“Everyone keeps talking about this place. The Glen. If they aren’t there, they should be able to help us,” Benji was leading the pack. He appeared to have limitless energy, never tiring or letting frustration knock him down. I tried not to show my worry and unease, but I’m sure I failed. The only thing that kept me moving was thoughts of Kayla.
“She’s okay, Mason. You know it.” Addison patted my arm. “You pushed me along when I wanted to give up. Now it’s my turn.”
“I never said anything about giving up. I’m only voicing my concerns that we are putting all of our trust in strangers.”
“But are we?” Benji glanced at me over his shoulder. “Are we trusting them or taking their advice? It’s two totally different things.”
I wasn’t necessarily sure I agreed, but I nodded. I wanted to be left alone with my thoughts.
“I wonder how different they are now. And Bailey. I bet she’s so big. I’m sure she won’t recognize me, but that’s okay.” Thomas fell back into his talk about his family. I didn’t mind, and I couldn’t really imagine how he was feeling.
“I’m sure she will be thrilled to finally meet the uncle who saved her life.”
“I didn’t. Kayla did.”
“You did. Kayla told me everything about that last day at home. You were a great brother and a great uncle.”
“I did everything I could.” Thomas looked down.
“What do we really know about the Glen?” I pulled the conversation back to our destination. “Do you guys really believe what everyone is saying? They think they can rebuild the population without the government? We’ve already learned the hard way the truth about rumors.”
“I don’t see why not.” Denver swung an arm over Addison’s shoulder. “They have the technology to, and if they have really been taking in all the women and children they find it might be possible.”
“But like everything else, it might be too good to be true.” I played devil’s advocate even though I desperately wanted to believe he was right.
“There’s only one way to find out.” Addison smiled. “Now stop sulking, it’s only going to slow us down.”
I laughed. “I don’t sulk.”
“Yeah, you do.”
I pushed off the negative thoughts and focused on Kayla. I would find her again even if it was the last thing I did.
Mason
I froze. There she was. Gorgeous and full of light. Yet I froze. Unable to move. She seemed to be experiencing the same sensation. Her eyes locked on mine, and her mouth fell open.
A million thoughts spun through my head. Had she really waited for me? Or had she moved on? Was she angry?
Then just as suddenly the frozen spell broke, and I ran to her. Without a single word I pulled her into my arms and held her.
She pulled away slightly and tilted her chin to look at me. “Mason. Is it really you?”
“Yes. It’s me.” I cupped her face with my hand. She was older now—but the years had done nothing to her beautiful face. I didn’t think after that. I crushed my lips into hers. She responded immediately, eagerly pushing into my mouth. I let her take control, closing off every other part of me so I would only focus on her.
I ran my hands down her back, her arms, as I got lost in the kiss, in her sweetness, and passion. In everything Kayla.
“Mama,” A little voice spoke.
Kayla stepped back. I took a moment to catch my breath when I noticed the source of the voice. A little girl with dark black hair and piercing blue eyes.
“Faith, there is someone you need to meet.” Kayla picked up the girl. “Faith, this is Mason. Your father.”
“Father?” I said the word out loud, trying to follow. I was a father? All these years Kayla had been raising our daughter? And I’d missed it. I’d left Kayla to fend for herself.
Kayla seemed to recognize the look on my face. “It’s okay, Mason. We’ll make it through this. Just like we’ve made it through everything else before.”
“Kayla?” Thomas walked over with Quinn grinning beside him.
“Thomas!” Kayla ran over and pulled both her siblings into a hug. “This is impossible. How can it be possible that both you and Mason are here? This has to be a dream.”
“We came together.” Thomas smiled. “Would you like me to tell the story, or do you want to?” he looked at me.
“You can.” I knelt down next to Faith. “If it’s okay with you, I’d like to spend some time with my daughter.”
Finally, after what felt like forever I had time alone with her. The first few days I’d been in shock. Meeting Faith had rocked my world in the best sort of way, and the three of us had to adjust to being together. I tried to give Kayla time, but I needed her in every possible way.
“This is where we’ll move once we’re ready.” She walked around the mostly empty house. It was late, far past curfew, but no one in the Glen seemed to care what we did. Maybe they understood what years apart could do to a couple. “They assigned me one ages ago for when I was ready, but I couldn’t be ready until you returned.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be. You did what you had to do.”
“I should have been with you and Faith.”
“And you are here now. I never gave up believing you’d come back.”
I put my hands on her hips. “I would have traveled the globe ten times over to get back to you.”
“I know.” She smiled. “I never doubted you.”
“I’ve missed you so much.” I brushed my lips against hers.
“I’ve missed you too.” She reached behind her and untied the ties of her halter night dress. She let go and let the fabric fall to the floor. She was wearing nothing under it, and my hands and mouth greedily devoured her breasts and swept over her soft skin.
“What about you? You know I demand we play fair.” Her eyes locked on mine.
I reluctantly released her and stepped back. I pulled off my clothes, enjoying the way her eyes swept over me in the process.
“That’s better.” She grinned before reaching out and taking me in her hand.
“When did you get so assertive?” I teased- moaned.
“I’ve spent years waiting for this moment. I am in a bit of a hurry.” She grinned.
I picked her up and carried her over to the simple bed, pulling back the covers and laying her down gently. I sat beside her, running my hands up and down her body. She closed her eyes and moaned softly as my fingers moved between her legs.
“Mason.” She called my name, and I knew what she was asking. I moved over her, and she opened her eyes.
“I love you, Kayla. I always have, and I always will.”
“I love you, too.” She put her arms around my neck. “That will never change.”
I kissed her breast before thrusting into her and returning to my favorite place in the world.
Faith
This was it. We were leaving. It wasn’t happening in the way I planned. I wasn’t alone and middle-aged, finally venturing out of the reinforced fences penning us all in. Instead, I was eighteen, holding the hand of a man, climbing over the fence hoping we weren’t caught.
I wasn’t leaving Bailey behind really. She’d moved over to a family home a month before, and she’d understand. She knew I couldn’t live my entire life confined to these walls.
My only regret was that I wouldn’t get the chance to see my parents one last time before I left. I’d had one brief opportunity when Bailey left the dormitory to see them, but it hadn’t been nearly enough. I’d split my time between seeing my birth parents as well as Bolton and his wife. Mason might have been my father, but Bolton would always have a special place in my heart. I knew he’d always have a place in my mother’s. Still, despite my hesitation at not seeing them again, I knew my mother would understand. After all, she named me Faith. It was time to have faith in myself and my own decisions.
“What do you think we are going to find out here?” Artum offered his hand when I w
as close to the bottom of the fence on the outer side.
“I don’t know.” I accepted his hand even though I didn’t need it and jumped down. I was learning that it was okay to enjoy the comforts he offered. That didn’t make me weak.
“That is the fun of it, isn’t it?” Artum squeezed my hand. “Venturing into the unknown.”
“I’m glad we’re doing this together,” I admitted.
“Me too.” He tugged on my hand slightly to lead us further away from the fence. “I think it’s high time we start our own adventure.”
“Did you tell your father?” I didn’t want to ruin the magic of the moment. But I couldn’t help it.
“No. I couldn’t. He’d have stopped us. He’d have had no other choice.”
I nodded. “I figured that. Clayton likes his rules.”
“We’ll be back one day.”
“You think they’ll take us back after this?” We were breaking one of the biggest rules of the Glen. You can’t leave until you were past breeding age.
“Of course. They are our families. That’s what families do.”
“You seem to be an expert on family now,” I teased.
He stopped and put his hands on my arms. “I finally understand the appeal.”
“Yet here we are stealing off into the night.”
“Because you would never be ready to settle down without an adventure. We’ll have our adventure first.”
“That’s the only reason you suggested this?”
He brushed his lips against mine. “Don’t get me wrong. I want an adventure too, but at the end of the day I don’t care where we are as long as the two of us are together.”
I nodded. “Okay. We can discuss the end plan later. Right now, I want to enjoy the unknown.”
“And we can. But first I need to do one thing.”
“Oh yeah?”
Instead of answering, he crushed his lips into mine. I lost myself in his kiss. Not a bad start to the biggest adventure of my life.
Thank You
Thank you for reading Conflicted. I hope you enjoyed it! Writing the Corded Saga was a journey for me. It took years, and it was one of the most challenging projects I’ve ever tackled. I am thrilled I was able to share it with you. Please consider leaving an honest review at your point of purchase. Reviews help me in so many ways!
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Afterword
Although the Corded Saga is complete, I have many other worlds for you to explore. Please keep reading for a preview of Stardust (The Half Light #1) by Alyssa Rose Ivy.
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Stardust
What if the one you thought was your savior was actually your captor?
The earth was never destroyed. A few words uttered by a stranger change Rachel’s life forever. After years of believing earth is gone, Rachel discovers that she cannot trust anything she thought was true or anyone she thought she loved, including the alien prince she was bound to spend her life with. Terrified and angry she takes a chance— and returns to earth.
College sophomore Noah is just going through the motions. He is numb to everything and everyone since tragedy took his brother away far too soon. All he wants to do is survive another year of school until everything changes— he meets her.
Not quite sure what to make of Rachel’s sudden appearance on his doorstep, Noah offers her help, and she unwittingly pulls him into a mess of intergalactic proportions. As the stakes are raised, their attraction to one another builds into something so much more than stardust.
(New Adult/ Mature Young Adult)
Rachel
I dug through the pile of discarded parts looking for something resembling a hand.
“Rachel?”
I jumped at the sound of Caspian’s voice. I regained my composure the best I could before turning around to face the door.
The room was so tiny Caspian was only a few feet away even though he was hovering in the doorway and I was near the back wall. Piles of outdated equipment and robot parts separated us. The space was probably more akin to a closet than a room. “Hi.”
“Hi?” He smiled yet frowned at the same time. It was an expression completely unique to him. The frown took nothing away from his handsome face—especially not his deep grey eyes.
I straightened. “Is there a greeting you’d prefer?”
“I thought you’d be getting ready.” He stepped into the room. It only took him a few steps before he reached me. He brushed some of my brown hair behind my ear.
“Oh.” I put a hand to my chest. “I completely forgot.”
“You forgot what tonight is?” The smile part of his expression disappeared.
“No. I mean I forgot what time it was.” I looked down at my empty wrist. I’d taken off my watch while I worked.
“Tonight means a lot to me.” He stood mere inches away. One more step and I’d be backed against the wall.
I craned my neck to look up at him. He towered over me in a way that was beginning to bother me. “I know. And I’m sorry.”
“Sorry enough that you’ll run and get ready?” He took my hand in his much larger one. “There’s still time if you leave now.”
“I take it I can’t go in this?” I gestured down to my jumpsuit.
“If anyone could pull off that look at a gala you could. But no. I thought you were going to wear the dress I had Alda make you.” He ran a hand through his black hair.
“It’s a bit…” I trailed off. I hated how careful I had to be with Caspian nowadays. It was an unnatural feeling, the worry, and it had come out of nowhere as if someone else had taken over my brain and dropped in their own thoughts.
“A bit what?” He tapped his foot impatiently.
“Revealing.”
“Revealing?” He tilted his head to the side. “I wouldn’t say that.”
Of course he wouldn’t. He didn’t understand where I was coming from at all. “It’s backless.”
“And your point is?” He gestured for me to continue.
“Caspian… am I not entitled to have my own opinions on clothing anymore?”
“Wear a shawl. No one will see your back then.”
“Why would Alda have made that kind of dress for me?” I forced myself to maintain eye contact.
“Are you implying I asked her to do it specifically?”
I nodded. “Did you?”
“She knows I love your back…” He grinned. “And your front.”
“Speaking of which. The front dips kind of low too.” Far too low for my taste. I was much happier in a jumpsuit any day. I didn’t mind short things, maybe because my legs were nowhere near as long as the other women’s, but when it came to plunging necklines and backless gowns I wanted to run the other way.
“Where did these conservative notions come from?” He picked up a broken leg from a decades old android. “The dress is similar to what all the others will be wearing tonight.”
“Others from Andrelexa.”
“You left Earth at five. You weren’t old enough to truly take on their norms.” He set down the leg.
“I’m not wearing something I’m not comfortable with. I can’t do it.” There was a time when I would have done anything Caspian wanted but not anymore. It was almost as if a cloud had cleared and I was seeing a new side to him—and to everything else in my life.
“Is that why you aren’t ready yet? You didn’t want to wear the dress?”
“I’m not wearing it.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “If you want me at the gala I’ll s
elect something else from my closet.”
“You can wear anything you want.” He squeezed my hand. “You know I only want you to be happy.”
“Yes, but you’ll mope.”
He swung our arms. “I never mope.”
“You do.” I rested the sole of my shoe against the wall behind me. “Frequently.”
He took my other hand so he held them both. “In all seriousness, I need a promise from you.”
I braced myself for a moment before replying. “Yes?”
“You’ll be there?”
“Wearing what I choose?” If I didn’t stand my ground now I’d never have a voice.
“Yes. Wearing anything you want. Even this jumpsuit.” He ran his eyes up and down my body. “But I need you there.”
“I’ll go for you.” Despite my annoyance at the dress he had had made for me, Caspian had never been anything but good to me. He’d always been my best friend and confidant. I couldn’t leave him hanging at his greatest moment.
“Don’t you want to be there anyway?” His grey eyes clouded over. “I thought by now you’d concern yourself with my advancement.”
“Caspian…”
“What?” He ran his thumb over my wrist, making tiny circles. “You’ve known my feelings since we were still children.”
“Yes. You’ve made them very clear.”
“And you declared the same thing when asked.” He brushed his lips over my ear. “I know you are ready to move on to the next phase with me.”
“Telling me I don’t know my own feelings of readiness isn’t going to win me over to your point of view.”
“I shouldn’t have to win you over.” His expression darkened.
“Caspian, stop. Okay? I’ll be there. And I’ll even wear that dress if it makes you happy.”
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