Serix jumped slightly when Cassie yelled at Ryan. He had never heard her raise her voice like that before. Even when he had done things to anger her back at the hangar —among other things, he had accidentally damaged one of the robots when he knocked a large can of oil off of one of the lifts and it fell into the open engine Cassie was working on— she always dealt with her frustration in a calm, level-headed manner. This was the first time he had ever heard her shout over anything.

After her initial outburst, Cassie seemed to calm down a bit. She continued to scold Ryan, but she did it in a milder tone. Serix watched Ryan’s face contort into a grimace at the sting of her words. Surprisingly, he didn’t seem to have anything to say in response. Serix would have expected the sharp-tongued human to argue with her, but he didn’t even try to defend himself. Perhaps Cassie’s unexpected outburst had startled Ryan just as much as it had him.

[b]“Heh, you can’t leave,”[/b] Monty spoke up when Cassie threatened to leave with Serix. [b]“Too dangerous with him around. He would probably go tell his friends where we are and we’d have an attack on our hands.”[/b]

Serix stared at the human for a moment. He hadn’t even considered the fact that the half-bloods would force him and Cassie to stay in the compound. He had assumed that they would be happy to see him go, but thinking about it now, it made sense that they would want to keep him here. They still believed he was with the other Lunairans, despite his explanations. He shifted his weight. The thought of being trapped here made him uneasy.

[b]“Or,”[/b] Cassie went on. [b]“If leaving isn’t an option, then lock us both up. If I have to be put in the hold for defending what is right then so be it. Serix will always come first to me. No matter what.”[/b]

“Come on,” Ryan said tentatively. “There’s no need for that.” He paused as if searching for words, and then cleared his throat awkwardly. “Well… lunch is gonna be served soon. I just wanted to tell you that.” He turned and walked away, engaging in a soft-spoken conversation with Jacob and Connor.

Once they were gone, Serix sighed and gathered Cassie into his arms. He ran a hand slowly through her hair in an attempt to calm her down, “It’s okay. You don’t have to get so worked up over him. He’s not worth your anger.” He pulled away from her and tilted her chin up with one hand so she could look him in the eyes. “Cassie, it doesn’t matter if they don’t like me. We’re still together, right? That’s what counts.” He kissed her gently and smiled.

“Bravo,” Sarah spoke up, walking over and clapping her hands together. “That was like watching a really bad chick flick. Now come on, lovebirds, let’s go get some food.”