"We'll expect this scientist before sunset," Kalyndi said firmly. "And we'll have questions that require honest answers."
The official nodded stiffly. "Until tomorrow, then."
As they retreated to their vehicles, Selene joined us at the door. "They'll be back with reinforcements, won't they?"
"Yes," I confirmed, watching until the last vehicle disappeared from view. "They're just buying time."
Kalyndi closed the door, leaning against it. "Then so are we."
I turned to her, the reality of our situation settling like a weight on my shoulders. "We need to leave. Tonight. Before they return."
She nodded, her decision already made. "We'll find the other pairs. Warn them."
"It will mean leaving everything behind," I cautioned. "My position, your healing work. We'll be fugitives."
A sad smile touched her lips. "What choice do we have? Stay and become breeding stock for their experiments? Watch our children be taken?"
The casual way she referred to "our children" sent a surge of protectiveness through me. Children that didn't yet exist, but suddenly seemed very possible, very real.
"We'll need supplies," I said, pushing aside emotions to focus on practicalities. "And a destination beyond the eastern lakes."
"I know someone in the southern terramares," Selene offered. "A friend who questions Magnus Terra's authority. She might help us."
"Good. Make a list of what we need." I moved to the back of the dwelling, retrieving the emergency pack I'd prepared weeks ago out of habit. "We leave at midnight."
As Selene and Kalyndi gathered supplies, I found myself drawn to the small garden we'd cultivated together. Herbs for her healing, vegetables for our table. A home created from an arrangement neither of us had wanted.
Kalyndi joined me outside, her expression thoughtful. "We never finished our conversation," she said quietly.
"Which part?" I asked, though I knew exactly what she meant.
"The part where you were about to tell me how you feel." Her directness caught me off guard. "Before we run for our lives, I'd like to know."
My heart hammered. "Does it matter? We're leaving either way."
"It matters to me." She stepped closer. "I need to know if I'm running with my assigned mate or with someone who cares for me."
The vulnerability in her voice broke through my hesitation. "I care for you, Kalyndi. More than I thought possible. More than is probably wise."
"When did it change? When did I stop being an obligation and start being..." She trailed off, unable to find the right word.
"Everything?" I supplied, the truth escaping before I could stop it. "I don't know. Perhaps when you saved my life in that cave. Or when I saw how you cared for those children in the terramares. Or maybe it was simply watching you create a home from nothing, your strength in the face of everything that's happened."
Her eyes glistened with unshed tears. "I tried so hard not to feel anything for you."
"I know."
"I failed." The admission seemed to cost her, but once spoken, her shoulders relaxed as if relieved of a burden. "Completely and utterly failed."
I reached for her then, unable to resist any longer. My hand cupped her cheek, and she leaned into the touch, her eyes closing briefly.
"If we do run, fight, whatever comes next, we do it together," I said quietly. "Not as matched mates, but as partners who choose each other."
Her eyes opened, meeting mine with newfound clarity. "I choose you, Redmon. Not because Magnus Terra decided, but because I want to."
The space between us vanished as she rose on tiptoes, her lips meeting mine in a kiss that contained both question and answer. Unlike our previous moments of physical closeness, this held no hesitation, no shadow of our forced beginning. This was pure choice, freely given.
When we finally parted, I pressed my forehead to hers, breathing in her scent, memorizing this moment. "We should finish preparing," I murmured reluctantly.
