The Goddess Has Her Say

"Talia, you're doing it again."

I blink and the blade in my hand halts.

Damn.

She's right; I am doing it again. There's no imminent battle coming, but I can sense the turmoil in my mate as he finishes the last job of the day before heading home.

"It's nothing, Theodora. Taurus is…" What do I say? He's battling himself, but I can't share why.

When the Company created the original community in the Rift, it was made up of their operatives and their staff. It was a small group with a set of beliefs that stemmed from the lore handed down by the original clones. It expanded to include a more diverse set of people, and even though we won the Battle of Blood and Steel, that victory was too late. Everything had changed and the original occupants were no longer comfortable in our home. We withdrew from the giant orgy full of whackos that took over.

That, it seems, is no longer an option.

Taurus answered her call because she intrigued him. Ever since, it's been a whirlwind of fights, broken furniture, lacerations I can't explain, and moods so black that he damn near fills our house with a bevy of emotions that choke me. But there's also been this boyish excitement and joy that he hadn't shown in so long… the spark socializing gives him that it doesn't give me.

I was a touch empathetic before I moved into the Rift. As it always does, the Rift magnified my small gift, making me a full-blown empath. Besides what I feel from our mating, I feel everything from everyone. It began when I moved here, long before the cat stepped through her first portal. I've learned to shield, block, and divert the overload to save my sanity. However, when Taurus is so over the top with his emotions, I can't keep them from slamming into me.

Right now, he's overflowing with big feelings and has no idea how to handle them.

Between his confusion about what he feels for her, our shared rage at the twits we considered family, and that toxic gnome's family, our house has been teeming with emotions to the point of bursting. I'm lucky my head doesn't split open daily.

This new set of desires is making him feel guilty; I know it. It's driving him to question the very foundations of our beliefs and that's eating him up inside. When he consulted me about doing a marking, I knew it wouldn't be enough.

Taurus is the original predator. Alistair may have come first in line in terms of creation, but Taurus is only one of his brothers that still lives the life they created him for. He's a killer, a mercenary, and a predator first and foremost.

That part of him has found its match in someone else, and he's consumed with guilt over it.

Don't mistake me—I am his primary mate. The bond between Taurus and me is deeper than the strands of the universe they pull the clones from. I may work in the Company's operations department, but I am also a hunter. I have a dark side that I hide. Unlike the cat, I don't share it with the public. People see my blades and my leather, and they stay away. I prefer it that way. He did, too, until her.

Satan help us, he wants to mate with her.

He's in love, and he's so conflicted. This is completely out of his wheelhouse. He's never considered a mate besides me. That was almost hard wired into his DNA. But for the first time, he loves someone besides me. It's just our bad luck that it's a half-cat, half-woman who's mated to a small army of people we hate and lives with a fleet of people we've never met. Who the hell else she's got ties with, I don't know, but I guarantee it is bigger than either of us knows.

This ‘suburb' of the Rift is much more populated than the Company knows. It's a city of its own and Deli is the Queen of their universe. Maybe of the Universe, as some of these people I've never even heard of. I can't even assess the danger of interacting with them because there are so many unknowns. Threat assessment is my specialty, and I'm stymied.

I have to do it, though, because I can feel his need thrumming through our bond and he's almost home.

"Talia, you haven't answered me."

I sigh and look at the perfectly coiffed and comfortable Theodora. Her head is tilted in concern. "There's been a lot of change lately, Theodora. I think we're getting ready to see even bigger changes yet. The bird has lost his mind."

"Is this a bad thing, Talia?"

Hell, if I know Theodora. Maybe. Probably. Almost certainly. "I don't know. He's coming home to ask me something important, and I am not sure how I feel about it."

"Does it make you angry or hurt your feelings?"

"No, it doesn't." I'm surprised to discover that, as I say it out loud. I'm not angry or hurt that he loves her or even that he wants to mate with her. Mating for clones has always been the equivalent of a magical marriage. It's bigger, more dangerous, and more permanent, but marriage is the closest thing humans have to it. "It makes me worried—for him, for us, for our life."

"Will it change that much?"

Notice how she never asks what it is. Theodora is so proper that if I did not tell her, she assumes it's not her business. "Yes. I think it will change everything."

"I see." She tilts her head again. "If it does not make you unhappy and is not a direct threat, but it will make Taurus happy, then it seems worth the risk. That is an assessment based on very little knowledge of the situation, I admit."

She's right. However, she's thinking with logic only, as androids do. I'm considering the emotional fallout. I don't know enough about Deli to form a complete picture. I know what I've seen as I keep a side eye on the community and what I saw at her house.

The most telling thing I know is that my mate is head over in heels in love with her. In fact, he is so in love with her he is standing on our front porch, smoking and pacing and talking to himself like a lunatic.

Our neighbors are going to have a fit.

"Let me go see if I can unruffle his feathers, Theodora. You and Damien may want to find somewhere else to be while Taurus and I have this discussion."

She nods, rising gracefully and heading for their rooms. "I agree. We shall find a suitable engagement to give you privacy. Contact us if you need help."

I smile and nod, grateful for her thoughtful behavior. "I will let you know when we have decided, Theodora. As it affects our family, we will discuss it once we know for sure."

"Of course."

I sigh, shoring up my shields because I can feel the frenetic, confused energy bouncing off the front door. I know this one's going to be a doozy.

Once more into the breach…