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“So how did you meet Marek?” she asked. That had to be a happier story, right? The couple obviously doted on each other. In some ways, Marek reminded her of Jordan. Except Laura was obviously happier than Trish.
The expression on Laura’s face changed, her dark countenance lightening as a smile spread across her lips.
“When the Wolf took over, I went out on the streets,” Laura said. “I was afraid he might be worse than the devil we knew, and I wanted to take some time to watch him, see how he would treat the people who had worked for the old lord.
“Not everyone hid like I did—not everyone could—but other than making a couple of examples of some real assholes who had started abusing their positions under the old lord, the Wolf didn’t do anything to punish anyone. We all saw how he liked to treat his lovers, but they liked it, so no one complained. He was a hell of a lot better than the old lord.
“Of course, once Earth started being safer for the Moonies to visit, they started coming. Causing trouble, treating us like shit… Then the Wolf took a few of them and things changed again. Now they come and they stay apart from us, they don’t cause trouble, and they’re the ones always on their guard. But when they first started coming back, a group of them cornered me in an alley.”
A shiver went up Trish’s spine at the way Laura’s voice went flat.
“They thought they could just do whatever they wanted to me because I didn’t matter. When I kicked one of them, to gethim away from me, they attacked me. That’s when Marek came along. He and his friends rescued me. He took me back to the Wolf’s Compound, healed me, and kept me.”
“Kept you?” Trish echoed.
“Well, I didn’t want to stay at first,” Laura said, although there was a small smile on her face. “I was still scared of the Wolf, and Marek’s a pretty intimidating guy.”
“So he forced you to stay?”
“Tied me to his bed,” Laura said, still smiling.
“How does that make him different from the people who attacked you?” Trish asked, horrified.
“He’s never beaten me. No matter what I said to him, no matter what I did to him. I might get a spanking now and then, but he’d never hurt me. And if I truly didn’t want him, after a while, he would have let me go. But first he showed that he could keep me, and also protect me and keep me safe,” Laura said, matter-of-factly. “And during that time, he showed me that he could make me happy.”
Trish put her head in her hands. “I don’t understand any of this,” she muttered.
“I guess it’s different on the Moon,” Laura said. “Although, from the news vids, it never seems like any of them are very happy with the partners they end up with. Alex and Bella’s partners are real little shits. You can tell from the interviews.”
There was a lot of political maneuvering when it came to real relationships on the Moon. Sexual relationships… well, those didn’t matter as much. People did what they wanted with whom they wanted,although, even then, Trish hadn’t been of real interest to anyone because they didn’t think she had anything to offer but her body.
Real partnerships—the marriages—happened when people wanted alliances on the Moon. Everyone knew some of those alliances were forced. That had been one upside to being achild of the Moon’s support staff: no one would force her into a partnership for power. Whether on the Moon or on Earth, she’d apparently been part of a very small group of citizens who could choose who they wanted to have a relationship with.
“So here, men just take who they want?—”
“Not just men, women, too,” Laura said. “Whoever’s in the better position.” A bigger smile curved her lips. “You should have seen the fight Chevie put up when Trix first brought him here.”
“Trix brought Chevie here?” Trish asked, distracted from the myriad of questions spinning around her brain. She’d gotten the impression Trix answered to Chevie—not the other way around—if anyone was answering to the other in that relationship.
“Oh yeah. Literally dragged him in one day, bound hand-and-foot while he was cursing and threatening her left and right. Everyone laughed at her because they thought there was no way she could keep him, but she did, and he ended up staying with her.”
Before Trish could ask any more questions, the door to Marek’s study opened, and he came out, his presence making her quiet again. While she liked Laura—and was thrilled to finally have some answers, even if those answers caused more questions—she was definitely intimidated by Marek. While he wasn’t as big or muscular as Jordan, there was something darkly imposing about him. He didn’t seem the type to tolerate being peppered with questions.
As soon as she saw him, Laura’s face brightened, and his expression softened slightly when he looked back at her. They really did care about each other, which blew Trish’s mind. She didn’t know how to reconcile that with Laura’s story about how they came together.
Or maybe she didn’t want to because she was afraid Jordan was trying to ‘keep’ her—and she was starting to waver onwhether or not she wanted him to succeed. The sense there was something wrong with her was lessened under the impact of Laura’s story. After all, Laura had done something similar. Perhaps Trish wasn’t as different as the other civilians in the Wolf’s Compound as she’d thought.
“Are you girls having a good time?” Marek asked, his eyes flicking over both of them.
Laura’s smile back at him was brilliant. “Yes, Marek.”
Trish echoed her, a little more quietly.
“Good,” Marek said, moving into the kitchen to get himself a glass of water. “Jordan just contacted me; he’ll be here soon. Laura, would you and Trish like to help me prepare dinner?”
Following Laura into the kitchen, Trish hung back a little. She’d never had the opportunity to learn how to cook, but that didn’t seem to matter. Marek handled making the meal, although he gave Laura and Trish each small tasks to complete. Trish cut up potatoes while Laura did the same with other vegetables, and Marek handled the rest. When Jordan arrived, he stayed in the kitchen with Marek to talk, while Trish and Laura went back to coloring.
Marek and Jordan were talking in low tones that Trish couldn’t hear, which, of course, made her want to know more. She leaned back against the couch, but it was of no use. Sighing, she went back to coloring, while Laura gave her an amused look.
