Nadine Book 6

33. A Real Force

Nikolas smirks. "How much do you want to bet that when we get in there, Amy stands up and says 'And another thing'?"

Kane laughs. "She probably hasn't stopped saying it."

We pull ourselves together. My boys seem like they are trying to pull themselves together too. Future Dipak is still reading papers on the couch.

"Welcome back. Did you make a decision?"

"Yes I believe I have." Kane and Nikolas sit on the couch. "First I want to thank you, Amy. And that would be from me and everyone in the room. You came into my life and helped me when I was alone. You stood by my side and protected me from everything and everyone. You have spoken nothing but the truth to me and my potential boyfriends." Dipak gives me a side eye and Kane tries not to laugh. "You are amazing at your job. I can see why the queen and her kings of your timeline work so hard to protect you and what you do. I can only pray that you will be in our timeline as well. No one could be more amazing or fierce than you in this line of work. You stood between me and 5 kings. You made the decision to protect me against 5 kings. You are so brave and true. For that I am forever grateful. Thank you."

She smiles and sits down. "Thank you and you're welcome."

My Dipak nods. "Thank you for helping her and pointing out everywhere we are failing. It's nice to have someone give it to us straight."

"Of course."

Marcus nods and then cries. I stand in front of him. He wraps his arms around me and cries into my hip. I glance at Tye.

"Thank you for keeping her safe and making sure she wasn't alone when she went through that. I know she was scared. I'm glad it was you that was there for her. You are a real force."

"My pleasure."

I look at Tre and he loses it. He is bawling. I try to move to him and Marcus holds me tighter. He's still sobbing into my stomach.

Kane and Nikolas crouch down in front of Tre. I can't hear what they're saying, but he's calming down. Marcus holds me tighter for some reason.

I kiss his head. "You're safe. You know I love you so much." I wrap my arms around him. "You're safe here. I will always love you."

He wipes his eyes and tries to pull it together. That seems to have worked. Tre's pulling it back together too.

"I would like to move forward with taking the counselors to my castle. We will work on some kind of limited access area. Where I can be around who I chose. We can work with the counselors and figure out the best course of action once we get back."

"They will help you establish healthy boundaries right away. I would like to offer counselors for 1 of the potential mates as well."

Everyone looks at Marcus, and he chuckles.

"Not that one. That one." Amy is pointing at Johen. We're confused.

Dipak shakes his head. "He's probably the most well-adjusted 1 of us."

"No, he's not. Think about it. If I were to come to any of you and say, your parents and families and friends died. You would be a mess. He would not. He has separated emotions from traumatic events. This can happen when a child is forced to live as an adult. They eventually turn off the emotion, so they can go on. They can't deal with the emotions, so they learn to shut them off... I talked to him briefly about his life and I believe it was because of a dying parent. He was forced to take over for his parents to keep the family going. But when something traumatic happens, he accepts it and moves on. He's not processing anything. This is extremely unhealthy. It can cause mental and emotional breakdowns. And he is so young, it needs to be addressed now."

"Of course. Thank you for pointing this out. We will accept the counselors for him."

Kane smirks. "What about Marcus? He's a mess too."

Marcus shakes his head. "He's not wrong."

"Marcus, you never shut your emotions off. But you felt extreme emotional pain, you learned to ignore it and move on. You focused on the mountain and helping people. Now you have love and a home. You're not ignoring your emotions anymore. And they overwhelm you at times. But that's ok, eventually they will become more stable on their own. For now, keep feeling them. Enjoy them. The good, the bad... It doesn't matter, you're allowing yourself to feel them now. That's a good thing."

He sobs into my stomach again. I rub his hair. It's all I can do. Everyone in the room nods.

"I will also be sending anger management counselors for your potential mates. As well as a child psychology expert to talk with them. The psychologist will be discussing with you the differences between children and children who are victims of abuse. I believe you all need this training. Possibly Kane, Nikolas, Mary, and her parents as well. Any adults who are near her consistently would need it."

"Why?"

"I will give you 1 example. It happened here, when we were getting ready to go to META. Nadine was set to go with Marcus. She was picking out a disguise. She found 1 she liked, but it was in shorts. She asked if she could have a dress instead. She doesn't like shorts. At that point, Marcus rubbed his eyes. A very simple motion from him. Maybe he had something in his eye. I don't know. But she took that as he was getting annoyed. She was scared of making him mad. She shut down the entire plan. 'I change my mind. I'm staying here.' Now you know, we were able to change her mind back once we got rid of him. But that's an abused child trying to keep the peace. Trying not to get in trouble. Trying not to annoy him. You need to be able to see the triggers and know what to look for. He was so damn confused when we kicked him out. He had no idea how him rubbing his eyes could change her entire mood and nearly make her panic. Over something as simple as her asking for a dress."

"I'm sorry angel. I wasn't mad or annoyed."

Amy nods. "The psychologist will help you see the triggers. He will also help you with reacting to them. You wouldn't want to yell or get mad. You would want to comfort her and show extra patience when something like that happens. But he will help you out with understanding."

Dipak rubs his eyes. "Yea, that sounds like a good idea."

"Great." She hands Marcus a piece of paper. "These are the counselors agreed upon. They will be stationed at your castle. I will send them for 6 months. But the time frame may change due to the progress of those receiving treatments. Initial by each counselor and sign at the bottom please. At this point, I need to speak with the counselors and get them ready to go. I will formulate a plan with them. You are free to go. We will be ready to debark when you are."

Future Dipak stands up. "Thank you, Amy."

"My pleasure sir. What were you working on?"

"Everyone wants an actual movie theater on the ship now. I think I have finally figured out where to put it."

Tye glares at him. "I thought you were trying to help us."

"Oh hell no. Amy knows what she's doing with abused kids. And Marcus is the 1 who set everything up. I have no say here. Those 2 make an impenetrable wall. I don't even know where the planets are."

Amy smiles. "Marcus took the idea of the mountain and made it into an entire planet. There are very few who know where it is. I joined the child protection team about the time the planet opened. I was a counselor for many years before it took off. Then he needed more help higher up than counselors. My first case was extremely difficult. So difficult I was about to leave. Marcus heard about it and came to assist. He showed me how to handle the assholes. Then he moved me to the ship. Now, I lead this. What I do is either transporting kids to the planet or hold them here while they decide."

"What about the other planet? Did Marcus do that too?"

"The other one is dedicated to Dorseti. But I think it was Nadine and Marcus equally on that one. Marcus did everything to set it up and..."

Future Dipak laughs. "And Nadine made him."

Amy smiles. "Yea. But Dorseti found her mate young... I do have permission to tell her story. I'm not violating any trust here. They bonded right away. The first couple of months were amazing. Then 1 night he was out gambling and drinking with some of his friends. He lost some money and was mad. He came home and took it out on her. He beat the hell out of her. Raped her. It was bad. From there, it got worse. It went on for a couple of years. Sometimes he was drunk. Other times he was sober. One night she was able to escape from the chains and ran to the castle. She was searching for help. She was beat up. Her face was even slashed open by a belt buckle, and she had welts and blood all over her. She stumbled upon your dad. Now your father never laid a hand on any woman. He took 1 look at Dorseti and hated her mate instantly. He had her swear loyalty and servitude on the spot. Then he took her to the medical area and killed her mate. It almost killed Dorseti too, but she made it. Your father knew it was his only choice, he couldn't leave the bond intact. Her and Elkie formed a friendship right away, so your dad kept Dorseti in the medical area too. Figured it would help her to help others and be around a friend. It took Dorseti years before she could even talk to men. She was afraid of them. Nadine took her story to heart. She wanted a place for women like Dorseti to feel safe and heal. That's where the Women's Protection Team and Planet came from."

You can hear a pin drop in this room.

"It's been a wonderful chat, but I have to meet with the counselors now."

"Thank you for everything."