Rory only had Jasper standing firmly on her side at the mont—and while that alone ant more to her than she could put into words, it was also a glaring problem.
Jasper wasn’t omnipresent. He couldn’t remain by her side every waking second, shielding her from danger and watching her back. The reality of her situation ant that she needed more than just his protection; she needed soone trustworthy nearby at all tis.
With that thought weighing on his mind, Jasper followed Rory into the kitchen. The soft clatter of utensils and the comforting aroma of simring broth filled the air. He watched her for a mont, clearly hesitant, before finally breaking the silence.
"Rory," he began carefully, "about your other matches... the nine in total. Where are the rest of them? Aside from the ones I’ve already encountered, I an."
So far, he had only t Dax and Paros. Trusting either of them was out of the question. If honesty were asured by distance, Jasper wouldn’t trust those two as far as he could throw them—which, admittedly, wasn’t very far at all.
Sylas Ruan had already gone through dissolution for reasons Jasper neither knew nor cared about, effectively removing him from the equation entirely. As for Nix, in his current childlike state, he was far from reliable.
That still left four unanswered nas—four unknown variables Jasper didn’t like one bit.
Rory let out a slow, weary sigh the mont he ntioned them. "I haven’t been able to get in touch with the remaining ones," she admitted. "Aside from the people you’ve already t, none of them have responded."
She paused, then continued more calmly, as if reciting facts she had already accepted. "Paros and I have already agreed to dissolve our match. What we had was strictly transactional. I provided him with ntal comfort, and in return, he paid in star coins. Nothing more."
Jasper nodded. That much, at least, aligned with what he had observed.
"You already know what happened with Sylas Ruan and Nix," Rory added. Then her voice faltered slightly. "As for Dax..."
Her thoughts imdiately drifted to the image of that fox-like man—calculating, charming, and endlessly sly. Her expression hardened.
"I’ve decided to dissolve my match with him as well."
Now that Rory fully understood how dangerous her identity truly was within the Interstellar Empire, she had no intention of leaving herself exposed. Dax was clever—too clever. And clever people, she had learned, were often the most dangerous. Trusting him now would be reckless.
Jasper wasn’t surprised in the slightest.
"I’ll support whatever choice you make," he said evenly. His tone carried no judgnt, no hesitation. He certainly wasn’t about to defend Dax. Among the Dragon Kind, one was always responsible for the consequences of their own actions.
If Dax truly wanted to remain bonded to Rory, he should have proven his sincerity long ago. The fact that Rory had chosen dissolution spoke volus.
"Since you’ve ended that match," Jasper continued, his gaze serious, "you should try contacting the remaining four again. This situation is... Exceptional. For your safety, you need soone with you at all tis."
In the Interstellar Empire, it was customary—almost expected—for a female to be accompanied by a male Etherian or a bonded partner. A female living entirely on her own was nearly unheard of, and often viewed as dangerously vulnerable.
Rory couldn’t deny the logic. Jasper wasn’t being controlling—he was being realistic.
"I’ll try reaching out to them again," she said quietly.
Activating her light-brain, Rory tagged the remaining four in their group chat.
One minute passed.
Then two.
Five.
Ten.
By the ti her pot of beast at noodles finished cooking, the group chat remained eerily silent. Jasper, who had been included in the chat, monitored the situation closely the entire ti. As the thirty-minute mark passed without so much as a single response, his expression darkened like an approaching storm.
Irresponsible trash, he thought furiously. Where is their sense of duty? Their awareness that they’re listed as potential mates?
Sensing his agitation, Rory quickly placed a steaming bowl of noodles in front of him, her voice gentle as she spoke. "It’s fine, really. If this keeps dragging on, I’ll just dissolve those matches too. I can always reapply through the Beastmate System."
To her, they were nothing more than nas—n she had never t, strangers who clearly had no intention of stepping up.
If they were useless now, they would be useless later. Replacing them with better candidates made far more sense. Truthfully, she had already been contemplating dissolution for quite so ti. The only reason she’d hesitated was the possibility that they might be trapped in circumstances similar to Jasper’s—cut off from signal, stranded beyond the Empire’s reach.
But once Jasper had reentered her life, the others had slowly faded from her thoughts entirely.
As she spoke, Rory prepared a separate bowl for Nix, then cut up pieces of beast at and set them aside for Burnt Dumpling, knowing the little creature couldn’t eat the sa way they did.
Jasper fetched the cutlery and called out to them. Monts later, Nix returned—Burnt Dumpling perched proudly on his back. To Rory’s astonishnt, Nix paused to wash his paws before eating.
Before she could even comnt, Burnt Dumpling hopped down and carefully washed its claws as well.
Her eyes widened. "They’re... washing their hands before eating? How are they this smart?"
Jasper chuckled softly. "Nix is intelligent. Even reduced to a cub’s level, basic manners are ingrained in him. As for Burnt Dumpling—he might not be pretty, but he’s sharp."
Though, Jasper added thoughtfully, there was also the possibility that Burnt Dumpling was simply copying Nix without truly understanding why.
Neither of them bothered with utensils. Nix buried his face straight into the bowl, devouring the food with enthusiasm, while Burnt Dumpling ate with surprising elegance—lifting each piece of at with its beak, tilting its head back, and swallowing neatly.
Once Rory was certain they were settled, she finally relaxed. anwhile, Jasper was already halfway through his bowl, utterly stunned.
He had thought the grilled beast at was exceptional.
This, however, was on an entirely different level.
After the al, Jasper imdiately instructed the household robot to clean up and firmly told Rory to rest. She had already done more than enough, and he wasn’t about to let her lift another finger.
After all, all he had to do was give a command.
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