57. Marina

57

MARINA

W hen the morning rush had finally subsided, leaving behind a welcome lull in the constant bustle of the café, Marina wiped down the tables and the counters and then poured herself a much-needed cup of coffee.

Leaning against the counter, she listened to Wonder as she was humming while rearranging the pastry tray so it wouldn't look so depleted. "I hope the delivery from Jackson arrives before the afternoon gets busy."

"Is it ever late?" Marina asked.

Wonder snorted. "It's Los Angeles. Traffic is unpredictable, and the delivery is done in a roundabout way."

"I was wondering about that. Who brings stuff to the village?"

"Everything is delivered to our downtown location, and one of ours brings it from there. Up until not too long ago, Jackson restocked the café himself, but he got too busy and hired help." She chuckled. "His friend Gordon recently graduated from Oxford with a degree in philosophy, but he makes a living delivering pastries and sandwiches to the village." She smiled. "It's just temporary. He wants to continue his studies."

Marina frowned. "Peter told me that clan members don't need to work if they don't want to and that they get a monthly allowance."

"They do." Wonder pushed to her feet. "I guess Gordon likes to be busy, or he just wants to help out his friend." She glanced at the back of their shop, where Aliya was doing the dishes. "I'm going to help her out."

"I'll do it." Marina put her coffee cup down.

Wonder stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. "You need a break. Rest, drink your coffee, and eat something."

"Thank you." Marina smiled at her gratefully.

She was used to working hard but couldn't compare with the immortals and the Kra-ell. They were machines. Still, despite how crazy it sometimes got, she loved it at the café. The people were so friendly and welcoming, especially the Guardians, who stopped by and chatted with her and Wonder as if they were part of the gang because their mates were on the force.

Hearing footsteps approaching, she put her coffee cup down and turned around with her professional smile in place.

Seeing who the customer was, the smile slid off her face.

Borga.

What the hell was she doing in the café?

She was a pureblooded Kra-ell, so it wasn't like she was there to order a cappuccino and a pastry.

There could be only one reason, and that was to taunt Marina. For some reason, the female despised her and made it her mission to make Marina's life miserable.

She knew the reason, but it was as unhinged as the female herself was. Kra-ell were not supposed to be possessive or demand exclusivity from their bed partners, but since Borga had given Mo-red a son, she had convinced herself that he belonged to her and gave every female he ever looked at the stink eye.

The thing was, Marina had never been with the pureblooded male. The extent of their interaction had been him smiling at her a couple of times, which, given how severe the Kra-ell usually were, had given Borga ideas.

"Well, well, well," Borga drawled, her voice dripping with disdain. "If it isn't the little blue-haired koraba."

Koraba sounded like the name of an animal from the Kra-ell home planet, which probably had some unfavorable characteristics for Borga to hurl it so derisively at Marina.

Marina affected a neutral expression. "What can I get for you, Borga?"

The female leaned against the counter, her lips curving in a cruel smile. "I need my house cleaned. You are a maid. Figure it out. Or are you too busy servicing your immortal when you are not working in the café for pocket money?"

Behind her, Marina heard Wonder's intake of breath, and tension practically crackled in the air. Hopefully, Wonder would stay out of it and let her handle it herself.

Rising to Borga's bait would only make things worse.

The female thrived on conflict and used her so-called power over those she considered beneath her, whether hybrids or humans. Engaging with her would only feed that twisted need, and Marina wouldn't give her the satisfaction of knowing that she had gotten under her skin.

"I'm sorry, Borga," she said evenly, meeting the female's gaze without flinching. "But I'm afraid I can't help you with that. If you are not here for coffee or pastries, I will have to ask you to step aside so I can assist the next customer in line."

Borga's eyes flashed with anger, her nostrils flaring as she leaned in close. "Don't use that tone with me, human," she hissed. "You might think that you are all that because you are an immortal's plaything, but you are nothing, just a novelty that will wear off sooner or later."

Borga was trying to get a rise out of her, the words designed to cut and wound and leave her feeling small and insignificant, but a small, treacherous part of her couldn't help but wonder if there was a kernel of truth buried beneath the vitriol. After all, what did she have to offer someone like Peter?

"That's enough, Borga," Wonder said, her voice low and menacing. "You need to leave. Now."

Since Borga had spoken to Marina in Kra-ell, her tone alone must have annoyed Wonder enough for her to intervene.

The Kra-ell female sneered, her gaze flicking dismissively over Wonder's face. "Or what? You'll make me? You and what army?"

Even Marina's surprise over Borga's mastery of English couldn't diminish her panic as the two females squared off, their bodies coiled with tension and radiating aggression.

Wonder was a big female, but she was immortal, and as a pureblooded Kra-ell, Borga was much stronger and definitely more vicious.

She didn't want Wonder to get hurt because of her.

"I don't need an army to teach a conceited, rude female her place." Wonder leaned over the counter, staring Borga down.

Aliya sidled over to Wonder. "And if she needs help teaching you some manners, I happen to be an excellent teacher." She put her arm around Wonder's shoulders.

"A hybrid and an immortal defending a worthless human." Borga snorted. "I can hand you both your asses without breaking a sweat."

"You can try," Aliya snarled, her eyes flashing red and her fangs on full display.

Damn, the girl was scary. Marina was glad that Aliya was on her side.

Borga must have thought so too, because she took a step back. "As much as I would have enjoyed tearing you two a new one, we are under compulsion not to harm each other." She spun on her heel, and as she stalked away, she flipped them the finger.

The three of them stood there for a moment, the tension slowly leaching out of the air.

"What's her problem?" Aliya asked.

"She's unhinged." Marina let out a breath. "For some reason, she hates me and enjoys taunting me. I had forgotten about her when I asked to be transferred here."

Wonder's eyes were still blazing with anger as she turned to Marina. "You need to report this to Jade," she said firmly. "This is not acceptable behavior in the village."

Wonder was correct, but Marina was reluctant to make a fuss and draw attention to herself. Borga had been living in the village for a while, while Marina had just arrived. If Borga had behaved well so far, Jade might blame Marina for provoking her.

Besides, Jade was even scarier than Borga.

"It's okay. Eventually, she will tire of picking on me and move on."

"That's not how it works." Wonder sighed. "I don't have a lot of life experience, but even I know that bullies need to be dealt with, or they just get emboldened."

"Why you, though?" Aliya asked. "Borga is unpleasant, but I've never seen her that vicious to anyone."

"Borga is a bad apple, always has been. Not that the other purebloods were much better, but they were mostly just condescending, and she was mean. I was one of the maids assigned to clean the pureblooded females' quarters, so I was forced to interact with her. Maybe she'd gotten it into her head that I caught Mo-red's eye, or she just enjoyed lording it over me. No one had much in Igor's compound, not even the pureblooded Kra-ell, and because they had so little, the ones whose characters were less than stellar tried to make themselves seem better than others by tormenting the humans."