Page 43 of Shifter Marked and Claimed

“That is not happening. Besides, I was looking forward to having Vada all to myself.”

How the hell was I supposed to say no to that?

Ladies’night was unlike anything I could have imagined. There were more than a dozen women scattered around Kelsey’s kitchen and living room. I did know several of the ladies there. Most, maybe even all of the Force mates were there, and I knew Kelsey, so that helped a little. I was quickly introduced to each one of them, though I could only remember the names of about half of them.

Around the room were probably eight or nine different conversations yet everyone seemed to be keeping up with all of them at once. My neck felt like I was witnessing a ping pong tournament as I looked back and forth just trying to keep up and they were all drinking wine and talking louder by the second.

“So Lucy, I hear you and Micah are mating?” Kelsey’s sister, Elise, asked.

The entire room went instantly quiet and all eyes were on me.

“You’re Kelsey’s sister, right?” I asked redirecting the question.

She shrugged. “Kyle’s my brother, but close enough. I’ll claim her as a sister any day. So are you?”

“Am I what?”

She glared at me. “Deflecting, I see. Are you mating Micah?”

“Uh, yeah, I guess.”

“You guess?” Shelby asked. “You either are or you’re not.”

“They are,” Susan confirmed. “Micah made thatveryclear at D&D this week.”

The girl who worked on the Westin Force team, Taylor, laughed. “Tarron finally got you to go?”

Susan sighed. “Yes, and it was a lot of fun too, especially with Lucy there.”

“You play?” Taylor asked.

I shrugged. “Someone taught a bunch of us when I was with the…”

My voice trailed off as Taylor’s jaw set in a hardline.

“I remember,” she said softly.

I knew she did too because she had been there at the end when they had come to rescue us all, or at least we had thought it was all at the time. I shivered, grateful for them all and happy to know the Raglan was completely dissolved and the human beasts behind it were dead.

“So you played while in captivity?” Elise blurted out.

I smiled. “Yes. It was like this whole other world we could escape too even if just for a moment. We didn’t have the fancy dice or maps or anything, but we had our imaginations and sometimes it was just sitting in cages sharing a common story to pass the time and keep each other from going insane.”

Shelby wiped her eyes and stood up to hug me. “That could have been my children’s life too.”

Her sister, Elizabeth, went to her side and wrapped an arm around her as she sobbed.

“I’m so sorry. I just hear all these awful things and I can’t help but think how my babies were born into that world. It terrifies me.”

“But they weren’t. They were born into their daddy’s arms and brought home to you,” Elizabeth told her as the two embraced.

“I never let myself truly get upset or even sad about what had happened, and all I went through. Without it I wouldn’t have my daughter and so I could never be fully angry about any of it. I got the best part of it all. Your kids never lived a second of that life. From what I heard, Ben delivered the babies and immediately took them away and brought them home to you.”

I didn’t dare say anything more. I couldn’t talk about the helpless feelings of having your child ripped from your arms to disappear for hours of testing. They had been kinder to Vada than the others. I had done everything asked of me without complaint to ensure that.

They were all watching me. Staring. I didn’t know what to say or do.

“So how about you and the sexy hot doctor? I hear you’re working there now,” Elise said making everyone laugh. The tension in the room instantly lifted as my cheeks turned a shade of dark red.

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