Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 88235 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88235 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Chain was gone and she would probably never see him again. And at that moment, it didn’t seem to matter that he was younger than her or that they hadn’t known each other very long—it felt like a piece of Vicky’s soul was being ripped away.
A piece she would never get back.
Chapter Thirty-four
“Oh, Commander Chainor—what are you doing back here so quickly?” Kat asked, looking at the M-Switch Kindred in surprise as he left the Docking Bay.
“Completing my mission. I have the second half of the T’lix-Kruthe,” he said shortly and opened his palm to show a shiny golden object. “I’m bringing it to Commander Sylvan now.”
“I’ll come with you,” Kat said. She’d been on her way to go see Sophie and Liv, who were at Sophie’s suite, so she fell into step beside the big Kindred and they continued down the long silver corridor together.
Chainor seemed inclined to be quiet, which was rather unlike him, Kat thought. While she didn’t know the M-Switch Kindred well, her few interactions with him had shown him to be extremely gregarious. He wore his title of thief and “Snatcher” like a badge of honor and came across as a lovable rogue—a male who was always willing to charm the ladies and laugh at the fact that his people were mostly outcasts in the larger Kindred society.
“You certainly completed your mission in record time,” she remarked, hoping to make some small talk and find out what was going on with him. “Where’s Vicky at? Is she waiting in the ship for you?”
“She’s back on Earth,” Chainor said shortly. “Where she belongs.”
“What?” Kat frowned at his frosty tone. From the way those two had been acting around each other and the look in Vicky’s eyes when she talked about the big Kindred, Kat had been certain she and Chainor were a match made by the Goddess herself. In fact, she’d fully expected the two of them to come back bonded. So what was going on?
“Why do you say she belongs back on Earth?” she asked Chainor, trying to feel him out.
“Because that is her home, of course.” He continued to stare straight ahead as he spoke but she thought she saw a little wince of pain on his handsome face.
“And…had you considered making it your home too?” Kat asked carefully. “I mean, I thought maybe the two of you had a future together. I know you had just met each other when we got to know Vicky, but the two of you had amazing chemistry. I, uh…” She cleared her throat. “I kind of thought the two of you might be bonded when you came back.”
“There was a point when I thought that, too,” Chainor said, nodding stiffly. “But it was not to be.”
“But…why not?” Kat asked bluntly, tired of beating around the bush.
Chainor stopped abruptly in the middle of the corridor and turned on her, his blue eyes flashing.
“Because she didn’t want me,” he growled and Kat saw pure, abject misery on his face for just a moment.
Then the big Kindred took a deep breath and wiped his face clean of emotion.
“It’s because I’m an M-Switch,” he said and though his face was now blank, there was unmistakable bitterness in his voice. “That’s the way it’s always been—will always be for me. No female would ever want to be with one of my kind and I do not blame them.”
“Chainor—” Kat began, but he shook his head.
“If you’ll excuse me, I’d prefer to be alone at this time. Forgive my rudeness but I find myself…preoccupied just now.”
“Oh, of course.” Kat nodded. “I’m, uh, sorry if I bothered you.”
“You didn’t,” he said shortly. “Have a good day.”
Then he turned and walked away. He was going in the wrong direction, but Kat didn’t say anything. She figured that he’d find his way to Sylvan eventually.
But in the meantime, what was going on between him and Vicky?
“This has to be a misunderstanding,” Kat muttered to herself. “I saw the way her eyes lit up when she talked about him. Those two belong together—I’m sure of it!”
But what could she do to make things right? Kat resolved to find out and in the meantime, she needed to find a way to keep Chainor here aboard the Mother Ship.
He couldn’t leave until things were cleared up with Vicky because if he did, who knew when he would ever come back again?
Chapter Thirty-five
The knock on her door a few days later surprised Vicky. For a moment, her heart fluttered. Could it be Chain, coming back for something? Maybe he had left something at her house, or maybe he just wanted to say hello.
She ran her fingers through her hair anxiously and grabbed a quick look in the bathroom mirror to check her makeup before running to the door. But when she opened it, her heart dropped down to her shoes.