~ SASHA ~

Kyelle took a seat on the couch next to her. She sat oddly, with her feet pulled up onto the couch yet her arms at her sides. She wasn't holding a drink. She stared out the window as if she, too, were somewhere else in her head.

Sasha watched her, waiting for the attack… or whatever was coming that made this woman so tense.

"I'm sorry you felt we were speaking over you," she said finally. Sasha just waited since it was clear Kyelle was about to tell her why. "We were not trying to hide anything from you, only… only be sensitive. You are… special to Zev. I did not want to give you any reason to question that."

A lead weight appeared in Sasha's stomach. She swallowed. "Why… how would you?"

"I wouldn't," Kyelle hurried to say. "But Zev and I are… were close. And Yhet was aware of that. He was warning me that you were the one I had heard so much about. He was trying to spare my feelings."

Sasha's eyes closed. "You were one of his breeding partners?" she asked, her stomach churning.

"What?! No! I cannot mate Zev, the offspring would be…" Kyelle shuddered and her hand fluttered up from the couch. "No, that is not what I meant," she said finally.

"Then you're going to have to spell it out for me because I think my brain is incapable of keeping anything in perspective right now."

Kyelle sighed and her hand fluttered again. She shifted her weight as if she might get up from the couch, then resettled. "Yhet knew that I had been praying for Zev's return. That I had hoped he would come back and return to me."

Ah. She understood. This woman harbored feelings for Zev. "But… you said you two couldn't have children. What kind of relationship would that be?" It was a lot easier to talk about that, than to ask whether they could have sex. Who knew how these people's bodies worked?

"I cannot have offspring at all," Kyelle said, her voice heavy with grief.

Sasha turned her head to watch the woman, torn between compassion and fear because of what that meant Kyelle and Zev could do… if they wished.

"It is why the humans leave me here. Why I can live in relative freedom," she said. "I should be grateful for it."

Sasha felt like she was walking a minefield. "I'm sorry to hear that. I can't imagine—"

"No, you can't," Kyelle said. "And I thank you for being kind about it. Not all Chimera are. In any case," she went on, her voice stronger and a little too bright, "Yhet knew that I would have preferred to be warned that Zev was back, and you were here. He felt bad to tell me that in front of you because he cares for my feelings. Yhet is a good male."

Sasha smiled. "He does seem to be." They were both quiet for a minute, then Sasha bit her lip. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry you had to hear that in front of me, too."

Kyelle waved her away, but turned her head. "It doesn't matter. I have known for years his heart would never be mine. Not truly. You are his mate, whether the humans believe it possible or not. No one can break that bond."

Sasha warmed for a moment. She'd always thought of Zev as hers. But he'd been gone so long and had changed so much…

Then she remembered the declaration of the King, or whatever he was. "It isn't the humans who need to believe that, it's your alpha king guy," she said, her stomach clenching.

"Xar? Tell me what he said. Word for word, if you can."

Sasha thought back. "I'm not sure it's word for word, but he agreed to protect me if I became Chimera. He said that meant that I needed to declare a mate before my next bleeding. And something about males of rank? It all seemed fine. I mean, Zev didn't look worried about it until Xar cast him out."

Kyelle nodded. "Zev is a male of rank. And our former Alpha. Even though he left, he has not weakened. If he were eligible within the Clans, he would have the confidence and the power to win you."

"He doesn't need to win me," Sasha said without thinking.

Kyelle flinched.

Sasha dropped her face into her hand. "I'm sorry, that was thoughtless of me."

"No, no, it's fine," the woman said in a pinched voice. "You are both here now. I will need to become accustomed to that."

"Except we aren't," Sasha replied. "Zev is cast out. I don't understand how this works, but Yhet said it would normally take him months to work his way back up the pack. But I've got maybe ten days, tops?" Sasha looked at the woman, pleading. "I'm sorry to ask this of you, but—"

"We have no control over what Zev does, or how quickly. But you must understand how you will relate to the males until he is strong enough to fight for you. If you do the wrong thing you will make it harder for him."

Sasha blew out a breath. "Can you teach me?"

Kyelle stared at the ripple window, her mouth pulling down at the sides. The fact that she didn't answer immediately made Sasha deeply uncomfortable. But then she realized if the woman had rushed in to say yes, she would have been more suspicious of her answer.

"I will help you because if you get this wrong you could get Zev killed. I am sure you are a wonderful female—Zev has always spoken of you… so highly," she said faintly. Then she swallowed and her jaw got hard. "But you should know, my willingness to help is for his good. He deserves to be happy. I want him to be happy," she repeated, as if she were convincing herself.

Sasha nodded. "Thank you. I'm sorry that this hurts you."

Kyelle raised one shoulder. "Life is never easy. But I accept what I cannot change." Then she finally turned to look at Sasha, her eyes sad. "Now, do you need a rest before we begin?"

*****

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