“The Healer told us to stay in here because he’d put up soundproof shields around the room.” Sara laughed. “And now I know why.”
“Girl, how crazy must they have been that the Healer had to do some construction work?” Simone slapped hands with Sara.
“Okay, we were notthatloud.” Emma’s face was probably completely red.
Nope.
She was sure it was.
Kia strode toward her and rubbed her back. “Honey, I wasn’t there, but as a fellow human who’s mated to her own alien, I can say that you’re wrong. Especially the first time. It’s so overwhelming that we can’t help but lose our minds.”
“So how does it feel?” Sara asked, moving toward her.
“How does what feel?”
“Loving an alien?”
“You mean physically or…?”
Sara waved her handwhichever.
Emma sucked in a breath as she thought about it. “It feels like I’m falling.” She pressed a hand against her chest. “Like I’m falling and falling and I’ll never reach the bottom. It feels like someone’s taken up space in here and if they leave, I’ll never be the same.”
“Aw.” Kia hugged her around the neck.
Emma squirmed. “I’ve never felt this dependent on anyone. When Lans left for the meeting with the other warriors, I wanted to go with him. Not even to contribute. Just to be near him. And the thought of him getting hurt again makes me so…” Her voice cracked. “So emotional.”
“We all go through that.”
“But I hate it.” Emma shot to her feet, dislodging Kia’s arms. “I hate being like this. I don’t understand what’s happening to me.”
“That’s love, honey,” Sara said.
“Well, it sucks.”
“There she is.” Simone nodded. “That’s the Emma I know.”
She shook her head. “Enough about me. Let’s talk business. The last time the guys had a mission, we came up with a plan of our own.” She looped a circle with her finger. “Is that why you’re here? Is the council of females in session?”
A huge grin broke out on Simone’s face. Her white teeth flashed against her gorgeous dark skin and made Emma’s lips turn up in response. Kia’s reaction was equally exuberant. She chewed on her bottom lip as if she wanted to explode with a secret that wasn’t hers to tell.
Sara cleared her throat. “Actually, we wanted to lock ourselves in here for a different reason.”
“Yeah?” Emma’s eyes bounced from Kia to Simone and back to Sara. “What’s going on?”
Sara tugged on one of her springy curls. “Well, my period was a couple months late.”
“And…” Emma hurried her, leaning on every word.
“I was feeling kind of queasy, but I thought it was just a bad reaction to alien food.”
“No!” Emma’s eyes widened. “You’re—”
“Yes!” Sara squealed.
“And how do you know for sure?”
“I felt movement.” Sara’s dark skin glowed in the morning light. “It probably sounds crazy, but Iknow. And one of the reasons I came here—apart from checking up on you and Lans, of course—was to get checked out by the Healer.”