I shook my head and stroked Mycah’s arm as he slept. He sighed and his fingers found my skirt. Little fingers gripped the fabric tightly, reinforcing his bond to his extended family.


    “What good is wealth when you have to give up your children?” I asked sadly.


    “That is the truth,” the woman with one wing said watching me. I looked up at her and she smiled as she introduced herself to me.


    “Rysell from the T’yonin Mountains,” she said formally.


    “Ciara, from Earth,” I replied with a grin.


    I was very d to see these womening to our way of thinking.


    “They need protection!” the woman with the neck wound spit out from her bound position. “You should be protecting them now! They need you to go fight for them!”


    Kana and her Sister weren’t perturbed.


    “My Sister and I are good teachers,” Rysell said calmly from her spot on the floor. “The Administrators from the camp asked us to provide what the men they left in this hall needed. We have cousins that are physically protecting this room from the outside. If things changed, our jobs would change.”


    “Doubtful the camp would need us to protect them from the aliens,” Kana mused watching the door. “The real danger here seems to be you, cousin. You cannot stay locked in the old ways.”


    Beyond the males questioning the Paterian women, I noted the former ves and felt that I had shirked my duty. They stood as a group. They had been listening to Kana talk, also. Abram’s family and several other cooks stood with them, diligently surrounding them. The healthy, young Paterian females left with themst night were probably assisting the men outside.


    The former ves seemed to be a touch better than they had been the day before. Many of them were looking around and several were attempting to talk to their guardians. Speaking to men under the control of The Great Harmonious Spirit was a difficult endeavor, though. I wanted to tell them that.


    I caught Molly’s eye as I sat staring at the women. She looked around and then confidently crossed the room. She watched Kana and Rysell warily, but they just smiled at her and introduced themselves. Molly responded, but her voice was still small and unsure. It would take time for her to feelfortable.


    “Come sit with me,” I offered patting the b beside me.


    Molly hesitated before she sat with me. The old training was hard to break. Humans knelt on Pateria, we didn’t sit.


    We watched as Kana and Rysell moved away, saying they were worried their discussion was causing unnecessary disruption to those receiving healing. An area was cleared on the far side of the infirmary for Kana and Rysell to continue the men’s education.


    “One of these is your boy?” Molly asked quietly.


    I stroked Jonathan’s head and smiled at her. “My brave little boy, Jonathan, and his Brother Aiden found the aliens hiding in our bathing pool. It attacked them, but they fought back. They have some bites and scratches, but the Healers said they just needed rest.”


    “Branden liked to fight, too,” Molly smiled. “He was so active I feared for him sometimes.”


    Iughed and remembered Jonathan’s early days and his obsession with our pool.


    Molly and I sat and talked as the boys slept. She wanted to stay on this with her boy, but she wasn’t sure how it would be possible. Other than the men who had owned her, she had no one to help her. We just mulled it over between the two of us as Mycah’s family continued to slumber.


    “It was the drink,” a high voice intoned suddenly from beside us. “You could have just told us it was the drink that kept us from carrying their children.”


    I wanted to roll my eyes and curse out loud. Vesa and her friends stood less than five paces away. They wore borrowed clothing from the camp, but they still managed to look haughty. Vesa had managed to be just as annoying as she always had been.


    If I hadn’t been so irritated with her very presence I might have been impressed with her ability to pull it off. Less than a day ago Vesa had been a broken mess. Thanks to our Healers, she stood in all her usual glory, despite the ragged, mismatched attire. The rebound was actually quite stunning.


    “I’ll tell you anything you want to know, now,” I said forcing a polite smile. “I was a ve and so were you back then. There were things I just couldn’t say.”


    Vesa almost ignored what I said as her eyes raked over my body. “Not like I’d want to be breeding with them anyhow,” she said. “You can’t seem to stop…”


    The woman’s tone was aggressive and so was her stance. I got the impression she wanted to hurt me for whatever reason. This was a ce of healing and rest, though. I sought to defuse the situation promptly.


    “My children are very important to my family and me,” I said as calmly as I could. “We enjoy being surrounded by our offspring.”


    Vesa snorted and her friends did, too. She took a step toward me and felt myself tense as she spoke. “They say you STAYED with your vers. How ridiculous is that?! You must have no sense of self-respect. You are an insult to the freedom we’ve had returned!”


    There was no use arguing with her. In fact, there wasn’t even a point to it. We just did not get along with one another and probably never would. I didn’t even validate herment with a response. I was currently in no position to fight and that’s what had happenedst time.


    “So, will you be taking the portals back home to Earth?” I asked instead trying to ease any potential conflict. “I was told that was an option.”


    “Perhaps,” she sneered and looked derisively around the room.


    Evidently this whole ce was beneath her. I really felt like introducing her to Rue and his Brothers. They’d probably get along wonderfully.


    “Come on, girls,” Vesa said to herrades suddenly, “let’s not spend anymore time here.”


    Molly and I sat and watched them retreat. Molly raised her eyebrow as she turned back to me.


    “Nasty,” she said simply.


    I patted myrge stomach and grinned. “Last time we disagreed I broke her nose, but I don’t think I’m in any shape to be ying games like that now.”


    Molly agreed andid a hand on my belly.


    “You are veryrge, Ciara,” shemented with a slight tinge of worry. “I hope this won’t be a difficult birth for you.”


    Molly was right and I’d forgotten about it with everything else going on. My pregnant belly had gotten massive. It was bigger than even it had been when I carried Kennedy to term.


    Tyle’s voice calling my name broke me out of my thoughts as he and his Brothers approached quickly. Immediately, Aryn’s hand was touching my shoulder as he ced the other on my belly. He looked into my eyes as though seeking an answer to a question.


    “Is there a problem with our cousin you carry?” he asked finally. “Is there an issue with that former ve that just walked away? You look concerned.”


    1243/ 5000 WordThis is from N?velDrama.Org.