All That Matters

Juliet

The last thing I remembered was sending out the distress message. "Carl!" Panicked, I sat up and rubbed my eyes, glancing around. Charlene and Romero were in each other's arms on some cushions next to me. A raggedy breath escaped as tears sprung to my eyes, glad that we were safe but still processing everything that had happened. The one time Charlene and I decided to behave, crap still found us. She wasn't with me in the tent, and I didn't know what they were doing to her. I climbed over her and lay between them, pushing myself in. Romero hugged us both and held us tightly. I did feel like bawling. They could have done anything to us. 

Imani lifted the tent flap and stepped through. " I came to see how you were doing. You have been sleeping for a while. Kubra and Carl went to help Michael... Your son is a fine boy."

I sat up. "Caleb? Is he here? He went with them?" 

She nodded. "A whole entourage of men and women came jogging past. Another Riphath was carrying you. There were three, and the rest were Vampires and some humans."

I sighed. Selena, Jamal, and Jessy. They had gotten the message and had come.

"Michael?"

"He has not come back. They all went to try and find him. Come…" Her voice drolled. "Let me make you something warm to drink." Imani stretched out her arm and helped me up. 

"Is Charlene okay?" I glanced back. 

"I hope so."

"What did they want? I couldn't understand what they were saying."

"Raiders… Unfortunately, some of the Dheka don't believe in our way of life." I had even more respect for Ira. Nothing like this would ever happen on Zoreah. "They don't want to wait their whole lives to have a mate."

"They steal women?" Imani's lip pulled in a disgusted manner. 

"They are all dead. Your people killed the whole camp. Did us a favor. We did not even know they were moving out this way. I feel terrible that we left you both here."

***

It was a while before we sensed any activity in the distance. The chatter resonated over the small tents. Yazen and Kubra were at the front of the crowd. Jamal and Selena were there. No, Michael. What was he doing? I stood on the outskirts, waiting for them to catch up. I fell into Kubra's arms. The next moment, I felt a body pressing against me. Kubra pulled us both in under a shoulder. Charlene was awake. I lifted my hand and ran my fingers over her hair. "Are you okay? Tell me they didn't do anything to you." 

Charlene shook her head, teary-eyed. "I don't think they would've. I had never been in that much pain. They must have known they had made a mistake… You?" 

I shook my head. Kubra was holding us close to his body. I glanced around and wrapped my arms around Carl's neck. Charlene followed, and we both started crying. "No… why with me will you let the waterworks flow."

"Thank you," I whispered, hugging him tightly. "You guys saved us."

"You should thank Charlene."

Charlene peeked at me. "Glad we talked about it." 

We both stepped away, wiping under our eyes. "Charlene and I discussed the supernatural pull we had on each other. We even tried for some time to connect with you guys… Maybe you knew who to pull out when you were in trouble." 

"If I did. It happened by itself." Carl was smug, with a smirk on his face. His eyes fixed on Charlene. She hit him in the shoulder. Charlene turned to Kubra and pulled his lips onto hers. He wrapped her up and picked her up like he always did. "I was hurting with you." He whispered.

"You were?"

We all glanced at Carl. "I did feel funny but no pain… Are you going to think about it? You knew who to call, and I came." Charlene stretched out a hand and placed it on Carl's cheek. She nodded. "Seems like love has more pull in the universe than we thought." Carl put his hand on hers. 

Charlene jumped off Kubra and rubbed her hands over her face. "Man, I can't think straight. Feels like I was drugged."

"I did stab you with a black tube. You were convulsing, and I did the first thing that came to mind." 

Kubra's eyes went over our shoulders. We followed his gaze. Romero was waiting and taking in the scene. It would be the first time Charlene was in the arms of another man. With my men, we had years to get used to it. He had one moment. "This is not how I saw this introduction going." Charlene's voice was shaky. She stretched out a hand, and Romero came closer, taking it. "Romero… This is Kubra…. Kubra… This is Romero." 

"I was awake when he put you down next to me."

The two men shook hands, and he did the same with Carl. "Thank you both. I do not know what would have happened if you fought it."

"I didn't know we could," Carl said. Romero was taking in the two men. His eyes went from one to the other. 

"Where are Michael and Caleb," I asked Kubra.

"They are going for the vault. Let's sit down. I'm wiped. Will tell you everything that happened." 

We all chose cushions in the sand. There was an area outside the tents where everyone could socialize. All the vamps and humans had gone to sit down together with the Dheka. They were taking off gear and shoes, unburdening themselves. The servants brought food and drinks and started playing music. The Dheka was celebrating. They seemed like a social planet. 

Selena came to sit with me. "How are you doing? Do you regret coming with me?"

"Me? No! I'm so glad to be off that sand hole." She examined the scene around us. "Just to follow you into another one." We both giggled. 

"Do you regret getting the treatment?"

Selena always spoke with gestures from her hands moving all around. She always gave a thumbs down if she didn't like something. Expressive eyes… but so soft and friendly that she drew you in. An easy smile on her thin lips. Little round cheek balls. It always seemed like she was happy. No matter where she was or what she was doing. Funnily pulling a face. I was always like that. I can't remember when I last felt like being silly. 

"No! My training has improved so much, thanks to you and Marcus. The treatment has made me stronger… It was hard in the beginning being in that mask. But now, I've gotten over it and can control the change. I feel so powerful."

I nodded. A thought struck me. We still didn't know what would happen between the species. If the Werewolves had something different happen to them when they branded each other. Cross-species? If Selena was this strong and got branded by a human… What the hell would we do? What a mess I had created.

"You can always go back to Zoreah... Join my army there. You must have made some friends with the girls. Were you there when Ira asked them? How was it behind the scenes? I didn't want to force them."

"You kidding. You can't force that bunch to do anything. I have a hell of a time when we spa. They are so strong. Some of them are much older than me. But we're all only girls, and they liked the idea of getting pregnant. And the fact that they could choose their lover." We both laughed lightly. Her eyes drifted to Jessy a few times. "I can't believe Ira allowed it."

"No, me neither."

"I think Sammy has changed his mind a lot. It's not like she is a mix of the two. Your babies are either one or the other."

"Yes…" I chuckled. "If we created hybrids, it would have been another story. I think it has to do with whoever the father is… determines the species of the baby." 

I was trying to fish out how she felt about getting pregnant. She glanced at Jessy again. She was easy to read. Anyone would know where her mind was at. Not that I thought she understood what was happening. 

"Can I ask you a question?"

She nodded with a cheeky smile on her lips, ruffling her hair. "Have you slept with anyone since you came with me?"

"No! I'm going to try to be a human for a while." We both laughed. "I haven't been off Zoreah for that long. Or with you guys. But I got to see how it is between couples. I have seen you and Chris together. I have seen you with everyone… And I can see the appeal. I've read so many books. Grown in so many areas. It opened up my whole world to possibilities." 

"You find people interesting?"

"Yes… There is just more to know about a person than being physical… You wake up with someone next to you every morning. I would like to know what that feels like. Knowing someone will be there for me… Loved me."

The corner of my mouth lifted. "I've been another bad influence. Never let Ira hear you say that you fancy monogamy." We both laughed again… Regardless of the pleasantness between us, there was something I had to get off my chest. "Have you spoken to Chris at all?"

"No." Her smile fell. It was strange seeing any manner of sadness on her features. "It was hard seeing him like that. In that bed for so long. And anyway I've been busy… Too busy… And I like saying that. We were always so bored. And there aren't any more long days patrolling together. There will also not be any in the future… Chris and I've been friends for so long." The stab of jealousy was brief. "We spent so much time together. It does feel strange to just cut ties. Like they say on Earth."

"You miss the three of you?"

"Yes, I do." 

"Would you want to go back to patrolling? Go back to Zoreah?"

"No. I've made my decision. I want to keep learning... Chris and Jamal would never go back." 

Selena wasn't a naïve little girl anymore. 

"How is Jamal doing? I'm sorry that I haven't been there lately. To help you go through everything… Help you adjust." 

"When we were on Zoreah. I didn't understand what Chris's problem was. But being in the midst of things. It puts it all into perspective. And I get it. Any relationship has to come from both parties. It doesn't work if one has a particular way of thinking, unwilling to adjust… Jamal, I think… Is a lot like Chris. Learned a lot from him. He was yearning for something else. I never could understand the two of them. Or why Jamal fought about me in the club." 

I smiled. "You do now."

Her eyes darted over the crowd. "They are both happy to be able to decide what they want. And do something about it."

"That's one thing about our group. We're a bunch of misfits to our races."

Selena pulled a funny face. 

"Can I ask you another question?"

"Sure."

"Have you ever had a baby before? On Zoreah?"

"No. Never happened… Not for lack of trying," she chuckled. 

"I wanted to warn you. That stuff pumped into you… Might make it a hundred percent if you're not on birth control."

"Like I said. Abstinence is my new name." She smiled and looked at Kubra. "I spent some time with Kubra… He told me how long he had to wait for Charlene to want to sleep with him." She shook her head. "Earth is complicated… The cultural differences… I understand why Ira doesn't want to do that. The one thing he's done right. Keeping us together as a nation…." Selena raked her fingers through her hair and gripped a bunch on the top of her head. Her elbow rested on a bent-up knee. "But… I want to see what it's like. I judged Chris about it. Now I have to go through it to experience it."

I took her hand in mine. "Selena… I want to ask you another question. It might not be the right time." 

She squeezed my fingers in hers. "You don't have to. I… have never been in love. On Zoreah, with Chris... I liked the way he responded to me. Only to me, all those years he was there." Another wave of jealousy hit me. "And everyone thinks I don't notice things. Or hear everything going on. But I do… I did want to sleep with him… You won't blame me for that." I rested my head on her shoulder. How could I? None of us asked for the way things turned out. "If I could go back… I might not have slept around. It wasn't only Jamal. It was me and my inability to see Chris's way of loving." Selena's voice was hoarse. She bit back tears. "Jessy said you asked about the brandings and that Chris is in love with me." 

We both looked up at Jessy. He regarded us from across the space between the circles of people. They were both in a place where they had to let time pass before deciding. Jessy didn't just want a wife or a family. He wanted her. Neither of them had any clue how hard it would be… In a real relationship. And Selena had not once mentioned Jessy as the person I was talking about. She thought I meant Jamal. "You don't know what will happen if two Riphaths do it? You think it will give Chris his powers back."

"Chris wasn't always so committed as he seems now. He had always pushed for me to let them also love others... It took so much from me to break through his Riphath attributes. He fought the love for so long… At one point, Selena, you will change… And after that, it is a matter of who made you cross the line."

Selena glanced down at me. "I will never do it. And I know that was his answer to you."

"You guys haven't had one open conversation. Once you do. I'll let it go. I told Chris he couldn't sleep with you. But that doesn't mean that when you tell him you love him, his feelings for me won't change. The only reason he didn't was because… I was the one that loved him first. I pushed and pressed in. I worked for him… It was all he wanted. Chris won't do that again. Not after Sita."

I glanced over to Kubra and Charlene. They had been sitting together for some time, away from the rest of the group, on a sandy hill, deep in conversation. His arm was around her shoulder, and her head rested on his chest. I scanned the crowd to see how Romero was taking it all. He wasn't anywhere. I got up. "I'll be right back." Selena moved and sat down next to Jessy. I made my way to Charlene and Romero's tent. It was quiet inside. His knees were in his elbows like Marcus liked to sit. I wanted to go home. I missed Marcus. He wanted to be there for the pregnancy. Michael and I were on the right track. Chris was getting better. 

I sat down next to the shadowy figure. Romero's eyes were changing from green to red. Not only those colors but white and gold… It was faint. Romero had little energy left. His ability was low. "If there is one thing I can say… It's that if you asked… she will choose you." 

Romero looked up at me, emotions edged on his features. "And if I know Kubra at all. If he thinks he is hurting her in the slightest, he will walk away." 

"It is not about them… I made a mistake." Romero's voice broke. "I left you two here. I'm doing this so I don't start crying. They could have forced both of you. I would not have been able to forgive myself… I already let her down by leaving her and our children unprotected."

I chuckled. "Romero... Nothing you can do will always protect her. Miné almost died because of me. Charlene was almost shot. Our way of living is like this… It never ends. And she wanted it… Another thing… If the galaxies are colliding. Will it really matter? We might all die soon."

"We won't die."

"What do you mean?"

"When galaxies collide… They merge. Form one big one. The system might change. Our way of life. The future. The brandings. But dying… Maybe if we are on the wrong planet, we might get flung out into space." 

I laughed nervously. Chris's time travel might be needed after all. "I want to ask you something."

"Go ahead."

"Fahan took Chris's ability. They have the tech to teleport… Just like the vamps."

Romero's colors even out, and he came back to human. "That's why you took the child." His mouth lowered to his arm, and he rested down, thinking. 

"Is there any way we can give it back? Do you know how to give someone their creature abilities? Chris swatched me with an "over-space and time" piece. He thinks that if he goes back, he might be restored."

Romero's arm reached out and gripped my shoulder. "Juliet. Chris can not go back. Ever. Tell him it is not worth it… Remember… With everything in life, there is a price. There are other ways. We have the dark city. Its chambers are supernatural. There are more, and it is not only for mate brandings."

I sighed, relieved that it would be as easy as putting Chris in a room. 

"The pens they emboss their swatches with come from Palmyra. How is that possible?"

"We are all linked in some way. If you are half-human, your planet has a connection with the other."

"I see… Let's go outside. You need to spend time with Kubra… and Carl."

Romero stood up with me. I gave him a side hug. "She's fine…." Romero lifted the tent flap to Kubra and Charlene, kissing in the distance. Their star setting behind the two, making a picturesque scene. He drew in a sharp breath. His fist clenched the material. I grabbed his wrist when his veins turned green in the dark shadows. "She's tied to you for life… You have the most of her… Heart, body, and spirit… Never forget that." 

His eyes slowly met mine. "Is that how you feel about Louis? Is that what she meant… That I am her, Louis?"

I closed my eyes and opened them on Kubra and Charlene. Carl watched them from under his eyelashes. His eyes came up and met ours in the doorway. Only thinking about Louis wanted me to go back even more. I missed that person who gave himself to me. Always present.

"Yes…" I said softly.

"Juliet… Michael will have a hard time if you do not give him something, too." 

"Mmm." My mind was reeling to think what I could do. 

"He does not have the background a vamp child must go through to behave. For all our sakes. All the planets… You have to work for him."

I bit the corner of my lip. "The only one I've ever really fought for was Chris… With him, I pushed."

Charlene and Kubra had joined the crowd again. She saw us and called us over. "You ready."

"No. How do I do this? Where do I go? Do I sit down next to her… away from her? Should I stay here and give them space?"

"A schedule." I joked. Romero didn't like the idea at all. "Well, what do you do here if two men fight for one woman's affection?"

"It has never happened."

"Then, you should follow your own advice… Charlene will show you how much she loves you. Just be ready to receive it."

***

Charlene

Kubra had led me out of the camp, away from the bustle of the soldiers. It was quiet between us, but he never stopped touching me. He wasn't as awkward as I felt. My gaze drifted back a few times. Romero was nowhere in the crowd. "Charlene… You changed your mind?" Kubra's chin was resting on my shoulder. He hesitated. "I… missed you." 

"I didn't think you really loved me."

"Proof was all you needed," Kubra asked. I bobbed my head. "I didn't think you knew what you were doing." We both laughed. Kubra trailed kisses over my neck. 

"How do you feel about me being pregnant. You were so good with Miné. I can't imagine how you would be with your own child."

"The same… Miné is also my child. And I have never been this happy."

"Are you serious?" I turned and scooted in between his legs, crossing my legs. All the tension washed away when I peered into his eyes. 

"If it wasn't for Juliet that day. I probably wouldn't have branded you. You would have left me, and I wouldn't have the family I so longed for."

"You should always listen to your wife."

Kubra's lips ended up on mine, kissing me desperately. He lifted his head, "Is there anywhere we can go." I didn't think I would care about hurting Romero or Kubra as much as Juliet did about her husbands. At that moment, I didn't care about anything but the feeling of him. Focused on all the sensations of his gentle persuasions. All I wanted was to disappear with him. "You can take me anywhere." Kubra kept taunting me. I was still drugged, and after everything that happened. I didn't want to stop. His hand cupped my neck, and a thumb stroked up and down. My eyes were closed. "Charlene…"

"Mmhmm." My hands kept roaming his body.

"I want you. The last time we were together is all I had to think about."

My eyes opened, and I saw Romero and Juliet in the tent watching us. Kubra's eyes followed my gaze. He sighed. "I'll give him some time. You're not completely well yet."

"I am." 

Kubra laughed, his hard thighs pressed against my legs. "I'm used to the harem systems. Maybe we should give him some time to get accustomed to it." I shook my head, thinking about us at the watering hole in the moonlight. "You know it would be tough for me if you were any different with me. But you're as full of desire as the last time." I shook my head again, biting my lip, watching his mouth. Kubra was damn potent when he smiled like that. "You are a little different, and I do love it." Kubra got up and pulled me to my feet. "One of us has to think straight."

"No… please. Don't go. As soon as we are back there, it will be awkward again."

"It will get better. In a hundred years, maybe."

"What about Carl? Please tell me what to do… Will you hate me?"

"Sharing you with two other men. Yes, I do hate you for it… I was never meant to share." 

I pressed my chest onto his. "It's not my choice." Kubra gripped my shoulders and pushed me away. "Do you love him or not?"

I nodded. "Every time I see him, the certainty grows… Carl is different. There won't be any more stalling between us."

Kubra's jaw flexed. "Romero isn't the only one that has to get used to it… You will have to give us all some time." I tugged on his hand. "I can see you're still pent-up for me… It's enough for now… You will have to get used to having three men, and no one wants to sleep with you."

"Not even if I ask you to… knead my breasts… Entangle our naked thighs…." I said in a sexy voice.

"So much for asking you to sit on my lap…." Kubra's nerves were stretched taut, and his kiss held the promise of things unsaid. Painfully, he unlocked our lips, and we walked back to the festivities. I called Romero and Juliet over. They were talking about me. I knew it. It was a tricky situation. I tried to catch Romero's eye. We looked at each other, and he broke off the eye contact. My hands wanted to find my back pockets again. I needed to make myself some pants with freaking pockets. I had these flashes of what we had gone through. For some reason, I didn't think Juliet was telling the truth about what happened. Kubra didn't want to let go of my hand. He and Jessy were talking about going back to En-gannim. My fingers closed around his. I didn't want them to go. Having my family back was all that mattered. I sneaked a peek at Carl. My heart leaped a little out of my chest when he looked at me like that. The corner of his mouth lifted, and he stood up. Carl was definitely sure… I breathed out the breath I was holding. Romero and Juliet sat down on some cushions. 

"Can I steal her away from you for just a minute?"

"Yes, please." I grabbed Carl's hand and started walking away from everything and everyone. Carl tried to keep up with me. "Thank you."

"Charlie, I know when you need to be rescued from a sticky situation."

"Sticky situation!"

"Calm down. You're still not well…." Carl narrowed his eyes. "You know what! Come with me." He pulled me back all the way and pushed me down next to Romero. "You stay there." He pointed a finger at me. "If he is your lifeline from now on. That's where you'll be. You're not allowed to leave his side until you are one hundred percent." Carl sat down next to Juliet and pulled her into his person. "Jules, you don't know how scared I was seeing you like that." Carl got up again. "I'm getting you both drinks. Whether you're pregnant or not." Juliet and I laughed. Nothing like Carl to keep the group together. "And after that, I want to dance. With both of you."

Juliet and I flung our arms around Romero and kissed him on his cheeks. Carl pulled us up, and we followed him to where the booze would be. I had forgotten for a moment what it was all about. The three of us pretended like nothing had happened. The Dheka followed us when we started dancing. Carl's touches had changed. His fingers lingered longer around my waist. He was flirting with me. Juliet enjoyed the show, giving me knowing glances. We ended up in peels of laughter. Selena soon joined us. Kubra and Romero spent the rest of the night in deep conversation.