Chapter 2: Tweaking

Kaia POV

“Sinclair, I think I figured it out. Check behind me.” I said.

“Which enhancement did you figure out?”

“The drain or gain function,” I said.

“Let’s get a plant and test it,” she replied.

“Don’t you want to check the configurations first?”

She laughed. “What do you think I’m doing? Besides, I need to stretch my legs. We have been at it for hours.”

She’s right. Four hours working on this enhancement today. We have been at it all week. This particular enhancement has been in the works for a while. We have one more to go after this one, but we don’t even know where to begin. It’s going to take some precision.

The last three months have been crazy but peaceful. No issues. No attacks. Just work and cuddling with my two favorite guys, Isaiah and Titan. Titan is a ball of cuteness. Isaiah is like a little kid, playing with his son. The squealing and laughter from those two warms my heart every day.

The council has helped fill in some of the warrior vacancies. Aric and Niall have been busy getting everyone up to speed. Isaiah and I have jumped in to help. It’s been great for me, because I’ve lost the pregnancy weight, even though Isaiah wanted me to keep some of it because he liked the extra squeeze.

He’s still insatiable. Still keeping that list. Still making me scream his name at night. It’s been fucking bliss.

Sinclair is the only one who worries me. On the outside, she acts like she is okay. But when she thinks no one is watching her, I see her look at Aric and Poppy with longing. I know she keeps denying that she isn’t ready for a mate, but I am not stupid. She’s feeling lonely. She goes back and forth between Blackstone and Ironclaw and works herself tirelessly. I truly think it’s because she wants to exhaust herself to a point where she passes out at night without feeling lonely in her bed.

“Okay, are we ready to test?” Sinclair said happily.

I smiled. “Steady, aim, and fire, when ready, girlie.”

She aims our tool at the planter at the far end and fires our tool. It wilts the plant. “Great. Drain works. Now for the gain,” Sinclair said.

She turns a knob on the device and fires at the plant again. It looks like the plant is trying to regenerate, but doesn’t reach the original set point.

“It’s progress. Drain works. The gain functionality needs additional tweaking. I think we can get it resolved by the end of the week,” Sinclair determined.

“I hope so. We still have to make it smaller,” I said.

“I was thinking we make it like a glove,” Sinclair said.

I laughed. “Are you trying to sci-fi this tool?”

She chuckled. “Think about it. If it can be worn like a glove, then your hands are still free to fight. What’s coming is going to be a big deal, right?”

I smirked. “Yeah, a big fucking deal. Free hands for combat make a difference. Let’s call Thalia and see what she thinks about the idea.”

We smile and laugh as we walk back to our lab. I see Isaiah looking sweaty, dirty, manly…delicious. He’s been working in the mines again, and good Goddess almighty, I love watching him work.

He growls knowingly at me, clearly hearing my thoughts. I wink at him and lick my lips. His eyes darken. Yum!

Sinclair laughs. “You two need to get a room. Some of us are innocent and can’t be bothered with this kind of PDA. It needs to come with a warning label.”

Isaiah chuckled. “I saw you two working on the tool. How did it go?”

“Configurations need a little more tweaking. Otherwise, we have made great progress,” Sinclair answered.

Then I started bouncing from one foot to the other. “Guess what Sinclair suggested?!”

Isaiah smiles at me like I’m a kid. “What?”

“She said, since we have to shrink this as an enhancement, we should make it like a glove. That way, our hands are still free for combat!”

Isaiah shot his eyebrows up…sexy. “Really? Can you do that?”

Sinclair shrugged, “I mean, cell phones are mini-computers. TVs are now flat. I don’t see why not.”

“We are going to call Thalia and see if she likes the idea.”

“I think that’s a great idea. If you can pull that off, then hell yeah, let’s do it.”

I wrapped my arms around Isaiah and kissed him deeply. He growled his approval, and then, as I walked away, he popped my butt. ‘Down, boy! Definitely later.’

‘I look forward to it, trouble.’

I walked into the lab with Sinclair, and she had her head down, making adjustments to the configurations. The way she is sitting seems stiff. She’s longing again.

“Sinclair? Are you okay?”

“Yeah. I’m good.”

I turned her around in the swivel chair she is sitting in. “I don’t think you are, and it hurts me to know it. Please talk to me. You are like a sister to me. I hate seeing you put a mask on in front of me.”

She sighed. “I think I’m ready for a mate, but I don’t have one. When I see mates together, like you and Isaiah, I wonder who my mate is and how it will be when we are together.”

I smiled. “Girl! Finally!”

She cocked her head to the side. “What?”

“I am glad you are ready! Maybe we should make a trip to Blue Moon and Rising Moon. Your mate could be there. Girl trip!” I said, laughing.

She chuckled. “No. Not right now. When the time comes, I’m sure I will meet him, but right now, I don’t think it’s happening. Now let’s call Thalia, okay?”