Niki stood at the door, her bladed staff in one hand as she peered outside, ready for an attack or more trouble. Everything felt off. Nothing felt safe anymore. She was tired of all of the trouble coming to her, her sister Aleigha, and her friend Jada.

Her eyes focused on the one standing at her doorstep. When she realized it was Aleigha who was standing at her door, she pulled her into her arms in relief, and the staff she was holding fell to the ground with a clang as it bounced off the cement.

"I'm so sorry. It's my fault they executed Rask." Aleigha sobbed. "I overheard what they were saying, so I went to find Vorik. I got him to interrogate them. I told him that if they were found guilty, I wanted them locked up like I was. He agreed to arrest them so they could be interrogated. I didn't know they were going to do that, to execute them immediately." Aleigha pleaded, trying not to cry but failing. She couldn't help the sobs that spilled onto her sister's shoulder. She was afraid her sister would hate her for getting Rask, her mate, killed.

Niki gently pulled her sister into the dwelling. She quickly picked up her bladed staff and went inside behind her sister. The door slid shut, locking the two girls inside the dwelling and out of view from those who might be watching from outside.

Niki pulled Aleigha to the sofa. "Let me get your son. He is the most important thing right now. You haven't seen him in far too long. You need to make sure he still knows you." Niki told her before rushing into the bedroom to get Finn, Aleigha's infant son.

Aleigha sat on the couch, fidgeting. Worry and sadness filled her. She didn't like that she played a part in her sister's mate's death. Her greatest fear was that she would lose her sister over it. Niki was the only family she had left. She and Niki had always been close. They were so close that they acted like twins. Aleigha didn't want to lose that closeness.

Niki came into the room slowly and placed the small bundle on Aleigha's lap. "The procedure was done on him," she told Aleigha quietly. "Vorik demanded that he be numbed and put to sleep to ensure he didn't feel anything. Finn didn't feel anything. He slept through the entire ordeal," Niki assured her. "I found out he couldn't do that to Jada's fetus. There was nothing he could do to save it. I demanded answers. I wanted to know why Kaul acted that way with her when he administered the procedure on her and killed her baby. Vorik showed me the file. Jada would have died if he hadn't cleaned the fetus too. There was no other choice. It was either not to do it and let Jada die or do it, and she would survive. Either way, the baby would have died. Kaul knew that, but had no choice. I think he had to steel himself to do the procedure, knowing the outcome. I think she was arrested because they were afraid she would retaliate for her baby."

"Does Jada know that?" Aleigha asked quietly. "And why did Medic Kaul act like he didn't care one way or the other? And why wouldn't he tell me if my son was okay when I asked? He talked to me like a prisoner."

Niki sighed. "You were a prisoner. Prisoners aren't privy to information. When Jada told me what happened, I went to Rask. That's what he said. He wasn't very nice about it, either. That's when I knew something was going on. Something about you that Rask had a hand in. I just didn't know until the interrogation how deep his hand went."

Aleigha wiped a tear from her eyes before speaking. "They were plotting to kill me. Each of them had their own reasons. Merrick wanted me out of the way so he could be with Termera. Rask wanted me gone because somehow I influenced you, and Termera wanted me gone because she wanted Merrick. It was Keirn who instigated it. That's why I killed him myself. If I'd known Merrick had been sleeping with her for the last seven weeks, I would have given her to him. I don't want a cheater," Aleigha blurted. Each word she spoke was spoken rapidly.

Niki pulled her sister into her arms, trying to comfort her. The movement made Finn wake up. Finn started crying, so she pulled him closer.

"I'll get a bottle," Niki told her, getting up slowly, trying not to jostle the infant in her sister's arms.

"Thanks," Aleigha mumbled, looking down at her son.

The small child in her arms stared up at her. She could see the familiar bond, still strong. She smiled. The infant paused in his crying and giggled up at her as her sister, Niki, handed her the bottle.

"At least I got one good thing out of the mate bond. I got Finn," she said as she took the bottle from her sister and fed the infant in her arms.

"Yeah, I got Drake out of it. I would do it all again to have him still. If they hadn't executed Rask, I wouldn't want to be with him after what he did. He and your mate tried to kill you. You are my sister and the only blood family I have. My sister is far more important to me," Niki told her, wrapping her arms around Aleigha again for comfort, both for herself and her sister. They both lost their mates. It was a shock, but neither wanted them after what they were willing to do. "I'm guessing you injected Keirn with something to kill him?" She asked.

Aleigha nodded. "I snuck out of the dome and found some jars of poisons. There was one with syringes. I used one of them on Keirn."

Nike smiled. "I'm glad you did. It was his words, I think, that gave them the idea of what to use against you. It's the only explanation. He deserved it." Niki paused, her smile widening. "I have to hand it to Vorik, though," Niki added suddenly.

"What do you mean?" Aleigha asked, looking up at her sister. She was suddenly confused, not sure what Niki meant by her last statement.

Niki's smile grew. "Merrick was blaming the mate bond being severed because of your and Vorik's relationship based on Keirn's words. Vorik knew that. He made sure the people knew you weren't saved because of the relationship you two have. He's like a brother, but no one seems to understand that friends can be as close as family. He asked the one person who knew the answer without a doubt what the penalty was. He needed someone other than himself to say it, so he asked the guard commander."

"Yeah, which he promptly carried out the execution," Aleigha agreed. "You know the guard commander walked me here. He wanted to know how I escaped. I showed him one of the cloaking shields and told him that when a friend was asked to test it, I made a copy. He asked how many I made, and I told him one. I even tried to give it to him. He gave it back and said I could keep it as long as I didn't make any more copies. I have several, so no big deal."

Niki nodded. "As far as we are concerned, we had no idea you had that."

Aleigha nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I don't want anyone to get into trouble over it. Why was Vorik so angry that I escaped and wouldn't eat? When I escaped, they sent in Kaul to force-feed me with a feeding tube. That's when they found out I escaped. Vorik was livid that I wouldn't eat and that I escaped."

"He has been trying to protect you. They can carry out the execution early if you don't eat for three days straight. He was angry you escaped because he was afraid you were going to make the situation worse. Again, he was trying to protect you. You weren't making it easy for him. Vorik acted like you meant nothing to him because of the allegations about your relationship with him. It was his way of trying to protect you and prove the allegations wrong," Niki explained. "As for Kaul. He's temperamental. I don't know why he acts the way he does sometimes. I did notice that he's acting different, and I haven't seen his mate Julie for a while either."

There were several moments of silence while Finn drank his bottle.

"I think you should stay here tonight," Niki suddenly told her. "For some reason, the dome doesn't feel safe right now."

Aleigha took the empty bottle from Finn. "Yeah, I think I should stay here too. I don't want to be alone. Plus, I can't guarantee that what they said about me being out of trouble is true. Even the atmosphere outside feels hostile. It's like I could be arrested and executed again for no reason but existing."

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