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  Rylee smiled at her. “Well, I come from a closed planet called Earth. And did you know on my planet nobody knows that there are other people in the galaxy? We think we’re all alone out there in space so you can imagine how surprised I was when I, uh, ran into your uncles…er, Drace and Lucian.”

  That statement sent them off and running and Rylee, who clearly liked children too, answered a myriad of questions. I felt relieved that the children’s appetite for information had turned in another direction. But then, suddenly one of the children piped up,

  “Father’s brother, Drace—aren’t you an Alpha?”

  “Yes,” Drace answered simply.

  “And isn’t your bond-mate Lucian one too?” the boy continued.

  “Yes,” I said, feeling Twyla’s small, angry eyes boring into me from across the table. “But you see—”

  “If you’re both Alphas, how can you be bonded?”

  “All right, children, time for bed.” Twyla was suddenly out of her seat and bustling the children out of theirs.

  “What?”

  “But I didn’t finish my stew!”

  “What about dessert?”

  “I don’t wanna go!”

  Twyla looked exasperated by this chorus of protests.

  “Porgy, can you lend a hand?” she demanded. “It’s the children’s bedtime.”

  “No—we want Papa Kess!” one of the children begged. “He tells the best bedtime stories.”

  “Papa Kess has to stay with our guests,” Twyla said, shooting Kess a dark look. “He invited them in the first place so it’s his job to keep them entertained.”

  “Agreed,” Porgy rumbled, also getting up from the table. “To bed, kids or I’ll tan your backsides for you!”

  The four of them ran scrambling down a long narrow staircase which led to the basement floor of the long, low domicile with Porgy and Twyla behind them.

  “Sorry about that,” Drace said to Kess who had an unhappy but resigned look on his face. “We didn’t mean to make the kids ask questions.”

  “It’s all right.” Kess sighed. “I wanted some time to talk to you privately anyway.”

  “Privately?” I said. “Should Rylee and I leave?”

  “No, no—this is for all of you.” Kess settled back down across the table from us and looked at us earnestly. “I just want you to know…Porgy and Twyla don’t speak for the entire family.”

  “They might as well,” Drace said roughly. “You know they’re only saying the exact same thing my mother and fathers would say.”

  “Well, they don’t speak for me, anyway,” Kess said firmly. “Drace, did you know I was a Halfer before I psy-bonded with your brother?”

  “A what?” Rylee looked confused.

  “Most Denarin males are born very clearly Alpha or Beta,” I explained to her in a low voice. “But every so often there is one born who could go in either direction—a Halfer. Half Alpha and half Beta. When it comes time to bond, they have to choose which way to go.”

  “I didn’t know that.” Drace looked as shocked as I felt. “I just always assumed. You just…seem so Beta.”

  “I am—now. But I didn’t have to be—I chose to be.” Kess looked at me and Drace intently. “It’s a decision I have never regretted. I fell in love with Twyla at the same time Porgy did and I knew I could never have her unless I allowed the Beta side of my nature to rule.” He shrugged. “So that’s what I did.”

  “Why are you telling us this?” Drace asked blankly. “Neither Lucian or I is a Halfer.”

  “We’re Alphas and we cannot be otherwise,” I agreed.

  Kess sighed again and ran a hand through his hair.

  “I guess what I’m trying to say is that if you have some Beta tendencies you want to act on, well, there’s no shame in that. Not as far as I’m concerned.”

  “Beta tendencies?” Drace looked at him doubtfully. “I don’t—”

  Kess blew out a breath. “Goddess, I’m making a mess of this. I just…want you to know not everyone is horrified and ashamed of your choice. I know how lonely you’ve been, Drace—how much it hurt you when you couldn’t find a Beta who fit with you—one you could bond with. So you found another Alpha instead. And that’s fine—it’s better to be with someone you care for and who cares for you, than to be alone and hurting.”

  “Kess…” Rylee reached out a hand and placed it on top of his. There were tears glistening in her lovely black eyes. “That’s beautiful. Thank you.”

  Kess shrugged and tried to smile.

  “Just want you three to know I support you. And I know, at least a little, about what you’re going through. It’s not easy to be Beta when you could have been Alpha instead. But sometimes it’s worth it.”

  “Um…thank you,” Drace said at last. “That’s…kind of you to say, Kess.”

  “We appreciate your wisdom,” I added stiffly. Indeed, he had given us a lot to think about. I couldn’t help wondering if he was right—if playing the Beta every once in a while could really be so bad, so wrong.

  I wondered if Drace was thinking the same.

  Chapter Twenty-four

  Rylee

  “How did everybody sleep?” I asked after we had finally said our goodbyes the next morning and left the long, low house with the thatched roof where Twyla and Porgy and Kess lived. I had to ask because Twyla had insisted on putting all three of us in separate rooms for “decency’s sake.” Myself, I had passed a very restless, unhappy night rolling around in a bed that seemed way too big and lonely.

  “Poorly.” Lucian sighed and ran a hand over his face as we tramped along the dusty road through the still-sleeping town. “It took me forever to get to sleep.”

  “Me too.” Drace grimaced. “Tossed and turned all night.”

  “I missed you guys,” I said honestly. “I don’t like it when we have to sleep apart—I guess that’s because of the bond, huh?”

  “That and the fact that we love having you between us, ma 'frela,” Lucian murmured, brushing my cheek with the backs of his fingers.

  “It’s nice to know you like being there, too,” Drace added, giving me a kiss on the other cheek. He made a face. “I’m sorry my family was so fucking awful and Twyla insisted on putting us in separate rooms.”

  “They were no worse than my own mother when she found out about us,” Lucian said calmly.

  “And Kess was actually really nice and supportive,” I pointed out. “I like him.”

  “He’s always been very kind to me,” Drace murmured. “In a lot of ways he’s a better brother to me than Porgy. The things he told us…” He shook his head. “I never would have guessed he was a Halfer.”

  “His words were very…thought provoking,” Lucian murmured.

  I looked at both of them in surprise. Could it be they were actually taking Kess’s advice to heart? If they could get over the whole Alpha/Beta thing… There might actually be some hope for them—for us! whispered a little voice in my head. But that was crazy, wasn’t it? It wasn’t like I wanted to leave Earth permanently and spend the rest of my life on a whole other planet…did I? What have you got to lose? asked that persistent little voice. What would you really be leaving behind?

  Well, there was Aunt Celia but though she’d raised me, we had never been particularly close. I loved my cousins who were like brothers and sisters to me but they all had their own lives. And it wasn’t like I had a job I loved or any really close friends—not since Zoe had left so abruptly…

  “All right—here we are. The edge of the K’drin.” Drace’s deep, rough voice cut into my strange musings. “Now listen, you two,” he said to Lucian and me. “The jungle is full of poisonous plants and hungry predators so let’s stay close. Anyone wanders off, they could get killed.”

  Looking around, I could see why he was warning us to be careful.

  The K’drin jungle was, in its way, as intimidating as The Sands of Death desert had been. Huge trees, as big as the giant Redwoods back home on Earth, grew at i