Chapter 10 #3
Maxsim bows his head. “I will let my mother know you will support her challenge. She, too, is ready for change, and I know that the other top four families will support her as well.”
Echo has been quiet all this time, hiding behind Maxsim.
I’m having trouble looking anywhere else but at both of them.
They are so exotic and sexy. I desperately want to reach out and run my hand through their fur to see if they will purr for me—especially Echo.
There’s something about him that draws me to him, a vulnerability of sorts.
I just want to wrap him up in blankets and smother him with snuggles…
and maybe my breasts. Or both. Definitely both.
Eric claps his hands, and I jolt out of my daydream.
“Well then. Natalia can join our soon to be detainee in the brig for the return journey. Can I leave it up to you to retrieve her for us since she never attended the meeting?” He looks from the two cats to Saxon and Xavier, and all four of them appear almost feral with excitement as they agree.
“What about the twins’ involvement?” Xavier asks my grandpas.
“Unfortunately, I can’t find any video footage showing that they were responsible for Viggy being on Earth.
The transport operator is showing a blank space in his mind, but I have no idea how, or who, would be capable of such a thing.
” I can hear the disappointment in my warlock’s tone, and I feel disappointed along with him.
Those two have been nothing but a pain in the ass since I arrived.
“What about compulsion? Some of my clan have those capabilities,” Saxon suggests, and Xavier rubs a hand across his chin in thought.
“Maybe. I would have thought I would be able to sense something or tell the difference, but maybe not.”
“What are we going to do about them? Even though we may not have proof of them releasing Viggy, we still have them on the security footage with the others, right?” Link asks, and William and Eric exchange a glance.
“Nothing for now. We will continue to monitor them, and they will eventually mess up.” William stands, brushing off his hands and effectively ending that conversation.
I’m slightly annoyed, but I guess they have more pressing problems on their hands.
“Right then. We need to retrieve the circus pod, so Caspian, while Link is checking over Lila, can you ask Magenta to help you put out the holo emitters and get the takeoff procedure started? It will be a mostly empty ship, since only the flight deck crew headed back to the circus pod once the meeting was finished.”
Eric also stands up, joining William, and it’s like a cue for everyone to start moving.
“As soon as Link is done, Lila and I will go to Area 51. It shouldn’t take long unless Agent Smith is in one of his moods, but then we should be ready to leave Earth’s orbit and set a course for Celestia.”
My stomach lurches. This is it, we’re finally heading farther into space. It’s equally terrifying and exciting at the same time, but first things first—Area 51. I’m so excited I could squeal, but I won’t. Be cool, Lila, be cool.
“Alright, you know what to do. Let’s get moving.
Time is of the essence.” William clears his throat before dismissing us all and then leaves, followed by the others, including Caspian who manages to untangle himself from me before planting a kiss on my lips that leaves me breathless and panting for more.
“See you soon, mate. Maybe we can go for a swim together once we hit lightspeed.” He waves cheerfully, obviously refreshed from having himself wrapped around me.
Saxon kisses me swiftly before promising to see me soon and hurries off with the two cats and Xavier, who, to my disappointment, just waves an absent hand at me. I can’t deny that his response, or lack thereof, hurts, but Link soon distracts me.
“Come on, beautiful, let’s get you and those babies checked out.”
“Oh fuck, the babies.” My hand goes to my belly, and I sigh with relief at the small bump that is still there.
I’m a total failure as a mother. I hadn’t even considered them while gorging myself on all the blood.
Link must see my fear, because he quickly wraps an arm around me and pulls me into his side.
“They are fine. They were the first thing I checked, but it doesn’t hurt to be thorough. I have machines which have better diagnostics than my hand scan.”
I sag against him, my relief almost taking me to my knees. “God, I’m going to suck as a parent. It’s because I had no good examples growing up.”
“That’s partially untrue. For your first few years, you had excellent parents, and when you get those memories back, you will see.
” Eric pats me on the hand as we make our way around the big ship to Link’s office.
“Let’s get this done for everyone’s peace of mind, and then we have a prisoner to wrangle.
” Eric looks positively gleeful, and I roll my eyes at his enthusiasm. Trust him to consider that fun.
I jump up on the table and lie back, closing my eyes. I’m ready to get this physical over with so I can get on with the fun.