His to Mate Read online

  “I have thought about that,” Rager finally said, his voice an intrusion into her thoughts. “We keep it guarded, and they aren’t allowed to go near each other and there’s no way for them to communicate. Hopefully, that will keep them quiet until we can figure out what to do with them.”

  “I’m sure you’ll think of something.” Ann patted his shoulder and looked out as the landscape passed down below. So much had been destroyed, so much had changed, why did people still want to hang onto greed?

  The world was at their feet, whether they were on their own or with the aliens. People weren’t forbidden from scavenging; they could go out and get whatever they wanted. It was there for the taking, so why were greed and selfishness so prevalent in their society?

  The world had almost ended for them all, yet pettiness still existed. People like Penelope still wanted to feel superior. People like those in the prison still wanted to take from others. It didn’t make any sense, not when there was so much to take.

  “People are stupid,” she said, at last, and let her seat down to close her eyes. Exhaustion had suddenly hit her and she just wanted to close her eyes.

  “Are you alright?” he asked, a note of concern in his voice.

  “Fine, just a little tired. I’ll be alright.”

  “Okay.”

  She heard a few buttons beep, and then she could hear the familiar strains of one of her favorite bands. They’d called themselves Elixyr, and they’d made New Age music. Sort of a blend between Celtic ballads, trance music, and Gregorian chants. It was odd, but Ann liked it because of that. It also soothed her when she wanted noise but nothing too dramatic.

  His thoughtfulness made her smile, and she drifted into a place where she was aware of what happened, but she might have been dreaming too. There was a blank moment and then Rager stood over her, a smile in those startling orange eyes.

  “We’re home, my queen.”

  “Queen? Huh?” She struggled up and he moved away. “How did we get here so quick?”

  “You fell asleep, and yes, queen. I’m the master of this world, I can make you my queen, can’t I?” He laughed and moved away. “If you aren’t too tired, I’d like to show you how I worship queens. Well, queen. You’re the only one I need, after all.”

  Her heart melted and she took his hand. Maybe not all of the people in the world were stupid, after all.

  12

  “Thanks for the lift, Ann. It would have taken me ages to walk out here,” Skye said and Ann guided the transporter through the sky.

  “No problem. I need to visit my mother anyway. I haven’t been over in a few days now.” It had been a few days since she and Rager had gone on their excursion and she was restless at home. He would come home late and leave even earlier than he had before. She’d barely seen him since that day.

  “I’ve heard something about this part of our sector,” Skye started, then stopped. She looked as if she struggled with some inner argument before she carried on. “A lot of the problem wolves are out here.”

  Ann’s blood went cold, and she looked at Skye with trepidation. Had she heard about Rex? Was Rex causing even more problems out here? Those stupid gang signs had shown up a lot more recently and Ann knew it was part of his even stupider resistance group behind it all. “Have you heard who’s leading it?”

  Ann had suspected this was why Rager was gone so much, that this resistance movement had started to gain traction and he was needed to stop it.

  “No, but I’ve heard that some of the aliens…” she stopped and had that inner argument again before she continued. “Some of the aliens have joined with them, from what I’ve heard. They hate you, Ann. They think you’re beneath them, and want Rager to cast you aside for an alien female.”

  “I’ve heard that once or twice now,” Ann said softly and tried not to let her anger, or fear, come through. “It’s been a problem since the day we mated.”

  “It’s a huge problem if they’ve joined up with the wolves. They could make this a real battle.”

  “I’ll talk to Rager about it when I get back. I’m sure he knows, but just in case, maybe it’s time I made sure he’s aware of it all.”

  “I’d be happier if you would,” Skye sighed and relaxed in her chair. “You’re the only person I like here, besides Meg. I can’t lose you.”

  “I can’t be the only one?” Ann asked, happy for the change of subject. Thoughts about revolutionaries and coups just made her angry and sad at the same time.

  “Basically. Meg is great, but all she wants to talk about is classes and training. You at least talk about other things.”

  “I’m not as deep as her, huh?” Ann teased, a hint of humor in her eye. When Skye looked upset, Ann relented. “I get it. Sometimes you just need to talk about something that isn’t work.”

  “That’s it. And we scavenge together, so that’s cool too.” Skye looked pleased and sat back. “Now, if only I could find a woman of my own.”

  “That’s not what you’re scavenging for, is it?” Ann teased and laughed. “Although, that might be the only place you find one now. Oh, there’s a large group coming in tomorrow.”

  “Really? You mean it’s possible?” Skye looked excited, and Ann was glad she’d told the woman. It wasn’t a secret, but not everyone knew about it.

  “I don’t know, but the possibility is always there, isn’t it? I mean, it’s not like you’re going to be attracted to a woman only because she’s a lesbian, but the possibility is there that you’ll find… someone.” Ann didn’t want her friend’s hopes to get up too high, she’d hate to see her let down, but she did like to see her smile.

  “Nah, you’re right. But having new people might be nice. If they don’t cause problems. Where are they from?”

  “I have a feeling they’re Chicago glitterati. Rager said it was a government bunker, but I imagine there’ll be more than a few of Chicago’s finest in there.”

  “It’s a shame, isn’t it? All the people that are likely dead. Famous movie stars, music stars, all of them are probably dead, but some scummy politicians survive to feed off the public another day.” Skye sounded more than a little bitter about it, but Ann couldn’t blame her.

  “It is a real shame, but Rager will make sure they know their place. That’s one of the reasons my father is a mayor, he wasn’t a politician before everything. He was just a man with some intelligence.”

  “Yeah, I figured they wouldn’t want politicians in the new world they’re building. I think they want people that will be able to lead, yes, but not people that will go on and on about ‘this is America’ until they get shot or whatever.”

  Ann laughed with Skye and set the transporter down in front of her mother’s home. “You’re right, they don’t want that. Not because they want to stamp out America, or Americans, but because that kind of isolationism isn’t what they want. They want people to see the globe as their home, not a speck of that globe. Then they might respect it a little more.”

  “I get you.” Skye nodded as they left the transporter. “And I agree. We need to think like that, if we want to make this place better than it was before.”

  “Good. Want to meet me back here around 4, and we can go back?”

  “Sure. I’ll see you then. Thanks again!” Skye waved as she left, headed to the home of a woman that had found some ultrasound machines in the storage unit in her backyard. They wanted to make sure it all worked before they dragged it out to the clinic Meg had started to set up.

  “I’m here, Mom!” Ann called as she walked into her mother’s home. She found her mom, as usual, with Amanda in the kitchen.

  “Hi, honey! We’re making lunch if you’re hungry?” Her mother came up, hugged her, and kissed her cheek before she walked back to the stove.

  “What are you making today?” Ann could smell tomatoes and what smelled like cabbage.

  “A kind of stuffed cabbage. We used some chickpeas as filling, and we’re experimenting to see how it tastes.”

&nb
sp; “It sounds interesting, anyway.” Ann sat down at the table and watched the two women work together. They’d always gotten along well, and after their time in the bunker, had become almost like really close sisters. Ann was glad they were able to stay together like this, she knew it would break both their hearts if they were separated, but Amanda deserved far more than to only be her mother’s cook. “Amanda, have you got some of those lesson plans ready yet? I wanted to go over them with the ladies that are putting the curriculum together.”

  “I have, they’re in a folder in the hallway for you.” For a moment, Amanda’s expression was sad, but it changed back to placid peace after a moment. “I hope it all goes well, and I’ll be happy to help in any way that I can.”

  Ann knew Amanda meant ‘allowed’, and her heart broke. The woman was only dangerous a few nights out of the month, and as long as she locked herself up, she wasn’t really a danger at all. How could anyone look at her and think she wasn’t worthy of the same rights as anyone else? It made Ann angry, and more determined to make things change.

  “Hopefully, you’ll be able to do a lot more one day.” It was all Ann could give her at this moment, but it was better than nothing. Hope was always better than defeat, wasn’t it?

  “Set the table, dear,” her mother said from the stove, and Ann stood up to get some plates. It would just be the three of them. Stephan was with Ann’s father, and they wouldn’t come home for lunch.

  Ann put down three plates, three forks, knives, and spoons, and three glasses. All three sets matched and the food would be the same; the only thing different would be the people that ate them. One could change shapes and became a wolf at certain times, while the other two remained human. Ann had become used to the whole thing over time, down in the bunker, and it didn’t frighten her anymore.

  She knew some of the wolves were bad, and had killed their own kind and plain people, but they were all gone, weren’t they? Except for people like Rex. She glanced up and saw him through the window. He was mowing the lawn, his face angry and dissatisfied. He looked as if he was muttering as he pushed the old mower along, but then she saw the plastic in his ears.

  She tried to wave at him, but he turned away, his middle finger high in the air. He’d seen her then. And dismissed her just as easily. Her heart clenched, a betrayal she hated.

  He could still hurt her then, even now, when she was all but certain she loved her mate. She didn’t want to be with Rex anymore, it wasn’t that. It was the childhood they’d shared that he threw back at her now. It was the years in the bunker, and her efforts to make sure he and their families were safe that he so callously flipped off.

  She’d always known he was selfish, as selfish as the men that Rager had sequestered away, but this was a new low, even for him. She’d known her love for him had started to wane, it had started to disappear the moment Rager first came to her in her dreams. But she’d still cared about him.

  For him to be so nasty now wasn’t just cruel, it was callous. If he wasn’t careful, his supervisor would see him and punish him, she thought. She watched as he came back to face her, his middle finger in front of a face filled with red-rage. She didn’t back down, she didn’t look away, she simply stood there, her head high as she stared out at him.

  “What’s the matter, honey?” her mother asked, and came up behind her.

  “Oh, him.” Her mother sighed, and pulled her away from the window. “Let him get on with his work, honey.”

  “I was, I wasn’t doing anything to stop him,” Ann protested, but sat down anyway.

  “I know, but he’s got a lot on his shoulders.” Mary glanced towards Amanda, but didn’t say anything else. She rolled her eyes and Ann had to stifle a laugh. When her mother mouthed the word ‘men’ and rolled her eyes again, Ann smiled and smothered another laugh.

  “I guess you’re right.” Ann let it go because Amanda brought a bowl with her stuffed cabbages to the table and they all took a few of the rolls to try.

  “It’s not… bad.” Mary chewed carefully around the hot food, her face scrunched up with uncertainty. “It’s not what I was hoping for though.”

  “Too much rosemary, maybe?” Ann offered. She liked it, but there was an odd taste to it.

  “No, I think it’s dill. I had two similar bottles near each other. One was basil, the other dill. I think I picked up the dill bottle.” Amanda wrinkled her nose, but she kept eating. One thing people didn’t do now was throw food away. It was too precious, even if it tasted weird.

  “It’s not bad, but it does explain why I keep getting a hint of pickle with each bite,” Ann said, amused. “I thought I was going crazy.”

  “No, your mom’s the one that’ll be after pickles soon.” Amanda looked guilty and then tried to cover it up. “She always did like her pickles in the summer. We barely managed to can anything some years because she’d eat most of it before we got anything in the jars.”

  “I did not. Okay, that one year I did, but those green tomato pickles were good.”

  “They were. Shame we didn’t have many that year.”

  “We’ll have plenty this year, as long as I can get the celery to grow,” Mary said and stood up, her jeans a little tighter than normal, Ann noted.

  Her mother had a secret, one she hadn’t told Ann, but Ann knew she’d tell her soon enough. If her suspicions were correct. With a smile, Ann picked up her own empty plate and headed to the sink. “You two sit down, I’ll wash up what’s left and put the rolls away.”

  “Yes, put them in the freezer please, dear. We’ll make something else for dinner.” Mary sat down at the table and wiped at her face with a towel. Sweat had beaded at her forehead, something that concerned Ann.

  “Why are you so hot, Mom? Want me to turn the thermostat down?”

  “It’s just a little nausea, Ann. It’ll pass. Maybe I don’t like pickles as much as I used to?” She tried to make a joke of it, but Ann wasn’t buying it.

  She’d let her keep her secret for now, Ann decided, and stuck her hands in hot, soapy water. She’d have to come over more often, she thought, just to keep an eye on her mother. And maybe she’d bring Meg and Skye next time. Both might be of service.

  If her suspicions were correct.

  The rest of the afternoon was spent in the garden, pulling weeds and trying to avoid Rex, but Ann saw him once more before she left. She knew it was a stupid thing to do, but they were on their own near the porch, and she really wanted to make him stop looking at her like that. She walked right up to him, determined to speak her mind. “Rex, I think it’s time you listened…”

  But she didn’t get to finish, he just walked off, as if he hadn’t heard her, or seen her. Like she was some kind of ghost that the world, the living world, couldn’t see. He’d just treated her like she was nothing, and he was the one that the aliens considered beneath even her. Him and all his revolutionary buddies.

  She wouldn’t turn him in, she wasn’t that kind of person, but she was done protecting him. If he could treat her like that, who knew how he’d treat her if he ever got the upper hand? That thought sent a cold shiver of dread down her spine. She didn’t want to think about a day when that might happen. It was too horrible to consider.

  13

  Ann woke up and waited for a moment. She was alone, as usual lately, but it wasn’t Rager she waited for. It was the telltale sign of cramps that she waited to feel. Her periods had always come at night, never during the day, and she would always wake up with cramps low in her abdomen. Not this morning. Or the last few either, no matter how much she waited for it.

  She got up, went to the bathroom, but still, there were no signs that menstruation had started. She wanted to scream but knew that would just be silly. She took a shower, dried off, and got dressed in a pair of jeans and a green t-shirt. She’d have to go out and do what she hadn’t wanted to do. Find a pregnancy test.

  She drove to the apartment where Skye lived and asked her to come out exploring with her. Ann watched as S
kye looked at her, noted the moment that Skye saw her anxiety, and took a deep breath. “I need to find something important.”

  “Sure, I’ll come with you. I’ve got your back.” Skye shut the door, and they left. Before long, they were at the pharmacy and Ann stared at the rows of boxes in front of her.

  “Will they even be useful at this point?” Ann said it out loud so that Skye could hear her. She’d brought the other woman along simply as moral support. She was late, a lot late. That kind of late that got your attention, and she’d worried about it for far too long. It was time for some answers.

  It had only just occurred to her that the tests might expire. She’d seen a date on one of the boxes and wondered if it was just a marketing gimmick to make women buy another one. It was just a strip with something on it, after all, wouldn’t it stay good forever?

  “Sometimes the more expensive digital ones will still work longer, but usually they all expire around two to three years after they were manufactured. Which means even the newest ones will probably be expired.” Skye’s voice came from a different part of the store. She walked over and looked at the boxes on the shelves. “Those might, and I can’t stress that might enough, might work.”

  She pointed at the very expensive digital pregnancy tests; her face doubtful.

  “Is there another way to tell?” Ann’s voice shook as she reached for the box, her lip caught between her teeth as she read. She was a bundle of mixed-up emotions, strung too tight and ready to burst into tears or a fit of anger, she wasn’t sure which.

  “If we had the equipment, we could do a blood test. Meg and I have been looking for the equipment in hospitals. She’s found one hospital with a lab that’s intact. She might have it all up and running now, if you want to go and see her?”

  “I think that might be best. But I’ll take a few of these just in case.” Ann grabbed a few boxes of the digital tests and stuffed them in her bag. “Let’s go find her.”