Page 26 of His to Mate

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“Thanks for the lift,Ann. It would have taken me ages to walk out here,” Skye said and Ann guided the transporter through the sky.

“No problem. I need to visit my mother anyway. I haven’t been over in a few days now.” It had been a few days since she and Rager had gone on their excursion and she was restless at home. He would come home late and leave even earlier than he had before. She’d barely seen him since that day.

“I’ve heard something about this part of our sector,” Skye started, then stopped. She looked as if she struggled with some inner argument before she carried on. “A lot of the problem wolves are out here.”

Ann’s blood went cold, and she looked at Skye with trepidation. Had she heard about Rex? Was Rex causing even more problems out here? Those stupid gang signs had shown up a lot more recently and Ann knew it was part of his even stupider resistance group behind it all. “Have you heard who’s leading it?”

Ann had suspected this was why Rager was gone so much, that this resistance movement had started to gain traction and he was needed to stop it.

“No, but I’ve heard that some of the aliens…” she stopped and had that inner argument again before she continued. “Some of the aliens have joined with them, from what I’ve heard. They hate you, Ann. They think you’re beneath them, and want Rager to cast you aside for an alien female.”

“I’ve heard that once or twice now,” Ann said softly and tried not to let her anger, or fear, come through. “It’s been a problem since the day we mated.”

“It’s a huge problem if they’ve joined up with the wolves. They could make this a real battle.”

“I’ll talk to Rager about it when I get back. I’m sure he knows, but just in case, maybe it’s time I made sure he’s aware of it all.”

“I’d be happier if you would,” Skye sighed and relaxed in her chair. “You’re the only person I like here, besides Meg. I can’t lose you.”

“I can’t be the only one?” Ann asked, happy for the change of subject. Thoughts about revolutionaries and coups just made her angry and sad at the same time.

“Basically. Meg is great, but all she wants to talk about is classes and training. You at least talk about other things.”

“I’m not as deep as her, huh?” Ann teased, a hint of humor in her eye. When Skye looked upset, Ann relented. “I get it. Sometimes you just need to talk about something that isn’t work.”

“That’s it. And we scavenge together, so that’s cool too.” Skye looked pleased and sat back. “Now, if only I could find a woman of my own.”

“That’s not what you’re scavenging for, is it?” Ann teased and laughed. “Although, that might be the only place you find one now. Oh, there’s a large group coming in tomorrow.”

“Really? You mean it’s possible?” Skye looked excited, and Ann was glad she’d told the woman. It wasn’t a secret, but not everyone knew about it.

“I don’t know, but the possibility is always there, isn’t it? I mean, it’s not like you’re going to be attracted to a woman only because she’s a lesbian, but the possibility is there that you’ll find… someone.” Ann didn’t want her friend’s hopes to get up too high, she’d hate to see her let down, but she did like to see her smile.

“Nah, you’re right. But having new people might be nice. If they don’t cause problems. Where are they from?”

“I have a feeling they’re Chicago glitterati. Rager said it was a government bunker, but I imagine there’ll be more than a few of Chicago’s finest in there.”

“It’s a shame, isn’t it? All the people that are likely dead. Famous movie stars, music stars, all of them are probably dead, but some scummy politicians survive to feed off the public another day.” Skye sounded more than a little bitter about it, but Ann couldn’t blame her.

“It is a real shame, but Rager will make sure they know their place. That’s one of the reasons my father is a mayor, he wasn’t a politician before everything. He was just a man with some intelligence.”

“Yeah, I figured they wouldn’t want politicians in the new world they’re building. I think they want people that will be able to lead, yes, but not people that will go on and on about ‘this is America’ until they get shot or whatever.”

Ann laughed with Skye and set the transporter down in front of her mother’s home. “You’re right, they don’t want that. Not because they want to stamp out America, or Americans, but because that kind of isolationism isn’t what they want. They want people to see the globe as their home, not a speck of that globe. Then they might respect it a little more.”

“I get you.” Skye nodded as they left the transporter. “And I agree. We need to think like that, if we want to make this place better than it was before.”

“Good. Want to meet me back here around 4, and we can go back?”

“Sure. I’ll see you then. Thanks again!” Skye waved as she left, headed to the home of a woman that had found some ultrasound machines in the storage unit in her backyard. They wanted to make sure it all worked before they dragged it out to the clinic Meg had started to set up.

“I’m here, Mom!” Ann called as she walked into her mother’s home. She found her mom, as usual, with Amanda in the kitchen.

“Hi, honey! We’re making lunch if you’re hungry?” Her mother came up, hugged her, and kissed her cheek before she walked back to the stove.

“What are you making today?” Ann could smell tomatoes and what smelled like cabbage.