Page 45 of Claimed By Brothers

“I think we need to come to terms with everything, first and foremost,” Cynthia suggests, slowly nodding at each of us. “We belong on Earth, but we’re here. It’s no longer something we have the power to change. Not right now, not today. Maybe tomorrow, or in a few months, or maybe even a few years, we may have the opportunity to revisit the possibility. But until then, we have to focus on what we can do. The four of us. These people have already been put through the wringer long before we got here. They opened their homes to us, and we got one of their children kidnapped.”

“Plus, two of their men were killed,” Alicia adds, running a hand through her long, wavy blonde hair. It’s almost platinum-white now because of the prolonged sun exposure, but I like the contrast it creates with her caramel tan. It suits her. “Yeah, you’re right. We have to do something. But what? What does Binzen intend to do?”

“I’m not sure yet,” I say, “but he assured me he has no intention of handing even a single woman over to the Sky Tribe, human or Sunnaite. Izzo should be returning soon, so they’ll be conferring on the matter until they hatch a plan.”

“We shouldn’t rely on them alone, though,” Jewel says.

I nod once. “I agree. We started this. We should be able to come up with a backup plan that gets Valen back here, safe and sound, no matter what.”

Jewel gets up and starts pacing along the riverside; her brown eyes narrowed as she devises a strategy. I know that look on her face all too well. The wheels have begun turning, and I think I finally got her on board.

“Amber, let me ask you something,” she says, turning to face me. “Do you love that kid?”

“I do.”

“What about his fathers, your so-called mates?” she asks. “Be honest. I think the first thing we need to do is start being truly honest with ourselves and with one another here. We’ve avoided the truth because of our pig-headed natures.”

Cynthia can’t help but chuckle. “It’s what makes us such good friends,” she says. “The four of us have the hardest heads on Earth. It’s why we’re so tight. We’re stronger together, but only if we’re in perfect sync. And that has been missing lately.”

“I love Binzen and Izzo,” I tell the girls, my voice trembling with emotion. “I never planned for any of it. And I’ve blamed about as much as I possibly could on this biological bond the Sunnaites are able to create with their mates.” I look at Jewel. “My heart… it’s theirs, Jewel. My body, my soul. I was drawn to them from the moment I first saw them, but every moment I get to spend with them is wonderful. It’s intense and overwhelming, yet I want and need more. They’re kind and gentle, strong and possessive, reliable and determined. They have all the qualities I’ve ever wanted in a human man, and they want me. I want them. I know it sounds crazy.”

“It doesn’t sound crazy,” Jewel concedes. “I get it. I’ve seen you with those two, and I’ve seen Cynthia with Maur and Kai, too.”

“Hey, don’t drag my good name into this,” Cynthia jokingly quips.

“Yeah, deny it all you want, but you’re on the hook, too, sister,” Jewel shoots back, then looks at me. “I understand, Amber. I really do. Love is a powerful thing when it grows between the right people. I’m not blind. I see how happy you are, how increasingly difficult it has become for you to want to actually go back to Earth.” She pauses to reflect. “Life is funny and weird; I understand that, as well. We picked the short straw that night in Vancouver. We can’t change the past. But we can adapt and evolve in this new environment. We can’t do that if we abandon our original values, though. And decency, compassion, and the desire to do the right thing were always our core. It’s why I cherish the four of you as much as I do, why I’d kill anybody who tried to hurt any of you.”

Tears prick my eyes. I’m not the only one, either. Alicia blinks back hers while Cynthia masks her sniffles with a nervous laugh. But Jewel’s moment of utmost sincerity is a loving reminder of who we truly are and why we’ve come so far together.

“That being said, I am totally fine with screwing with the Sky Tribe,” Jewel adds, crossing her arms. “We need to outsmart those fuckers and get that boy back with his parents. All of them.” The smile she gives me fills my heart with newfound hope.

“Umok will be banking on the Fire Tribe trying something to subvert the only deal he wants to make,” I say. “Binzen and Izzo will try to outsmart him, but I fear they don’t have the numbers or the technical capability to do that.”

Cynthia groans softly. “Izzo should have rallied more people by now, though.”

“It’s not a guarantee. A plague and a civil war have fractured this entire society,” I remind her. “The purpose differs from one tribe to another. And I know for a fact that some of the Fire Tribe folks have serious doubts about us. They may see no reason to risk their lives to keep us safe. Hell, any one of the other Fire Tribe clans may consider striking a separate deal with Umok just to get rid of us.”

“Oh, man, this is insanely complicated,” Alicia says.

“But not impossible to untangle,” I reply.

“If anybody needs to succeed at outsmarting Umok, it has to be us,” Jewel says, her eyes lighting up with a realization—or perhaps a solution to our problem, judging by the cool grin that slides across her tanned face. “And I may have just the right angle in mind.”

“I’m all ears,” I say.

“We all are,” Cynthia adds.

Whatever comes next, the four of us are in it together. We were in it together when we went for a swim that fateful night when the light shone brightly above us and when we awakened in the bay of a strange starship. We were in it together when we survived the crash and when the Fire Tribe rescued us from the riverside down south. And we have been in it since, even in the moments when we felt ourselves drifting apart.

We’ve made it this far. It would be a damned shame not to see it through to the end, regardless of what that might entail. Umok and the Sky Tribe mercenaries think we’re just breeders, smaller and feebler than their species and therefore theirs to do with as they please. Maybe it’s time we show them earthlings are anything but weak.

Or die trying.

20

Izzo

Anger is a dangerous feeling.

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