by R. E. Butler
“Wait, there’s something else I wanted to talk to you about. Kate, do you mind if I talk to Sloan privately?”
“Not at all.”
Ashleigh and Sloan disappeared into another room within the office and Kate leaned her head against the back of the chair and closed her eyes. Ashleigh was right. Kate more than liked Paoli – she was in love with him. If she’d sat down and made a list of the qualities she wanted in a man, each one would match Paoli. He was kind, sweet, and so patient, especially during those weeks when she barely said a word. He made sure she ate and encouraged her to smile. He looked out for her when she had no one and nothing.
By the time Ashleigh and Sloan came back into the room, both of them smiling and Ashleigh with tears in her eyes, Kate had made a decision.
“Is everything okay?” she asked.
“It’s great. I’ll tell you later, okay? I’m ready to go home,” Ashleigh said.
Kate hugged Sloan and thanked her for her help.
“Anytime.”
Captain Riya and several soldiers were waiting outside of Sloan’s office when she opened the door. Kate noticed Sloan blush as the handsome captain smiled at her, and Ashleigh made a kissy face at Sloan behind the captain’s back, which made Sloan’s cheeks turn scarlet.
Kate had a hard time keeping a straight face. After saying goodbye to Sloan, she and Kate followed the soldiers out of the medical building to their waiting hover-machen. Ashley gave it some commands and the vehicle pulled smoothly away from the building and toward their home.
In a little while, Kate and Paoli would be on their way to his family’s home, and then later, when they were back in their room, she was going to make love to him. She didn’t care if his hair never turned brown, she wanted to be his in every way, and this was the first step. First, though, she’d get up the nerve to tell him that she loved him, because she was certain she’d never loved anyone more than she did him.
Chapter 5
When Paoli heard about Kate’s confrontation with Dex in the medical building, he could have punched a hole in the wall. If he had any idea the male was working there, he would have asked her to change her plans and meet Sloan somewhere else. He was thankful that Sloan had been there to intervene and the soldiers had sided with Kate and not Dex.
After the incident in the park, and then her coming face to face with the male who had arranged her kidnapping – he was beginning to think the fates were against them.
“Tell me about your dad,” she said as she turned in her seat in Eden’s hover-machen, which he’d let Paoli borrow for the evening.
He put aside his irritation at Dex and his worry for Kate, and concentrated on how beautiful she was sitting next to him. He shifted in the seat to look at her, finding it impossible not to touch her in some way. The kisses they’d shared, holding her while she slept – it made him feel connected to her in a soul-deep kind of way. He loved her, and he wanted to tell her, but a part of him worried it was too soon.
“He was a soldier. He worked in Kyvern City, and was a well-respected captain. He and my mother had been together since they were young, they were the kind of couple I told you about where the male decided not to go on the soul-walk and just marry the woman he loved. My dad was gone a lot on missions, but they still managed to have seven kids. Two of my brothers went into the military and are stationed in the south. They both joined as soon as they turned sixteen, and I haven’t seen them since I sold myself.”
She clucked in disapproval. “Could they have set you free? Didn’t they make enough money in the military to pay your debt and help your mother?”
He stroked the top of her hand with his thumb. “The first few years after a soldier’s entrance into the military, their salaries are garnished by the government. The government says that they give the soldiers housing, food, and training, and the soldiers have no need for deenars. Once they attain certain ranks, they begin to receive deenars, but it’s minimal. It takes males years to save up money. When the government encouraged soldiers to take soul-walks because they believed it would make the soldiers happier to have mates, they discounted the soul-walks to make it more affordable.”
She shook her head. “I don’t see how anyone could think that forcing someone to kidnap another person would put anyone in a better mood.”
“Eden’s happier, but then again, he’s not a soldier,” Paoli said. “I haven’t heard from my brothers since they went into the military. I’m the oldest; I was supposed to take care of them in place of our dad. I did what I had to do to keep my family from harm. I have a lot of regrets, but selling myself for them isn’t one of them.”
She smiled sadly and reached for him. He rested his head against her shoulder as she sighed heavily. “You’re the kindest man I’ve ever met.”
He wasn’t sure about that, but he liked that she thought so highly of him. He kissed her neck and she shivered.
After a few quiet moments, he settled back in the seat and she curled against him. “Four of my siblings are still at home with my mother. I have three sisters and a brother. My youngest brother, Milo, is sixteen, and my sisters, Hana, Reli, and Krea, are seventeen, eighteen, and nineteen.”
“What will happen to your sisters?”
“What do you mean?”
“Because of the infertility. Will they ever find husbands?”
“Probably not. There’s always a chance a male will choose love over future children, but the government pushes males to take soul-walks.”
“I feel bad that I took your family’s better life away from them. Do you think they’ll hate me?” She looked up at him, chewing on her lower lip.
He gently freed the lush swell from her teeth and brushed it with his thumb. “It was my choice to make, and I’d do it again a hundred times. I couldn’t leave you there, Kate. I believe…” He paused, unsure how she would take what was in his heart.
“We were meant to be together,” she said, word for word what he’d been thinking.
Tears stung his eyes but he blinked them back. “Yes.”
“The soul-walk company must have known what they were doing, in a backward way. They brought me to Norlan to find you. I hate them, I hate Dex, but I’m glad I found you. I’m glad we’re together.”
“Me, too,” he said, lowering his mouth to hers. As their lips touched, the hover-machen slowed to a stop and an alarm dinged to let them know they’d arrived at their destination.
Kate smiled against his lips. “Bad timing.”
He chuckled and kissed her briefly.
They got out of the vehicle and he looked at the house he’d purchased for his family in dismay. He hadn’t seen it before, but once Krea had come to see him at the Bordelayz and brought a picture of it, and it had been in good shape. It was a small house on a small plot of land, but it was big enough for his family and that was all he’d cared about at the time. Now, though, the house was in disrepair. The exterior was cracked in places, two of the windows were broken and had been boarded up, and what had been thick grass in the yard was dead, with garbage littering the bare spots.
“Oh my gosh,” Kate said.
He growled angrily. “What did they let happen here? It wasn’t like this before.”
Kate squeezed his hand and looked up at him. “Maybe there’s a good reason for it.”
He exhaled slowly. Kate was right; he shouldn’t jump to conclusions.
The front door opened and Milo came running out. “Paoli! I missed you!”
Milo hugged Paoli tightly and he returned the hug, amazed at how much his little brother had grown. He’d been in the Bordelayz for twelve years and Milo had been four when he left. Now, a nearly full-grown male was hugging him, his hair a rich motley of blues, his eyes dark brown like their father’s.
“You’ve gotten so big,” Paoli said thickly, emotions rising quickly in him.
Milo’s voice was muffled against his shirt as he hugged him a little tighter. “I missed you.”
Paoli patted h
is back, pushing him to arm’s length. “You look just like Dad. I bet all the girls chase you at school.”
Milo’s cheeks flushed and he glanced at Kate as he scuffed the ground with his foot. “I haven’t been to school all week.”
Paoli’s hands tightened on his brother’s shoulders. “Why not?”
“Mother said that she couldn’t afford it because of what you did.”
Paoli’s stomach dropped into his feet.
“Where is she?”
Milo shrugged. “Out. She’s been out a lot since you called and said you couldn’t buy a new house for us.”
Kate cleared her throat delicately and Paoli pushed away his concerns for his family until later. “Milo, this is my mate, Kate. Kate, this is my brother, Milo.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Milo.”
“Where are you from?” Milo asked.
“Earth.”
Milo frowned for a moment and then smiled. “Oh, that’s why you didn’t have the money for a house, right? You went on a soul-walk? That’s totally blin.”
“It’s a little more complicated than that, but yes,” Paoli said as he looked at Kate and reached for her hand, “Kate’s my mate.”
“Your hair is still blue.”
Paoli cuffed him lightly on the back of the head. “So is yours.”
Krea came to the door, squealed loudly, and raced down the cracked and broken sidewalk, launching herself into his arms. “I knew you’d come see us. What took you so long?”
He hugged her and put her on the ground. “I have a lot to tell you. Let’s talk inside.”
Krea looked at Kate with a smile and turned, leading them into the house. Paoli slid his arm over Kate’s shoulders and tugged her close as they walked. He loved how she immediately put her arm around his back to anchor herself to him.
Hana and Reli came to him and hugged him as tightly as his other siblings had. Reli, the most tenderhearted of his sisters, sobbed as she said how much she’d missed him. When introductions were completed, he and Kate sat on a worn sofa while his siblings sat on the floor in front of them since there wasn’t any other furniture in the main room.
He glanced around the interior, wondering what had happened with the money he’d sent his mother every lunar cycle of his stay in the Bordelayz. She had never come to visit him there, but had sent him letters occasionally saying she was spending his money on his siblings and taking care of them, which was all he ever wanted.
“I sent deenars to Mother every lunar cycle to take care of the home and you four. What happened?”
Hana curled a lock of her thick, dark hair around her finger and said, “She only ever used the barest amount of money for us. The rest she spent on herself.”
Paoli blinked in surprise. “Why didn’t you ever tell me?”
He looked at Krea, who, of his four youngest siblings, had come to visit him the most often. “She said if we told you, she’d turn us into the Bordelayz herself.”
Anger welled up inside him swiftly.
Reli shrugged. “What could you have done? You were trapped there because you tried to save us. If we told you she wasted your money, she would have sold us and you wouldn’t have been able to do anything about it.”
He rubbed his temple as a headache began to form. The idea that his mother had taken the money he’d whored himself out for and used it for her own selfish needs made his head swim.
“Well, I’m here now and I’m free. We’ll figure things out, together.”
He glanced at Kate and she nodded her head in agreement. “We can talk later, but it’s okay. Whatever you want to do, I support you.”
He looked into her lovely blue eyes and his heart swelled.
The front door opened and his mother stood in the doorway. “Whose hover-machen is that?”
She stared at Kate and then her gaze slowly moved to Paoli. He stood, wanting to yell at her for letting the house fall into such disrepair outside, for not providing better for his brother and sisters, but before he could say anything, she sneered.
“You have a lot of nerve showing up here after breaking your promise, brokah.”
The word cut through him like a knife. Kate stood swiftly and said, “Krea, why don’t you guys show me your rooms? I’d love to see them.”
“What are guys?” Hana asked.
Kate grinned. “Guys are what my kind call people.”
“Hmm, guys. Weird, but I like it. Come on, guys,” Milo said. He looked at Paoli and mouthed “she’ll be okay” to him. Paoli kissed Kate’s cheek and watched her walk out of the room with his siblings.
Turning to face his mother, he noticed she was wearing an expensive coat. “Is that what you do with the money I send? What about my brothers? I know they send you whatever they can.”
“You need to leave before I call the military to remove you.”
“This house is mine. I bought it and it’s in my name. You can’t have me removed from my own residence.”
She sniffed in derision. “It’s a slum and it’s disgraceful what you allowed to happen to your family.”
“Maybe if you didn’t spend the money I sent you on fancy clothes, it wouldn’t look like this. And why isn’t Milo in school?”
Her eyes blazed and she closed the distance between them quickly. Her hand rose up to strike him and he grabbed her wrist, stopping the motion. She shrieked in rage and twisted her hand free. “You promised a better home. This was supposed to be temporary. Then you contacted me and let me know that you’d given my money to an alien. You took a female meant to be another male’s mate. You’re nothing but a common degrabasa.”
He ground his teeth together at the slur. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
She huffed. “I know you broke your promise. I know I’ve been humiliated by your behavior. That you brought that...female…into my home is beyond the pale. I’m not going to be in the same room with you for a moment longer.” The coat swirled around her as she turned and stormed out of the house, the door slamming as it closed behind her.
He slumped to the couch, putting his head in his hands. He’d trusted his mother to take care of his siblings, but she’d taken care of herself instead. He was upset that his siblings hadn’t told him what was happening, but he didn’t really blame them. They were scared to be sold to the Bordelayz; that threat was enough to make anyone toe the line.
Now he didn’t know what to do. The thousand deenars from the brooch sale wasn’t nearly enough to help his siblings, and the most important thing he could do – remove them from his mother’s care – was beyond his means. He had no home of his own, and they couldn’t live in the workshop with them.
“She’s wrong,” Kate said as she sat next to him, putting her arm around his shoulders.
He lifted his head. “She’s not. I failed. I blindly sent her money, trusting her to do the right thing. She’s not the woman who raised me. That woman put her kids first. Something has happened to her, changed her into a selfish creature.”
Kate rubbed his back lightly. “Grief does strange things to people.”
He sighed, leaning back against the sofa and drawing Kate into his arms. “I suppose.”
“We can help your brother and sisters. Now that we know what’s going on, we can fix it. Milo and Hana need to be in school to finish their lessons. Krea and Reli are both apprentices at what they called an eatery, which from what they told me sounds a lot like a restaurant on my planet. They’re okay, but the younger ones need to be back in school. They have hardly any clothing at all, and the outside of the house is just a mess.”
He picked up her hand and kissed her palm. “We have a thousand deenars, which isn’t enough to help them. I don’t know when I’ll start making money from my clothing, it could be many lunar cycles. Besides, I’m supposed to be taking care of you.”
She tilted her head back and stared at him. “You do take care of me. So what if we stay in the workshop for a while longer? It’s your family, and that
’s important. You’d want to take care of my parents if you were the one who was abducted to Earth and I saved you from a terrible fate, right?”
“You know I would.”
“The situation isn’t the best, but we’re together and that’s enough.”
He opened his mouth to tell Kate that she was the most wonderful woman in the world when his siblings came into the room and the familiar thud of their hupi, Boreo, filled the air. Milo came racing after him, calling his name. The hupi had been only a pupling when Paoli sold himself, and the huge creature still had the same pale pink eyes and bright green fur.
Kate screamed in alarm when Boreo jumped onto the sofa, putting his paws on the back of the sofa and snuffling her neck.
Paoli and Milo shoved at Boreo, but he was massive and wouldn’t budge, and then he heard Kate laughing.
“Oh gross, he’s licking me!” she shrieked, laughing. Paoli saw her hands reach into his thick fur and scratch and he lifted his big, square head and howled happily.
“Get down, you big mutt,” Milo chided, tugging on his collar.
“No, it’s okay,” Kate said, wrapping her arms around Boreo’s neck. She peeked at Paoli and he saw tears in her eyes. She was smiling and crying, which told her they were happy tears.
Paoli brushed a tear from her cheek. “What is it?”
“He’s kind of like my dog, Boomer. Well, except for how gigantic he is and the green fur.”
“You miss him,” he said.
Another tear slid down her cheek and she sniffled. “Yeah.”
“We’re sorry he made you sad,” Krea said.
“It’s all right, really. Sometimes I feel like I don’t fit in this world at all but then I see things that, while different, are familiar in a way and it makes me feel better. Boreo’s like that.”
Boreo snuffled loudly and Kate giggled as his big, wet nose pressed into her throat. He licked her cheek and then eased down from his perch on the back of the couch until all four paws were on the floor, resting his head in her lap. She stroked his fur and smiled.
“He’s Paoli’s hupi; you can take him home with you if you want,” Hana offered.