Page 106 of Galaxy Circus Act One

“How many are coming?” Hale asks, nodding his head in acknowledgement. “And do you know who?”

“Yes, Saxon’s brother, Xenos, and his small clan.” I watch as a myriad of emotions crosses Hale’s face. I’m not sure what is going on in his mind, but I watch as Velorina reaches out and puts her hand on his shoulder.

William groans. “Is this going to be a problem?” he demands gruffly, and Hale quickly shakes his head.

“No, it’s fine. I’m just surprised. He was originally part of our clan, but they split from us when we got assigned to this ship by the queen. He said it was beneath him to perform in a circus. I’m kind of curious about what changed his mind.”

“Fucking hell. I swear if you give me any more headaches, I’ll kick the lot of you off and find a new act. I hear the Jelliads are quite entertaining. Now go find John and see which rooms are available for them.” He lowers the two girls to the ground. “Remember that I’m watching you,” he threatens, and the aerial troupe takes off, disappearing in a blink of an eye.

“Link, my friend, I am getting too old for this shit,” William grumbles as we move from my waiting room to the clinic. “All this drama is more than we’ve had in years. First Dylan, then the lightning cats and your damn nurse. Now we’ve got two new shifters, a fresh bunch of sanguinistas, a dead harem member, and one who has been stripped of all their powers. It’s been nothing but cleaning up messes that all seem to stem from Lila.”

Wait, is he saying that the source of all of the drama is Lila?

I bristle, narrowing my eyes on him, and start to defend her, but he shakes his head. “No, you don’t need to get upset, I’m not blaming her. She is but a catalyst for people’s insecurities and neurosis. It could have been anyone at any time. It’s justinteresting that she has all these powerful partners,” he muses, and that reminds me of something.

“Is that a coincidence? It suddenly occurred to me when I actually took a moment to think about it that the Galaxy Circus has an unusual amount of high profile and powerful people as its performers.”

William’s eyes shutter, and his eyebrows furrow in a stubborn frown. “If you end up sealing a Skarrian mating bond with Lila, you can ask those questions. Until that happens, I am going to ask you to please keep that observation to yourself. For Lila’s safety and all of ours.”

Ah, so there is something. I knew I wasn’t imagining things, but I respect this man too much to push him, not to mention I want to keep Lila safe.

“Okay,” I agree, and he breathes a sigh of relief.

“Thank you,” he says as we look down at the sedated Saxon. “How long can he last like this?”

“I think he’ll be okay for a few more days. Maybe once Lila has spent some time with her girlfriend, she may feel better about the situation, though she has confirmed she will bond with him.”

“Caspian sought us out for permission for Lila’s friend to visit. Of course we said yes, it cannot be easy adjusting to all of this. It feels like she’s been with us forever, but in reality, our granddaughter has only been with us for a few weeks.” A thoughtful expression passes over his face.

“And what of her plans to tell her everything and have Xavier remove her memories?” I ask, adjusting the flow of blood feeding Saxon in his coma.

“We will do whatever we need to in order to make our granddaughter feel at home, so if she needs this, we will give it to her as long as Xavier is on board with it.”

“I don’t think you will have any problems with him.”

“No, I believe you are right. I was coming to find you because they are due back at the pod shortly. I thought maybe we could have a meal together and talk about her plans for her friends.”

A rush of pleasure washes over me at being invited to have a meal with Lila and her family. I guess that means they aren’t opposed to our relationship. I didn’t think they would be, but there was always a chance. I must not have hid my reaction very well, because William chuckles and slaps me on the back.

“Ah, Link, we’re thrilled Lila has attracted so many kind and powerful mates and potential mates. We are happy to welcome you all and know that our Lila will be well looked after and protected in the future.” There’s something slightly off about his tone, but he doesn’t pause for me to question it. “Come on, Caspian is waiting with Eric and John. Unfortunately Saxon can’t join us this time, but hopefully next time we have a family meal, he will be back to normal.” He leads me out of my clinic, and I activate the locks on the door. That way we don’t have to worry about Radella and Estrella getting any stupid ideas.

When we get back to the Adams brothers’ quarters, I find Xavier and Lila have arrived, and although there is nothing out of the ordinary about Lila’s appearance, I can tell she has been well fucked by Xavier. Maybe it’s the lingering smell of his scent on her skin that I catch when she gives me a kiss hello.

“Hi,” she says quietly to me as the others make conversation. “I know it hasn’t been long, but I missed you.”

A smile spreads across my face as I give her a hug. “I know how you feel. Did you have a good time with Xavier? Did he look after you?” I ask, my voice low so her grandpas don’t hear it, but they seem to be too distracted by Cas and Xavier to notice.

“Oh my God, he sure did,” she gushes, her eyes twinkling. Seeing her so relaxed after her emotional breakdown earlier in the day has put me at ease.

“Did you get a hold of Susie?” Caspian asks, interrupting our private little chat with an unrepentant grin on his face.

I drag her over to the sofa and position her so she’s sitting next to Caspian and then sit down on her other side. We each take hold of one of her hands, and Eric beams at the three of us. Xavier takes a seat on the other side of Caspian and drapes his arm over the back of the couch, playing with Lila’s hair.

“Oh, I am so happy. Look at our growing family,” he exclaims, and John grunts at him.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself. Link isn’t bonded to Lila yet. Thankfully they are doing it the sensible way and getting to know each other first. None of this fated mate crap,” he grumbles, and Lila’s mouth drops open at his outburst. If looks could kill, John would be incinerated.

“Now, John, don’t be like that. Ignore him, he’s missing our wife terribly at the moment. While seeing you all starting something new is wondrous, it also highlights what we are missing,” William explains, and Lila gasps, pulling her hands out of ours and jumping up to hug her grandpas.