Page 37

E yes watering, Morgan comm’d Makai to tell him she wanted to move to the palace.

Her instincts screamed she should yell and throw things.

Instead, she mindlessly packed her belongings, most of which were still in her original room.

I’m not going into his bedroom to collect anything from the refresher. He can throw it all away.

Taking a last look at the room, she realized they never made love in here. No, not making love. We fucked, nothing more. If we’d made love, he wouldn’t be able to let me go so easily.

At least on Delizas I expected hurt and pain from males. Maybe Grulen has it right. If I never risked acting on my feeling for him despite my past, I wouldn’t be feeling my own grief now.

Her anger tasted bitter. She swallowed the lump in her throat. This isn’t the worst thing that’s ever happened to me. I will survive.

Makai comm’d and told her to meet Kragen outside and he would escort her to the palace. She picked up her bag and descended the stairs slowly. She didn’t see Grulen in the living area, so she left through the front door. No need to say goodbye.

Kragen waited by a small flitter. He opened the door for her. Neither of them spoke. Makai met them when they arrived at the palace.

“Morgan,” Kragen said softly as he helped her out of the flitter. “I don’t know what happened, but I do know he is a fool.”

“Thank you,” she whispered. “I appreciate your kind words.”

He nodded. She didn’t hear the flitter leave until she and Makai entered the palace.

“Did he hurt you?”

“Not physically.” Her lips trembled. “I’m not ready to talk about it. However, his memories are now intact.”

“If you need anything, just ask.” He eventually stopped in front of a door. “These are your quarters. I’m there.” He pointed to the door on one side, then a door across the hall. “Tren’s there. All the couples are on the other end of the hall.”

“Thanks.” She opened the door and realized she had a suite of rooms. Dropping her bag, she wrapped her arms around her waist.

Makai dropped a beefy hand onto her shoulder.

“Do I need to beat him?”

She gave a teary laugh and shook her head.

“The irony is his reasons have nothing to do with me specifically.”

He tugged her closer and hugged her. Her tears flowed freely.

“You’re strong. You’ll get through this and be stronger still. We’re here for you when you want to talk.”

She pulled back and tipped her head to face him.

“I should tell you I don’t think I’ll be staying with the Fortitude .”

“Even before the Svesti showed up, I guessed you’d leave us sooner rather than later. You are meant to take a different path.” He bopped her nose with a finger. “That doesn’t mean we don’t care about you.”

“You are a good male. We’re all lucky to have you in our corner.”

His brow furrowed. She gave him a sad smile.

“It means fighting for you. I think it came from boxing—a sport a little more civilized than sparring.”

“I understand. Do you want me to send the females to you?”

“I think I’d rather be alone right now.”

He gave her a gentle squeeze then stepped back.

“We’ll check on you later.”

“Thanks.”

When she was alone, she kicked off her shoes and found the bedroom. She turned off her comm, threw herself onto the bed with a hard plop, buried her face in a pillow, and cried.

“Knock, knock.”

Morgan groaned. Heart battered and body sore in sympathy, the thought of lifting her head made her brain ache.

She mumbled, “Go ‘way.”

“Not happening. Get yourself up. You need some girl time.”

Rolling sideways, Morgan opened one eye partway. Kara stood grinning like a fool next to her bed. Rain had her arms crossed and foot tapping, while Abby gave her a sympathetic smile.

“Fuck you. Let me be miserable in peace.”

“Nope.” Kara drew out the single word with an exaggerated pop. “Take a shower, get dressed, and meet us in your living area. We brought food, alcohol, and company.”

“You are a bitch.”

“Yep.” Another pop of the ‘p’. “You’ve had enough time to wallow. Now it’s time to trash talk.”

Morgan’s eyes felt swollen and gritty, and she was sure she looked like death warmed over. Damn, I should’ve at least taken off my bra before I fell asleep. The damn thing is strangling my tits.

“I’m not in the mood.”

“That’s what we’re for.”

“You know I can see your roots. Soon you’ll be ordinary like the rest of us.”

Kara hissed.

“Now you’re just being mean. So unlike your normal behavior.”

Morgan reluctantly laughed and closed her eyes.

Throwing her arm over her face, she said, “You’re really pushing this?”

“Don’t make us undress you and put you in the shower. We don’t swing that way. I don’t need the trauma.”

Another chuckle was forced out of Morgan.

“How did you get in here?”

“Seriously? You think an electronic door can keep me out?” Kara’s voice sounded indignant. She’s got a point. She’s a fucking savant.

“In this instance, Kara’s dubious abilities were unnecessary. Rachel overrode security,” Rain said.

Morgan dropped her arm and her eyes flew open. Ouch.

“The other women are here, too? Are you crazy?”

“You’ll like them, Morgan. Trust us.” Abby sat on the bed next to her and squeezed her knee. “We all just want to help you feel better.”

Eyes darting between the women, Morgan gave up her protests. They’re right. I can’t stay here forever.

“Fine. I’ll get up. But I want it on record that I’m complying under protest.”

“So noted.” Rain smirked.

“No need to dress up. Just pick something comfy. You have ten minutes,” Kara ordered.

Morgan forced herself upright. Ugh.

“If your head still hurts after you shower, I’ll give you something for that headache,” Abby said.

“How did you know I have a headache?”

“It’s obvious you had a crying jag, and your face winced in pain. I know how I usually feel after a good cry.”

Her bag sat on the end of the bed, and she looked at it curiously.

“We brought it in with us from the living area. Figured you’d need it.

” Kara opened the bag and rummaged carelessly.

She tossed some yoga pants and a T-shirt at Morgan.

“I’m not touching your underwear. Either find it yourself or go commando.

” She turned to leave, and the other women followed. “Nine minutes.”

Morgan shook her head cautiously. I can’t decide if I love or hate her at this moment.

Eight minutes later, she gazed upon her reflection in the viewer. Her eyes looked clearer. The hot water took care of most of the redness and swelling. She brushed her teeth and hair. Might as well leave it down.

Forgoing socks and shoes, her bare feet sunk into the plush carpet of the bedroom. Straightening her spine, she reluctantly left the peacefulness of the room. She halted at the living area and stared at the nine women talking quietly. Food and drinks littered the flat surfaces.

“We brought comfort food,” Ava said from where she sat on the floor.

“And chocolate.” Lin smiled from her perch on a couch arm.

“Hi, I’m Natasha.” Next to Lin, sitting on the couch, a slightly older woman with long blonde hair and brown eyes held up a bottle. “We have wine, liquor, and some fruit concoction Talia whipped up. Unfortunately, we finished off my cases of vodka a month ago.”

“I’ve been experimenting.” Talia shoulder-bumped Rachel. They shared the opposite couch. “Until we can find acceptable substitutes or bring more familiar alcohol back from Earth, we need a reliable supply here.”

“Hey, don’t spill my wine. I’m on my last bottle of Chardonnay. It’ll be months before I can get another.”

“You lushes drank all my Pinot Noir two months ago. I still haven’t forgiven you for that.” Emmy sat cross-legged on a chair and pursed her lips as she looked into her glass. “This Estalan stuff is good, but I get drunk too fast.”

“Ooh, hit me with that,” cooed Kara from the floor near Emmy. “I prefer the hard stuff.”

Rain munched on a cookie. Her long legs stretched underneath the coffee table.

“Like you need another excuse to be socially unacceptable.”

Kara stuck out her tongue.

From another oversized chair, Abby sighed as she sipped from a water pouch.

“And this is your support group, Morgan. What would you like to drink?”

“Uh, hi, everyone. Thanks for coming?” Morgan looked at Abby. “If Rachel doesn’t mind, I think a glass of wine.”

“I’m happy to share.” Rachel’s blue eyes perused her. “Did the shower help?”

“Some.”

Abby handed her a glass of Chardonnay.

“You can share the chair with me or pick somewhere else to sit.” The nurse scooted over to make room.

“Thanks.” A plate of cookies passed by, and she took one. Biting into it, it tasted like oatmeal raisin but with a different texture. “This is good.”

“Ava introduced the Svesti to cookies. They can’t get enough of them.” Talia grabbed one for herself.

A few minutes of idle chitchat went by before Emmy addressed the elephant in the room.

“So what idiotic thing did Jevax do?”

“I’m not sure I want to talk about Grulen.” Damn, it hurts so much.

Talia tipped her head to the side.

“It’s weird to think of him by his first name. We all were friendly with him on the Invictus , but he wasn’t in the inner circle with some of our mates.”

“Are you all mated?”

Everyone nodded.

“Every single one of us found our fated mates out here. Me and Vared, Emmy and Devik, Lin and Ash’n, Natasha and Ronan, Karid and Ava, and finally Rachel and Traxen.

We’ve got the clan markings to prove it.

” She pulled at the collar of her knit shirt and revealed an intricate gold design.

“Vared, Devik, Karid, and Ash’n have been best friends since the Warrior Academy, and all serve on the Invictus together.

Oh, if you didn’t know, Vared and Traxen are cousins.

” Morgan tried to keep up with Talia’s explanation.

“So you got tattoos to match their clan markings?”

Rachel shook her head.

“No, they just appeared on our skin and kinda look like Earth. It’s weird and makes you wonder if their Goddess is real.”