Paige's Warriors (Bondmates Book 3) Read Online Free Page A

appearing older than her twenty-nine years. “How are you holding up?”
    “Not bad.” She pulled herself together and gathered up the silverware while Roxie shuffled around to the other side of the table, wiping up spills. “I mean, this is crazy to the tenth degree, but…I guess when you’ve been through bad stuff, really bad stuff, you have to learn how to roll with the unexpected. How to cope with the punches life throws at you. That doesn’t mean I’m not scared out of my mind, and that I don’t have to fight back panic attacks, but there are worse things than being scared, right?”
    “Right.”
    “Roxie!” Mrs. Westfall called out from the backdoor. “Do you want some apple pie?”
    “Sure, Ma,” Roxie yelled back, then sighed. “Thanks for talking with me, kiddo. Even when I don’t want to.”
    Paige hugged her tight before Roxie could stop her, then released her blushing friend. “You know that night, at the hospital, when you promised me you’d be here for me if I ever needed to talk? That everything was going to be all right? Well, I’m making you the same offer to talk in confidence, but I’m hoping it doesn’t take you two years and a ton of therapy to get up the balls to do it like it did for me. So if you get in a dark place and you need someone to listen without judgment, I’m here. Understood?”
    Roxie looked at her, then grinned and saluted. “Understood, ma’am.”
    Throwing a half-eaten roll at her, Paige muttered, “Whatever. I’m going to tell your mom that you think Gordy Clintok is hot.”
    It was a long running joke between them, each threatening to tell Mrs. Westfall—who viewed herself as being a great matchmaker—that the other was in love with a totally icky guy. For example, Gordy Clintok, who was known to be seen driving around town in his tow truck casually eating his boogers. He’d gone to school with Roxie and still had a crush on her that was never reciprocated.
    “You do that and I’m going to tell her you love that Hebbles d-bag with the Cheetos orange spray tan.”
    At the mention of the greasy sleaze that was Casey’s boss at the local supermarket, Paige shivered. “Ewww.”
    “Bet he shaves his balls. I also bet they’re all prickly like a cactus. Imagine those slapping off your chin.”
    Making a barfing noise, Paige flipped Roxie off. “Nasty.”
    Unfortunately, Mrs. Westfall saw Paige and yelled out, “A true lady wouldn’t make that type of crude gesture in public, Paige. Be nice to Roxie.”
    “Yeah, Paige.” Roxie smirked. “Don’t flip off the war hero. I’m a fuckin’ national treasure.”
    Laughing, Paige followed her friend back into the building. Roxie’s comrades sat sipping coffee out of Styrofoam cups, and they greeted their Captain with smiles and good-natured ribbing, the military form of bonding. Feeling like an outsider, Paige quietly moved past them to the side of the building and leaned against it as she looked up at the cloudless sky. As she watched the undulating colors and listened to the faint background hum of people talking, she wrapped her arms around herself and wished she had someone to hold her and tell her everything would be all right.
     

Chapter 1
    Lord Rell Thantoh
    Cliffs of Goeth, Kadothia
     
    Far above the brilliantly dressed and dancing crowd below, Rell lounged in his seat as the guest of honor to the San’Loas Tribe’s celebration of a successful harvest. This was the first year they’d managed to grow a flower sacred to their people on Kadothia, and it was considered an extremely good omen. The flower itself was beautiful, sparking with golden light as it slowly died after it was cut. That combined with the light floral smell would have made them a favorite on Kadothia, but the San’Loas Tribe would never sell the plant as trinkets. Their people had died to bring sacred treasures like these flowers to Kadothia, the last bits of a culture that had been decimated by the Hive.
    He still considered