Once she was in front of the cameras, her mother couldn’t stop her. She could say whatever she wanted, and no one would be able to prevent her words from reaching the public. Her mother could cut the feed, but she couldn’t force Sasha to say anything she didn’t want to say.
Not anymore, she thought furiously. Not now that I know I’m worth far more than my looks or celebrity status.
As they walked through the newsroom on the top floor, her mother boldly waved at other celebrities and spoke noisily with producers. Everyone was impressed she had managed to get close to the Preor and couldn’t wait to hear her piece. Sasha followed, head down, wondering if she was going to gag and dry heave on live television.
“Sasha,” the head producer addressed her, shock in his voice. Sasha hadn’t even realized they’d reached the set. “You look awful.”
Way to make a girl feel good, dude. She didn’t have the strength for words but did manage a deep scowl.
“I know,” her mother said plaintively. “I tried to give her some pills. They have all sorts of stuff these days that can wake you up, put color in your cheeks, and take the swelling out of your eyes, but the damn girl won’t even drink a cup of coffee!”
The producer eyed Sasha warily and with some concern. “Is she fit to do the piece?”
“Of course,” her mother said briskly. “She’ll be fine. Be ready to roll in five minutes.”
Jenna put an arm around Sasha’s shoulder and pulled her to the center of the stage. She fussed over her hair for a few seconds and then gave one of her big, fake smiles. “Now, Sasha, just go over what we discussed. No need to deviate from the script. I know you’re tired, and after this we’ll get something nice to eat and visit a day spa. What do you think?”
Sasha’s heart leapt in expectation of a reward, but… it was the habitual response of someone suffering long-term emotional abuse. It made her sad as well as angry that she had lived her entire life chasing these crumbs from her mother.
Whelon is the whole fucking cake, she thought dreamily. He’s a great big layered cake with cream and strawberries and thick frosting…
She shook her head. Jenna certainly didn’t let her eat food like that, even after the promise of treats. Sasha’s mouth watered, just a little, as thoughts of Whelon and cake collided in her mind. There was whipped cream, strawberries and crumbs in the strangest of places and she giggled.
I didn’t think I had it in me. I guess I’m just that damn hungry.
Not for decent food, but for Whelon. If she focused on her sexual desire for her mate, the Knowing sickness seemed to settle a little. The idea of pressing her skin against his was the only thing that gave her relief from the illness that plagued her.
Somewhere far outside her awareness, Sasha heard the countdown. It screamed through her mind, habit making her straighten, put her hand on her hip and toss back her long, thick hair. As the director stopped counting out loud and held up two fingers, then one, she took a deep breath and switched it on.
“Welcome, I’m Sasha Dane and tonight we’re discussing what’s on everyone’s mind—the Preor. The Preor are a strange and ancient race.” Her voice came out with a smooth persuasive melody. “As most of you know, they arrived here after Earth’s treaty with the Ujal, but what do any of us really know about the Preor? We hear rumors. We have questions. Sometimes, we are lucky enough to interact with them. Some of these encounters are positive, some negative, but I’m here to give you a firsthand account of what happened to me when I was recently in their company.”
Her mother gestured at her furiously just out of camera shot, capering like a demented elf. Sasha was supposed to say “abducted” and talk about how the winged demons forced her away from her family and brainwashed her—poisoned her.
Sasha wasn’t going to lie, but she didn’t know enough about the Preor to sing their praises, either. She knew they had killed when they protected their mates and didn’t seem to give a damn about the loss of life. One of the first incidents, where War Master Jarek had fought his attackers on the beach and across the ocean was still being talked about, and it had been potentially catastrophic.
Sasha couldn’t ignore this. Her time with them had shown her they were arrogant to a fault. They would continue to do whatever they wanted and were not restrained by the laws set out in the treaty. They said they were, but Sasha had seen enough to know that when it came down to it, they did what they needed to do and didn’t worry about the consequences.
Apparently, Whelon himself had almost crash landed on a busy city street. They weren’t blameless in this.
Sasha straightened and talked openly about her experience at the Choosing. She showed her disgust at the way both human women—and some Preor—had behaved. It was almost like the fancy balls held hundreds of years ago where fathers and brothers paraded women around in an effort to sell them to the right husband.
She went on to talk about the Knowing, the rush and thrill of its presence. How everyone in the room had stepped away when it began. There was no question of a Preor taking a woman who was not his mate. It was not genetically possible.
Her mother made striking motions with her hand, desperately trying to get Sasha to stop. Jenna turned to the cameraman and tried to switch off the feed, but the production manager quickly had security restrain her mother.
Sasha grinned in amusement. She put the effort into her performance and revealed as much
