“I’m sorry, Nixie, but I’m going to agree with Vanity. He needs to be with someone who can help him with his bloodlust, and while I know Aquilians don’t mind a bit of blood when they bite, you don’t drink it like Vilaxians do. Vanity and Magenta will already have everything they need for him in their fridge.” My dragon is totally getting a reward blowjob as soon as I get a spare five minutes.
“But Vanity only drinks from Magenta now,” Nixie sneers, pointing a finger, and I can hear her jealousy. Damn, this is going to be a mess.
“But we still have blood in our fridge in case we feel like something different,” Magenta argues, hurt in her voice. Nixie is just making everything worse. Did she really think she could convince Magenta to give a relationship with her another go?She has a lot of hurt to make up for before she would even consider it. That’s even if Vanity is open to Magenta adding more to her bond. It is the Skarrian way, but will Vanity be as okay about it as Saxon is?
“Right, Logan will go with Magenta and Vanity for now. I will have Silac dig through the files and see if we can figure out who his father is,” I say, backing my mate up.
Matthew bites his lip like he wants to tell me something. I consider pulling it from his mind, but I want to see what kind of man he is and whether or not I can make the idea I have a reality. I look at him, and he gets the hint.
“Smith had another few males that he used for breeding stock, but a woman came to visit once to see his program and took a liking to a couple of the males and demanded he turn them over. He was happy to because he had product from them to continue trying to implant the women with.”
“Do you know who this woman was?” I ask him, and he shakes his head.
“Could you describe her?” Tirrian requests, and the man nods enthusiastically.
“Oh yes, she was something else—kind of otherworldly beautiful in a perfect way. She had copper-colored hair and eyes, and I’m not talking human copper, but bright, burning copper like freshly poured metal. She was tall and wore sky-high heels and had the look of a professional, like she was in charge of a corporation or something. She held herself with confidence.”
The description rings some bells, but I just can’t place it. I don’t remember seeing or knowing anyone like this, but a lot has happened in my life recently, so it’s no wonder I don’t remember everyone.
“I’ll let Silac know, and he can dig into the files and see if there are any records of the transaction,” I tell him. “Right, that’s settled. Magenta, why don’t you and Vanity take Logan withyou? I’m not sure which living quarters you’re staying in, but let Link know so he can give Logan a checkup when he gets a free moment. We will arrange to get you a bigger living space now that you’ve bonded, but it won’t be until we stop at a space port somewhere,” I explain, and both women assure me it isn’t an issue for now.
They leave, and I almost let out a sigh, but then I see Nixie looking at me with hurt in her eyes. Well, it’s too bad. She hurt me just as much, and I don’t have time to coddle her, nor is this even about that. This is about what’s better for the boy.
“Nixie, could you please show these people to some living quarters? They are making a decision on what they would like to do next,” I tell her before turning my attention to them.
“You can choose to return to Earth, and our lawyers will set you up with new identities and make sure you are settled someplace new, or you could choose to stay with the circus. My family is rapidly expanding, and my poor nanny is run ragged. She could use some help, and since you three have experience in that department, I would like to offer you the position. We also have need of teaching experience to assist with the education of all the ship’s children, which are my five current ones, as well as Chloe, Logan, Bastien, and the new baby who needs a name. A few of the other performers and crew have their children with us this season as well. It will probably be between fifteen and twenty children needing education, especially when our new ones arrive in a few months.”
I can tell the idea intrigues them, and Melissa grabs Matthew’s hand and squeezes it excitedly. “I don’t know about Hettie and Francine, but Melissa and I already talked about it, and we want to stay,” Matthew tells me.
“I would love to be your nanny, and I’m sure Matthew can make himself useful in some sort of way. He’s very smart,” shesays, and I smile at the couple. They are kind of adorable, and I hope we become good friends.
“Won’t we be in danger with all the aliens around?” Francine sounds more cautious, which is understandable.
“Not intentionally, but sometimes things get out of hand, and children have less control over their powers than adults. I may have something that can help with that, but I want to know if you’re committed or not. We can work on a trial period, and then I can tell you what my idea is.”
I’m thinking about offering them water from Skarr. It activated Susie’s latent DNA, so I’m hoping it would do the same for these humans too, but I don’t want to give it to them and then have them return to Earth. “For now, I can ask my warlock husband to create charms to give you a personal shield, which should hold up against the children’s mishaps.”
The two other women agree, and Nixie takes them to some spare rooms, glaring at me as she leaves, but I ignore it. I don’t have time for hurt feelings because it’s time to plan our next step.
“Come on, I want to see the kids before we make our next move,” I say to Tirrian, who wraps an arm around my shoulders and leads me to the elevator.
“I’m sorry about Nixie and Magenta. I know their drama is bothering you,” he murmurs, and I lean my head on him.
“Yeah, but I can’t even begin to get involved. It’s something they need to sort out on their own, and we have enough to worry about. Brannock needs to send the message, and I need to ask my grandpas where the orb is. It’s time to finish the Syndicate.”
We spend the rest of the walk back to our home in silence, both lost in our thoughts. Everything that happened today was overwhelming, and I just need a moment. The minute we get in the door of our suite, I strip down and hurry to our pool, diving in and letting my mer form wash over me. I can’t think ofanything I want more than ten peaceful minutes at the bottom of the pool. Hopefully I’ll get it, but if I know my mates, I won’t get a minute longer.
I’m right, and it’s only a little longer than ten minutes before Cas and Nik join me at the bottom of the pool. They don’t speak though, which I’m grateful for, just wrap themselves around me, making a Lila sandwich, and hold me while we float. The tears I’d been holding at bay start to flow, and once they do, I can’t stop them. I sob uncontrollably, and the two men whisper words of comfort and caress my body. My parents were stuck in that hellhole for twenty years. My poor grandparents are never going to forgive themselves for trusting the police report and Smith. It’s a clusterfuck of epic proportions, and I hope for all our sakes it’s one we can move past quickly.
I finally get myself together, and we surface. We dry off, get dressed, and meet the rest of my mates in the living area for a meal. It’s the middle of the night, and the kids are still asleep, so we take a moment to ourselves.
Ghosie is finally awake and back to his normal size.
“I’m so sorry,” he says and reaches for me but then stops. “Ugh, I hate this,” he growls and stomps away, disappearing to his room. My heart aches for him, and I start to follow, but Link shakes his head.
“Give him a moment. I’m worried about him. He’s completely touch starved. He’s going to start becoming aggressive if we aren’t careful.”
“We need to kill Vivax and end his curse,” Echo shouts, startling everyone. Maxsim starts purring to soothe him and rubs a hand up and down his back. My poor sensitive omega wants to fix everything, and not being able to is making him unusually irritable. It isn’t good for him or the babies.
