Page 64 of Out of Sight

Ted grinned. “Oh, speaking of the kids from him, Venka has a den. Other snakes and an omega with a serpentine-leanings.”

Olyna smiled. “And Venka is the registered second mother for Lya’s baby. And Lya has quite the arm on her when you insult Tamara. I learned that the hard way.” She put her hand to her cheek.

Lucia smiled. “Flashback?”

“Yes. Now when they attend family events, everyone keeps a respectful distance. Their primary alpha is very venomous.” Olyna sighed.

“They are all venomous. Tamara is going to be a lovely alpha. I am glad she is picking up Venka’s fashion sense.” Olyna smiled.

Lucia stared. “That sounds like evolution, Auntie.”

Ted grinned. “Yup. That is what it sounds like.”

Olyna twisted her lips. “Becoming mother to an omega at my age has caused me to think about the family I want raising them if anything happens to me.”

Lucia and Ted nodded. “We know.”

Olyna blinked. “What?”

“We were there. We saw it all.” Ted said.

Lucia nodded. “I have all the phones of the family tapped. I know all the tea. So do you want to know anything about your kids or siblings?”

Olyna paused and leaned in. “What is Anna doing with her hair? It’s so rich gold.”

Lucia grinned, and they started gossiping while tiny robots took shape on Ted’s nails.

When Ted was setting again, Lucia took a look at Olyna and smiled. “Stop eating fries before your appointment. Or dipping dumplings into sour cream. You are putting fat deposits on your nail tips. I can fix it.”

Olyna blushed. “I barely have time to eat lately.”

“Uh-huh. Use chopsticks.”

“What?”

“Eat what you like, but before your nail appointments, use chopsticks, and during the appointment, too, if anyone brings treats in.”

Olyna grimaced. “Lady Fen will make fun of me.”

“So? Let her. You share grandchildren. You can be an adult, and if it saves your manicure, you can teach your granddaughter to use chopsticks before she can, just to be petty.”

Olyna smiled slowly. “How did I not know you were devious?”

“You never actually had a conversation with me.” Lucia shrugged and fixed the nail chips.

Olyna asked, “How are you dealing with that... giant?”

“It has been less than a day, but he is trying to anticipate what I need. Any physical stuff has to wait until I figure out if it works. Digestion seems to be working okay. Bladder is functioning.”

Olyna frowned. “So you really didn’t have a body?”

“No, it... faded.”

Olyna asked, “How?”

Lucia got her touch-ups curing, and she returned to clear coat Ted’s nails.

“I was jumped by three grey men outside my apartment. They grabbed me, and everything got dim. When I woke up, I was shackled to a wall, and there were three bands on my collarbone and wrapping around me. I felt weak. I had no idea what had happened. Food showed up every day at first. No people. Just food. I ate and figured out how to relieve myself. No bathing, same clothing. Months went by like that. I got sick, so they stopped drawing as much power. Then they started missing feeding times. Then more. The lack of food gave me something. Skinny wrists. I pulled out of the shackles. Left a lot of blood and skin behind, but I was able to get out of the cavern, and I ran for it. Well, it was a zombie stagger with some crawling. I found another cavern and needed to hide, but I also needed to call for help. So... I called.”