Page 12 of Spectacle

“Yes, he mentioned she disappeared just before the Una’s war with the Aaz’axians. Not being able to ask her where she’s been must be driving him crazy,” Brannock chimes in as Cally climbs across the couch and into his lap. He looks shocked for a moment but quickly cuddles her against his chest as she closes her eyes and sticks her thumb into her mouth.

My mind isn’t on the movie anymore, and I’m trying to make sense of what happened. My grandpas insist she is my grandma, yet Zeydan claims she’s his nonblood-related sister. How can she be both? She supposedly went missing over six hundred years ago, and I know Skarrians age slowly, but my grandpas are not that old, and they claim she and her sister Vivian grew up with them. Her body is healed, we just need to wait for her mind to catch up. I wonder if the flamegem flower which healed John could help, but that would mean returning to Rilu and my cave, and we can’t do that until the spring equinox.

I don’t want to wait that long to get to the bottom of this. We just need to hope she wakes up soon.

The door to the suite opens, and Maxsim bursts in, snarling and looking around the room like he’s spoiling for a fight. Tirrian jumps to his feet.

“Whoa, alpha, easy. Your mate is fine,” he says in a tone that confuses me.

Brannock stands up, keeping one hand on Cally’s back before scooping Cordelia up from my embrace. “I’ll take the kids to their room for a nap,” he tells me before calling to Jack, “Come on, buddy. How about you show me where you all sleep?” He gives Jack a task, which quickly distracts him from the snarling kitty.

He puffs up his chest, slides off the sofa, and hurries in the direction of the rooms. “Come on, I’ll show you,” he calls, their speech getting better every day.

Now that the kids are safely out of the line of fire, I can pay attention to what is going on in the doorway. Echo has his hands against Maxim’s chest and is talking quietly to him. Link slides past both of them. His eyes are bloodshot, his skin has lost its sheen, and his hair is tousled, like he’s been running his hand through it constantly. I forget about the posturing cat for a moment, confident that Echo can manage him while I talk to my cyborg husband.

“God, you look exhausted. Is everything okay?” I ask him, concern coloring my tone.

He walks up to me, gathers me in his arms, and holds me. I feel some of the tension drain out of him, and I’m pleased I can do this for him.

“Yeah. I’m fine. I haven’t slept for a few days, and it’s catching up with me. I’ll grab a nap while Zeydan is sitting with your grandma. Eric is in there as well, and the two of them seem to be fine, so I don’t feel like I need to run interference. I set alarms, and my monitor will alert me if anything changes.”

“Maybe we do need to get you another nurse,” I suggest, but then I remember that Mark and Susie made a comment about wanting to join us. Maybe I should offer Mark a job as the second doctor now that Link has a family, but they probably want to stay with Aura and their family.

“I just need a few hours, and I’ll be good again, but Maxsim woke in a mood. I think he was worried because he never saw what happened to you once he was injured, and he doesn’t remember you healing him in the med bay. Soothe his ruffled fur for a little bit, and he should calm down.” He gives me an absent kiss on the lips and stumbles in the direction of the bedrooms.

“Can you see that he gets to bed okay? Put him with the others in mine,” I ask Tirrian, and he looks between me and the raging alpha behind me.

“You got this?” he asks, double-checking, which I appreciate. I let my lightning cat form wash over me, my clothes disappearing as I perfume the air with the scent of my omega.

“Yup, I’m going to let him fuck me into submission. A good time for everybody.” I grin, and he chuckles, wearing a rueful grin on his face.

“Yes it is. I will have to get pissy with you more often if that’s the kind of response it gets.” He winks and follows Link down to the bedroom, and I’m relieved that he will be looked after.

I turn my attention back to the cats to find them both looking at me with hunger in their eyes. I want them to chase me, but there isn’t enough room in the suite to get the full effect. Thankfully their former quarters are ready and waiting for Minx and her streak to return to, so if I can get past the two of them, then I can create a chase they are going to have to work for. Shit, but Echo and the babies. Will this be too much for them? He’s starting to show now, but not a huge amount.

Maxsim growls, and I switch my attention back to him. He stalks forward, but there is still a decent amount of furniture between us. I edge around it and reach out to Echo’s mind. Now’s as good a time as any to try my other powers.

Can you hear me? I ask him, tapping into my warlock powers. I see his eyes widen and know that he did. He’s still trying to calm Maxsim and is murmuring to him.

“Max, you’re going to scare her,” Echo says, but it’s actually the opposite. My nipples pebble, and I feel slick drip down my legs in excitement. I am ready to be chased and forced into submission, but not too quickly.

Can you distract him so I can run for your former quarters? Are you okay playing these games? Are the babies safe?

Yes and yes, this is going to be fun. He’s practically panting, and I can feel how excited he is by the idea.

Echo puts himself in front of Maxsim again and murmurs more words of reassurance. “Look, you can see your pretty omega. She’s fine. She even got herself a new mate during the attack,” he tells him, and Maxsim’s snarling revs up a notch. “Okay, shit, maybe I shouldn’t have said that.” Echo is doing a good job of distracting him as I slowly make my way around the furniture in the opposite direction of Maxsim. He’s tracking my every move, his gaze remaining on me despite Echo getting all up in his face.

I was successful in using mind speak in this form, so I wonder if I can also teleport. I stop moving and concentrate on how it feels to use the teleporting power. I haven’t gone very far, and I’m not as skilled as Xavier, but I bet I can at least land in the hallway. That will get me out of the room and allow me to run. Maxsim can then track me down using his nose. It will be good for him to have to work for it for a change. He’s used to his omegas presenting themselves for his entertainment, and let’s face it, snarly, aggressive Maxsim is intoxicating. I can’t wait for him to angry fuck me.

I grasp the power and marvel that it’s as easy as when I’m in my warlock form. It washes over me, and I see both Maxsim’s and Echo’s eyes widen in shock before Maxsim expresses his anger with a loud roar just as I dissolve into particles.

I reform in front of the elevator and push the button. Another loud roar echoes down the corridor from our suite. It doesn’t sound like he’s made it outside yet. I hope for his sake he didn’t wake the children, otherwise Tirrian’s going to cook his behind. The elevator doors open, and I quickly enter, allowing them to close just as I hear footsteps running toward me. It sounds like more than just two feet, so I’m wondering if he changed forms when he got out of the room. The sound of lightning crackling makes me smile. He’s mad.

“Maxsim, be careful, you haven’t been healed all that long,” I hear Echo call to him. He obviously stayed in humanoid form. Hopefully he changes so he can frolic in the snow with us. I haven’t actually tried my cat form yet, but now is as good a time as any. I’ll wait until I get to their old quarters before I change. I need to be able to open the door.

The elevator opens on the right floor, and my pulse pounds in my veins as I hurry toward their old rooms. I’m breathing heavily when I get there and consider slowing so he will catch me, but my inner cat wants him to work for it, so I keep up the pace. At their door, I swipe a furry hand over the sensor, and it opens, a blast of frigid air and a flurry of snow coming out. Grinning, I step into the arctic tundra and allow the door to close behind me. It’s cold, but in this form, I don’t really feel it. Instead, I feel a wave of energy and allow the change to wash over me, but like changing into dragon form, it fucking hurts.

I clamp my lips shut, holding in the scream of pain as my body reshapes itself. I find myself on four paws while my eyesight, hearing, and sense of smell increase exponentially. I take a careful step forward and stumble slightly, but I allow my lightning cat to push forward, sending Lila to the back, and our gait straightens out as we pick our way carefully across the uneven surface. The presence is familiar, the one that insisted the cats were hers, and she easily adapts to the conditions, her strides lengthening until she’s running and leaping through the deep snow. There are large banks that would have stopped human Lila in her tracks, but in this form, we easily manage them.

---