Page 27 of His to Mate

“A kind of stuffed cabbage. We used some chickpeas as filling, and we’re experimenting to see how it tastes.”

“It sounds interesting, anyway.” Ann sat down at the table and watched the two women work together. They’d always gotten along well, and after their time in the bunker, had become almost like really close sisters. Ann was glad they were able to stay together like this, she knew it would break both their hearts if they were separated, but Amanda deserved far more than to only be her mother’s cook. “Amanda, have you got some of those lesson plans ready yet? I wanted to go over them with the ladies that are putting the curriculum together.”

“I have, they’re in a folder in the hallway for you.” For a moment, Amanda’s expression was sad, but it changed back to placid peace after a moment. “I hope it all goes well, and I’ll be happy to help in any way that I can.”

Ann knew Amanda meant ‘allowed’, and her heart broke. The woman was only dangerous a few nights out of the month, and as long as she locked herself up, she wasn’t really a danger at all. How could anyone look at her and think she wasn’t worthy of the same rights as anyone else? It made Ann angry, and more determined to make things change.

“Hopefully, you’ll be able to do a lot more one day.” It was all Ann could give her at this moment, but it was better than nothing. Hope was always better than defeat, wasn’t it?

“Set the table, dear,” her mother said from the stove, and Ann stood up to get some plates. It would just be the three of them. Stephan was with Ann’s father, and they wouldn’t come home for lunch.

Ann put down three plates, three forks, knives, and spoons, and three glasses. All three sets matched and the food would be the same; the only thing different would be the people that ate them. One could change shapes and became a wolf at certain times, while the other two remained human. Ann had become used to the whole thing over time, down in the bunker, and it didn’t frighten her anymore.

She knew some of the wolves were bad, and had killed their own kind and plain people, but they were all gone, weren’t they? Except for people like Rex. She glanced up and saw him through the window. He was mowing the lawn, his face angry and dissatisfied. He looked as if he was muttering as he pushed the old mower along, but then she saw the plastic in his ears.

She tried to wave at him, but he turned away, his middle finger high in the air. He’d seen her then. And dismissed her just as easily. Her heart clenched, a betrayal she hated.

He could still hurt her then, even now, when she was all but certain she loved her mate. She didn’t want to be with Rex anymore, it wasn’t that. It was the childhood they’d shared that he threw back at her now. It was the years in the bunker, and her efforts to make sure he and their families were safe that he so callously flipped off.

She’d always known he was selfish, as selfish as the men that Rager had sequestered away, but this was a new low, even for him. She’d known her love for him had started to wane, it had started to disappear the moment Rager first came to her in her dreams. But she’d still cared about him.

For him to be so nasty now wasn’t just cruel, it was callous. If he wasn’t careful, his supervisor would see him and punish him, she thought. She watched as he came back to face her, his middle finger in front of a face filled with red-rage. She didn’t back down, she didn’t look away, she simply stood there, her head high as she stared out at him.

“What’s the matter, honey?” her mother asked, and came up behind her.

“Oh, him.” Her mother sighed, and pulled her away from the window. “Let him get on with his work, honey.”

“I was, I wasn’t doing anything to stop him,” Ann protested, but sat down anyway.

“I know, but he’s got a lot on his shoulders.” Mary glanced towards Amanda, but didn’t say anything else. She rolled her eyes and Ann had to stifle a laugh. When her mother mouthed the word ‘men’ and rolled her eyes again, Ann smiled and smothered another laugh.

“I guess you’re right.” Ann let it go because Amanda brought a bowl with her stuffed cabbages to the table and they all took a few of the rolls to try.

“It’s not… bad.” Mary chewed carefully around the hot food, her face scrunched up with uncertainty. “It’s not what I was hoping for though.”

“Too much rosemary, maybe?” Ann offered. She liked it, but there was an odd taste to it.

“No, I think it’s dill. I had two similar bottles near each other. One was basil, the other dill. I think I picked up the dill bottle.” Amanda wrinkled her nose, but she kept eating. One thing people didn’t do now was throw food away. It was too precious, even if it tasted weird.

“It’s not bad, but it does explain why I keep getting a hint of pickle with each bite,” Ann said, amused. “I thought I was going crazy.”

“No, your mom’s the one that’ll be after pickles soon.” Amanda looked guilty and then tried to cover it up. “She always did like her pickles in the summer. We barely managed to can anything some years because she’d eat most of it before we got anything in the jars.”

“I did not. Okay, that one year I did, but those green tomato pickles were good.”

“They were. Shame we didn’t have many that year.”

“We’ll have plenty this year, as long as I can get the celery to grow,” Mary said and stood up, her jeans a little tighter than normal, Ann noted.

Her mother had a secret, one she hadn’t told Ann, but Ann knew she’d tell her soon enough. If her suspicions were correct. With a smile, Ann picked up her own empty plate and headed to the sink. “You two sit down, I’ll wash up what’s left and put the rolls away.”

“Yes, put them in the freezer please, dear. We’ll make something else for dinner.” Mary sat down at the table and wiped at her face with a towel. Sweat had beaded at her forehead, something that concerned Ann.

“Why are you so hot, Mom? Want me to turn the thermostat down?”

“It’s just a little nausea, Ann. It’ll pass. Maybe I don’t like pickles as much as I used to?” She tried to make a joke of it, but Ann wasn’t buying it.

She’d let her keep her secret for now, Ann decided, and stuck her hands in hot, soapy water. She’d have to come over more often, she thought, just to keep an eye on her mother. And maybe she’d bring Meg and Skye next time. Both might be of service.

If her suspicions were correct.

The rest of the afternoon was spent in the garden, pulling weeds and trying to avoid Rex, but Ann saw him once more before she left. She knew it was a stupid thing to do, but they were on their own near the porch, and she really wanted to make him stop looking at her like that. She walked right up to him, determined to speak her mind. “Rex, I think it’s time you listened…”

But she didn’t get to finish, he just walked off, as if he hadn’t heard her, or seen her. Like she was some kind of ghost that the world, the living world, couldn’t see. He’d just treated her like she was nothing, and he was the one that the aliens considered beneath even her. Him and all his revolutionary buddies.

She wouldn’t turn him in, she wasn’t that kind of person, but she was done protecting him. If he could treat her like that, who knew how he’d treat her if he ever got the upper hand? That thought sent a cold shiver of dread down her spine. She didn’t want to think about a day when that might happen. It was too horrible to consider.