening. Hopefully he would pick up on the way BM did things rather quickly. He wasn’t looking forward to wearing dress slacks to work though. That would get uncomfortable.
The house was over-flowing as the entire family was there. Food tablets were laid out on platters for everyone as the family members converged on one another. It never ceased to amuse Petr how his family acted when at a dinner like this. Except for him, they all saw one another on a weekly if not daily basis. He would show up every few months. And yet, you would think it had been at least a year since anyone had seen each other.
“And tonight is even louder than normal,” he muttered as he walked into the living room. It became apparent why very quickly.
Dermt sat on a chair with Sasha on his lap and since the chatter all had to do with babies and pregnancy, he lifted an eyebrow at his little brother. “Already?”
Laughing, Dermt nodded. “Yep! She is completely knocked-up. Due in seven months.”
She rolled her eyes at his comment even though the blush on her cheeks gave her embarrassment away.
“Petr! I did not know you were coming.” Diria wrapped her arms around her tallest and eldest son, smiling up at him.
“Hey, Mama.” He grinned down at her. “I hear we have a new Markenson coming.”
Laughing, she nodded. “That will make my fifth grandchild.” She poked him in the stomach, making him grunt. “But I will not be completely happy until I get at least a couple from you.”
Dermt snickered while Petr just rolled his eyes. “I’ll go out and get a couple girls pregnant for you first thing tomorrow, Mama. Would you prefer red-headed grandchildren? Or brunettes?”
Her eyes narrowed while several family members burst out laughing. “Don’t smart-mouth me, Petr Markenson. You know what I mean.”
Sighing, he gave her a tight hug and released her. “You never know, Mama. I am changing jobs so who knows what else would change.”
Silence.
A bead of sweat slithered down his neck at the complete silence that met his announcement.
“You are leaving hunting?” Diria asked, sounding surprised. Petr had been hunting for so long, he guessed she assumed he always would. He had a knack for it.
Grimacing at being the center of everyone’s attention, he nodded. “Yeah. I’ve been rather bored for the last decade or so and a couple weeks ago I got a great job offer. So… next Monday I will start at Bry’on Manufacturing as their newest VP.”
“Congratulations!” Nema shrieked, bouncing over to hug her big brother. “It is about time you found a different job. Though how you got Uncle Victr to give the job to you, I’ll never know. He isn’t known for his nepotism.” Petr’s lips twitched at the one bad memory Nema had of their uncle. She had tried to get a job from him right out of high school and he refused her.
“Better money?” Marks asked, pulling his wife back.
“Yep, much better, not to mention actual benefits. Won’t know what to do with myself.”
“Oooh, Uncle Petr is growing up,” laughed Drai, his oldest niece at twenty-two years, just recently mated and entirely too full of herself in his opinion.
“Come,” Diria said, grabbing his hand and pulling him out the back door into a small enclosed yard. They sat in the one swing that faced the back porch and stared at the sky. “What does he have on you, Petr?”
“It’s not like that,” he assured her. “He has nothing on me. Victr knew I was unhappy with my current career and has some exciting things planned for his company. I think…” Even as he spoke the words, they seemed incredibly true to him, “I think he wants to get a family member into the company. Since he has no children of his own, maybe someone to groom in his stead.” Petr chuckled. “Hell, he already told me a trade secret.”
Sighing, she laid her head on his arm. “Do not let him boss you into something you do not want to do, son. Victr is very used to getting his own way.”
“I know, Mama,” he murmured, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and pulling her close. “But this opportunity is rather exciting. Plus… there is another possible opportunity.” He kissed her lightly on the top of her head. “Things are looking up.”
Chuckling, she nodded. “I know you can look after yourself, but I am your mother. Habits like this are impossible to break.”
“Thanks,” he grinned. “And don’t worry. I won’t let Uncle Victr talk me into anything I do not want to do.”
*****
“How the hell did I get talked into this?” Petr snarled to himself as he looked over the notes for the first project his uncle had thrown into his lap. The notes were haphazard, hand-written, and barely legible. Not to mention the fact his uncle’s premise was bizarre to say the least.
Project 14J-.23.3
An individual is more likely to find their mate in an unknown location.
How the hell were they supposed to prove that? Growling slightly, he started laying the sheets out on the large table by his new desk. His office was small and included a small desk, a table that took up most of the space, and a water canister. There was no room to walk between the three. All he had to do was swivel his chair and he was there.
He had now been at Bry’on Manufacturing for two weeks and had slowly caught on to a few things. Dress pants and shirts were in. Shoes were out; everyone walked around barefoot. Working hard was in; talking to someone by the water fountain in the break room for two minutes was out. Not to mention the fact that all the vice-presidents were referred to by their last name. He still wasn’t used to someone calling him Mr. Markenson. It jarred him every time it occurred.
“Mr. Markenson.”
Cringing as the name was called over the com, Petr called out, “Yes?”
“Mr. Bry’on would like to see you in his office immediately.”
“On my way.” Putting the papers down on the table, he locked his door and headed through the maze of hallways until he reached the one he needed. That was another thing he had a hard time getting used to – working underground. It felt stuffy, as though he was being suffocated. All the executives worked underground. When Petr had asked his uncle why, his answer had sent a shiver running down Petr’s back.
“We receive death threats daily. They cannot really reach us down here, plus there is an emergency evacuation we can do from here that we would not be able to do above ground.”
The entire mansion above them turned out to be nothing but a front. Only the executives and Victr’s personal assistant knew they were down below. They told him they had emergency evacuation drills once every three months so to be prepared. He just had no idea how to become so.
Tapping lightly on his uncle’s door, he waited for the familiar call of, “Come.”
He walked in to find Victr on the com and Asha in front of him with her notepad. He barely kept himself from smiling. It amused him that his uncle’s assistant took notes the old fashioned way. Then again, his uncle did his notes by hand. Maybe he had all his assistants do the same thing.
Victr beckoned him forward with two fingers as he talked on the com. Asha looked up and gave him one of her cautious smiles before looking back at her notes as he took the chair beside her.
It quickly became apparent that Victr was speaking about his new project.
“Yes, we will be ready. No, I want to hit this with a huge advertising blitz. I want to set our quadrant on fire with it. Once our quadrant is on board and the others see the results, the applications will start pouring in… Well, of course. We want the best, brightest, most visually attractive applicants for this first time… How soon…? Perfect. Call me back in an hour.”
Victr put the phone down and turned to Asha. “Type up the notes, bring them to me and destroy the originals. Get prepared for a push. This project is ago.”
“Yes, Mr. Bry’on. Anything else?” she asked as she stood up stiffly. Petr wondered how long she had been sitting there.
“No. Send in some lunch for Petr and I.”
“Yes, sir.”
She closed the door behind her and Victr leaned back, grinning. “How is life, Petr?”
Chuckling, Petr shrugged. “Getting used to the change.”
“Well, this new project is taking on a life of its own. I gave marketing a taster of the idea last week and so far the ideas they have are incredible. Not only that, but Pier Broadcasting is showing interest in purchasing the rights to it.”
Raising his eyebrows, Petr was surprised. “You are filming it?”
(cont next week...)
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