Page 10 of Avery

"What's up?" she asks, her smile bright.

"Do you still have the pleasure crew necklace?" I ask, my cheeks burning. Sloane's brows rise and furrow simultaneously, her mouth popping open as she tilts her head to the side. "I don't want sex right now. It's too much, but Kithi and I have been discussing ways to explore being with a male in safe ways that are completely up to me."

"Yeah, of course, no, I'm not judging. You just caught me by surprise." She moves around the room, pulling out a few drawersuntil she pulls the chain with the pendant from one of them. "K'Vella gave it back to me pretty fast after she and Holoth realized they didn't need it."

"Thank you," I say, taking the pendant and holding it close to my chest.

"Do you have a male in particular you want to help you out with all of this?" Sloane asks with a curious lilt in her voice.

I rub the back of my neck, averting my eyes from hers. "Kithi was going to find me a male that's okay with going slow. She said most of them will be fine going at whatever pace I want, but she's looking for someone with some more understanding of my situation."

"Ah." Sloane nods, tongue licking her lower lip before her teeth bite into it. "Who all knows of this plan?"

"Just you and Kithi," I say, my face feeling too warm.

I'm never going to get over having to have this conversation, but I refuse not to go through with it. I want to have normal relationships, trust someone else with my body, and have companionship. I shouldn't be robbed of that because some people are awful. I deserve better than that.

Sloane opens her mouth to speak, thinks better of it, and then opens it again.

"Just say whatever you want to say," I sigh. "I know this isn't the standard way of things, but I need someone who will be patient. I don't even know how long it'll be before I can let him touch me. I can't just go out and throw myself at one of them because I might have an actual meltdown. This is the best way."

"No, no, no." Sloane waves her hand like it's waving away everything I said. "I'm more interested in whether you're going to make Phial aware of your plans. You share his room, after all."

My cheeks somehow manage to burn even more. "Oh, no, I haven't mentioned it to him yet. There are special rooms in the sanctuary that I'll use. I won't have to bother him at all."

"Mhm." Sloane crosses her arms in front of her chest. The sound isn't very convincing, but she doesn't push it anymore.

"Look, during my last heat, he was offered a room to help me through it. We wouldn't have been physical, but I thought maybe even hearing his voice would help. He made it clear he had no interest. I don't want him to think I need him for everything. I have to do some of this on my own. He's done enough for me."

"I'm sure he has," Sloane says, her eyes twinkling with something akin to mischief. She shakes her head. "Let's go get some food."

I want to ask her to expand more on why she cares if Phial knows about my plans, but my stomach growls, reminding me that I burn way too many calories during my heat even though I barely do anything other than be horny.

I don't mind the subject changing either. It's hard enough knowing I'm going to go through this with a stranger. I couldn't imagine doing it while thinking about Phial knowing it's happening.

six

Phial

It's good that Avery's secret is no longer a secret. Not that I mind being the only one to know something about her. In fact I'd very much like to be the only one to know many things about her.

I frown and shake the thoughts away. It's this kind of thinking that has our friendship straining recently. No, back on topic, her shitbag father.

I've already told her I'd go back to earth and blow the entire state of Alaska up. I think she said they were called states. Maybe it's a district now. Doesn't matter. I'd blow it all up.

I have explosives stored away in plenty of little spots in the parts of space that no one goes to unless they're dumping a body. I just so happen to have hidden my explosives all around those dead bodies.

Gross, yes, but it's effective. Not to mention, no one's searching a gravesite for hidden caches of explosive powder.

Avery told me that the entirety of the Alaskan population didn't need to die just because her father was there. I told her that sounded like an excuse not to blow her shitbag father up. But I don't argue with people about blowing up their families. If I ever see him, I'll probably kill him, but with only him as the casualty. Probably.

Now Avery's secret is out, and no one freaked out on her, just like I told her they wouldn't. She was scared that since her father helped to traffick humans from Earth to various unethical places, we might take it out on her. As though she's somehow just as guilty as him even though she was working against him and he went and trafficked her. No, I told her that the only thing that anyone would think would be to kill him, and I was right.

"Is this normal amongst humans?" Essa asks, her tail swishing about furiously as she, Jovi, Alik, and I dig into some breakfast.

Sloane and Avery are off with K'Vella to look at baby things. Avery didn't even seem scared when she left. She was holding Sloane's hand, but that could be because Sloane is just a touchy person. I do know K'Vella is probably the strongest one in the clan, minus Jovi and Alik, who are her male counterparts, and not counting Essa, who's stronger than most others everywhere. If anyone is going to be able to keep Avery safe and make her feel protected, it's the two females she has grown close to since we've been stuck hiding on this planet.

"What? Selling your kid to smugglers to be a sex slave?" Alik asks, no humor in his voice, which is good because even the way he's said it has my claws extending and my hiss rattling in my chest. He shoots me a look that tells me he's as unhappy about it as I am and that I don't need to get angry with him. "No, I don't think it's normal."

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