“Go in,” she instructed, “and be calm.”


    Walking into the main room like a dazed robot, I moved toward our leather drape. Before I’d made it, I was swarmed by Damien and his Brothers. Strong hands pulled me inside and inspected me. Kennedy was pulled away as Christof checked her over. They must have been worried sick waiting for us toe back.


    “You are wet,” Evan chided touching my breasts through my damp outfit. “When is thest time you fed the little one?”


    He was right. My breasts were leaking milk and swollen. I couldn’t recall thest time I’d stopped to nurse Kennedy.


    “The child must be fed regrly,” Damien scolded. “It is important you stop to feed her at the intervals we have discussed. She must grow big and strong.”


    My wet and ruined dress was pulled from me and Kennedy was settled in my arms to nurse in front of the fire. Bane wiped the stickiness away as Kein draped a nket over my back and around Kennedy. I heard Evan fixing me something to drink as he fussed about my inability to keep to a schedule.


    Damien and his Brothers scolded me for several long moments as I stared dully at them. Suddenly the room was quiet except for Kennedy’s insistent sucking sounds. I looked down to see her hands buried in the soft tissue, hanging on. They were right, she had been hungry.


    Christof was in my face suddenly. His concern was evident as he looked back at his Brothers.


    “This room is a mess,” Damien said casually pointing at the pad I had been reading that morning.


    The noxious little device sat on a chair in the sitting area. Evan picked it up and walked it out front quietly. Once he returned the men encouraged me to rise and we went into our bed chamber.


    Once we were safely inside Christof whispered in my ear. He wanted to know what happened. The men didn’t know why we were on lockdown and they didn’t know why I was acting odd. They had a feeling the two things were rted, though.


    We huddled on the bed and I whispered in Christof’s ear. He didn’t move a muscle as I exined Hannah’s plea, the men’s escape, and Tosu’s statement. By the time I was done Kennedy had finished both breasts and was sleeping in my arms.Content provided by N?velDrama.Org.


    Damien’s face was indescribable. He looked like he couldn’t decide what to feel. The other Brothers looked the same way. The thought crossed my mind, I’d take their punishment. The men I’d saved deserved to live.


    Christof finally broke the silence. His mouth brushed my ear it was so close.


    “You endangered my offspring and yourself,” he said simply. “I know it would scare you, but I want to see Damien stripe you.”


    I looked in his eyes, but didn’t see the rage I anticipated.


    “You also did something very brave,” he continued with a sigh. “You could not bear to see the death of another when you could prevent it. We are proud of you.”


    “Next time,” Bane threatened softly, “we may not feel so. Don’t endanger the little one again.”


    There was a rumble through the men, but I was d to see their faces did not look angry, only worried.


    We sat in the bedroom for a long time. Eventually Iid next to Kennedy and tried to rx. The men were lost deep in an internal conversation. They asionally stopped to ask for rification, but otherwise considered what had happened today silently.


    I drifted to sleep beside Kennedy mumbling thanks as the men dragged a cover over us. The day had been stressful and exhausting. Surrounded by the family in our safe haven, I rxedpletely and slept.


    Angry voices woke me from my sleep and I bolted out of bed.


    Damien was speaking harshly to Hannah and she was answering him in the same tone. Neither was loud, it was more like angry whispering. They both sounded furious.


    “Show us,” Damien demanded, “we will protect her-”


    Hannah growled before she answered, “You don’t even know what to protect her from. Be patient. There isn’t a ce that is safe enough for her yet-”


    Bane cursed and I heard Evan’s snort of disgust. Pushing back the leather cover to the bedchamber I walked out into the main room.


    Kein saw me first and stalked toward me. “Go put something on,” he ordered. “It is too cold without your dress.”


    “And where is Kennedy?” Evan snapped crossing his arms.


    I was startled by the level of malevolence in the room and stepped back. Hannah and Damien were staring daggers at one another. The rest of the men looked ready to fight. Ra stood by the main door and looked furious. I had no idea what was going on.


    “Mama,” Hannah sighed looking over at me, “Kein’s right, go put something on. The mountains are a cold ce.”


    Not like I had any choice. Kein took my arm and led me to the room with our clothing. He muttered fierce curses as he sorted through several dresses. Much like the start of our rtionship he chose a dress and put me in it.


    “Hey,” I whispered stroking his arm as he pulled out a pair of my long boots, “what’s going on that’s got you so upset?”


    Kein turned fiery eyes on me and then went back to his task.


    “Hannah knows how we could get out of the mountain, but refuses to show us. She says there is no ce beyond the hills you would be safe enough. The ces the free men and women live are not stable enough to protect a human. One day, she’ll take us,” he growled looking at me, “just not today.”


    I had not even thought about it when I released the men. It had not urred to me to remember how to get to the escape tunnels.


    I picked up Kennedy and wrapped her as we stepped back into the main room. She was waking up in my arms and watched the family drama unfold with me. We stood quietly just inside the main room. I took in the attitudes around us. The men’s faces had be resigned. Hannah was evidently not budging from her position.


    “Themunities now,” Hannah said softly, “are not strong enough. The women can only just manage to protect the men. Mama would be dead in a lunar cycle.”