“Are you sure you want to look like that with Brazen in the room?” he asks, and I smirk a little deviously.
“It’s a business meeting, and this is business attire. I’m not sure what else I should be wearing,” I say with coy demeanor, and I turn to hide the smile I can’t stifle.
“You bringing your coffee?” he asks while holding the door, and I just nod as we make our way out.
Knots, nerves, and anxiety wad up in the pit of my stomach to emphasize the magnitude of the situation we’re in. I hate anyone outside of our species knowing about our secrets. They already think we’re beneath them, and they think we’re savage enough as it is. Our kind has enough shit to deal with without adding this on top of the pile, and it’s all my fault.
“It’s going to be okay. The worst that could happen is they withdraw their alliance and leave the compound. We’re stronger than they are,” he whispers, and his hand takes my free one as we walk into the room.
I almost fall forward when I see Brazen sitting across the table with his hands steepled in front of his face. His eyes burn against me, and he finally looks away as Clay draws everyone’s attention to him.
Hale pulls out my chair, and I can see Brazen’s jaw clenching. It wasn’t too long ago this was all in reverse, and now I feel all the more nauseated.
“We’ll just cut right to the chase. I know you’re all confused about what happened last night, and I hope you can understand our gifts and our heritage come with consequences. We’ve been ostracized, shunned, and hated by the humans and full bloods since we came into existence. We’ve never had parents waiting at home to console us, and there has never been an easy day in our lives. It has forced an evolution upon our species that we actually refer to as a devolution. When we’re emotionally drained our species finds solace within our own kind to keep from experiencing the trauma life continues to deal us.
“The first phase is usually harmless-” unless you’re as strong as I am “-and it’s fairly easy to control if you catch it early on. As you saw, Hale was able to coax Araya to follow him, and he convinced her to take more of the olophine to completely subdue the trance. She returned promptly, and now she sits here completely alert, aware, and lucid,” Clay says, and I can tell he’s hoping his limited tidbit is enough to appease the full blood audience.
“Why Hale?” Brazen asks very coldly, and my eyes stare into his while his hands keep their steepled stance.
“Gifted hybrids have counterparts - the one they’re meant to be with. Hale is hers. She feels safe with him, and security is a big deal within that phase,” Clay asserts very gently to lighten the blow.
“You keep saying this phase. Does that mean there are others?” a man asks, and I see Clay’s eyes trying to drop in dismay.
As commander, he has to tell the truth or it could cost him his life.
“Yes. There are others, but it’s rather hard to explain them without you seeing for yourself,” Clay says in diversion.
“That doesn’t really sound so bad,” a full blood muses.
Brazen’s eyes lock with mine once more. I tune out the rest of the conversations animating the room, and Hale leans over to take my hand in his.
“You ready?” he asks, and I’m almost startled out of my trance.
“Yeah. Very. Let’s get out of here,” I shiver out.
He pulls me to the door, and I hear the full bloods talking amongst themselves.
“We need to have a private meeting right now about issues regarding last night’s events. Would you please stay, Commander? I believe your input on the situation would be useful,” a man murmurs, and now I’m worried Brazen is in trouble for attacking Hale.
Hale continues pulling me away from the room, and I whisper to him.
“Is Brazen in trouble?”
“No. The full bloods just want to make sure that this isn’t going to cause a problem. I already assured them I wouldn’t hold it against him. They don’t need us to leave and join the unaligned considering our strength, so they’re smoothing things over.”
I breathe out a sigh of relief, and he opens the door to his home for me. I want to just curl up in his lap when he sits down on the couch, but I refrain and head to the bedroom instead.
“Where are you going?” he asks curiously.
“To change back into something else. I just want to sleep the day away now that this is over, and I don’t want to wear a skirt while doing so,” I grumble.
“Do you need me to get you anything?”
You.
“No. I’m fine,” I mumble, and I almost want to slap myself right now for feeling so vulnerable.
I sigh as I pull on a pair of very short shorts, and then I pull on a tiny little top that just gives a barely-there peek at my belly while the neckline offers a grand view of my cleavage. Hale’s eyes widen when I walk back through, but he quickly cuts them away.
