Persistent

"I do not want to repeatedly have this discussion with you, Allari is far more secure than the delegates tower. No one would dare to hurt her here." Allurai said, as she rubbed her temples. She looked up at the illuminating panel as the chime went off again. She did not have another appointment today. She had to see him when he scheduled meetings under her name. He was persistent in having all of his requests granted. Her son was smart, always starting the meeting with Quill related business and bringing up the subject and gaining another upgrade. She could not modify the exterior of the building. How would the opposing Matriarch use it against her?

Liem frowned, he was getting annoyed with the chiming of the entrance interrupting the conversation. He made the appointment to meet with Allurai to avoid this very scenario. When he left for the appointment, he saw her in his peripheral vision as he passed the entrance to her residence. He was five minutes into an important meeting and his sister was sabotaging it. She had no patience or respect for him or her brothers. He was frustrated that his mother was so against them moving to clan Sedai. A large fence and gate would only do so much. The doctor could deduce where the transport they had left in would arrive easily. It was a clan Allari transport. He was growing more upset as Allurai stood firm.

"Mother, I disagree. I still feel that the security will not be adequate. You do not understand how quickly she draws attention when we go out. The presence in the ward increased, she is much to popular. She could have attracted unsafe attention when she was at the hospital. I had to practically run out of the hospital. You know, I uphold our dignity in public. We will have to think of other measures," Liem said.

"I agree with Dorien and Reye, it is too early to tell whether this will be a problem. It has been cycles and no one has approached our gates. It is known that she is being fostered by our clan. We can clear the staff from the area next time if you really want. But it is normal to have a piqued interest in women. I have been chased after myself, she's new. Give it more time, the interest in her will stabilize." Allurai said. She gave her son an exasperated look. No one has ever dared to cross their threshold without an invitation in the past. 

'So, one person becomes overly excited when they see her and now we have to lock down the building? If my Bind increased security every time there was a threat, we would be living underground. He is worse than his own father. Do not mock the boy though, he may leave.' Allurai thought to herself.

 "If they show up here, they will not be able to cause any problems. The new gate will be installed in a few hours, and it will only let in authorized visitors and emergency staff. It is enough." Dorien assured his son. 

"Can you please consider reviewing my additional suggestions? Do we have the capability and space to implement these?" Liem pleaded. It was not that Allari was not affluent enough to afford this. He was used to the disappointment of his mother overlooking him.

"I will consider them, however for now our security measures are adequate.Tonight you will all dine with us in the main hall to celebrate. The gate will be installed, and we will announce that we will be welcoming another Allari Matriarch." Allurai said happily. Her first trimester was complete, and she was over the moon to be carrying another female. 

 "You know how happy I am for you but," Liem frowned as he said. 

"But, you will all be able to rest a little easier tonight. I promise I will review and implement additional measures. Why do you not all come and eat with us tonight during the late meal? I have a gift for Nora." Allurai said, finishing Liem's sentence for him. That poor Nora was kept inside, like a caged animal and needed some socialization. It would be good for her to get out and enjoy the care of the family. Allurai felt affection and pity for the young woman without a family.

"She has been having a hard time keeping food down. Can I ask her? Is someone waiting outside? You look like you want to end this conversation or are you distracted?" Liem asked, his tone drifting to a sarcastic one. She only wanted to interact seriously with Nora. Nora could not ask for these security updates herself, because she was still in the dark about everything. She could not know yet.

Outside the office, a frustrated Leilanna was in her sixth month of pregnancy and was waiting outside of her mothers office to get a chance to speak with her. Her spouses were getting on her nerves. The infighting and jealousy had reached a fever pitch last night in a physical altercation. She had no idea that her spouses had formed an alliance against two of her other spouses. She needed advice on how to handle the situation. She impatiently hit the chime on the door to notify her parents of her arrival again. She was at a loss of what to do and angry that he was taking so much time. It was probably on purpose.

'Leave already. What does that woman want now? She already takes up so much time. Does her own daughter not matter now that she has a better option on the way?' Leilanna thought as her impatience reached its peak. Her back and feet were aching at this point. She wanted to go home, but things were much too tense.

They always made time, no matter what they were dealing with. Now that he was home, it seemed that they were focusing more on Clan Quill, then their own daughter. She huffed. Leilanna was excited about the upcoming birth of her first son. Liem was home and she had twins. Mother would make sure that he was here to stay. Nora had become a lucky charm to the Allari Clan, would she take her place? Everyone was intrigued about the new Northern clan that was growing under her roof and were very eager to send their sons. The amount of gifts and contracts she was receiving were a great incentive as well to keep them close. Leilanna was jealous. Halid and Sedai has offered historically high dowries for their sons, more than her Bind combined.

"I see, it is probably her. I saw her in the hall as I entered. I will return to my home to update Cerez and Kadir." Liem embraced his mother with a heart filled with disappointment. Liem cast a sad and frustrated look at his father and turned to leave. The door chimed, this time it was the actual physical chime. Liem rolled his eyes. Liem opened the door, Leilanna stormed into the office. She always needed to see them urgently when Liem was spending time alone with his parents. Just him.

"You could not wait or schedule your own appointment? How unbecoming. Thankfully for Allari, a replacement is on the way. I am done, but what if it was someone important?" Liem said as he walked past her and tried to remain as uninteresting as possible to her. A subservient attitude around her was best to deal with her for now. The last thing he needed was her incessantly bothering his family, looking for the same attention. He did not want her to treat Nora with the same disrespect that he was treated with. Nor did he want to deal with her. Liem did not know how much his comment stung his own father's heart.