After that night of lovemaking, everything at Willow Springs changed for the better. General Razook and his men stayed on at Willow Springs, which made my sister very happy. Seeing her happy made me happy as well. But what really helped was that the soldiers were able to build an electrified fence surrounding Willow Springs and two more mansions next to us, which allowed the compound to spread out so that we weren’t on top of each other. Erick was no longer in charge, and even though he was steaming about it, even he could see that the Veruka soldiers were a benefit to us. He went to live in one of the other mansions as far from Jex and I as he could. I think he was thankful for the extra room.
With the help of Jex’s ships, supply runs became easy. It only took one ship and some soldiers to go hop from one abandoned house to another, even as far as into New York City itself. They had gathered a surplus of supplies for us, and it required an entire basement of the mansion to house it. Willow Springs became less tense, and everyone was content. Just as Erick had said, some of the women took to the Veruka soldiers, and it was obvious why. They were attractive and provided safety. But I never told any of them about the bonding of DNA; that was not for me to tell. But there was one human I was able to discuss it with.
“So I assume you have mated with your General Razook?” I told Hannah the next day after the bonfire celebrations when we finally got some alone time together.
“Yes, I bet,” I said. Then she looked at me. “And did you BOND with Captain Kailen?”
“Do you know?” I asked looking at her not wanting to give it away if she didn’t know. But then again, this was my sister, and maybe I should tell her.
“It’s unbelievable. I can’t believe that it is even possible just from having sex,” she said.
“Well, we’ve never had sex with aliens before, so I guess just the fact that there are aliens out there is also unbelievable,” I said.
“I do love him, Hannah, I really do,” I said getting serious for a moment.
“Yes, our twin intuition. You know when the supply mission went wrong, I could sense it. I knew that something wasn’t right. It was terrifying for me,” I said.
“I know. I can feel when things are not right with you too. We’ve always had that,” she said.
“Well, now everything is as good as it can be, and I can feel your joy,” I said giving her a big hug.
“Oh, sister, I am so glad to be back with you. I was worried I would never see you again,” she said.
“Me too. Now let’s make the most of our time together. We never know when this will all change again. It happens so quickly,” I said.
We walked down the pier to the bank of the bay. We watched as the Veruka soldiers walked around doing their duties and the humans did their chores. It was a strange thing to see, but it made sense. Willow Springs was more secure with the army there. It was good to feel safe for the first time in years.
A year went by after the adventures of the Maven twins. Jex and I were still at Willow Springs. We were not leaving anytime soon. We had a mission: plant the virus in as many keddle as we came across. It was a mission that would take lots of planning and a lot of danger. But we weren’t in it alone.
My sister Hannah eventually left with General Razook. But they were not too far away. General Razook had taken her to a nearby human colony in Vermont with his army. They were doing the same thing: spreading the virus. She was close enough to visit, and I had seen her twice in the year that had gone by. She was very happy, as was I.
But there was more to be happy about than just the safety of the Willow Springs colony; I was pregnant with Jex’s child. This was turning out to be the best relationship I had ever had in my life. It was filled with mutual love, and we were truly bonded. Now, I was going to have his child.
We had officially become husband and wife when his lieutenant married us in an official Veruka ceremony. Now I was truly his, and he was mine. I knew that eventually, I would go with him to Haven Brook when he needed to check in with his king.
Perhaps one day I would even go with him to Tivoso, to a place where cyborgs were not a problem. But there was plenty of time, and I was in no rush. Because we had the agreement in place: the agreement that where he goes, I go. I knew that he would never break that agreement. He loved me, and I loved him, and it kept the agreement a solid bond, just like the bond created between us through my human DNA. It was unbreakable.