It was Naya who had discovered that trick while playing with them when they were still babies in the park. She'd loved to hear their loud, free laughter. Finnor had paid attention to the lesson.
"This brother of yours should come and foster with us, Naya. He could be one of your guard," Monster murmured. This was a big compliment, and Finnor grew taller right before their eyes.
It would be nice to have her family with her, but Sector 2 was still Sector 2.
Monster ignored her parents, only answering their questions if they came through her. Her brother Talis, now Talis Rizer, was home from his time with the army. He hung back, just watching, but the youngest three, always together and led by Finnor, amused Monster somewhat. He answered the boys’ questions and let them examine his claws.
Naya discussed packing her things with her mother and Phee and talked about the sort of things she might need for the baby. She talked to the servants about family recipes. The conversations stayed mundane.
She asked her mother how she was feeling, but got only half-truths in answer. Mother couldn't look her in the eye. Phee was no better.
Phee stayed near Talis or generally avoided her. Naya wanted to talk with her, but Monster, conscious that this was the house of her kidnapping and that her parents had not treated her with the regard he thought she deserved, would not leave her alone for a minute.
Phee had not renewed her marriage contract with her mate. SHe wore the event like a failure rather than seeing it as the freedom to find a mate who would value her.
Naya could feel her older sister's assessment even at a distance as she watched every interaction between herself and Monster.
As far as Naya knew, they were the first bonded couple Phee had ever seen up close, and their interactions—Naya's joy and Monster's purring contentment—were not what she had expected.
Complexion sallow, body thin, Phee had suffered much from her marriage's failure. Wearing the lurking bitterness Naya had sensed since her marriage to Grayson Swift, Phee's disappointment settled on her shoulders like a mantle of mourning.
She didn't eat. She relied on lady’s maid to sleep. She'd lost all her vitality. Naya had never known Phee to be anything but confident in her status, even a little haughty. But Phee had failed to do the one thing expected of every omega.
The failure to create a family had left a mark.
On her second day in her childhood home, Monster and Alreck were across the room engaged in conversation with the king and his father. Naya sat nearby, two guards stationed next to her chair. It was overkill, but Monster left nothing to chance.
She was sorting what yarns to take and leave when she saw Alreck's head turn as Phee lingered in the hall. Nostrils flaring, the alpha scented her.
Phee's contract marriage ended, her bond untaken, she was an available omega. It was awkward for all the unmated Sector 2 alphas in the group who had never come across omega breeders. Instinct and desire demanded action, but their allegiance to Monster controlled them.
Alreck seemed the most affected.
Two months ago, Alreck had lost Rachel, the beta he’d claimed, after she’d mortally wounded herself. Alreck had done all he could with the girl, but he had an important position within the tower and had been forced to leave her while working. Though he’d hired drones to help him watch over her, they were no match for her desire to end her life.
From what Nixon's wife explained to Naya, Rachel’s growing feelings for Alreck caused nothing but guilt, adding to her madness instead of healing it. Her family had made the girl sick with their twisted ways.
Phee entered, tracked by Alreck's gaze and then Monster's, though he looked to Naya first. She met his gaze, smiling knowingly. Monster clapped Alreck on the shoulders, claiming his attention with the hard blow.
"I haven't been able to say congratulations. Mother will never forgive me if I don't," Phee said as she paused at Naya's side, pressing the tips of her fingers onto Naya's belly and then pulling her hands away as if burned.
"Good manners are important," Naya agreed. Her parents were more than honored to host them. The day that Constantine Kane and Rhineholth arrived, they’d practically stumbled all over themselves to see to their every need and desire. Once Naya returned to Sector 2, this distinct honor would be something her mother would be sure all her neighbors were made aware of.
"Are you okay?" Phee asked softly, concern in her voice. "He has taken over your life. He won't even let you feed yourself."
"You know that I am."
"Your bond is..." Phee let the words trail off.
Naya nodded. "Amazing. Everything I ever dreamed."
The words made Phee wince.
Naya began to apologize, but Phee held up her hand in a flash of her usual haughtiness. "No."
And then she was gone.
There was some shifting in the alpha's discussion, and Monster came back to her. Phee escaped the room through the exit to the kitchen.
