Page 53 of The Monster's Mate

“But Lucy’s not safe. She’s in hiding too. From Uncle Duke. I thought it was odd that Isabel called him that because I’d heard the phrase before. When Samantha referred to her own Uncle Duke.”

And Isabel has figured it out. Her eyes fly to River.

“Oh, my God.”

I nod. “He’s been trying to flush out Lucy because she’s River’s sister.”

River gasps.

“Are you sure?” Maman asks.

Mikhail taps his communicator.

“Look at the similarities. I thought Lucy looked familiar but it didn’t dawn on me until I heard that same phrase.”

“I knew Duke was Samantha’s uncle but when she said her cousin needed a place, it never dawned on me—” Isabel babbles.

“Verified,” Mikhail says. “The DNA sequencing for all three is a match. And Lucy’s birth certificate…”

He doesn’t finish his sentence and I know why.

“Her name isn’t Lucy. She says she was renamed Lucifer’s Daughter as a way of tracking her as an adult. She’ll never be able to apply for a job with a name like that, which was why it worked out to remain hiding and use Isabel’s identity.”

“But now we’ve called attention to her,” Mikhail says. “Attention that Isabel isn’t on Earth so now they wonder who’s in her house.”

“Can we enroll Lucy in the Match Program?” Maman asks. “She can mate Skiden and bring her cousin Samantha with her, the way River brought Isabel.”

Mikhail shakes his head. “Not now. We’ve compromised the Match program. Now Steve and Duke will claim it’s a setup. That the chosen aren’t matched naturally but handpicked according to our convenience. Especially if Lucy is in hiding. That means she’s never enrolled to be drafted.”

“She’s my sister,” River says. “I can bring a family member over with the new rules Lilaina set forth… after all, since Isabel mated Bronan she no longer falls under my family member to bring over. It’s only fair that I get another to come over with me.”

“You get two automatically,” Mikhail says. “And since Isabel doesn’t need it, I would suggest Lucy… but not unless it’s announced by Duke that Lucy’s your sister. If we make the announcement, they’ll deny it and there’s no proof. So right now, we’re stuck. All we can do is keep her safe. Skiden can remain there. If we need to keep her from working, we’ll do that. Once we get the go ahead to resume the program, she’s next.”

“Now, how will we make sure Samantha is safe?” Isabel asks.

“I just sent Calbin to the commune to speak to the prophet. We’re requesting permission to land on his open field so we can seek the last match for the program. It will be Samantha. We’ve assured him it’s no one in the commune but a human female in a nearby city. Of course, we’re offering coin for his hospitality.”

Then the smile drops from his face when the bracelet on his wrist lights up with a flashing red light. He flips his palm out and a hologram of his bodyguard, Brashear, pulls up.

“Brash? What is it?” Mikhail asks.

“We need to speed things up. Samantha called. She hasn’t heard from Lucy and the phone’s not working. She doesn’t dare swing by her house in case it’s a trap and someone’s watching.”

“We’ll stop by and get Lilaina. See if you can swing by the commune and park early just to keep things quiet.”

“I’m coming.” I stand.

“Us too,” Tiran says, standing along with River.

“We’ll need Kalrian and Mejak.”

“We’ll get them,” Morky and Villi yell out, then run out the front door.

The trip to the Adroki beach feels like it takes twice as long as it does to get to Earth. Thankfully, Mikhail calls Lilaina’s mate, Juris, and he sets up the perimeters for the portal.

Chapter Fifteen

Lucy:

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