up hearing that and somehow internalized it without meaning to. They taught us the homeless were lazy and unwilling to join the military. Their refusal to become responsible citizens led to them becoming indigent and a drain on society. Deep down inside I knew this might the case for some, but most of them were destitute for other reasons. Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, the reality of my situation begins to set in.
Chanel’s accusing voice cuts through my thoughts. “Do you have any idea how seriously they take this shit?”
“I’m beginning to understand. I should go talk to Mathadar.”
“Yes, because meddling worked out so well for you the last time that doing it again must seem like a really good idea.” She shoots me an exasperated look. “Just leave it alone. You’ve done enough fucking damage.” The contempt in her voice is unmistakable.
“How dare you talk to your own mother like that?” That’s about the time I pick up something besides the scorn. This child of mine is legitimately furious with me, and it occurs to me to wonder why. What’s her interest in all this?
“Why do you care so much what happens to Borak? Did I embarrass you in front of the Draconians or something?” I’m military rough, but I never thought of myself as all that out of the ordinary when it came to social graces. Maybe I’m wrong about that.
She huffs out an exasperated breath. “I’m with his son Korak. They’re beside themselves with grief over what happened to him.” She chokes up a bit. “His clade is close, Mother. What impacts one of them affects them all.”
She’s with Borak’s son. I let that settle in for a second. It’s starting to make sense now. “Is that where you got the fancy blade you’re wearing?” She’s not taken it off since she got it, and her hand has moved down to caress it several times since we’ve been talking. When she doesn’t answer, I know she entertaining thoughts of mating with that old blood warrior. “Oh hell no. We agreed that you would wait to choose a mate.”
A stubborn expression settles onto her face. “After getting stripped of rank, I’ve had a lot of time on my hands to think about what I want instead of what you want.”
I reel back from the shock of hearing her hastily chosen words. It seems that I’m destined to be hit with one shocking bit of news after another this morning. I shut my mouth and wait for her to continue.
She takes a couple of deep breaths before trying to continue in a calmer manner. “I’ll be honest. I thought you would approve. You and Borak seemed pretty tight. I thought that if I chose his son we could stay together in the same clade.”
My mouth falls open, but I recover at lightning speed. “We’re not involved that way and I can’t for the life of me imagine what would have made you think that we were.” Coming to my feet, I begin to pace back and forth in the spacious room they’ve given me. My head is spinning because there are too many moving parts in my life right now. “I don’t know how to say this politely, so I’m just going to come right out with it. Borak’s clan is old blood. Though I’ve never thought of him that way, he might be a fine match for me because a union with him wouldn’t be likely to bear fruit.”
She’s staring at me blankly. Shit, I’m trying to be delicate and it’s not working out like I’d hoped. “You need to think about what your children would be like.” Scrambling to come up with a viable option that doesn’t include old blood warriors, I latch onto the first idea that pops into my head. “Draconian breeders are nice.” I hesitate because I know how this is going to sound. “And they’ve been bred heavily with different humanoid species.” Surely she can see the advantage to what I’m suggesting.
Before Chantel can respond, I hear a gasp from the doorway. My heart sinks when I see Molly standing there with a basket of what I’m assuming are the baked goods she likes to gift everyone. The look on her face is absolutely horrified. When her free hand flies to her slightly rounded stomach, I know all the way down to my bones that she’s pregnant with Borak’s grandchild. She’s mated to one of his other sons, after all. Unfortunately, wishing