In the Roar by Milly Taiden Read Free Book Online Page A

happy personality was hard to dislike. She had an infectious smile and made Liv feel welcomed in the insanity of what was going on.
    She took a seat on the other side of the small table and picked up a green cookie. It felt soft, like a freshly baked oatmeal cookie. It smelled like one too, but it was green.

 
     
    THIRTEEN
     
    “Try it,” Bella encouraged. “I promise it won’t be bad. I had to teach one of the cooks to make my favorite oatmeal cookies. Alyx tries to make me happy however he can so he watched me make a mess of the kitchens until we got them right.” She shrugged and the material of her top shimmered. “The only thing is that flour here is made of green seeds. It was weird at first, but if it tastes good, I don’t care about the color.”
    Liv bit down and was pleasantly surprised by the flavor. It was better than an oatmeal cookie. The fruit was sweeter and the dough softer, yet crunchy. “This is really good.”
    Bella nodded and picked up another. “You’ll be hooked on these. My best friend, Charlotte, lives in the ice mountains with her mates and she comes here just to eat my cookies.” She opened her eyes wide. “That didn’t sound right, but you get the idea.”
    Liv laughed and picked up a teacup. She sniffed, a bad habit she had, and tasted. The drink was like lemon tea with a hint of honey. It was nice.
    “So there’s other humans here?”
    “Yes. There’s me, Charlotte, and her sister Rebecca, and now you,” she said excitedly. “Becca and I are the only ones pregnant though.” Bella eyed Liv with interest. “For now.”
    “Do you like it here?” she asked, changing the subject. No way she was getting into any baby talks when she had no clue what the hell was going on.
    “I love it,” Bella gushed. “Although, I’d love anywhere as long as I was with Alyx.” Her eyes filled with love and a happy smile curved her lips. “It will suck when Alyx goes away in the next few days. He’s got a big meeting with a bear clan on the other side of the planet and that means I get to stay here with other guards but none as nice and friendly as Karel. I’ll miss him.”
    A buzzing sounded had Bella reaching into her pocket. “Oooh! It’s Gerri!”
    Bella pressed a button and a holographic image of Gerri showed up by the wall.
    “Liv? Are you okay?” Gerri asked with a frown.
    “Hi! I’m great. Well, now that I understand more or less what’s going on.”
    “That boy is just as bad as Alyx,” Gerri muttered. Liv was sure she referred to Karel. “I told him to give you time to get to know him. To talk to you first and explain the whole shifter planet situation before dragging you off to Aurora. Did he listen? Hell, no.”
    “To be fair,” Liv said, coming to Karel’s defense for some reason. “I don’t think any explanation would have helped. I mean it sounds crazy unless you’re actually here seeing things yourself.”
    “I know, darling. But in his haste to take you to his home, he forgot to make arrangements for your stuff and your belongings.”
    Oh, shit. She thought she’d be on vacation a few days. Not living here. On one hand, she’d always despised the judgmental bullshit from the people in earth’s society, and by being on another planet, she wouldn’t be subject to that anymore. On another hands, she would never see Monica or her kids again. Or could she?
    “Could I go back to earth to visit, if I wanted to?” she asked.
    “Of course,” Gerri reassured her. “You’re not a prisoner in Aurora. You can come back whenever you want. You will find the time difference will make things harder for you. But you should never feel like you can’t return to earth.”
    Would she want to, though? Maybe, maybe not. It was nice to know she had the option. Still, she wasn’t as torn up about leaving her home planet as she thought. Her grandmother had always acted like Liv was a bother. Her sperm-donor never made a move to get to know her. And even Monica went