Brida Pact (26 page)

“Behyr, is this my fault? Should I stop hugging you guys or
something?” And then a thought popped into her head. “Oh no, did Wheaton hurt
him?”

“No, for the most part Wheaton was understanding. After all,
Dathrow was your second warrior match.” Behyr shook his head as if trying to
let her know she wasn’t to blame. He didn’t realize the bomb he’d just dropped.

“Wait—
what?
Dathrow
was the match the Council
mentioned when we had our meeting?” Holy smoke, she needed to sit down. Her
mind was whirling around and around. No wonder she had felt so comfortable
talking to him. According to the computer program, she and Dathrow should have
been comfortable around each other. They could have possibly been mated, for
crying out loud. Even though she had never felt the pull to him that she did
for Wheaton, she took some of the blame on herself. For him, she would have
been the ideal and everything he had said when they were sharing meals or
laughing together now made sense.

“So where is he? Was he told to stay away?” Feeling upset
about something out of her control had always grated on her nerves. This was
one of those situations.

Behyr noticed her sad face and came close to pat her arm
awkwardly. “He understood the Council’s standing and Wheaton’s feelings.
Dathrow asked for a transfer to Phaeton Two until a decision regarding your
match was made. I believe he was on one of the first shuttles this morning once
we were within transfer distance. If the Council dissolves your union to
Wheaton, you will have the option to join him there. If the Council abides by
your decision to stay with Wheaton then Dathrow will be matched to another
bride.”

Seeing that Poppy was still upset, he continued. “It is not
your fault, Poppy. You are a beautiful, smart, friendly woman and all of us are
slightly jealous of the luck Wheaton had when he was made your match.” Tipping
her chin up, he continued, “You make all of us smile by just being with us. You
are kind to everyone you meet and I cannot imagine a better friend to have. Dathrow
was tempted to try to claim you for his own and he let Wheaton know before
anything went further.”

Pausing, he gazed at her with a completely serious face.

“He is a good man. I might have done the same thing if I
knew that we had been matched—Wheaton or no.” Chucking her chin in a friendly
way, he smiled, showing his fangs. “Plus, you are one of the first to not be
frightened by my teeth.”

Realizing he was trying to joke to defuse the situation, she
grinned back and asked, “Oh really? What did Hannah think about those awesome
teeth of yours?”

Behyr laughed and turned back to the boxes. “You are a
curious thing, aren’t you?”

“Why yes I am. It’s a fault, I know. Curiosity killed the
cat and all that jazz.”

Hearing the tone indicating that someone was at the med door
was the only thing that stopped her from trying to weasel any more out of Behyr
regarding his time with Hannah. Jogging to the door, she bounced from one foot
to the other as the men laughed at her antics.

“They’re here! They’re here!” Poppy was obviously acting
like an idiot at the prospect of meeting some other women but she didn’t care.
She took a deep breath to calm herself and then let it out on yet another
disappointed sigh when the door opened and it was just Val and Thorne.

“Oh, it’s just you guys.”

“Well gee, best friend, thanks for the welcome,” Val said
sarcastically, giving Poppy a little arm punch.

“Sorry. I was just hoping you were the other brides who were
supposed to come by today. I have been waiting to meet them for what seems like
for-e-vah.” She frowned, realizing she’d forgotten Val’s appointment was first,
and that the brides would be a while longer.

“Just us…so sorry to disappoint you.” Sticking out her
tongue at Poppy, Val held Thorne’s hand and grinned at the doctors. “We’re here
to run the test on the regen bed, yes?”

Sensing why Val was asking to be scanned, they ushered her
quickly back to the exam room.

Val grinned behind her and said to Poppy, “Want to come in
and show me how this works?”

“Sure thing.” Poppy smiled back at Val. She could tell that
Val was nervous. And by the look of Thorne, he was equally on pins and needles.

“Plus, you can keep my big guy calm while we wait. He’s more
nervous than I am if that’s possible,” Val whispered to Poppy once she’d caught
up to her in the exam room.

Val’s screening was just as easy as Poppy’s had been. As
they waited for the results, Poppy tried to distract Thorne with questions.

“So…I thought you guys were going to be here earlier this
morning. What took so long?”

Thorne jumped when Val elbowed him to get his attention, and
then appeared sheepish as he realized that Poppy had been talking to him and he
had ignored her.

“Sorry, I am just…anxious,” he explained.

“So, where were you?” Noticing his gaze still hadn’t left
the doctors who were staring at the screen of the regen bed, she tacked on,
“You know that watching them like a hawk won’t make it go faster, right?”

“Of course, of course. Sorry. We were held up in Council
meetings.” Surveying the room now, he seemed to realize something. “Where is
Wheaton?”

Now Poppy was confused. “What do you mean? Wheaton was at
the Council meeting all morning.”

The weird expression on Val’s face didn’t make Poppy feel
too good about what was coming next.

“No, he wasn’t, Poppy. Both Hannah and Wheaton were absent
this morning,” Val replied, squirming under the scrutiny.

Poking her head out of the exam room, Poppy yelled, “Behyr!”

He came running into the room, which he scanned as if he
were checking for an enemy. Finding no one was in danger, he relaxed slightly.
“Why did you yell for me? I thought something was wrong.”

Waving her hand at him, which she knew he hated, Poppy
brushed off his words. “Where is Hannah today?”

She could see he was confused at her question but he
answered, “At Council meetings,” then became confused at both Val and Thorne
shaking their heads at him.

“Apparently not. These two just came from the Council and
said that neither Wheaton
nor
Hannah were there this morning.” She
nodded to the pair.

Now everyone was confused. But at that moment the regen bed
beeped, letting them know the scan was complete. Thorne practically barreled
past Poppy to get to the doctors. If Poppy could guess based on the smiles on
their faces, she had a friend to schedule playdates with. Her suspicion was
quickly confirmed when Thorne turned and raced across the room to lift Val up
and hug her so tightly that her back should have popped.

“So yes?” Val whispered.

“Yes,” Thorne answered in a soft but happy voice.

“Yes!” Poppy couldn’t help but exclaim with a fist pump into
the air.

“Yes what?” Behyr asked, watching everyone apparently
celebrate, but not knowing why.

Thorne turned with his arm around a beaming and slightly
crying Val and announced to everyone within earshot, “Valerie is having my
baby!”

The entire scene made Poppy laugh. Thorne seemed pleased as
punch that Val was pregnant. Val was happy as well if her beaming smile was
anything to go by. The docs were patting each other on the backs as though they
personally had had a hand in the baby-making while Behyr was stunned, his
confusion apparent on his face.

“You and Valerie?” he said, pointing between the two of
them. “But you weren’t matched…” Unable to get out what he was trying to say,
he stopped and then asked, “Does the Council know?”

Thorne nodded and hugged Val tighter to his side. “We met
with them this morning and explained the situation. I have petitioned for a
match with Valerie and it has been approved. Now we are waiting for the
paperwork to be signed.” He sent Poppy a grateful smile. “Poppy had suggested
that we point out it would be to the benefit of the Council to have a liaison
stationed here and it worked to our advantage. They did not want an unattached
female on the ship permanently, but a liaison who is also a bride was perfect.”

Walking forward to give hugs and congratulate the couple,
Poppy whispered to Val, “I’m so happy for you.”

Sniffing back her tears, Val laughed a little. “It’s a bit
hard to take it all in. I mean, I came up here to help you out and then go
home. Instead I met Thorne, we’re getting married and now we’re pregnant. I’m
overwhelmed but so happy I feel like I could burst into confetti at any
second.”

“No bursting please.” Poppy laughed, wiping her own eyes
that had teared up. “Speaking of bursting,” she added, “We should ask Tamin or
Rodin about something to ease morning sickness. That shit can hit you quick but
they might have something to deal with it.”

“Yeah, that’s a good idea,” Val replied, holding her hands
up to her smiling cheeks as she took a deep breath. “Do you ever feel like
things happen for a reason?”

Poppy took a second and then nodded at the men in the room.
“Yeah…I do.”

While Thorne grilled the two doctors about what Val could
and could not do, it seemed like the ideal time for Poppy to steal Val away to
the main medical room. Behyr followed them, obviously having some questions and
knowing that he wouldn’t be able to get answers out of Thorne for a little
while now.

Poppy ushered her now-pregnant friend to a seat at a round
table where they all made themselves comfortable even though Behyr seemed
tense.

“So, where the hell are Wheaton and Hannah?” Poppy blurted
out, trying to solve the puzzle in her head.

Valerie shook her head. “I’m not sure, Poppy. When Thorne
and I arrived at the Council meeting, we looked for Wheaton. We wanted him on
our side when we broached the subject of our mating with the Council. After
asking a couple Council members, we were told that neither he nor Hannah were
available this morning.” Glancing back at the exam room, she frowned. “Now that
I think about it, one of the members whispered something to Thorne but I didn’t
hear what was said. I was too nervous about our petition to pay much attention
at the time. Maybe they told him something they didn’t want me to hear?”

Now Poppy was hoping Thorne would hurry the hell up before
she had to yell again but Behyr beat her to it.

“Thorne!” Behyr’s voice was so loud Poppy had to shake her
head to stop the ringing.

Smacking his arm, she frowned at him. “Warn a girl next
time, will ya? You almost blew out my eardrums.”

He sheepishly grinned as Thorne shot into the room as if
there was a fire.

He ran immediately to Val and twirled her around in the
chair.

“Is everything okay with the baby?” Thorne’s hands were
cupping Val’s nonexistent belly.

“Yes, big guy, everything is fine.” She motioned over to
Behyr with a nod of her head. “They want to know where Hannah and Wheaton might
be.”

Thorne grimaced and glanced between the two of them. Letting
out a sigh, he sat down at the table next to Valerie.

“Well, a Council member said they were discussing their
bridal agreement with a few senior members and finalizing some paperwork.”

Poppy jumped when Behyr’s fists hit the table with a hard
thump
.

“That is not possible,” he gritted out with a clenched jaw,
his fangs showing slightly.

Never having seen Behyr angry before, Poppy now understood
how scary the fangs were when you took in the whole package of a furious
warrior of his size with teeth bared.

Thorne raised his hands to show Behyr he wasn’t a threat. To
calm him down he said, “I am not saying that they were upholding the contract,
my warrior brother. It could be that they were finalizing it being dissolved.”

Keeping a protective arm around Val, Thorne watched the
Skrammon closely before speaking further. “Demascus was also absent from the
morning meeting,” he added.

Behyr stood quickly and nodded at all of them. “I am sorry
if I scared you, Valerie, but I could not help my reaction.” He pledged, “I
will control myself better when around your female. I am sorry I upset her.”

Valerie shook her head. “It’s not a problem, Behyr. I would
have had the same reaction if someone had hinted Thorne was possibly mating
with someone else,” she assured him, giving him a quick peck.

“If you will excuse me, I am going to find out where Hannah
is at,” Behyr said. He paused in his path to the door when Poppy called out to
him.

“Can you tell Wheaton to check in please? I want to make
sure everything is all right,” Poppy asked. She knew everything had to be okay.
She wasn’t sure how she would deal with things if it wasn’t.

Nodding his head in agreement, Behyr left quickly. As the
remaining three friends sat around the table, both Val and Poppy teased Thorne
about what questions he might have asked the doctors and why it had taken so
long. Thorne turned bright red when Poppy hinted that maybe he had been asking
sex questions. At his telling blush, both of the women started giggling like
crazy.

“We are going to work on an information packet explaining
how to handle a pregnant bride,” Rodin declared, entering the room with Tamin
following closely behind.

At his statement, the group around the table burst into
laughter. Both of the doctors jumped, startled before Thorne explained what
they had been discussing just moments before.

Val and Poppy had some suggestions when it came to what
needed to be on the list and it included foot rubs and lots of chocolate, which
the men took seriously and jotted down on a sheet of paper. As the women
glanced at each other with smiles on their faces, they seemed to both be
thinking the same thing:
it couldn’t get any better than this.

After a while, the doctors had to get back to more serious
work and disappeared into the exam rooms. Thorne reluctantly admitted he had
more work to finish and excused himself, leaving Val in Poppy’s care.

“If I am not back in time, then I will meet you back in our
quarters. Do not leave without an escort. That is an order,” Thorne said
seriously, making sure the pair nodded before he left.

Upset that the brides were going to be no-shows for their
appointments, Poppy couldn’t help but wonder what the deal was. This was the
first time they had all scheduled actual appointments and had not canceled nor
let anyone know they wouldn’t be able to make it. Tamin and Rodin had messaged
their warriors, trying to see what was causing the delay, but had not received
any responses. It was odd but the doctors both shrugged it off.

Poppy and Val were unable to hide their disappointment, so
Rodin took pity on them and tossed a couple of pregnancy books onto the table
for them to read. Poppy had to admit that the
What to Expect
book was
full of information she didn’t know. For instance, were they getting all the
nutrients the baby needed to grow right? She wasn’t sure how the replicator
worked but assumed that some of the ingredients were legit. At the very least
she hoped she wasn’t feeding her baby space slime disguised as a hamburger.

Busy flipping through the books, the women were surprised
when the door chimed two hours later. They hadn’t realized how much time had
passed as they’d been chatting about their futures.

“My butt can definitely tell how long we’ve been sitting,
Poppy. I think one of my cheeks fell asleep,” Val joked while rubbing her
behind.

“No kidding. I think my foot is asleep too. Remind me to
request some cushions for these pieces of space plastic they call chairs.”
Picking up the books and tucking them away from prying eyes, Poppy then went to
the door to answer it, to be greeted by two warriors she did not remember
having seen before.

“Hey, guys, do you need to see the doctors?” Poppy asked as
she stepped aside to let the men into the med center. Usually when a warrior
arrived, he came in with something bleeding from a sparring session that had
gotten out of control, but these two appeared fine.

“We are here as an escort for Poppy.” One held out his hand
to shake.

“I’m Poppy and this is Valerie,” she said, shaking the first
warrior’s hand and smiling.

“I am Cannon and this is Leo.”

The warriors smiled back at both of the women while shaking
hands for longer than necessary. Poppy thought she should maybe suggest a
human-warrior relations class to teach them how to shake hands properly.
Handshakes with the new guys always seemed either too quick and jarring, or
hard and slow. Filing that away to talk to Wheaton about, she hollered to
Rodin.

“Rodin, I’m heading out for the day. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

He mumbled a goodbye from the second room, and Tamin poked
his head out of the first room.

“Later, gator. Tomorrow I’ll bring donuts.”

Tamin smiled at the promise of a treat and waved back.

Oh, the warriors hadn’t mentioned escorting Val back to her
apartment.

“Can Val come too? I would appreciate it if you could walk
her home once you’re done with me so she doesn’t have to wait for another
escort,” Poppy asked.

Both men nodded as one but only Cannon spoke when he said,
“Of course.”

Poppy grabbed her bag and swung around to speak to Val. “You
ready to blow this popsicle stand?”

Both men seemed worried by what she said.

“It means leave. I asked if Val was ready to leave.” With
that said, she linked her arm through Leo’s and walked with him out the door as
Val followed, talking to Cannon.

Leo stiffened slightly when she touched him but started
chatting with her as soon as she started with her “get to know you” questions.
Poppy was so engrossed in talking to Leo and finding out what type of warrior
he was she didn’t realize they were on an unfamiliar floor. She paused and
looked around. Gripping his arm, concerned that they had gotten lost, she
stopped in her tracks and caused Val and Cannon to bump into them.

“Are we going to Val’s first?” Poppy asked.

“Ummm, Poppy, I’m only one floor beneath you. This is a
completely different part of the ship,” Val replied, sharing in the confusion.

Leo shook his head at the women. “We were instructed to
escort you here, not your quarters, Poppy.”

Poppy noticed more warriors here than she usually
encountered while walking the halls. Most were carrying parcels or bags and
seemed to be moving very quickly. In fact, most of the warriors paid no
attention to the women, which was strange as Poppy was used to the stares of
interest she got when moving about the ship from one place to another.