Page 24 of Thrilled By Her Protector

“You cannot blame me, Jennifer Dylluan. He is still single, yes?” the blue haired brat asked, and Jenn stuck her tongue out at her before going for her own clothes.

Oh, she was not in competition with the Drakein anymore. Not that she ever was, she told herself. After spending an entire day as her peer rather than her teacher while they’d worked on Caro’s babies’ nursery, Jennifer had learned many surprising things about the females.

True, she already knew Cass Viper was a total monster. But what she didn’t really understand was his views on women and their place were downright medieval. He believed females were made to serve males, and he’d denied them their rightful positions and forced them into servitude.

Imagine Jennifer’s surprise in learning these females were treated as little more than maids and entertainment by that bastard and his band of merry morons. If she could bring their ashes back to life and wipe those turds out again, she would. That was how angry they made her.

Aliza spoke of wanting a mate, but that was because she’d thought it was her only option here. After their second, all-inclusive girls’ day, Jennifer learned each of these women had unique gifts and abilities. All of which would help them land jobs and live the lives they deserved.

Take Aliza, for instance. The woman was a damned tech guru. She had an affinity for computer software and proved it by altering the design on the baby monitors Jasper had installed in Caro’s nursery from Draco Fortis, and that company developed the very best security monitoring systems supernaturals could buy.

Aliza had fixed the system so Caro could access it from her mobile device and smart watch using a unique thumbprint authentication system. It would also now adjust the lighting in the room and play music through the blue tooth speakers with a few voice commands.

It was, in a word, awesome. She had an appointment to go over that and some other things with Mother the following day. Of course, her new boss had insisted on in person check ins. Just another reason she’d been considering leaving her job. But what would she do?

It had been touch and go last year with the whole Alien thing. Jennifer’s bosses sought a scapegoat for all the trouble they’d had, and they’d been willing to sacrifice her. And that did not sit right with the Owl. By the time she finished dressing and turned around, Zircon was gone.

She lowered her gaze, frowning as she tugged on her heels. Why the hell had she worn them to walk around? Dammit. So many things about her life were starting to not make sense, and Jennifer didn’t know if she could handle it.

She usually dressed the part to keep things professional as possible, but living at the Wessex compound had changed that. Suddenly, Jennifer wasn’t able to just go home and lock away the part of her that wanted to be there for the family dinners and the midnight cookie parties—even the non-Shifter women ate a lot these days considering they were actively growing people.

Two weeks had passed since she came to the Wessex compound to help the Drakeins assimilate to Earth culture, and in those two weeks she’d seen them really work on it. It was amazing. They were amazing.

“What has you in such deep thought, Jennifer Dylluan?” Aliza interrupted her as she began to head back towards her room.

“First or last name, Aliza. Not both,” she replied.

“Yes. I know, but I called you twice, and you did not answer, so I thought I would catch your attention this way.”

“You did?”

“Yes. You won the race. You should be happy. And Prince Zircon embraced you afterwards. Indeed, I would be overjoyed,” she said, and Jennifer frowned.

“I was just thinking how brave you are, all of you,” she corrected.

“It is a Shifter’s nature to be brave.”

“Maybe, but not me. I’ve been nothing but a coward, and now I’ve lost him. That hug you saw? It felt like goodbye.”

Her voice had quieted at the end, and for the first time, Jennifer allowed herself to feel something in front of another. Aliza stopped walking and turned Jennifer to look at her, her face unpitying.

“If you want this man, Jennifer, then you must fight for him. No, I do not mean fight me or any other female. I meanyou.”

“I don’t follow.”

“Of course you do. You are holding back with him and with yourself. So, you must fight yourself so that you can go after what you want. And what you want is Zircon Wessex.”

Jennifer gasped as the truth of Aliza’s words struck her as hard and eye opening as any slap. Her mother’s voice still sounded in her ear. The dreadful warning to never succumb to a mate echoed softly. But what if she pushed Cynthia’s voice away? What if her mother was wrong?

There was only one way to find out. Jennifer owed it to herself to try. Crunching through the March frost on her ill-advised shoes, she went to her room at a hurried pace. First things first.

If she wanted to change the way she was, it was probably a good idea to start with the outside. Not that she disliked her style. But there was no reason to dress for work all the time. Grinning, she dug through her drawers for a pair of leggings and a soft sweater.

Next, she grabbed a pair of fuzzy ankle socks and her sneakers. She removed the elastic band from her hair and brushed out her long locks till they were shiny and soft, and Jennifer released a sigh. That was better.

She left the guest bedroom she’d been given and almost bumped right into him. Zircon looked surprised as she was to find him there, his clear blue eyes glittered in the dark hallway.

“What are you doing here?”

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