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Willow lets out a squeak of surprise when the water jets down over us. We go through the rigorous sequence of water, air, and a decontaminant until we’re properly sanitized.
“Hello, Mayvina’s Master,” Uvie chirps in greeting.
I groan in embarrassment. “Eh, hello, Uvie. I have Willow here with me. Can you get Molly?”
“Certainly. She has asked for the estimated time this solar forty-six times. Please stand by.”
Willow snorts and I chuckle.
“Mayvina’s Master?” Willow taunts.
I shrug. “It gets dull around here. Once I programmed her to call Breccan ‘the little one.’ I hid while Breccan lost his nog over it. It wasn’t until Sayer dragged me out of my hiding spot and made me tell him the coding I entered that it was changed back. I’ll remember the scowl that remained on Breccan’s face until the day I’m sent to The Eternals. For a while there, I thought Breccan would be the one to send me there.
Willow’s blue eyes glitter with amusement, but she tenses when we hear her name over the comms.
“Willow?”
Molly.
Willow swivels around to face the tiny square window. Molly’s familiar face peers inside.
“Momma?”
For a long moment, they simply stare at one another. Quietly as they comprehend the enormity of this meeting they’ve both ached for.
“My goodness, sweetie, would you look at you? It’s like looking in the mirror.” Molly lets out a choked sound as her fingertips touch the glass. “My baby girl.”
Willow whimpers and reaches up to mimic her mother’s action. Her hand is gloved and dwarfs Molly’s that’s bare. “I wish I could hug you.”
My chest aches as I think about my own mother. If I had a chance to see her again, even for a moment through a plate of glass, I’d do it in a heartbeat. Life is so precious. I value every smile my mother gifted me. Every sweet word. Each and every embrace.
“Me too, angel, me too.” Molly smiles as tears race down her cheeks. “One day I will. This baby is coming any day now and you’ll get to meet your little sibling. Oh, Lordy, I can’t believe I’m really seeing you. And now a door is what prevents me from holding you.”
I step close to Willow, who is visibly shaking. My hands grip her hips, steadying her as I press into her from behind. “Time separated you,” I remind Molly. “And the dark skies. Still, your bright, shooting star shot across space to find you. Willow defied the odds in her quest. Your little one is special.”
Molly is no longer looking at Willow, but at me. Her watery eyes peel away my layers and get right inside my heart. I see the look of concern. Am I her daughter’s mate? Am I providing for her and taking care of her? All I do is offer a nod of my nog. Surprise flashes over her features, but not anger. The relief that floods through me is a shock to my system.
“Mate,” a deep, growly voice says from behind Molly.
Willow tenses, leaning into me. Fear. I can practically scent it from her. For some reason, she is afraid of Draven. He’s an ugly mortarekker, but he’d never hurt her.
I don’t think.
Surely not.
The protective way he holds Molly, his eyes peering at us over her head, tells me maybe he’d do anything if it meant saving Molly from harm. Even hurt my Willow. Rage bursts up inside of me, hot and violent. My sub-bones start popping in rapid speed as I prepare for battle. At my response, Draven does the same. His growls match my own, and they both rattle through the comms.
“That’s enough,” Avrell chides. “Time is of the essence.”
Draven backs away, pulling Molly with him. It’s then I realize, I have both arms wrapped around Willow. She never tried to break free of my hold, which means she likes being in my arms. Male pride settles in my bones at the realization as she looks to me as her protector.
She may have her strange ways, and thinks of us as a “space fling,” but we both know the truth.
Willow is my mate.
I simply need to convince her of it.
Avrell is already suited and ready to go. The door into the Facility hisses as he opens it. My grip around Willow tightens now that there isn’t a barrier between Draven and my mate. Once again, the popping of sub-bones can be heard. Avrell shakes his head as he shuffles into the small decontamination bay with us and closes the door behind him.
“I love you, sweet girl,” Molly tells her, once again at the glass window. “We’ll be together again soon. Avrell is going to make everything okay for us.”
Willow nods. “Love you too, Momma. See you soon.”
“Before you know it,” Molly assures my mate. Then, before she can turn her comms off, she breaks down in sobs, throwing herself into Draven’s arms.
