Their Controlled Chaos - Milly Taiden
Prologue
Earth, one year ago
Jinelle Sutton wasn’t ready for this. Yet, it’d been over a month since she’d said her final goodbyes to her grandmother—her last living relative. One would think having all of her grandparent’s things scattered about the house would only make her heart hurt more. It didn’t. Jinelle felt if she packed away their things away, she’d forget about them.
So, why was she doing it? Closure? Or what?
“Here, drink this.”
Jinelle glanced up at her best friend, Mora, as she handed her a hot cup of herbal tea. Taking the cup, and cradling it in her hands, she forced a smile. “Thanks.”
Mora sat on the sofa, tucking her feet underneath her. “You know, you don’t have to put any of it away.”
Jinelle shrugged. She didn’t want to. Not yet, at least. She loved the little reminders of her childhood. Her grandparents raised her after parents were murdered during a home invasion when she was eight. That night changed her life. Not just because she lost her parents.
That was the night she discovered she wasn’t a normal human.
“I know.” And that settled it. She’d leave the house just as it was. “I’m not ready, so I’ll leave it.”
A weight seemed to be lifted off her shoulders, and the slight pressure in her mind eased. It appeared that whatever fueled her chaotic magic didn’t like the idea of boxing up her grandparent’s things any more than she did.
Just one more issue to face. Turning sideways on the sofa to face Mora, Jinelle studied her friend. Pitch black hair fell over her shoulders in a cascade of soft curls. Midnight blue eyes locked onto Jinelle’s, before a dark brow lifted. “Do I have something on my face?”
A sigh slipped out. Normally Jinelle would have laughed, but her mood was too dark at the moment to find the humor in Mora’s words. “I got laid off yesterday.”
“Fuck, Jin. Why?”
Taking a sip of her tea, Jinelle shrugged again. “They are closing the office, cutting back. But I got a month's severance pay.”
Jinelle rolled her eyes, then turned to survey the room. Her grandma’s room. “You know, I’ll leave everything right where it is. It makes me feel close to her.”
“I think that’s a great idea.” Mora moved to the door and waited.
After a few more minutes, Jinelle motioned her best friend out of the room. When they reached the living room, Mora asked, “Have you thought about what you’re going to do?”
She hadn’t had time. Not with the funeral, and then the bombshell her boss dropped in her a few days ago. “I have the inheritance I could live off of for the next year or so. I could use it to start my business.”
“You could start sculpting again.” Mora sat on the sofa, tucking her feet under her.
Jinelle shrugged as she sat beside her friend. “I guess.”
“What else is wrong?”
Was there something else? Jinelle had just been going through the day to day numbness since she lost both her grandparents within the same year. “I feel lost. And like I should have done something with my life. I’m twenty-seven and nothing great to look forward to. I’m still afraid of the dark for crying out loud.”
Mora laughed, and nudged Jinelle with her foot. “You are not afraid of the dark. It’s the unknown you are leery of. Have you had any chaotic disasters lately?”
“No. I think that’s because I’m numb emotionally. And tired.” Sadness filled her tone as she said the words.
Jinelle and Mora sat in silence for a little while. Mora was on her phone, texting someone, then suddenly said, “I heard of a government program that is seeking unattached, human females to go to another planet and be surrogate mates for the shifters that live there.”
Jinelle raised a brow. “Are you suggesting I move to another planet and mate with an alien shifter?”
“Why not?”
Studying her friend for a long time, Jinelle couldn’t tell if she was being serious. “You’re kidding.”
“Not at all. If I was human, I’d do it in a heartbeat. Shifters are hot, and they are devoted mates.” She grinned at Jinelle before speaking again. “You would have to agree to have their kids. The purpose of the program is to rebuild the planet after a war that killed off their females.”
An ache formed in Jinelle’s chest. That was awful. “All of them?”
“Yeah, it’s sad.”
Yes, it was. “Well, I’m not really fully human.”
Mora glared at Jinelle. “What are you talking about? You're more human than I am. Your parents were