Page 67 of A Mate For Matrix
Jana’s chest tightened. Before she could take a step toward him, soft footsteps approached, and she turned to find Gracie standing beside her.
She tried for a smile but felt it wobble. Gracie didn’t hesitate. She threaded her arm through Jana’s and gave her a quick squeeze, pulling her close in a side hug that somehow made the chaos of the day fade.
“Everything’s going to be alright,” Gracie said softly, her voice carrying a quiet certainty that Jana desperately wanted to believe.
Jana swallowed and nodded, though her throat felt tight. “You sound sure.”
“I wasn’t, not at first,” Gracie admitted, her gaze softening as it drifted toward Kordon across the room. “When I first arrived here… oh man, I was terrified. And when I learned everyone I knew—everyone I loved—had been gone for centuries…” She shook her head, her lips pressing together and a sad, haunted expression flicked through her eyes. “I thought I’d never feel whole again.”
Jana’s chest ached at the weight behind those words. “I guess… it’s easier for me. There’s no one waiting for me back on Earth,” she said quietly. “No one I lost. But Matrix…” Her gaze shifted instinctively to him. “He left people behind. A whole life.”
Gracie followed her eyes, her expression softening as they landed on Matrix. Then she looked at Kordon again, her voice steady but warm. “He has you now, Jana. And K-Nine. And his crazy little pack of kittens.” A small smile curved her lips. “And he has all of us. Whatever’s coming, he won’t face it alone.”
Something in Jana eased at that. “Thank you,” she whispered.
Gracie hugged her tighter. “Anytime. And if you ever need anything, anything at all, you come to me or Kordon. Deal?”
“Deal,” Jana murmured, her throat thick.
She watched as Gracie joined Kordon and Bran. She waved to Gracie as the other woman stepped out of the loading bay. Her gaze moved to the opposite side of the room where Seal and Krac were locked in a heated discussion with K-Nine.
“I swear on my processor,” K-Nine snapped, his metallic voice edged with fury, “if you try accessing my systems one more time, I will upload a virus up your ass so vicious, your grandchildren will stutter. And keep your sticky gray paws away from my pack!”
Bulldog barked out a laugh, one big hand clamping on Krac’s shoulder as he dragged both him and Seal a few steps away. “Alright, boys. Save it for the sim pods.”
Matrix chuckled and walked over to her, his expression softening with love. He slipped an arm around her waist, grounding her instantly. Jana leaned into him, grateful for his solid warmth as Rorrak stepped into their space.
Jana straightened instinctively, her heartbeat ticking faster. Of everyone in the room—even Krac, with his eerie calm—Rorrak unnerved her most. There was something… unspoken in him. Something sharp.
Rorrak studied Matrix in silence for a long moment before he spoke. “I need a visual recording of your encounter with the Alluthan Queen.”
Matrix’s brows drew together, hesitation flickering across his features. But after a beat, he nodded. “I can send it.”
Rorrak produced a slim disk and placed it in Matrix’s hand. “Good. You might find this interesting.” His gaze slid briefly to Jana, giving a curt nod, and then he left as silently as he’d come.
Jana turned to Matrix, her brow furrowed. “What was that about?”
Matrix turned the disk over in his hand, his frown deepening. “I’m not sure,” he said finally.
Before Jana could ask more, K-Nine stalked past them, muttering darkly under his breath.
“Problem?” Matrix called after him.
K-Nine’s ears flattened, his amber optics flashing. “That gray-skinned menace had the audacity to ask if I’d give him my pack.”
Jana blinked, biting back a laugh. “Your… pack?”
“Yes, Jana. Butter, Biscuit, and Honeybun.” He flicked his tail once in outrage. “He wanted to gift them to Skeeter and their hoard of adopted alien offspring.”
Jana clamped a hand over her mouth to smother a giggle, twisting to watch the enormous cybernetic wolfhound stomp away, the three kittens bouncing behind him, nipping and darting around his massive paws.
“Traitors,” K-Nine muttered. “Every last fuzzy turncoat.”
Jana’s shoulders shook as she grinned, warmth flooding her chest. For one fragile moment, the weight of everything—the Hive, the Queen, the time rift—slipped away. She let herself breathe in this strange, beautiful, chaotic family they’d built.
And then… a thought struck her.
Her grin faltered.
