Magni
My large beast of a hybrid had never flown as slow as when I took Laura to the border.
My head was spinning with ways to make her stay, but locking her up or spanking her into submission would only alienate her and we were already on shaky ground. More than once, I stopped myself before asking my most burning question: “Are you going to divorce me?”
It was my worst nightmare, but asking could potentially put thoughts in her head, something I wasn’t willing to risk. All her talk about her newfound freedom in the Motherlands had me nervous that she would want to move there for good.
The negotiations meeting with the Council had been a farce, and I hadn’t been able to control my temper when some of the Council members from the Motherlands claimed that men couldn’t be trusted with power. They didn’t even blink when they said males were power hungry by nature and that history showed we were incapable of maintaining peace.
Of course, my aggressive shouting at them didn’t convince them otherwise. But it wasn’t in my blood to take insults without standing up for myself. Not even from small Momsies who blinked when they heard the word fuck.
I was still upset that Khan had asked me to step outside when the Motlanders threatened to leave the negotiations if I remained in the room. He should have never bowed to their demands. Fucking tree-hugging vegans who lived to oppress men.
“You don’t like Pearl much, do you?” Laura asked me from her seat next to me. The millions of needle trees beneath us gave a feeling of flying over a green ocean.
“No, I don’t like Pearl.”
“Because Khan listens to her more than he listens to you now?”
My head swung to her. “Who told you that?”
The serious expression on her face didn’t take away from how pretty she looked with the braid that ran like a hairband from one ear to the other. “No one. I saw it for myself at the strategy meeting. The two of them are close.”
“It’s just a phase. Newlyweds are always engrossed in each other. He’ll grow bored of her soon enough and things will return to normal. Don’t forget that I’m still the second in command in the Northlands. Khan depends on me to rule the country.”
“What if he doesn’t grow bored with her?”
I kept my eyes straight ahead, not wanting to entertain that thought. Changing the subject, I asked. “Did you talk to your sister?”
“Yes, and I talked to Laila Michelle too. Did you see her twins?”
“Yeah, once. They were only a few weeks old then and I mostly saw two bundles of blankets.”
“I missed out on a lot,” Laura breathed and played with a blue wristband.
“Uh-huh. Laila Michelle and April were both upset with you for leaving, you know?”
“Yes, they told me. April gave me a hard time, and Laila Michelle got upset when I called her just now to cancel seeing her and her twins today. She agrees with you that it’s not a woman’s job to chase criminals.”
“Are you even sure the Motlanders will let you back inside their country?” It was no secret that I hoped they wouldn’t.
“It should be fine, I have papers from the Council.”
I wanted to land my hybrid in front of the border as much as I wanted to walk barefoot on lava, but in the end I had to. “Are you wearing your protective suit under your clothes?”
“No, but I brought it.”
“Put it on.”
“As soon as I go chasing the men, I will.”
“I’m not letting you cross that border without you putting on your protective gear. The men could be hiding anywhere and grab you, Laura.”
“I doubt they’re lurking around close to the border. Besides, we’re only talking about nineteen men. On this side there’s millions of them.”
Narrowing my eyes, I spoke in a firm tone. “On this side of the border I’m here to protect you. As soon as you cross that fucking wall, you’re on your own. Put the suit on, Laura!”
“All right.” Laura frowned and was annoyed with my being bossy, but she complied. It was hard to restrain myself from touching her when she was stripped down to only her underwear, but if I had sex with her now, I wouldn’t be able to let her go.
I might not be the kind of man who showered her with loving words. But if Laura knew me at all, she would understand how deep my love for her was to let her do this. It was a violation of everything I stood for to let my woman put herself in danger. Never in my life had I compromised my own needs to this extent. I doubted she understood the magnitude of what she was asking of me.
If only she loved me half as much as I loved her. Then she wouldn’t leave me here to worry about her again.
“Satisfied?” she asked when she was dressed again.
“Yes. And the weapons?”
She showed me the four weapons I’d given her, and then I walked her to the border.
“Tell me you’re going to be all right.” Laura was twenty years old, but in my eyes she was innocent and I couldn’t bear the thought that something bad might happen to her.
“Don’t go, Laura.” Desperation made me add a word that I had only used a few times in my life. “Please.” It was the closest thing I’d ever come to begging, but Laura still didn’t budge.
“I’ll be back soon, Magni. Don’t worry.”
I snorted because we both knew I’d be worrying non-stop.
“At least try not to worry. I’ll be fine and when I’m done we can talk about our relationship.”
Laura’s words made my heart beat fast, like a war drum. “Yeah, I guess,” I managed to say but my worst fear was poking up its ugly head. What if she never came back or she came back asking for a divorce because she wanted to live in the Motherlands?
It was counterintuitive to watch Laura walk away from me. For six months, I’d sworn that if I ever saw her again, I would never let her go. And here I stood less than a day after getting her back, watching her move out of my reach one more time. Every protective instinct in me wanted to pull her back to safety. But unless I wanted to hide her in a room somewhere, it was impossible.
To the very last second, I hoped for a miracle. Maybe they would reject her or she would change her mind. But all I got was a smile over her shoulder and a wave from her hand before she disappeared out of my sight.
I wanted to scream out my fear and anger, and blow up every one of the small border drones that hovered above the wall – keeping a camera pointed in my direction. On my way back I flew along the wall, seeing the destruction that the earthquake had caused. Workers were repairing the wall with the help of robots and my soldiers were patrolling on our side of the wall – something that Khan had insisted would show goodwill with the Council and make it easier for us during negotiations.
When I saw a group of men sneaking around at the border I channeled all my anger at them. If I couldn’t cross, they sure as hell couldn’t either. My woman was on the other side of that wall, and the sooner she found the fuckers who had already crossed over, the sooner I could have her back. There was no way I would let the number of men she needed to chase down grow. Setting down my hybrid I stepped out, taking a wide stance, shouting at the men to turn around. There were three of them and after exchanging a quick look they all attacked me at once. It was just what I had hoped for.