Chapter 2
The woman was infuriating, but smart. Devlon couldn’t help but admire her ideas, her strength, and her nicely shaped backside as she walked out of the room. If the lt. colonel hadn’t pulled him to the side for a private conversation, he would’ve followed Heather to the nearest dark corner and kissed her—something he swore he wouldn’t do. The woman was mated. End of story.
“What can I do for you, Lt. Colonel?”
“We’re family now, you can call me David in private.”
“David, call me Devlon. What can I do for you?”
“Will you be coming by for Rachel’s baby shower?”
Devlon raised an eyebrow at him. “Was that really what you wanted to know?”
“No. I want to know what Liam and Kyle’s plans are for Maggie and Rachel. Will they remain here or return to Drasta?”
“They will return to Drasta, of course.”
“Is that what Maggie and Rachel want?”
“Maggie and Rachel are my son’samahalas, wives. Their place is with theiramahlos.”
David didn’t look too happy with his answer. “My girls have every right to stay here, where their home is, where their family is.”
Devlon sighed. He understood David’s reluctance to let his daughters leave. He would feel the same reluctance if his sons decided to remain on Earth. He had to make the other male understand this was the best thing. “They will be with their new family, and safe.”
“My wife and I just got my Maggie back after thinking her dead for years. I have a new granddaughter I want to get to know, and Rachel is about to have my second grandchild. You can’t just expect me to sit back and let you take my family from me.”
Devlon controlled his anger and spoke calmly. “Do you expect my sons to remain here on Earth and give up their military careers and their home world? There are humans here who hate us and would be a constant threat to their lives and their children.” Devlon knew they wouldn’t settle this issue today. It was the one thing that had torn a rift between his and David’s family.
David ran a hand through his short gray hair. “There’s no point in us getting into an argument over this now. We’ve got at least two years to work out a solution to the situation.”
Devlon fought the urge to growl at the human. “The decision will have to be made by our children, not by us.”
“Agreed.” David started to walk awaym then stopped by the door to say one more thing. “My wife Melissa did want me to make sure you know that you’re welcome to come to the baby shower.”
Devlon couldn’t help but smile at the grudging way David invited him. He was only doing it because of his mate. Melissa was a very good woman, and there were times he envied David for still having his mate. “Tell her that I’ll definitely be there.”
“See you then.”
Devlon watched him leave and regretted their harsh words. This situation was not going to be easy to deal with. Both his daughters-in-law need their families to be together, but staying on Earth for an extended period of time was just not feasible. Not until the human-Drastan conflicts were resolved, as least. As a grandfather, he couldn’t sit back while his grandchildren’s lives were placed in danger. His eldest son, Jared, didn’t have the same issues with his mate. Lily didn’t have any family on Earth still living; taking her and her son to Drasta wouldn’t cause any problems.
He also knew that going to Drasta wasn’t going to be a solution to everything. There were already some of his own people who resented the humans. It could be that they simply wanted to return to Drasta after years out on a mission. They might blame the humans for the delay. Also, there was sentiment that the humans had caused their own mess, and they should clean it up themselves. It made him wonder what type of reception they would receive on the Drastan home world.
Devlon would need to speak with his world’s leaders to ensure that his family, and any other humans who would like to relocate to Drasta, were protected. He left the conference room and motioned for his security detail not to follow him. He’d tried to leave them behind on the command ship, but his son Liam insisted he be guarded.
His sons had become a little overprotective since he was targeted and injured a few months back. He could handle himself just fine, but he humored his boys. It warmed his heart knowing they cared for his safety. Maybe he hadn’t messed things up too badly as a father.
He caught sight of the bewitching human woman as she stopped to talk to a few of the dome leaders. He was impressed with her ideas. Heather had proved to be smart, competent, and sexy. She’d fascinated him since the beginning. If only she wasn’t mated.
He thought back to the first time he’d encountered the woman, when she’d come on board the command ship to check on some of her people who had been injured. There was an incident between Heather and one of the females Devlon used to have relations with—Lazar. She was trying to kill a subway dweller who was injured and vulnerable. He came in to the middle of things to see Heather protecting the poor girl like a warrior, ready to stand up for those who were defenseless.
*****
He heard the voices all the way down the corridor. Rushing quickly to try to defuse the situation before more people got hurt, he nearly knocked over others in the way.
Lazar’s voice screamed, “You can’t touch me, you’re not man enough to make me do anything!”
Devlon stood at the entrance to the mediko and watched, stunned, as Heather swung out and hit Lazar right in the face, knocking her to the ground, unconscious.
