“Monsters don’t get along with other monsters,” she noted.
“Oh no. We do. But like every species and culture, there are tyrants who want to control everything. Who want to eliminate those they think are less than or too much. Who want to create the superior race. And just like those places within the human world, there are groups of monsters who won’t let that happen.”
“Why me?” she asked, her hand on her stomach. “What did they want with me?”
“My guess is your womb. They’re trying to create something specific, though we’re not sure why a human is necessary for it.”
She nodded. “They did horrible things,” she said, frowning. “They-this wasn’t a choice.”
“I know,” I said quietly, resting my hand over hers. “You’re safe here. I swear to you. No one will hurt you and you’ll get all the care and protection you deserve.”
“For how long?”
“Until you feel safe enough to head back into the world,” Zilan said behind me. He remained in the doorway. “I recommend you stay here throughout your pregnancy, though. As Hadley said, we don’t know what they were trying to do and therefore what they created with you.”
“A baby,” she said, eyelids lowering.
“You’ve met the demon, haven’t you?” Zilan asked, brow raised.
The woman’s face turned ashen. “That’s—But I don’t—"
“Probably not a demon,” I said soothingly. “But we don’t know yet. Will you stay a while?”
She nodded. “Yes. Will you visit, Hadley?”
I smiled, patting her hand again. “I will,” I told her as I got to my feet and headed for Zilan. “But it’s been a long day. My husbands and I are going to head home.”
Her eyebrows shut up. “Husbands? With a ‘s’?”
Laughing, I nodded. “Yep. Sometimes a woman needs multiple men to keep her happy.” I winked. She looked at me wide-eyed for several minutes before bursting out laughing.
“Go, you.”
* * *
We went homeand for several days, just like after the mountain attack, we laid together in the third floor sitting room with four mattresses pushed together. For the first couple days, we didn’t talk much. Nor did we speak to anyone outside of our household.
(Except my mom because she wouldn’t stop calling, and I didn’t want her to show up again.)
“Think it’s safe for another vacation?” Bronte asked.
Taranis snorted. “If you want another orgy, all you have to do is say so, sugar.”
I grinned. Bronte blushed so hotly I swear I could feel it, even though several bodies lay between us.
“Actually, I’d like a trip where we can come home by choice after,” he said. “You know, in one piece. Happy memories.”
“Sure, baby,” Arat said. “Where do you want to go?”
* * *
We went to a resort.We rented a large house on a beach, smack in the middle of a ton of other people. Not that we thought it would discourage Silence. I was sure that they wouldn’t care in the least about the number of people around if they chose to come for us. They’d probably just take the humans, too.
But once again, as with the last time Ryker took down a Silence facility, their activity went cold. Nothing. No more kidnappings. No more attacks. I was sure that they were going to turn their attention to Ryker specifically. And I wasn’t the only one who thought so.
When I voiced this while we were laying on the beach, baking under the sun six days after our retaliation attack, my men agreed with me.
“Our friends know the price of getting involved,” Saar said quietly. “That was one of the reasons we didn’t want them to be. We were already a target.”
