Chapter 13 #2
My brothers were right. I had been crushing on Thatcher, as Harper would call it, from the day he’d smirked at me and refused to leave.
I’d liked it a little too much, seeing his face wherever I went, and now I missed him.
I was moping like I’d broken my favorite wrench, and it was because he wasn’t there.
Enough was enough. I’d tell the ladies I appreciated their concern, but they needed to mind their own business.
Then I was going to find Thatcher and tell him exactly what I thought, too.
I crossed paths with Flack and Raukesh in one hallway, the Tarkan leaping aside for me like I was on fire.
Flack was not nearly so concerned, his blue eyes sparking with mirth when he spotted me.
“On the warpath, are you, Ysa? Should I warn Thatcher?” he asked.
“Would you like me to get you some handcuffs?” I made a very rude gesture with my hand, and the quartermaster laughed, throwing back his long white hair and howling at the ceiling.
Stupid Sune, always thought he was hilarious.
The females had all gathered, sitting on the terrace at a long table decked out with some of Brace’s best lunch foods.
That included a bowl of Haras wheat pastries sweetened with Ekra from Viridara and a variety of nuts.
My favorite, but too sweet for pretty much everyone else.
They were on the table for me, just in case I showed up.
A considerate gesture I was a little too riled up to fully appreciate.
“Ysa! You made it,” Elyssa greeted me first. She was an Elrohirian and was mated to Tass, whom we had to thank for this lovely place.
She most resembled a human, except she had pointed ears like me, eyes that glowed with an inner light, and a chain of clan markings dangling from a ring in her nose to her earlobe.
She rose from her seat, jogged down the path, and pulled me into an embrace.
Her arm hooked through mine; she then hauled me with her to the table.
Everyone got up, gathering around me to hug, to welcome me.
Warm smiles, relieved eyes, and nothing but kindness.
I felt a little bit like an ass when the first thing out of my mouth was, “This has got to stop!” Everyone stopped and froze, staring at me like I’d just sprouted a second head.
Harper’s eyes got bright with curiosity, Mandy seemed to be pulling out the maternal concern, while Ruby made a shocked noise that her baby, Mateo, mimicked.
Damn it. He appeared twice as big as the last time I’d seen him.
Had I really been canceling plans with them that much?
Sighing deeply, I shoved away the dismay and focused on the goal I’d come here for.
“Look, I sense a hand or two—or three—in the situation with Thatcher, and I just came here to say: don’t.
I know he’s behaving like an ass, but you should have come to me first about it.
Turns out, I like it when he’s being an ass, and now I miss him. So back off, okay?”
Harper had begun to grin from ear to ear, but then she was the sassy one who liked to regale us with stories of her former-cop grandmother who raised her.
The only one whose opinion really mattered out of the bunch was Mandy’s, though.
It was her I needed to convince that the situation was in hand, and that she did not need to interfere through Asmoded.
Since she had their son, the mate of our fearless leader had gotten a little overprotective.
“Are you sure, Ysa? He’s not exactly behaving like he’s sane,” she said.
“We’re only worried because he’s the guy everyone warns us about when we first get here.
He might be human, but he’s more dangerous than even Solear.
” That came from Evie, who was always the diplomat.
She had a point, too. I knew exactly what she was talking about, and not even three months ago, I readily would have agreed.
My eyes shot to Freddie, our newest addition to the group.
In fact, I’d reminded Freddie of Thatcher’s dangerous status myself when she first got here.
“I’m certain,” I said firmly. “Very certain. So certain that if anyone tries to get between us again, I might reconsider my vow of pacifism. Understood?” My fists clenched so tightly the fine bones in my hands ached.
How was it possible to feel loved, to feel part of a massive, amazing family, and at the same time be so stinking mad at them?
When Mandy began to smile, then grin, her dark eyes twinkling, her half-Naga baby mirrored her, gurgling with laughter.
It was the approval I needed; she was backing off.
She saw I didn’t need her help. Harper yelled, “You go, girl!” after me as I turned and began jogging away, which was followed by various encouragements from the others about “getting my man.” I wasn’t quite sure what they thought I was planning, not until my feet turned me toward the massive gym and I began running.
A shockingly crude suggestion was the last to chase after me, not because it was crude, but because it came from Evie, our former princess.