Dragon's Omega Bride (Shifter Marriage Service 3)

“Saltines?”

“Yes, those are good for upset tummies.”

“Ah, maybe. Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

The nausea had lessened, but was still lingering enough that it could go either way as far as how she would feel the rest of the night. Hopefully, it would continue to get better. Once they were brought up, she nibbled on a few of the crackers and sipped the seltzer as she opened her computer and began to look through her messages. There was one from Cassie, which surprised her. She’d heard nothing from her supposed best friend since the day she had told her about quitting her job.

Aileen,

There’s been talk that you’ve left to join another clan. I wanted to let you know what bad form this is and how horrible it looks for you. How can you expect to ever be wed to a shifter of any quality either here or there when you’ve abandoned one and do not truly belong to the other? I hope you are at least pursuing an education of some sort rather than getting your jollies with some outlier clan. It’ll only taint you forever. Let me know what is going on.

Cassie

P.S. I have some of your things from the office that you left behind. Where should I send them?

Aileen blinked at the email in disbelief. There were so many things wrong with the message that she hardly knew where to start. It was condescending, and not only that, it was quite obvious that she was being nosy about her whereabouts and the company she might keep. There was no need to answer. Whatever she possessed from Aileen’s old desk couldn’t be of much consequence, as she never kept anything important there.

As for the rest of the content, it would get back to her clan soon enough where she was and who she was with. Cassie was right about one thing, it would ruin her chances of ever being accepted back into her old clan, but the truth was that she’d never been accepted after her father’s departure, anyway. The only thing that really bothered her about the email was that Cassie had written it. When had she stopped being her friend and become a part of the system that had shunned Aileen? It was heartbreaking to lose the only friend she had ever felt she had possessed since her father’s demise.

More importantly, she felt alone. Completely alone. She had one fake friend and one fake husband. Neither was any comfort. She felt near tears, suddenly overwhelmed. It was unlike her to be so emotional, but perhaps she had just hit her breaking point. Everyone had one of those, didn’t they? A knock at the door sent her heart into a spin, thudding angrily against her chest.

“Come in,” she managed, figuring it was just her meal.

“I brought your food,” the young woman said, looking over her for a moment as she sat it down. “Are you okay, ma’am?”

“Yes. Of course. Why?” Aileen asked, thinking she was just picking up on her distress.

“You just seem very pale.”

“No. I’m fine. Just tired from the long weekend,” Aileen replied with a smile.

“I suppose honeymoons do take it out of you,” the woman said, her face flushing a bit.

“What?”

“Honeymoons. You were on your honeymoon, weren’t you?”

“Oh, yes. Of course. I didn’t realize that Yakov had already told you.”

“He did. He told us before he left. Everyone is very happy for you both. How exciting to just elope like that.”

“Yes,” Aileen agreed. “Well, I guess I should try to eat a bite then.”

“Oh, yes. I’m sorry. Do you need anything else?”

“No. I’m good.”

There was nothing insincere about the woman’s comments, but Aileen found that she felt uncomfortable, for some reason. She thanked her and watched as she left the room, closing the door behind her before looking back at the food. There was grilled chicken, mashed potatoes and peas. Nothing to cause any substantial gastric distress, but she still wasn’t sure she could eat it. She nibbled at a few bites and didn’t seem to have any great disagreement with it, though it seemed to not have much taste.

Pushing it aside, she went back to her computer, going through the schedule for online classes that were available. She had managed to get approved for admittance in the days leading up to her relocation to Yakov’s house, but class enrollment had just begun. Despite not feeling quite up to par, she found getting classes selected was very exciting. This place, it was now, but the classes were her future. She was close to finally being able to get out on her own and realize her own dreams. It felt amazing.

After a while, she felt like she was starving, but nothing on the tray she had been left looked appetizing. She picked it up and began carrying it downstairs, but was met by the same young woman who had brought it up.