Page 67 of The Monster's Mate

“Smart,” Tiran calls out. “Don’t give that female a choice.” He snaps a tentacle at Bronan.

“I love you both so much,” Sam says, and when she wraps her arms around their heads to pull them toward her, I notice her hands are still fisted like she’ll never let their kiss go.

I cup my hands over my mouth, so tickled with her happiness I could just burst. This is exactly what she wanted. Both of them.

“And for a double mating ceremony,” Skiden says, standing up and moving to the front of me. His tentacles splay out so he’s kneeling.

“Skiden?” I whisper, confused until I realize they planned this. It wasn’t just for Sam.

“Lucy, my love,” he says, taking my hand. “Please be mine. My forever mate. I will give you whatever your heart desires—brothers, sisters, cousins, kishren, even a mother in the form of my maman—from now until the end of time. Anything you want, I will make happen.” Gently he unfurls my fingers, then leans over and kisses the center of my palm. I swear, I feel that kiss all the way to my heart.

“Your maman was right,” I whisper. “You are her sensitive son. A perfect soul.” I bring my palm up to my mouth, and kiss right where he did.

Chapter Eighteen

Lucy:

Six months flies by but the return trip to Earth doesn’t scare me.

We have big, big plans.

Samantha will announce her decision to return to Pimeon and of course, will insist that I stay with her. But I still have a house down the street from the commune, so Skiden and I will stay there from time to time.

There’s a new man that Mikhail found when they searched for the east location of the commune’s sister group. The one that Duke was supposed to find refuge in. Mikhail thinks he’ll be a wonderful new prophet—he’s the son of the current prophet there—and we’re going to help him get set up on our side of the continent. Sort of break the mind control that the community is under and get them to think a little more logically. After all, the only reason why the commune was able to shift the mentality thus far was because Prophet Josiah didn’t have any sons to inherit his seat and crack the whip further. I think maybe when he passed, they would have had second thoughts about some of his ways if there were no sons to inherit his position. Maybe he was going to pass the buck to Donald Templeton, but we thwarted that move too by arresting both.

Without them here, the community has truly grown and expanded their ways, even showing curiosity about the miracle of life on other planets.

Lilaina sentenced Duke to prison and while Steve, Isabel’s dad, is free, it didn’t take long for his world to come crashing down around him. A fourteen-year-old daughter who he falsely shunned? Married off to a jerk of a husband who kept her shunned despite being properly married? Isabel’s Law, where anyone pregnant under the age of eighteen is tested to find out the father’s DNA, is a hugely popular ruling. I think with a female leader initiating it sort of woke women up. They realize that—much like the communes followed a leader because they were born into it—women were ruled by men because we were born into it. Crazy when you think that we outnumber them and yet we followed idiotic rules like a female can’t be president. Never even questioned it because that’s how it’s always been.

How it’s always been.

There’s no more settling. Not for humans.

And maybe if the trusted Britonians weren’t involved, we might swing the other way and begin punishing men for the infractions we suffered for years. But that’s not the way, either. As one strong voice in the new political movement says: men were victims too. They were raised from birth to accept multiple wives and to shop for breeding stock the way one might stock their farm.

The rising superstar is Amos Mitchell and strangely enough, he once considered marrying Lilaina’s sister-in-law, Tessa. Before she was engaged to the late President Montgomery—and the second bride in the Match Program. But the Britonians trust him and so he became the voice of men, much like Lilaina is the voice for women.

And with the former, evil President Eric long gone, Eden—the small city once marked as annexed land from Earth’s governmental laws—has citizens that are both human and Adroki. It’s not so strange to see Bronians anymore because people are starting to become familiar with Adroki.

“Are we ready, Lucy my love?”

I swear that endearment never fails to make butterflies flit around in my belly.

“I’m ready, handsome.”

We all filter out of the pod into the same park where we’d been six months earlier. It’s no longer decorated with festive flowers, but our gazebo-stage is still there.

And all the commune folk gather around. This time, there isn’t the smaller group of people under Donald’s reign who wear pastels.

River makes everyone feel welcome by mingling through the crowds of people, acknowledging each person by name and letting them know we’re staying a couple days, just like the last time, and will have a little party. Several people promise to come, and there are smiles—actual smiles—all around.

Finally, Mikhail gets up on stage. “Now, I know it defeats the purpose of bringing a maiden back to make her decision without influence when she shows up with the same clan she mated into”—he sweeps his arm around toward the rest of us— “but Samantha wanted to bring everyone with her. She already knew what her decision would be, wants to make an announcement and hopes you’ll continue to get to know everyone by sharing food and drink afterward.”

He motions for her to get up on stage. Kalrian goes up first and takes her hand while Mejak comes up from behind. They take a stance behind her while she moves up to where Mikhail is.

And my cousin’s smile has never been so bright or beautiful. She looks around the crowd and then falters. “I see my parents aren’t here. I really hoped they’d come to see me off for good. But it’s okay. It’s their choice. And I’d hoped to break it to them first, but I guess they’ll have to learn along with the rest of the world. You see, my mating is a little different. While I’ve been protecting my little cousin Lucy over there from my Uncle Duke—”

“And mine,” Isabel calls out with an eyeroll and several people laugh, though some are uncomfortable and others have real pity for her.

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