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  Morcud had new citizens. They had new law enforcement. All existing laws would be enforced as written, and all existing law enforcement would remain Morcud with Mechal members in each detachment. Military members of the Mechal would integrate with the existing cooperating troops.

  All civic governments were viable and needed to engage in business as usual. The Mechal would pay their own military and police members. They were going to be occupying unoccupied spaces and building their own cities.

  The blending of the two societies would be slow, but there was no reason for the Morcud to be stressed about the new beings in their midst. No one was losing a job. No one’s taxes were going up, and more labour would be available if it were necessary.

  Cyreen stood next to Terlina as Xaru handed the podium over to Xan for questions.

  Xan was asked questions about his position as general, and would he remain in that position.

  He nodded and said that he would remain in his position.

  There were a few more questions, including one about a change in uniform to include the Mechal emblem. Then, one of the more alert persons in the press corps asked, “Is that woman the one that was traded to you for your assistance, and if it is, is that agreement null and void now that you are part of the invading army?”

  Xan frowned. “I don’t think that—”

  Cyreen stepped up and spoke into the spot for audio. “The Morcud government owed him a companion. They offered him his choice, and I am the one that his lack of judgment selected. The contract was permanent once he made the choice. No qualifier for his participation was in the five-hundred-year-old agreement.”

  She moved to step back behind him, but his hand caught the small of her back. She looked up at him blankly, and he smiled, pressing a kiss on her forehead. “Thank you.”

  “No problem. I know my contract law.”

  He kept his hand on her, and now, the media was in a frenzy. They wanted to know who she was, what social level she was, and where she got her clothing.

  Xan smiled. “These are questions for another day. Today, the Mechal are here, we want to survive, and we are not going anywhere. Get used to it.”

  It was a rather flippant way to end, but they stepped back toward the building while Cyreen tried to get her heart back into her chest.

  Terlina was staring at her. “You defended him.”

  Xan chuckled as they got into the lift. “Of course, she did. She is a caretaker by nature. She can also spot a bully a mile away.”

  Terlina blushed, and Xaru chuckled.

  Cyreen bit her lip, and she waited until she got into the apartment before sprinting to the office. She dialled rapidly, and when she was leaning on the desk, Xan came into the room. The call connected. “Hello?”

  “Hi, Tormalo, it’s Cyreen. I have thought it over, and I will buy the lake house.”

  He sounded delighted. “Really? Thank goodness. That place is way too big for me. What are you going to do with it?”

  “Quiet weekends, a bit of privacy. That kind of thing.” She kept her voice casual. “Is it still at thirty thousand?”

  “You bet. I can use the money far more than the giant, rambling estate. Do you want me to send an offer over?”

  “Please.” She rattled off the code for the office. “I will transfer the money the moment that I sign for it.”

  “Thanks, Cyreen.”

  “No, thank you. After dealing with my aunt, I really need a break.”

  “I will send the document to you in ten. This is great. I can finally buy that runner I have been eyeing.”

  “I’m glad. I will talk to you after the paperwork is wrapped up.”

  “You bet. Bye, Cyreen.”

  She hung up and collapsed. “Thank the gods. I was afraid he had watched the news, but he is a record it first and watch it later guy.”

  Xan stared at her as she slowly rotated in the chair. “What was that?”

  “I bought myself some sanity. Tormalo inherited the house from his father, but Tormalo is a city boy. He has no interest in an eight-bedroom lake house with no tech aside from solar energy. It has a giant wraparound porch and nothing but quiet all around it.”

  Xan stopped her rotation and held her chair still. “Why do you need a place of silence?”

  “We need a place of silence. Every time I step out of here, I am going to be tracked by the public. I have not had the best experience with gaining attention. It doesn’t work out for me.” She fought the tears that welled up at the thought of being mocked by everyone she saw.

  “Fine. We will have a place in the country. I know you can fly a glider, so I am not worried about your disappearing, but I do want one of our engineers to look over the building before we spend a night there.”

  The receiver chirped, and she took the contract, verified the property description, the location, and finally the funds by putting a dot and two marks behind the number, and signed it.

  She sent the money to Tormalo and sent the contract back.

  “He has been asking me to buy it for years, but I just show up when he calls and fix it up. There have been no takers for three years, and Tormalo hasn’t even seen it in that time.”

  Xan quirked his lips. “You had enough money to just buy it?”

  “Of course. I am not very wealthy, but if I opened a storefront, I could be a freeman in a few minutes.”

  He pulled her to her feet. “So, you bought that for us?”

  “My people are very clingy and annoying. You will be glad we have somewhere to hide.”

  He nodded and took a copy of the document. “I will have Xaru send an engineer over.”

  She walked out of the office, and he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her back into the office, closing the door.

  He lifted her up and kissed her wildly, pressing into her with frenzied thrusts until she squealed against his lips. The friction of the fabric between them had sped things along, and she was catching her breath when he slowly lowered her to her feet.

  “So, are you just going to do that every time we are alone?” Cyreen whispered it.

  “No. Of course not.” He leaned down and licked a drop of sweat from her neck. “It will always be variations on the theme.”

  She groaned and prepared to face his parents, who had probably heard what they were doing... again.

  Either they would get used to it, or she would.

  Epilogue

  Cyreen was upset. She was horrified, mortified, and petrified. She was also carrying.

  She unplugged the saw, put in the blade lock, and then crawled underneath it to fix the six-foot saw. She hummed happily and spliced and fused as she hummed.

  In ten minutes, she crawled out and saw familiar boots at the top of the pit. Two Mechal were waiting for her when she made it to the edge of the pit.

  “What can I do for you?”

  “You are needed at the portal.” The captain’s voice was grim.

  “Give me two minutes. I have to check my work. You might want to step back.” She pulled her safety gear on and removed the block before opening the lock and starting the saw.

  The sound of metal screaming became a low hum while the log was lined up in the saw cradle. The blade moved forward and sliced through the heavy log.

  The millworkers gave her a thumbs-up, and she beckoned to the Mechal to follow her outside the work area.

  “Right. So, how are we getting there?”

  The captain picked her up, and they were running across the landscape.

  The captain stopped and set her down near the portal. She looked at his uniform and winced. “Sorry. Occupational hazard.”

  Xaru was next to the portal, and he sighed. “It has been open for six weeks. I believe that it shorted out.”

  “Let me check.” She ran her hand on the outside of the portal and found the segment that opened to expose the controls.

  She started humming and found the problem. Corrosion. “Just corrosion. I can clean it off.”

>   She removed the segment and used one of her tools to scrape the edge.

  “So, is Xan excited?” Xaru smiled.

  “Why?”

  Xaru frowned in confusion. “You are pregnant.”

  She lowered her tool. “How do you know that?”

  “Your scent changed. Our men are geared to watch for those changes. Hasn’t Xan told you?” Xaru looked guilty.

  “No, he hasn’t. So, he could tell?”

  “Yes. He would have known within days that it had started.”

  She grimaced and kept working. “That explains a bit, but I haven’t seen Xan for a week now. He is busy with the military. They are working for some kind of larger peacekeeping force.”

  Xaru frowned. “You haven’t seen him in a week?”

  “No. I am staying at the cottage as much as possible. I am a little queasy and prefer the relaxing atmosphere.”

  She blew the corrosion off and seated the piece back in place. She got it ready and whistled. “Clear!”

  The men scrambled to clear the area, and she activated the portal again.

  Xaru frowned. “I don’t know what we are going to do if the parts don’t hold. We still have half the refugees to bring over.”

  “I can use the replacement parts built into the base. Don’t worry. This thing has years of active service if needed.” She smiled. “Now, can I get a lift back to the lake house?”

  Xaru frowned. “I can get you there tomorrow. Tonight, I have business in the city.”

  “If you can get me to a runner or a glider, I can make my own way.”

  He picked her muddy self up and carried her at speed to the capital. She smiled and made her way past the guards to the lift.

  The lineup of young women in the hallway was not something that she wanted to deal with.

  “Hey! Wait your turn!” a woman whined.

  Cyreen slapped her hand on the door lock and stepped inside when it opened.

  She wasn’t looking for women, which was good, there wasn’t anyone in the apartment aside from Xan.

  She nodded toward him and headed to the shower.

  Xan stepped into the bathroom and spoke to her while she stripped. “So, have you come to your senses?”

  She frowned. “What?”

  “The message you sent me. Have you come to your senses, or do you want your mother to choose my next concubine?”

  She froze. “My mother?”

  He cocked his head. “Yes. She said you needed a break, I was overtaxing you, and she would choose my next concubine, for a price.”

  She closed her eyes and nodded. “Of course. I don’t know if we covered this, Xan. I don’t talk to my mother. She sold me for one year after I graduated. Locked me in a contract to a machine shop. I figured out it was illegal after the fourth month, and I haven’t spoken to her since.”

  She stepped into the shower. “If you ever think that I have changed my mind about something, let me know. I will set you straight.”

  Cyreen was under the spray of water when he joined her. He wrapped his arms around her. “I am sorry. I thought that as things have changed, you might have changed your mind.”

  She slid his hand to cover her belly. “I am a little ticked you didn’t mention this.”

  He sighed. “You were ambivalent.”

  “I fucked you three times a day for six weeks. That isn’t really ambivalent.”

  He chuckled. “I believe that two out of three times, I was fucking you.”

  She chuckled, and it was over. They would go over it later, but for now, she understood the action. “So, what do we do with the line of ladies outside your apartment?”

  He grinned. “How loud do you feel like being?”

  His hands slammed to the door next to her head, and she grinned. Her throat was hoarse, and she was covered with sweat. She was impaled on him, and her legs around his hip kept her back to the door. “Do you think it worked?”

  He touched the plate next to the door, and he nodded. “Hallway is empty.”

  She chuckled.

  “Why would she do that to you?”

  “I am the means to financial advancement. That is all I have ever been. It is why I was ambivalent about a baby.”

  He nodded. “None of your relatives can be trusted. Got it.”

  “Your father knows.”

  Xan smiled slightly. “He does?”

  “Yes, he also told me that my scent would let you know that I was pregnant. Is that all it tells you?”

  He leaned in and kissed her neck. “No. I can also tell when you are in the mood for sex or when you are ovulating.” He nibbled a bit. “Or when you are sad or when you are mad. You are mad a lot.”

  She chuckled. “You are infuriating, and you are pushing the limits of decency with where you leave love bites.”

  “You tasted good, and it gives you pleasure.”

  “Followed by rage.”

  He grinned. “I can deal with that.”

  She drummed her fingers on his shoulders. “Are you going to put me down?”

  “No. It seems we have earned another shower, and Kinoss now has delivery. Shall we have a night in?”

  Cyreen sighed. “Sounds good. Your dad is taking me back to the lake house tomorrow.”

  “I will take you. I don’t mind a commute.”

  She beamed. “A night in is right up my alley.”

  * * * *

  Nine months later.

  Cyreen looked at the baby and frowned. “Are those my ears?”

  Xan smiled. “They are my mother’s.”

  “Wonderful. At least he has your skin tone.”

  “It will darken to my father’s.”

  Cyreen looked at him and sighed. “Did I give birth to your brother?”

  He grinned. “No, he is our son. He has your eyes. That steely glare will cut through any of his opponents.”

  She grumbled and leaned against him. Xan was playing with the one-month-old, and Cyreen was staring out over the lake.

  “How are things going with the new cities?”

  “All six are up and running; their populations are nearly complete.”

  “Good. So, what are we naming him?” She looked over at the baby, and he started fussing. She reached over and let him start nursing. “Huh, definitely like his father.”

  Xan smiled. “Funny. His name is Xyr.”

  Cyreen smiled. “So, he gets part of my name. Nice.”

  “I am glad you like it. Now, when can he have a little brother or sister?”

  She chuckled. “Let me nurse him for the next six months or so before we go back to our previous schedule. I need to regain some muscle tone. He was huge!”

  Xan grinned. “You looked beautiful every day of your pregnancy and a veritable goddess when you held our son in your arms.”

  “Oh, very nice. Maybe we can resume practicing.” She grinned.

  “Thank you. You have been a benign goddess throughout this whole time of change. I worship the ground you walk on and bow before your beneficence.”

  She caught on. “What is broken?”

  “My com display in my study.”

  She kept her baby tucked against her chest and walked with Xan to his study. She fixed his com display one-handed, and then, she squeaked as he lifted her and set her on the edge of the desk.

  He got to his knees and moved her skirt aside, pulling her to the edge of the desk with a grin.

  She blushed. “Seriously? I am feeding our son.”

  “Good. Focus on that.”

  “If you make my nursing him into an erotic thing, I am going to—” She squeaked as he didn’t hesitate to use his tongue on her.

  “Don’t drop him.”

  She wanted to swat Xan, but she needed to balance on one arm. She cried out, and it started the baby crying.

  Xan wiped his face and smiled as she hushed the baby and switched sides.

  She narrowed her eyes. “Was the repair just an excuse to get me on the desk?”

&
nbsp; He stood up and helped her to her feet. “Yes, yes, it was.”

  She nodded grudgingly as they headed back out to the deck. “Well played, Xan.”

  He grinned. “Am I the man of your dreams?”

  She leaned against him and looked down at the baby. “Close enough.”

  Author’s Note

  This is another one of the brain worms. I saw an image, and the guy became a character, and the character became this story. It was close enough.

  This is the second of the random stories, so I have decided to make them an unrelated series—the Stand-Alone Tales. So, if you see one marked that way, it might have more sex than usual and will be unrelated to any other book, for now.

  Thanks for reading,

  Viola Grace

  About the Author

  Viola Grace (aka Zenina Masters) is a Canadian sci-fi/paranormal romance writer with ambitions to keep writing for the rest of her life. She specializes in short stories because the thrill of discovery, of all those firsts, is what keeps her writing.

  An artist who enjoys a story that catches you up, whirls you around, and sets you down with a smile on your face is all she endeavours to be. She prefers to leave the drama to those who are better suited to it; she always goes for the cheap laugh.

  In real life, she is now engaged in beekeeping, and her adventures can be found on the YouTube channel, Mystery Bees Apiary. Just look for the cartoon kittens.