Page 174 of Inside the Sun

Silence falls. Both our faces drop the moment I say it. My words are a grim reminder we’re still far from free. True Mates or no… this is still The Sun Fortress around us.

Ragnar watches me for a moment. Then suddenly says, "Sorry to bring this up, but does Anzo…" he trails off, "I heard that when True Mates sleep with someone else, it causes serious discomfort. Even pain. So if you and Anzo…"

I cut him off, sparing him the awkwardness. "Anzo never fucked me with his own dick. He forces me and Summer to top him."

Ragnar blinks, looking somehow even more shocked than when he found out we’re True Mates, if that’s even possible!

"Summer’s power helps me get hard. It’s a sick freak show, I’ll tell you that."

"That’s… crazy."

Ragnar’s face says it all. He’s clearly struggling to picture it. He’s not the first person to react that way. I guess mafia stereotypes run deep.

"So yeah. I don’t get aroused. Not even a bit."

"Fuck…" he mutters, scratching his head, again turning his gaze toward the gazebo window. It’s clearly a lot to process.

All of it is too much, honestly. I feel the same, a sensory overload.

This whole day’s been insane. But on top of that, something is stirring inside me.

Today, everything’s shifted. A new flicker of hope has emerged, the sense that there’s a way out. And I desperately want it to stay.

We stand there for a while, just staring at each other like idiots. Kinda shy. In complete, constant bewilderment. Dumb looks on our faces. Still not fully able to process what just happened.

A miracle. A fuckingmiracle, after all. Or maybe just a shy harbinger of one. Will it have a second part?

If so, it might changeeverything.

***

I spend the rest of the day feeling high, like my head’s buzzing with a thousand bees. But it’s not just me, there's a tension crackling through the entire compound.

Everyone’s on edge, and it’s tangible. I know it’s coming: the attack. And I feel absolutely horrible not knowing who the target is.

There are flashes, faces that come to mind, possible targets, assuming Dante’s the one who talked Anzo into this. The one they called theleech.I try to run through the list of people and initiatives Beta Empowerment has been trashing over the years. There’ve been plenty. Especially government programs, with one in particular standing out: the Beta Activation Program. The one designed to gather betas willing to undergo experimental procedures to awaken their fertility.

Dante’s always been loud about that one, calling it a war on the beta community. Could that be the key?

But there are government officials behind the program, of course. Experts too. And public figures who’ve spoken out in support. Still, no matter how hard I try, I can’t pinpoint a specific person.

If I had access to the Internet, I might try to do more research to narrow down the list of potential targets. Find out the names of the senators and congressmen behind the legislation. For now, I feel completely useless, knowing I should be doing something, and having no idea what.

At one point, alone in my room, I do something I haven’t done since I was a kid:

I pray to Fate, asking him to protect whoever the target is.

To stop Anzo’s men from killing the guy. It feels a little ridiculous whispering the prayer. I’ve never been religious. I never bought into the whole ABO thing where people believe in Fate instead of the old god people worshipped before the epidemic wiped out all women.

After that, most abandoned all religions, but not everyone. A lot of people pray to Fate now.

It was supposedly what our alien ancestors believed. A power that, according to them, created their species. A mysterious force that protects and guides lives and brings people to happiness.

That night, Anzo calls me and Summer into the black room. The thought of having to fuck him makes my stomach twist even more than usual, so I make sure to vape as much as I can. Is this what it means to have found my True Mate? Is this the beginning of the shift inside me?

Luckily, tonight Anzo picks Summer.

So I just watch.

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