Page 39 of Caldar
“No. We’re discussing this now,” Sonia said, folding her arms over her chest.
Lorran and Wyn shared another look. Wyn arched a brow. Lorran ran a hand up the back of his head, mussing his hair.
“He is being held in the brig for his crimes,” Lorran admitted.
“Jail? He’s in jail? Caldar saved us! If he wasn’t there, I would have been sucked out into space.”And I think I love him.
“He marked you. He violated the terms of the Earth-Mahdfel treaty,” he said, drawing back his shoulders like he was delivering a verdict.
“That? Big deal.” Sonia rubbed her shoulder. It was tender, but the gel the medic applied numbed the area.
“You do not understand. A male cannot grab a female and claim her.”
“He didn’t grab me,” she said.
“It is the greatest offense a male can do. It must be punished.”
Sure, like Mahdfel were all about consent and willingness now, despite years of forced testing and taking brides from Earth.
Okay, fine. It was complicated. She knew that. And the Mahdfel weren’t snatching women off the streets to be breeders.
“How long is he going to be locked up?” she asked.
Another look. Sonia was really starting to hate that look.
“You do not understand. The punishment is death,” Lorran said.
CHAPTER13
SONIA
“I have to see him,”Sonia said.
The big purple dickhead blocked her path. “You cannot,” he warned.
“Lorran, I swear if you do not get out of my way, we will have words.”
Confusion wrinkled between his brows. “We are having words now. Will they be different words?”
“She means angry words. She’ll lose her temper.” Wyn wedged herself between her alien husband and Sonia and gently pried them apart. “Let’s calm down.”
That was the moment right there when Sonia lost her ever-loving mind. She jabbed a finger into Lorran’s chest, like he was the personification of every frustrating aspect of alien-human relations.
“Why is it like this? Why is it always extremes? Mandatory testing. Instant teleportation, no time to clean out the fridge or put in your two weeks’ notice. Just, oh, you’re slightly less likely to die if this dude knocks you up, so off you go. Toodle-oo.”
Lorran’s eyes went round. “Toodle-oo?”
“Yeah, toodle-fucking-oo. And now Caldar… Look, I get it. He’s shady, but he saved not just me but a whole lot of lives.”
“Because he was stalking you,” Wyn said. “Shady doesn’t begin to describe it.”
“And now he’s got to die because he bit me without getting the correct paperwork? Bullshit. This is bullshit, and you know it. So either you’re going to help me see the man I love or get out of my way.”
Jab. Jab.Jab.
“Oh, Sonia,” Wyn said, her voice soft and full of pity.
She and Lorran stared at each other. It felt like high noon, tension so thick that she heard the eerie wail of music while they waited for someone to flinch. A tumbleweed rolled by.
