Chapter 183
2)
55 vouchers
The girl slams her fist against the glass and begins to shout at her. Without saying another word, the woman straightens and moves away from the glass as the girl cries out and punches it, trying to get her attention. Despite knowing that it’s not going to be pleasant, I repeat what she’s saying to Ragnar.
-Get her out of there, Sweetness. She’s upset and doesn’t mean those things.-
I take the woman’s hand and lead her away. It only infuriates the girl more. As soon as we are out of sight, the scent of her tears swirls in the air around us.
-Ask her how we get the others to leave. She can stay until your father is finished tomorrow. I repeat what he says, and she takes my hand, giving the most grateful look she can muster. I cup her face and turn to Dustin.
“Why don’t we get her in a bunker? Bring her some clean clothes and food,” I order him.
“Yes, my Queen,” he bows.
-She didn’t mean that. Abeba believes she’s doing the right thing. From experience, I can tell you that it’s a dangerous position to be in. I’ll do what I can to help you both. For now, you are under my protection. Lieutenant Moore here is going to escort you to a private bunker where you can clean up and rest for the night. I’ll have some clean clothes brought over.-
She throws her arms around me and begins to cry. I gently rub her back. She looks me dead in the eyes and says something before putting her hand on my belly. I repeat what she says to Ivar.
-Umm.- That’s all I get back. I laugh and give the woman a hug. She smiles politely. Dustin motions for her to follow. She looks back at me and bows repeatedly before fully turning her attention to him.
I take a deep breath and look over at Ashton. He gives me a shoulder shrug.
-I’m headed back. She agreed to stay.-
-Stay where you are.- he says, and I can tell he’s upset.
“How was patrol?” Ashton asks casually.
“Quiet. No one shot at us today,” I admit.
And thank goodness for that. I did not want that to be my last memory of this place. Hopefully, I can help this kid and the packs nearby before we leave tomorrow night. I sit in the chair beside Ashton and watch as he plays a game on his phone. This is the first time I’ve ever seen this kid sit still for more than a few seconds.
It wouldn’t change much to help the neighboring packs. We have an international treaty with Alex. I’ve been so focused on getting my training out of the way that I never stopped to think why we’re even patrolling the gates. I thought it was a formality, and I was told that the packs simply like to steal the harvested stone coming out of here.
“Sophia,” I look up to see Ragnar and the team, the woman had come here with.
“That was not a good idea, my King. If we put them in the bunker together, they might try to break some of
92
10:07 Fri, May 15 d
Chapter 183
គ
92
65 vouchers
the prisoners out. Men are crazier than women. There’s no reasoning with them,” I look over the soldiers behind him.
“We have to talk. I didn’t have a choice,” he shrugs. Point made.
“I’ll call Dusty back,” Ashton says, clearing his throat.
“No, need. I’ll take them to the private bunkers. We’ll split them up for the night,” he waves him off.
“That’s the same as keeping them prisoner,” I roll my eyes and bow to them.
I dodge Ragnar’s attempt to stop me and motion the group to follow me. They look up at him skeptically, and he defeatedly orders them forward. They look terrified. When we find Dustin, he’s placing food and extra clothes in the bunker and the woman is nowhere in sight.
“Shower,” he points at a door in the far side of the room. This bunker is big enough to house them and a few more. “I’ll get it.”
“Thank you, Lieutenant Moore,” I smile.
Ragnar speaks to the men, and they all seem to relax. One of them asks him something, and he points at the door behind him. Ragnar says something, and they all nod. We wait for Dustin to come back so that no one tries to overwhelm him to get out. When he and another guard bring the food and clothes, they all seem more interested. Ragnar addresses them one last time and motions us to go out.
“No one gets out until morning. Station two men here. They are to be taken directly to the main house when my father arrives,” Ragnar orders.
“My King,” they both bow formally.
“You,” he growls and takes my arm.
“We’re not going back to the patrolling, are we?”
“No, I ordered for someone to take our places,” he sighs, speeding up our pace.
“Are you mad at me because of what I said to the woman? You could have said it wasn’t a good idea before you translated,” I say when we get back to our bunker on the surface levels.
“I’m not upset with you, Sophia,” he pinches the bridge of his nose. “Or maybe I am. Do you know how our patrol started tonight? They pointed their fucking guns at you. That little girl is threatening to kill her mother for being a traitor, and then she fucking-” he growls, pressing his knuckles into his eyes. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen him this frustrated, and I hate to admit that I miss how cute he is when he pretends like he doesn’t care that he carries the weight of the world on his shoulders. “This is not how we should have found
out.”
“Hey,” I take his hand. “Whatever it is, we can handle it. Fire and ice, remember?” I hold my hand up to form an ice rose and then offer it to him. His eyes meet mine for a moment before he takes it and melts it down for me. “Take a shower. Get cleaned up and clear your head. I’ll get started on the report.”
“Are you sure?” he pinches my chin.
10:07 Fri, May 15
Chapter 183
:..
(
92
55 vouchers
“Yeah, I’m kind of glad you did the thing,” I say and drop onto the bed. He panics and reaches for me as I fall back. “What?” I jump up and look back at the bed, wondering if I ruined something for him. “What’s wrong?”
He takes a deep breath and lets it out through his nose before going into the bathroom and shutting himself in. I glance over at the bed once more and move things around, hoping I didn’t mess something he was planning. He does it all the time, and I mess it up sometimes.
I sit at my desk and take a form to start up tonight’s report and my laptop. I’m halfway through when he comes out of the steaming hot shower with only a towel wrapped around his waist. The thing is barely hanging on.
“The last thing the woman said to you. What was the context?” he asks.
“She was crying. Her daughter had just threatened to have her unalived for betraying the pack,” I shrug and pretend that I can go back to my report. All I can do is stare at the words on the page. “You never told me what she said, by the way.”
“Did she say anything after that? What brought it up?”
“Well, she was crying. She put her hands on my shoulders and said what she did, then she placed her hand on my belly. I figured it meant something along the lines of “you’re going to be a good mother.” At least, that’s what it felt like. Am I wrong?” I turn back to face him as he pulls on some shorts. “What did she say?”
“That’s kind of what she said,” he sighs and comes over to me. He pulls me into the chair until he can take a seat on the bed. “She said, your son is very lucky to have a mother like you.”
I laugh watching the way he’s staring back at me.
“I don’t have a son,” I shake my head.
He just holds my gaze for a moment. There’s this light in his eyes that I’ve never seen before. I lean in, cupping his face because he seems upset, but the happiness he feels says otherwise.
“You can be really fucking slow for someone who already has a plan to help the surrounding packs here,” he smiles.
“I can never think when you look at me like that,” I admit.
“Like what?” he smiles, only making it worse. I don’t know how to answer that, and he sighs, pulling me out of the chair so I can sit on his lap. He places his hand over my belly and looks up at me. “She said, your son is very lucky to have a mother like you.”
