*Isla* Saying goodbye to Maddox is always impossibly difficult to do, and the more pregnant I become with our baby, the harder it becomes. A few days after he introduced me to Commander Pepelos, the amber-eyed man is walking just behind us as I escort Maddox to the vehicle that is waiting for him. “I’ll call you as soon as I can,” the Alpha King says, patting his pocket where he has a cell phone. They are not common among our people, as most of us prefer the old-fashioned ways of communication and don’t necessarily trust this new technology, but I insist that he have one to call me with when he’s out this far away, where the mind-link won’t work. “I will be waiting to hear from you.” Perhaps I should say something more comforting, like I understand he’ll be busy, and he should take his