Kate took a deep breath and pulled away. "No, it's not the 'should we have children' question—although some in the clan harbor strong opinions on the topic. They feel it's worthless for older clan members like Mahvet to marry if they refuse to propagate." She looked down at her hands as she wrung them. "I can't supply him with a fresh blood on a regular basis. I have a rare blood disorder which makes my DNA unacceptable."
"So what?" Olivia shook her head. Another piece was missing in this puzzle. "Obviously, Mahvet gets his blood transfusions elsewhere when he needs them. There's more to a Pure Blood marriage than just being a blood bank, isn't there?"
"Not in the eyes of the Clan Alpha leadership. We human brides are expected to pull our own weight, and I lied on my application. I only told Mahvet about my blood disorder recently when he wanted to..." Kate sighed and closed her eyes. "I want to help him, but I can't."
"Mahvet didn't tell anyone else about your blood disorder, though. Did he?"
Kate shook her head. "No, he didn't. He's been covering for me for over a week now. They've been on him for not announcing our pair-bonding sooner, but in order to do so, he'd have to partake of my blood in the ceremony in front of the priestess and his family so I'd become a part of..." She took a deep breath. "You know what I mean."
Olivia forced a smile. She could barely recall what happened to her. Kate seemed more knowledgeable, so Olivia assumed her friend must understand the psychic link that came with pair-bonding.
"If Mahvet and I can't be together, then it's better if we're separated by a few billion miles. There’ll be more mail-order brides. He'll forget about me in time." Kate folded a blouse and deposited it in her open suitcase, sighing. "It won't be easy for me to forget about my time here."
Something still felt wrong to Olivia. Why would Clan Alpha dismiss Kate so abruptly? Olivia couldn't quite put her finger on it, but she didn't want to cause her friend pain by asking more questions. She sat with Kate and said little as they packed the Englishwoman’s bag and straightened up her area, waiting for the escorts to come and take her to the Portal.
"Thank you, Lauren." Kate patted Olivia's hand. "You've been a real source of strength through this trying time."
"You're welcome. Thank you for your friendship. I enjoyed learning about British history from your comments in our history class. You made us realize how our individual cultures shape our perspective on life and each other. It got me thinking—a lot."
"Thinking?" Kate raised a graying eyebrow. They both chuckled. "Thinking is good. What did it make you think about?"
Thinking—an activity I'm having some trouble with lately. Olivia struggled to get the words out. "Well... You wonder why with all their technological and genetic advancement... why the Pure Bloods didn't learn how to cure various blood diseases rather than giving up on those humans with them. It's a poor excuse to reject you. Maybe there's another reason behind your leaving?"
You know there is another reason, Olivia. The voice of Moreau flooded her thoughts. You can't say this out loud. It will hurt your friend's feelings to know she is special. We can't have special humans like her around. They could end up like Valori, and one of her is enough for our purposes...
"Valori!" Olivia cried as she sprang to her feet and then lost consciousness.
*****
"Lauren? Are you awake? Can you hear me?"
Olivia blinked rapidly and attempted to sit up, but her head throbbed and she fell backward into the bedclothes, rubbing her temples. Who was hammering a red-hot metal spike through her skull and why?
"There now. Take it easy," Kate said in hushed tones as she straightened the blankets and resettled Olivia's head against the pillows. "I'm here. In fact, I might be here for another week or so since I missed the routine Portal transport." She smiled. "You've got your own personal nurse in the meantime."
"Where am I?" Olivia squinted. The dim lighting looked extra-bright somehow, and she could barely make out Kate's face. "I'm not in the dormitory?"
"No, they moved you to your private quarters—and what nice quarters you have. It appears being engaged to someone with as high a rank as Moreau has its privileges."
Privileges and punishments. Olivia was certain the sudden, great pain in her head was to teach her a lesson, to keep her silent about anything which could incriminate the family. Is this what being part of a mobster family was like?
"Rank? Thought we'd been taught they had a ruling council and all Pure Bloods were created equal." With some more equal than others. She pulled herself up to her elbows and focused on a point on the wall behind Kate until the spinning stopped. "How long have I been out? I sure am thirsty."
"A few hours." Kate poured her a glass of water from a pitcher on the nightstand. "You turned pale and appeared to be in a lot of pain. It scared me, so I ran and got help right away. The Pure Blood healers aren't quite as versed in human illnesses, so they called for a human medic. She took a quick look at you and told us to keep you warm and comfortable. She'll come by tomorrow to check up on you, but she said she didn't think it was anything to worry about. Happens all the time when humans and Pure Bloods bond, or so she says."
"What happens all the time?" Olivia found it hard to concentrate on their conversation. There was something important she wanted to remember... She needed to remember it right away. It was vital. "Kate, did I say anything before I fainted?"
Kate bit her lip. "You said you'd been thinking about why I was asked to leave. You said it
