His to Save

by Selina Coffey

  When Ann’s transporter landed, he’d be notified. He’d have to make a decision. Should his soldiers rush the vehicle and occupants, or wait?

  He tapped the fingers of his left hand against the armrest and tried to decide. Take that chance or let it go? It was a risk.

  He wanted to be out there, to be close to her, but he knew the minute he left he’d be called back to deal with something. He’d had thirty minutes of peace so far, he knew it wouldn’t last much longer.

  He put on some of the music he’d discovered through his mate and was surprised to find that his foot still had the energy to tap in time with the rhythm of a song by a man with a very strange name, singing about needing some flowers and a time machine. He had a feeling that would be a good idea. He could go back in time, make his reaction to Ann’s news about the baby a better one, and make her smile.

  But going back in time could be a slippery slope that leads to madness. His people knew that well. His people could fold space, and in a way time, but it was more about space. Time was a concept anyway, it wasn’t real, but that was a whole other mess of thoughts he was too tired to think about right now.

  He sat up, tried to rub the throb out of his temples, and waited.

  He didn’t have to wait long. Someone soon knocked at his door and he called out to tell them to come in.

  “Sir, your mate’s transporter has changed course. It sat down for a little while, but now it’s coming back. From what we can tell, it’s locked in to come back here to the house.” A female soldier, a woman he thought was named Drinda, came in and stood at attention as she relayed her news.

  Relief sapped all of his strength for a moment. She was on her way back. He hoped.

  “Good. Bring in a contingent of soldiers, place them around the house. Just in case.”

  “Yes, sir.” The woman hesitated, and then she spoke again. She was a pretty woman, with light brown hair and yellow eyes that managed to be quite lovely rather than odd. His people all had odd eye colors, though, so it wasn’t unusual to him. “Your mate, sir, she isn’t responding to our calls.”

  “Perhaps the traitorous rat that took her is still with her.” He brushed off the news, but as she left, he had to wonder. She hadn’t used her watch communicator either.

  The hours passed, the sun rose, and he finally had a nap for an hour. He used the downstairs bathroom to shower and changed in the bedroom but didn’t stay in there long. He went back downstairs and was immediately met with a living room full of patiently waiting people. He’d planned to have some lunch and then get back to the ship, but these people couldn’t wait.

  He reminded himself to give the butler orders not to let anyone but Ann in after he dealt with this bunch. The problem was, people kept coming in.

  “We need permission to open a building for some newcomers that arrived, sir.” A studious looking man, short, bald, and round with glasses that had been glued together far too many times asked, with a clipboard in his hands. Somewhere he’d found a rather threadbare suit, an atrocious olive green threaded with yellow, and it served to make him look even more studious somehow.

  “You have it.” Rager waved the man away, and a woman rushed up.

  Dressed in a long, flowing black skirt and a white t-shirt with long sleeves, she had the voice of a mouse and the bearing of one as well.

  “Sir, we need to know if we can open a house of prayer.” She backed away when he rolled his eyes and growled. “I’m sorry.”

  “If you feel you must, then you may. But don’t cause problems or that permission will be rescinded.” Rager couldn’t imagine the woman would ever get the gumption to cause problems, but she was in front of him, in his home, so maybe he was wrong. He’d have to have his soldiers watch her and her group.

  People could have religion if they wanted to, but it wasn’t a part of his people’s lives. They didn’t need it, and as far as he could see, man had used religion to fight wars and subjugate people for thousands of years on this planet. That wouldn’t be the case with this incarnation of life on this planet.

  He went on to settle a dispute between two mayors of the villages that made up the districts of this sector. One man wanted to use a small strip of land between their two homes to build onto his house. The other refused to allow it.

  “Do you have any children?” Rager asked simply, and the man that wanted to build huffed up his chest. He must be in his sixties, so he should have been wise enough to know why this was a bad idea.

  “No, Overlord, but that doesn’t mean…” but Rager cut him off.

  “It goes. John here has children and one on the way. If he can cope with the room he has, so can you. Otherwise, we can remove you from your post and find you a larger property somewhere else. Perhaps outside of the sector would be more suitable for you?” The man, dressed in a luxurious suit he must have scoured the sector for, shrank into himself and lost a lot of his huff as Rager spoke.

  “No, you’re right, Overlord. I beg your pardon.”

  Rager sat on the edge of a couch and watched the men go. A woman came in, heavily pregnant, and with two small children behind her. He frowned. Why was this woman so desperate looking? She and her children were all clean and tidy, but their clothes were threadbare and patched in places.

  “What can I do for you?” Rager asked pleasantly and looked at the children that hid behind their mother. She had on ragged jeans and a thin flannel shirt stretched over her big belly. The shirt had been covered in patches, and he was certain the pleats were actually tearing that she’d repaired.

  “I, well, sir, I’ve been trying not to ask, because I know you’re busy, but I need to change the village I live in. The man there, he’s not very nice, and he’s kicked my children and me out of our home to turn it into a parking spot for his transporter.” She looked desperate, her brown eyes were hollow and bruised, her face thin, with a long bruise that ran down her face and down somewhere below her shirt.

  Rager scowled and looked at the children. They were nearly in tears, hidden behind their mother’s thin legs. “Give me that man’s name, and please take the house four doors down from mine. It’s a little bit of a walk so I’ll have one of my people take you.”

  For a moment there was a flurry of activity as Rager got the man’s name, ordered his men to remove him from power and take him to a holding area for investigation. If the woman’s allegations were true, he’d be removed from power and kicked out of the sector. Rager also ordered his people to find whatever the woman needed, to bring her food, and to take her to get clothes for her and the children.

  “Thank you, Overlord. I can’t thank you enough.” She looked as if she wanted to hug him, but held herself back.

  “It’s my duty, Nancy. There’s also a clinic in our sector for pregnant women. I’ll get you the address for that.”

  She couldn’t stop smiling, and Rager could see that once she’d been fed and had some rest, she’d be a very beautiful woman.

  “Do you have a mate?” He wasn’t sure she’d be quite ready for one, not if she’d lost a man, but he’d find out if she wanted one.

  “No, Overlord, he was killed a few months ago, before you came. An accident in our bunker.” Her eyes teared up, but she lifted her head and looked him in the eye when she spoke.

  “Alright. Do you want one?” He asked it bluntly, as a show of respect. If he knew the answer now, it would save a lot of problems later.

  “I haven’t thought about it, really. I wasn’t offered one in my village, but then, I think the mayor had, ahem, plans.” Her eyes glanced over her children to indicate that it wasn’t a talk for now. Later, without the young ones present would be better.

  “I understand. Please talk to my people, let them know what they need to know and tell them what you need. We’ll deal with this man.”

  She nodded her head and a female soldier came to lead her away. The house he’d placed her in was a smaller mansion than his, but it would give her and the children the room they woul
d need. If she could deal with that much space.

  Even Ann had remarked on how different it was to be above ground. Sometimes, she’d told him, she missed being underground. Many of the people that came to him also said the same thing. Many had less room than Ann and her group lived in and found it difficult to be out in the open, and large houses bothered them. A few had even gone back to live in their bunkers, away from everyone.

  Rager could understand them all, once you became used to something, it was hard to change.

  “Sir, the transporter is here!”

  Rager froze. Ann was back!

  He was worried, very worried, because she hadn’t communicated at all, and as he left the room to head outside, dread filled him. When the soldiers outside reported they hadn’t seen anyone inside, his heart went cold and he was certain it had stopped. He stood still as a pain unlike anything he’d ever felt before coursed through him.

  But he could feel her, he thought. He could still feel her in his soul, so she had to be alright. Perhaps the transporter was empty?

  He rushed to the transporter and placed his palm in the scanner. It was only his or her touch that would open the transporter, so he had to be the one that went in. Nobody could do it for him. Not that he’d have anybody else do it. This was his job.

  He watched the stairs come down, his heart a dull thud in his chest as he closed his eyes.

  “She’s there, sir,” a voice behind him said.

  Rager opened his eyes and saw his mate, asleep in the passenger chair, her hand tucked under her chin. He leaned into the frame where the stairs came down and took in a deep breath of relief. He wouldn’t have to kill anyone, not yet anyway. She was safe, at last.

  7

  “I’m fine, Skye, please stop fussing over me.” Ann brushed her friend’s hands away and sat back on the examination table.

  “It wasn’t that long ago that you were kidnapped, Ann. We need to check everything.”

  “It was months ago, Skye!” Ann’s hands went to her stomach, much rounder than it had been that day.

  A day she didn’t like to talk about with anyone. Especially Amanda, the mother of the man that had caused them all so many problems.

  “That might be, but the stress is still there. That’s why you won’t talk about it.”

  “More like…” but she didn’t finish. She couldn’t say the word that she thought about so very much.

  Guilt.

  She couldn’t help it, she felt bad that she’d left Rex out there in the wild. Rager’s soldiers had scoured the place for the man but had found no signs of him anywhere. Every time she saw his mother or his father, that guilt only increased. Both of them had told her she’d done what was best, the only thing she could have done. She’d made sure she escaped from him.

  They might not blame her, but the sadness in Amanda’s eyes didn’t make her feel better at all. She had nightmares now, about the things that might have happened to him. Amanda’s heart was broken, however, and Ann felt like some of that was her fault.

  “Look, I know what happened was his fault, but I chose to leave him out there. I chose to let him die… maybe.” She’d said it, at last, and hopefully, that would shut Skye up.

  “You’re going to have to find a better way to cope with this, Ann. It’s not good for you or the baby. I know that’s an unkind thing to say, that you need to just deal with it, but it’s true. Sometimes, that’s all you can do. Deal with it and get on with your life.”

  Skye turned away but Ann still caught a look on Skye’s lovely face that made her wonder. What had Skye had to deal with?

  “You’re one to talk.” Ann pushed her long white shirt back down and sat up on the table. “You have your own troubles.”

  “I’m not carrying a baby.” Skye made a face at her and then spoiled it all by laughing. “But yeah, I guess we all have our burdens to bear. This one, however, shouldn’t be one you bear alone.”

  “Whatever.” Ann waved her hand and laughed at the childishness of her comment. “Fine.”

  “How are you otherwise? I know you’ve had time to adjust, to get back into the swing of things…” her words trailed off.

  “Everything is fine, really. I just, I can’t go to Mom’s often. I can’t face Amanda anymore, you know?” Ann turned and picked up the bag that Katy, the super-stalker chihuahua since she had got home, had nestled down in. Ann hadn’t even known the small dog was there until she got into the clinic and Katy yipped to go outside to potty.

  “I understand, I do.” Skye put a hand on her shoulder, and Ann walked into her arms. The two hugged before Ann stepped away.

  “I just don’t know how to get over it, Skye. How do I deal with it? I left a man out in the world without food or water. He didn’t even have matches.”

  “I didn’t know Rex well, but he’s a conniving bastard. I guarantee you, he’s out there wrapped in a bearskin, roasting some poor bunny rabbit on a spit over a fire. He’s not dead. He’s too damn mean to die.”

  Ann had to laugh at the picture Skye drew for her with words and rolled her eyes at her own stupidity. “You’re probably right, you know. He is too mean to just wither away and die.”

  “He’ll be like that guy from that old TV show, the one about zombies that everybody used to love? The bad guy that always managed to survive?”

  “I remember that. We just have to make sure we’re not stupid enough to let him back into our world. That was their problem. Always letting in people that would cause problems.”

  “Speaking of…” Skye looked at her, a delicately arched eyebrow crooked.

  “I don’t know if there are more people yet, or not. They’re screening them all now before they let them in. No matter how many have to wait in holding areas.” She had barely seen Rager the last few days because of it.

  “I’m just glad he’s so paranoid about Rex getting back here somehow. I’m not sure I like being chipped.” Skye paused to rub at a spot on the bottom of her wrist before she continued. “It does make it easier to prove who we are, though.”

  Ann rubbed at the spot where her own chip was and nodded in agreement. “I didn’t like it either, but I’m with you. It has its merits.”

  “And what about that woman, Nancy?” Skye sat down in a simple office chair of black metal and black plastic to look up at Ann.

  “She’s in her own home now, not far from us. Turns out that place was turning into a hellhole. It’s on the edge of our sector, so there weren’t a lot of patrols out there. The man has been sent off-planet.” Ann let her eyes go wide and Skye’s eyebrow lifted again.

  “That bad, was he?”

  “Yep, I won’t go into it, but let’s say it’s good he kicked her out. It beat the alternative.” They both knew that being sent off-planet was a punishment that was saved for those the aliens deemed beyond redemption. Rager had explained the man’s crimes to her, but she didn’t want to think about them.

  “Damn. That poor woman.”

  “Women!” Ann interrupted, and Skye’s blue eyes narrowed.

  “What do you mean?”

  “He seems to have fathered a few children. They’re coming here so that the aliens can, well, they have to decide whether they want to terminate the pregnancies or not.”

  “Fucking hell!” Skye blinked with surprise. “They’ll allow that?”

  “In some cases, ones like this.” Ann breathed a sigh of pity for the women. “It’s terrible for them, and it’s their choice.”

  “It is.” Skye stood up to hug her friend again. “It’s not all fun and games being mated to the Overlord, is it?”

  “Not all the time. But sometimes, oh man. You don’t know what you’re missing.” Ann didn’t want to wallow in sorrow, guilt, or pity anymore. As Skye had said, it wasn’t good for the baby. She pulled back to wink at her friend, slid her shoes into the simple leather boots she’d worn in, and wiggled her toes in her socks. “Sometimes it’s pure heaven.”

  “I don’t want to know. Eww! It�
�s like hearing your parents.”

  “Stop! Yuck, Skye! It’s bad enough Mom’s proving they still do it without you talking about it!” Ann held her hands up over her ears in mock horror and walked out of the exam room.

  “She’s due soon, your poor mom. Twins at her age. She’s brave.” Skye’s smile said she really did respect Ann’s mom.

  “She’s doing her part. But I think she’s scared. And excited. Same as me. Excited to see how our children turn out but scared to raise them in this new world. They won’t know our old lives at all.”

  “No, it’s a shame really. But, I guess we can find some movies, somewhere. And we are finding more things every day. We have the books, our memories. We’ll find a way to show them who we were, what we should work to avoid being in the future.” Skye looked around the empty waiting area and then back at Ann.

  “I guess they're all things we’re going to have to deal with as we go along, aren’t they?” Ann leaned against the wall and cradled her stomach. It wasn’t large, not yet, but it was getting there. It was enough to make her back curve and put pressure on places she’d never actually felt before.

  “You going home now? I can make us some lunch,” Skye offered, but Ann shook her head.

  “No, I’m going to see Rager. He’s coming home for lunch to find out what you’ve revealed today.” Ann widened her eyes for effect.

  “It was just a checkup. He doesn’t need to worry, you’re fine.”

  “I know, and he does, but he’s been… protective, I guess, since I came home.” She smiled, a secret smile of a woman pleased with her man. “It’s nice, really. He comes home more, and he makes sure he asks about the baby.”

  But he still hadn’t come to an appointment with her.

  That dimmed her smile a bit, but not much. He was a busy man. He’d be home waiting for her, that was enough.

  She told her friend goodbye and left to head home. She drove straight home, eager to see her man. He’d been a lot more protective since she came home, but he’d also been more eager to have her. In bed, over the back of the couch in the living room, in the bathtub, wherever the mood struck him, he’d turn that smile on that made her melt and she’d start to take her clothes off.