Nadine Book 6

32. Options

I wake up in the morning and Marcus isn't here. I want Marcus. I get dressed and go to the desk. "Summon Marcus please."

"He's in a meeting with Amy sweetie."

"Am I allowed to go see the abused mate level?"

"Sure that will be fine. You can go on up."

"Thank you."

I remember where Amy's office is. I get close enough and hear yelling.

"IF SHE CHOOSES TO STAY, YOU WILL NOT SEE HER UNTIL SHE IS 400. SHE WILL BE MOVED TO THE ABUSED CHILD PLANET. AFTER THAT, SHE CAN CHOOSE TO BE MOVED TO THE ABUSED ADULT PLANET. SHE WILL DECIDE WHEN SHE LEAVES. NONE OF YOU HAVE ANY SAY IN THIS. YOU HAVE DONE THIS TO HER."

-Dragon I need some power.-

I feel it rush in, and I kick the door in.

Amy is behind her desk. "Hello Nadine. How can I help you today?"

On the couch at the back of the room sits Kane, Nicolas, and future Dipak. That Dipak is reading some papers. Tye and Johen are sitting on chairs by the couch. Marcus, Tre, and my Dipak are in chairs in front of Amy's desk.

Tre jumps up. "Baby I..."

I put my hand up to stop him. Then I shoo him off and take his chair. He goes back to the couch.

"I hate when people conference about me, without me. Please continue."

"As I was telling them. It is your decision about whether you go back. I will protect you with any decision you make."

"I appreciate that. What are my options?"

"You have 4. The first is, we take you to a protected planet for abused children. You will remain there until you are 400, then you would have other options. It's modeled off the mountain. I believe you are already familiar with the concept. The 2nd option would be for you to remain on this ship until you are ready to go home. You would keep the counselors and the room. The 3rd option is for you to go home this evening, with the counselors you have. I would authorize them to stay for 6 months. But that can change depending on how progress is with you. The 4th option is that you leave with your mates today and refuse help from us. We, of course, will always be here should you need us."

"What would you recommend?"

Then she sits back in her chair. "I have had children sit where you do now. They have refused help and went with their loved ones. The next time I saw them was at their funeral. I do not recommend refusing help. If it was entirely up to me, you would be on that planet. You are already scared they will kill you."

I glance at future Dipak. "What do you recommend?"

He winks at me. "Staying on the ship with the counselors. You would eventually feel better and want to go home. We could limit contact with those who have abused you. Give them supervised visits. Get them through classes. We would have more control. To put you on that planet, we wouldn't even be able to get to you for visits. You would be 100% protected though. My Marcus set it up."

I nod at Nikolas. "I'm not sure why you're here. But I'm sure you have an opinion too."

"Option 3. Take the counselors home with you. They can set up something in the castle that limits the contact anyone can have with you. Like you told me before, there are lots of wings. I'm sure we could find somewhere to put you."

I crack up laughing. "Well, that's true. Kane?"

"I believe what Amy is saying. You do need therapy. Mates beating the s**t out of you will have that effect. You should not refuse help. But going to the planet I think is too extreme. You would not see any of them for years. That would make you crazy. Staying on the ship with the counselors or taking them home with you are the best options."

Amy jumps up. "SHE NEEDS THERAPY? THAT'S ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY? WHAT ABOUT PROTECTING HER FROM THEM? WAIT UNTIL THEY DO IT AGAIN, THEN WE'LL GIVE HER MORE THERAPY, I GUESS. THAT SEEMS TO BE YOUR CURE FOR THE ABUSE OF A CHILD. GIVE THE CHILD THERAPY AND PUT HER BACK IN THE ARMS OF HER ABUSERS."

Kane rubs his eyes. "THEY'RE NOT GOING TO DO IT AGAIN."

"DO YOU BELIEVE THAT? LET ME PLAY YOU THE RECORDINGS AGAIN."

Dipak puts his hand up. "No. Please no."

She glares at Dipak. "SHE IS YOUR MATE, NOT YOUR CHILD. ALL OF YOU. STOP TRYING TO RAISE HER. YOU..." She points at Tye. "SHE WALKED IN ON YOU WITH ANOTHER GIRL. YOU SHATTERED HER TRUST, THE BOND, LOVE. YOU SHATTERED HER HEART. DID SHE BEAT YOU UP FOR THAT?"

He shakes his head.

"BUT FOR SOME REASON, FINDING HER ON A PIRATE SHIP GAVE YOU THE RIGHT TO BEAT ON HER? BUT YOU CHEAT OR PASS OUT DRUNK FOR DAYS, SHE DOESN'T GET TO BEAT YOU UP. SHE ONLY TALKS TO YOU ABOUT IT." Her voice goes sarcastic. "BUT I'M SURE, HER BEING ON A PIRATE SHIP IS WORSE THAN ANYTHING YOU'VE DONE." She rolls her eyes so hard.

Tye puts his head in his hands. He's about to cry.

"AND YOU." She looks at Dipak. "BRUTALLY ATTACKING HER FOR KISSING SOMEONE." She goes sarcastic again. "If only we could all be as pure as you. Never touching anyone that isn't your mate. For over a thousand years as well. I guess we should see you as a saint. Never even a kiss to another woman. You are such an inspiration." Dipak puts his head down and I see a tear fall. I can hear the malice in her voice. "I guess you weren't so pure then, you didn't wait for her. You never lived with the expectations you put on her. But answer this, did she ever beat the hell out of you for kissing someone?" He shakes his head. "Yea, I'm assuming she only got to talk to you about it too."

He wipes his eyes.

"Do you need me to go on?" They shake their heads. "You are not showing her what love is. She doesn't want love at this point. She thinks with love, she gets beat on. You have messed her up. This is your fault. Whatever she chooses, I honestly hope she keeps her distance from all of you. And stop expecting a perfect mate out of a teenage girlfriend."

Marcus touches my hand. "What do you want to do, angel?"

Amy throws her pen down. "You know what... I'm not done. You need to realize these men are not your mates yet. You do not carry their mark. At most, they are your boyfriends. They need to treat you with respect. In bed or out of it, you have the power. And in 12 years, you get to decide whether you want to move forward with them as mates, or not. That is your decision. They should only be making you feel loved and wanted. And they need anger management and possibly alcohol rehab." She stares at Tye and Johen when she says it. Then she slams herself down in her chair and puts her hands up.

"Well..."

She jumps up. "And another thing. You can choose your mates. If you meet someone who treats you better and loves you more. If you think they would make a better king than 1 of these men, you can refuse the bond with your mate and chose his replacement. These men are your potential mates. That is it. They are not your mates yet. If 1 of them does something you don't like, you can remove him from your life. You are not required to be with them because they have a mate bond with you." Tre and Marcus put their heads down and hold their eyes.

I stand up. "I'm going to take the 2 back there that aren't my mates. We're going to go have a conversation because I hate talking to myself. We will return with a decision in a few minutes."

"There is an empty conference room 3 doors down on the right. Conversations are not recorded or monitored in it."

Kane takes my arm. "Thank you." He leads me into the conference room and shuts the door. The 3 of sit and stare at the wall for a minute.

Then I laugh. "Can I put her on the table?"

"Wrong timeline. But f**k, she is owning their asses. They can't even defend themselves against her."

Nikolas nods. "But every word she says is the truth. They know it."

"I didn't know I could choose different mates. No one told me that."

Kane nods. "You could get rid of them and pick new if you wanted. The mate bond isn't everything. Especially when you find it so young. You get to choose who to move forward with."

"Let's talk about my options for now. What would you eliminate first?"

Nikolas smiles. "Going to the planet should not be an option. You would isolate yourself from everyone you know for years. That would be extremely difficult for everyone that loves you. Not only your mates."

Kane smirks. "Let's call them potential boyfriends for now. I want to piss Dipak off. I would eliminate the refusal for help. Therapy would help you understand more about your roles. It would help you process everything that's happened so far. Not even with your mates, but literally everything that has happened. It would also help you set up healthy boundaries with them as you decide to move forward in the relationships with them."

"We have 2 options left. I don't know which to pick. If I stay here, I'm still unable to see everyone. I miss everyone already. But I know I'm safe, and I'll be able to get the help I need easily. If I go home, I'll still have my counselors. But I won't be as protected. The boys will be beside me and everything goes back to the way it was."

"It's never fair for the victim. You don't want to be without your family. We can see that. And yea, the boys want you beside them. They're cranky as hell and won't stop crying since they met Amy. Maybe we can set up something like what the ship has. We can ask the anger management people to finish the stuff at the castle. She's already willing to send your counselors."

"And I am serious about finding somewhere to put you. We can block off a whole wing for you and the counselors. Not let anyone in except the people you chose. Your potential boyfriends..." We chuckle. "Would stay away and let you recover because they love you and want you home. And honestly, it seems like some of them need therapy too. Maybe Amy could give us a couple of extra counselors."

"I am pretty sure they would each need their own team of counselors."

Kane laughs. "Yea... maybe we could negotiate for that. Marcus might need a couple of teams. Dipak would end up killing his. Tye would get his team to go out and party with him. Tre would cry to his. Johen would probably... I have no idea. He is the most well-rounded kid I have ever met. He accepts everything that comes at him."

"We're skipping the alcohol rehab. We're young. It's going to happen."

"Yea, you are right about that. If it ever goes too far, I'll say something, and we'll figure it out then."

"I am going to go with option 3. I can take the guest rooms with the counselors and be by the pool. We can close it and give only certain people access. Let's go tell Amy and my potential boyfriends."