Treto growls and shoots a glare at Igid, who mimics him with a similar glare, daring him to try her.
“Well? Of course she’s your mate. You’ve been shacked up with her for—”
“Oh wow,” I exclaim, trying to cover up some of my burning embarrassment by walking over to the windows. “This is quite a place. Are you remodeling?”
That’s when I notice that all around the room there are what looks like hundreds of small holes—bullet holes?—in the process of being filled, with hundreds more waiting their turn. A closer inspection shows the furniture is in various stages of repair as well.
Some of my anxiety starts creeping back, and I wonder what happened here to cause this level of damage. If these people consider this place to be safe… just what do they considerunsafe?
Anna sniggers, and Deja outright laughs before announcing, “Why don’t I take the girls somewhere we can talk?”
None of this is what I was expecting. Not that I really knew what to expect in the first place.
Crooking her finger over her shoulder, Deja bids us to follow her. “Xan, can you handle these boys?”
I follow her line of sight to where a tall alien male has appeared across the room with two younger versions of himself. The older male is still quite handsome, even though he looks to be around the same age as Deja. His long, multicolored hair is heavily laced with silver, and his skin is striated with textures of red, gold, and taupe—reminding me of sandstone. The two younger males bear a striking resemblance to him, only their overall skin tone is much darker—like their mother’s.
“This is my mate, Xan, and these are our sons,” Deja announces with pride, “Brox and Keeghan, who is holding his newest daughter, little Seph.”
Keeghan grins, hitching the tiny bundle I didn’t notice at first higher on his shoulder. His brother, however, has his attention locked on Igid. Or rather, her back as she walks past him without giving him so much as a glance.
Xan reaches out, snagging Deja’s hand as she walks past him to follow Igid, and pulls her against him. “Behave,” he warns her, then takes her lips in a smoldering kiss.
“Absolutely not,” Deja giggles when she comes back up for air. Then she pats his chest and sashays out of his reach. “Come along, girls.”
Anna falls into step behind her, but I find myself hesitating, until a warmth appears at my back. Looking over my shoulder, I shouldn’t be surprised to see it’s Treto.
“You should go with them,” he tells me. “I’ll be right here if you need me.”
I nod, but neither of us moves. All around us, it feels like time has slowed to a standstill. As if there is no one in the room, except for him and me. Until l hear someone clear their throat, breaking the spell.
“Bela?” Anna calls to me from a hallway. “Are you coming?”
“Go on,” Treto tells me once more, then he leans down and kisses me softly. “They are waiting for you.”
Without taking my eyes from him, I take a stumbling step away. Then another. His lips twitch at the corners, and finally I turn and hurry to where Anna is waiting with a knowing smile.
