Lexi opened her mouth to say that all these plans for instant commitment seemed rather rushed and sudden…and then closed it again. Hadn’t Gaze and Bound wanted to bond her to them when they hadn’t even known each other a week? And hadn’t Lexi actually considered it? Compared to that timeline, a six-month long courtship seemed positively sensible!
“I see,” she said and made herself smile. “Well, that’s wonderful! I’m very happy for you, Grettah.”
“And I’m happy to have you back,” Grettah told her, and her smile said that she really meant it. “It was mighty lonely around here with you gone, well, until Clemmie showed up looking for work,” she added, her eyes going misty with newfound love again.
I wonder if that’s what my eyes looked like when I was around Gaze and Bound? Lexi wondered, and then pushed the idea away. She was being foolish and sentimental. All she needed was to get back into her work routine and she would feel better, she was sure of it…
Only that wasn’t quite the way things happened.
In the days that followed, Lexi found herself thinking about Gaze and Bound more, not less. And the work at the bakery didn’t seem to absorb her attention as it used to.
Part of it was the fact that there wasn’t as much to do, now that Clemmie was there. Three pairs of hands could easily handle what had sometimes been overwhelming with just herself and Grettah. Also, her two assistants were lost in their own little world, so there wasn’t quite as much camaraderie as there had been.
Lexi and Grettah had often gone out for dinner or to see shows together before, because they were more friends than just boss and worker. Now Grettah was busy almost every night, doing things with Clemmie. And when the two of them politely asked Lexi to come along, she always felt like a third wheel. Watching the two of them moon over each other only made her think of the Twin Kindred she’d parted ways with.
In short, Lexi began to feel lonely and unfulfilled. Her life, which had seemed rich and full and satisfying before, now somehow felt empty—like something was missing. Something or someone—two someones to be exact. But Lexi was stubborn and she probably never would have admitted that she needed the two big Kindred in her life permanently…
Until the night she heard scratching coming from inside her closet.
THIRTY-FOUR
“You might as well forget about her, Brother. If she wanted us to come to her, she would have contacted us by now,” Gaze said, putting a hand on his twin’s shoulder.
Bound was standing in the doorway of their domicile, staring moodily out into the central corridor. Their grotto, which was located beneath the surface of Tranq Prime, was a small but lively one. The corridor was the place many of the young children came to play.
There was a group of them now—laughing and shouting as they played a game of kick-hoop which involved several balls and a leather hoop. The object was to kick one of the balls through the hoop while it was rolling across the corridor—the kids were cheering and exclaiming as they ran back and forth, taking turns.
Gaze wondered if his twin was thinking the same thing he was when he watched the happy scene. Would the two of them ever have children of their own? Sons they could play with and love and raise to be men? Now that they had parted ways with Alexa, it seemed doubtful.
Bound spoke at last, still watching the game in the corridor.
“Angel’s gonna call—she needs us the same way we need her,” he rumbled. “She can’t hold out forever.”
“It’s been weeks,” Gaze pointed out. “Almost a month. I think if she couldn’t live without us, she would have called by now. We need to forget her, Brother—let her go.”
Bound rounded on him suddenly.
“I can’t let her go, Goddess damn it—I fuckin’ love her! And you do too—don’t try to deny it,” he snapped.
“What’s this? What are you boys talking about?”
Gaze spun around to see their GrandSire standing there, frowning at the two of them. He was well preserved for his age, still standing tall and stiff. His blond hair had turned silver-gray with age and he wore it, as always, in a military short cut, buzzed close to his scalp. His pale blue gaze was sharp as he studied the two of them, a disapproving look on his perpetually stern face.
If it had been up to him, Gaze would have moved away from their GrandSire’s domicile long ago—he didn’t have many happy or warm memories with the strict old male who had raised them. But that wasn’t how things were done on Tranq Prime—family units of all generations lived together and besides, Bound had never wanted to leave their older relative alone, despite the fact that GrandSire was perfectly able to take care of himself.