kept going back to one person only. Reese.
Am I absolutely insane?
I pressed my thumb to the pad and entered my barracks. I froze in my steps. Dad was on the couch, just like earlier today, only there were two flatfoots standing at his side while the division GP hovered over him. My whole body began to shake.
THEY KNOW! THEY KNOW MY DAD IS BREAKING DOCTRINE! THEY'RE GOING TO DRAG HIM TO THE TRANSITIONAL CONTAINERS!
GP Nolan walked over to me and smiled softly. “My, Ruby, you've grown up! Your father tells us you met your mate tonight. Congratulations! There's nothing for you to worry about here, we're just trying to trace down how your father is the first in the division to show symptoms of a new strain of nasopharyngitis.”
Oh, no. Please no.
Dad sneezed again.
Chapter 4
R-0844, or GP Nolan as I knew him, spoke without a care in the world. If he had no ulterior motives, why were there flatfoots in our barracks? My whole body went numb. I slowly sank into our living room chair. My knees pressed together tightly and my fingers curled over each opposing hand. My teeth sank down into my tongue. The sting was a less than pleasant sensation, but if I were to relax my jaw I wasn't sure what my mouth would do. How could so many things go haywire in just one single day?
Where was Mom? I glanced toward the kitchen. There she was, standing by the sink, her face whiter than Connor's had been. Her hand was shaking so ferociously that she could barely lower the tea bag into her cup of warm water. If the flatfoots saw how frightened she was, they might get suspicious! Dad was not available to be her rock right now so I would have to do it. Ignoring the sting and possibly the blood that was filling my mouth, I stood. As slowly and casually as possible, I nodded politely toward the GP and then turned and walked to my mother. My hand moved over hers and finally, the tea bag was lowered. “It's okay,” I whispered to her. “They'll be gone soon.” I heard Dad speaking but his voice was low and I couldn't make out the words. I wanted more than anything to rush back to him, to stand between him and the flatfoots and demand they leave our barracks this instant before I tore off their heads and kicked them down the hallway like recreational balls. I ran after them with rage once before when I was only ten, what was stopping me from doing the same thing right now?
It wasn’t just my age. At ten years old all I knew and cared about was that I loved Grandpa Logan and the government was unfairly putting him to sleep. Today I turned sixteen and simultaneously learned that the limited world around me that served as my prison might have an escape after all. I also learned with certainty that being genetically matched with a compatible mate did not stop the heart from wanting what the heart wants. The Complex, the government and Doctrine could not squelch my natural human desire and instinct to explore, discover, and find out the truth, whatever that may be. I couldn't demand that the flatfoots leave my dad alone because there was too much at stake. My father's secrets had to be protected. Without even knowing what they were, I knew that it was now partially my duty to help protect them.
Mom's eyes were wide and they blurred with tears of fear. I curled an arm around her back and tried to give her a gentle, reassuring hug. Her hand still trembled as she tried to pick up her cup of tea. I pulled out a kitchen chair. “Mom, sit.” She sat. I had a feeling that if I told her to walk in a circle and make a monkey noise she probably would have obeyed me like a mindless robot. Compliance was how she reacted to fear. Her hand fell from the teacup to the table. She was a
Am I absolutely insane?
I pressed my thumb to the pad and entered my barracks. I froze in my steps. Dad was on the couch, just like earlier today, only there were two flatfoots standing at his side while the division GP hovered over him. My whole body began to shake.
THEY KNOW! THEY KNOW MY DAD IS BREAKING DOCTRINE! THEY'RE GOING TO DRAG HIM TO THE TRANSITIONAL CONTAINERS!
GP Nolan walked over to me and smiled softly. “My, Ruby, you've grown up! Your father tells us you met your mate tonight. Congratulations! There's nothing for you to worry about here, we're just trying to trace down how your father is the first in the division to show symptoms of a new strain of nasopharyngitis.”
Oh, no. Please no.
Dad sneezed again.
Chapter 4
R-0844, or GP Nolan as I knew him, spoke without a care in the world. If he had no ulterior motives, why were there flatfoots in our barracks? My whole body went numb. I slowly sank into our living room chair. My knees pressed together tightly and my fingers curled over each opposing hand. My teeth sank down into my tongue. The sting was a less than pleasant sensation, but if I were to relax my jaw I wasn't sure what my mouth would do. How could so many things go haywire in just one single day?
Where was Mom? I glanced toward the kitchen. There she was, standing by the sink, her face whiter than Connor's had been. Her hand was shaking so ferociously that she could barely lower the tea bag into her cup of warm water. If the flatfoots saw how frightened she was, they might get suspicious! Dad was not available to be her rock right now so I would have to do it. Ignoring the sting and possibly the blood that was filling my mouth, I stood. As slowly and casually as possible, I nodded politely toward the GP and then turned and walked to my mother. My hand moved over hers and finally, the tea bag was lowered. “It's okay,” I whispered to her. “They'll be gone soon.” I heard Dad speaking but his voice was low and I couldn't make out the words. I wanted more than anything to rush back to him, to stand between him and the flatfoots and demand they leave our barracks this instant before I tore off their heads and kicked them down the hallway like recreational balls. I ran after them with rage once before when I was only ten, what was stopping me from doing the same thing right now?
It wasn’t just my age. At ten years old all I knew and cared about was that I loved Grandpa Logan and the government was unfairly putting him to sleep. Today I turned sixteen and simultaneously learned that the limited world around me that served as my prison might have an escape after all. I also learned with certainty that being genetically matched with a compatible mate did not stop the heart from wanting what the heart wants. The Complex, the government and Doctrine could not squelch my natural human desire and instinct to explore, discover, and find out the truth, whatever that may be. I couldn't demand that the flatfoots leave my dad alone because there was too much at stake. My father's secrets had to be protected. Without even knowing what they were, I knew that it was now partially my duty to help protect them.
Mom's eyes were wide and they blurred with tears of fear. I curled an arm around her back and tried to give her a gentle, reassuring hug. Her hand still trembled as she tried to pick up her cup of tea. I pulled out a kitchen chair. “Mom, sit.” She sat. I had a feeling that if I told her to walk in a circle and make a monkey noise she probably would have obeyed me like a mindless robot. Compliance was how she reacted to fear. Her hand fell from the teacup to the table. She was a
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