Chapter Ten

“Where to?”

“Back to your place,” Tristan told her.

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”

“I agree; I don’t want you going in. Give us a list of what you want or need, and we’ll get it for you. The rest can go to charity if you’re alright with that.”

“This is not how I envisioned moving but yeah the rest can go to charity.”

Why had she been targeted? Until now, she had put it behind her, pretending that it happened to someone else. Going to her apartment and not being able to walk in magnified everything she went through. She didn’t dare think that she was the only one who saw the world through her rose-colored glasses. She was convinced there were others like her out there, but none of them lived in her building.

Whoever targeted her did it in such a way that she was the only one who would have been affected. She couldn’t even go to the police. That would be a strange conversation before they committed her for her safety and the safety of the public. She was on her own in this.

“How were they able to do this?”

“We still don’t know what they did,” Tristan laid his hand on her thigh.

“How will I ever know that I’ll be safe again?”

“You won’t, but you didn’t know you would be safe before you entered your apartment,” Ven told her.

“I know, but Ven, we humans walk around with the belief that we are safe. Unless we are walking down an alley at night or going someplace we know is compromised, we expect to get there and leave there safely.” Even as she said that she thought of Anna and Eve. They were always a bit on edge when they went somewhere new. Walking, dancing, talking, kissing or a thousand other things while being a lesbian put you on the hit list of those who didn’t support your lifestyle choices.

She had never been attacked physically, but verbal abuse still hurt. How many times had she been put down or called derogatory names because of her weight? How dare she be a larger female while still being able to work five-inch heels and a stripper pole.

Ven was right safety wasn’t a given. People in America assumed they were safe, to believe anything else would show the underbelly of a nation that might not be as shiny as they thought.

“I’m supposed to sit in the hallway telling you what I want while you walk through my apartment, and I feel like a convict forbidden to walk inside?” She asked as they came out of the stairwell.

“That’s one way to do it.”

There were two plus size black females standing by her door. The first thing she noticed was they were impeccably dressed. The second was that the female talking was pregnant.

“Mom!” Ven broke off and hugged the pregnant female refusing to let her go.

She hugged him back content to stay in his arms until he was able to take a step back.

“No hug for me?”

“God mom!” He hugged her tight.

Ven was a momma’s boy; she wasn’t a bit surprised. What did surprise her was that there was no way this human female could be his mother.

“Mom, god mom I want you to meet Mira, I told you about her. She’s Tristan’s mate.”

She was going to ignore that mate part. “Hi, I’m Mira.”

“Mira this is my mom, Deja, and this is my god mom, Safire.”

“Nice to meet you both.”

“Nice to meet you, Mira,” Deja told her.

“Nice to meet you, Mira,” Safire told her.

“Ven told us about what happened at your apartment. Not just him, Cait and Tristan informed us first. When we realized that you needed to have it cleaned out and that taking your clothes wasn’t wise we came to help you shop,” Deja told her.

Mira stood staring at them.

“It feels kind of strange that people I don’t know would care enough to come help me. When I ended up mated to Declyn, I already knew Deja, we are best friends. She mated Enzo, Ven’s father. From the time she got to the compound, she made sure to include every mate who came along. You might not live at the compound, but you're one of us. We take care of our own.” Fire told her.

How would they feel if they found out she was a freak?

“Road trip… well, mall trip?” Deja asked her with a hopeful smile.

“This one rarely gets to go out since she’s pregnant. Overprotective mate,” Fire said with a laugh.

“Did someone call my name?”

Two huge men were coming down the hallway. They were roughly the same height as Tristan and Ven, but they carried some serious muscle. Mira casually backed up until she was pressed against Tristan.

“Don’t worry about these two they are as sweet as kittens,” Deja hugged the one male. “This is Enzo, my mate and Ven’s father. The other one is Declyn. He’s the Alpha and Fire’s mate. This is Mira, Tristan’s mate.”

“I’ve waited a long time to meet you, Mira.” Declyn drew her in for a quick hug.

“You saved him, by saving him; you saved us,” Enzo told her giving her a quick hug. “Do we have that list?”

Mira pulled out her phone and began sending additional items to Tristan.

“Don’t do too much walking. Remember to sit when you get tired. Should I come along?”

“Enzo I’m pregnant not dying. I’ll be fine,” Deja rolled her eyes before kissing him.

“Deja forgets that this is the third child ever born to the Kur’iks and the first hybrid. The first child being Ven,” Safire said while she placed her hand on her hip and gave Deja a, ‘you better behave’ look.

Mira smiled. That was a look only a friend could give you. Suddenly, she wanted to be part of this group. Not because she ran the Angel’s network, or because she was ten to twenty years older than them, and they looked at her as a big sister or a mother figure. She wanted to belong on her own merit to this group that wasn’t about putting on airs.

“I would love to go to the mall.”

“Yes, we’re out of here.” Deja did a fist pump in the air before she pulled Enzo in for one last kiss before she went and hugged her son.

Safire was untangling from Declyn when Tristan walked up behind Mira and wrapped her in his arms.

“I’ll miss you.” She believed him. She turned around and kissed him. Her cheeks flushed before she moved back.

She followed Deja and Safire down the staircase.

“Just say it Deja,” Fire said as she held the door open for them.

“The two of you are so cute!”

“I have to go with Deja on this one, you guys are tres adorable.”

Mira blushed and then felt her pockets. “Tristan has my keys.”

“Don’t worry Enzo would have a fit if he thought I was placing myself and our child in a vehicle without adequate protection.” She stopped to make air quotes. “His words not mine. We’ll be taking the Land Rover today.” Deja hit the key fob.

“I swear I thought he was going to make you take the Yukon.” Safire climbed into the driver’s seat.

“Fire I can drive! I’m pregnant, not dying.” Deja stamped her foot on the ground.

“Girl, how do you think I got Enzo to let us hit the mall without him? I promised I was driving.”

“You might as well get in Mira; I'm not winning this one.” She waited until Fire was on the road before talking. “It’s the one drawback with these guys; they're overprotective and don’t care.”

“Why?”

“You ever want something that you were told you could never have? Then you got it. How do you treat it?”

“Like it’s as precious as the air I breathe.”

“That’s why. Ask Tristan about the life he led, he’ll tell you. You’ll understand and then get so pissed you’ll want to go destroy the planet he came from. Maybe that was only me!” Deja laughed as they found out a little about each other.

“You’re a true empath?” Fire asked as they sat down in the food court.

“I am.”

“That doesn’t sound like an easy childhood,” Deja told her.

“It wasn’t. I look back now and think how much worse it could have been. When I was going through it, I didn’t think I’d have the strength to survive.”

“I can’t imagine what you went through. But I do understand not feeling like I belonged as I grew up.”

“The path of childhood is long and winding. There is no guarantee where you will end up.” Mira and Deja were staring at Fire. “Ugh! Did I sound like some poet slash new-age guru?”

They both nodded their heads. “We must shop!” Fire declared standing up.

“And they say I’m the drama queen,” Deja whispered to Mira.

“I heard that.” They laughed and went to the first store.

“You have some important decisions to make. Do you want to shop from the inside out, top to bottom, or bottom to top?” Deja asked her.

“What?”

“Do we start with lingerie, shirts, or shoes?” Fire asked.

“That is a big decision. Let’s start with lingerie.”

They changed direction and went to another store.

“We’re going to encourage you to buy everything you need and most of what you want. You may want to resist. Eventually, Tristan will take you out shopping if he is anything like the other males. He won’t understand why the stores close, and that shopping sprees aren’t really meant to take a week or more. All I’m saying is save room for that in your drawers,” Deja said with a wink.

“The two of you are happy.”

“How can you tell?” Fire asked her.

“I can feel it coming from you, but it’s also in your words. You have this look on your faces when you talk about your males. I sometimes see the same look on the face of women who are watching their husbands and think no one sees them. Its pure happiness. He doesn’t have to be a total looker or have the best body around. It all comes down to how he treats her. I’ve always wanted to be able to look at someone that way.”

“I wish we all got to have that look. Yes, to your answer we’re happy. I’m happy. Enzo and Ven gave me the family I never had. My best friend being part of my new family is like ice cream on top of my cake. Mmm ice cream.”

“No junk food for you,” Fire laughed.

“It’s not for me; it's for the baby. You wouldn’t deny the poor little thing, would you?”

“Is she manipulating me or am I imagining it?” Fire looked to Mira for help.

“It’s your imagination,” Mira told her as she went to try on bras.

“You’re my new best friend Mira,” Deja called after her.

“No ice cream until we finish shopping,” Fire told them as they walked into another store.

“She’s a workaholic. Since she became the Alpha female, she thinks she’s in charge of getting things done.” Deja said as she hid her smile.

“Less talking more shopping!” Fire commanded, then ruined it by laughing.

Mira bought everything she needed and a few things she didn’t. When they finally sat down for ice cream, she was sure her feet would refuse to stand again.