As she headed for the kitchen, a door opened further down the corridor, and she saw Polly slip out. The girl didn’t see her. Her posture was relaxed and she was walking, rather than skittering away, but Joan frowned as she watched the girl return to her own room.
Without bothering to knock, Joan threw open the door to the room Polly had deserted. As she suspected, Njkall was sitting on the edge of the bed.
“How could you?” she demanded.
Njkall met her angry gaze calmly. “She came to me.”
“That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have known better.”
“She came to me,” he repeated, “because she wished to be held. I obliged. That was all that was between us.”
Some of the anger left her, but she frowned at him. “I don’t think you understand. She was abused, terribly abused. I’m not sure that she’s capable of making good decisions.”
“You don’t think I know what happened to her?” Njkall’s usual calm suddenly disappeared. He stood, looking enormous in the small room, and she realized nervously that his claws had extended. “I can smell it on her and I want to kill each and every one of them slowly and painfully.”
“You can tell?”
He sighed, and his anger was replaced by sorrow. “Yes. This is a time when I regret that the Hothian sense of smell is so keen.”
“She refuses to take a bath. But maybe…”
He was already shaking his head. “If it gives her some feeling of protection, I will not take that away from her. My anger is not important.”
She studied his face, trying to read the strange features.
“Do you like her?” she burst out.
“She is my mate,” he said simply, but raised his hand before she could respond. “I know she is not ready for that. She may never be ready for that. But I will do anything she wishes me to do.” Gleaming blue eyes fastened on her face. “And if it comforts her to come to me, I will not turn her away and you will not try to prevent her.”
She stared back at him for a moment, then sighed. “I will try not to interfere.”
A surprisingly attractive smile suddenly crossed his face. “Based on what I have seen so far, I suspect that will be extremely difficult for you.”
“You have no idea,” she muttered, but smiled back. “And I’m still going to keep an eye on her.”
“I am grateful that you wish to care for her as well.”
Before she could respond, Varga came up behind her, immediately pulling her against his side and glaring at Njkall.
“Is he bothering you?” he demanded.
“Not at all,” she said cheerfully, and gave him an innocent look. “I was just about to go and make some of those muffins you like.”
“Little bird, I suspect this is one of your efforts to divert me,” he said sternly. “However, your muffins are a powerful argument.”
He whisked her out of Njkall’s room, slamming the door behind him.
“That was rude,” she scolded.
“Not as rude as I would like to have been. I do not like finding my mate in another male’s room. I suspect it will take many muffins to erase my unhappiness.”
Despite his solemn face, his eyes laughed down at her, and she went up on tiptoes to give him a kiss. How could I ever have thought that he was anything like my ex-husband? she wondered as he bent down to meet her. And then all thoughts of the past disappeared as she lost herself in his kiss.
Later that morning, Issar and Taliane came to say goodbye. Joan couldn’t resist pulling the girl aside.
“Are you sure this is what you want?”
“Very sure.” Taliane’s eyes drifted over to Issar and he seemed to sense her attention, looking up and smiling at her. “We came together under such terrible conditions that I know we can get through anything together.”
Joan’s own gaze went to Varga as she nodded in agreement. Their love had been forged in a fiery crucible. Looking back at Taliane, the girl’s happiness was easy to read.
“You look very happy.”
“I am.” Taliane leaned forward and whispered softly, “We went to a medic on the way here this morning.”
“Is something wrong?”
“Not at all. I just wanted to get the birth control reversed. With any luck, I’ll be pregnant before we reach Asing.”
Dizziness swept over Joan and she swayed. Taliane reached for her, helping her to a seat.
“What’s wrong?”
“Pregnant? You can get pregnant even though you’re of different species?” Her mouth felt numb.
“Of course. That’s why they gave us birth control shots when we arrived on Drahana. Pregnant females are too difficult to manage,” Taliane said bitterly, then frowned at Joan. “Didn’t you get one?”
She thought back to her arrival. Ukhaan had insisted that she walk through an icy disinfectant spray, and it had left her too cold and shocked to notice much after that. But now that she thought about it, he had given her a painful injection. Her body sagged with relief.
“Yes, yes, I did.”
Taliane gave her an inquisitive look. “You look relieved. Don’t you want Varga’s child?”
Her eyes automatically went to him. His head was thrown back as he laughed at something Issar had said. Her big, handsome mate. Her eyes suddenly filled with
