Chapter 24

Sophia sat at the kitchen table and listened as Megan explained the physics of a bumblebee being able to fly.

“They aren’t supposed to be able to fly, Mama,” she concluded. “Their body weighs more than their wings should be able to carry.”

Sophia smiled. “That’s amazing, isn’t it?”

Megan grinned and nodded. “I thought so.”

“I guess it's also a good lesson to not let people tell you what you can and can’t do. Don’t let people put limits on you and your—”

A loud pounding on the front door startled both of them. Micah wasn’t due for another two weeks, but Sophia still had her phone off. Perhaps he’d come to check up on them, but it was most likely that Micah was very angry that she couldn’t be reached.

Sophia stood and quickly jammed her phone into a kitchen drawer. If Micah was indeed upset because she was unreachable, she would claim ignorance, make a show of looking for her phone and finding it. She hadn’t been able to answer her phone and tell him that she was without child—it had been easier to ignore his calls and try not to think about how he would react. She imagined Micah would not be in a good mood after twenty-four hours of being ignored.

The lock on the door turned just as she reached the entryway, and it swung open. Micah stood in the doorway, Jael right behind him.

“Hello, Sophia,” he said.

“Micah! What a surprise!”

Micah and Jael moved into the small area and shut the door. Sophia backed into the living room. “Please, come in,” she said, gesturing them to the spacious area so she didn’t feel so crowded around the two large males.

“You haven’t been answering your phone,” Micah chastised.

“I’m sorry, Micah,” Sophia apologized, staring at the floor so he couldn’t see the lie on her face. “I must have misplaced it somewhere, or the battery is dead. I haven’t heard it ring.”

“Very well,” Micah said, stepping in close to her. “Are you with child?”

Sophia stared at his boots and shook her head.

Micah let out a long sigh, the disappointment and anger blazing in his features.

“In two weeks, Jael will visit for the mating cycle,” he announced.

Bile rose in Sophia’s throat and she glanced over at Jael. He sneered at her, and an involuntary tremble shook her body. Jael’s sky-blue gaze bore into her, his black hair slicked back away from his sharp features. She couldn’t imagine allowing him in her most intimate flesh, to feel his breath on her skin, to smell his maleness. Frankly, it took everything she had in her to get through the rituals with Micah, but she simply couldn’t imagine performing the act with Jael.

“In the meantime, I’m going to put something in the shed out back. You are not to go in there, no matter what. Do you understand me?”

She nodded absently, still unable to comprehend how she would tolerate sleeping with Jael.

“Shut the blinds in the back,” Micah ordered as he opened the front door. “What we do is none of your concern, Sophia.”

Glancing up at Micah, she wondered what they were putting in the old, empty shed. They never used it to store any of their gardening tools. The eight-by-eight-foot building looked as if it had been there for years, rotting in the hot Arizona sun. Micah had piqued her curiosity.

“It’s dangerous,” he continued. “I would hate to see Megan hurt, and she won’t be as long as you stay away from the shed.”

Micah knew her weakness—her daughter. She would do anything to keep Megan safe, and now fear replaced the initial curiosity.

“Of course, Micah,” she said.

He nodded. “Now go and close those blinds,” he said as he left. Jael hung back for a moment, his stare piercing and uncomfortable.

Stepping in close and invading her personal space, he whispered, “I can’t wait to fuck you, Sophia.”

Her breath hitched as his finger trailed down her cheekbone, to her neck, over her collarbone, and down her breast. He brushed her nipple with his thumb, and murmured, “Hard, Sophia. I like to fuck hard.”

Despite her fear, her nipple hardened under his touch, and she cried out as he twisted it between his forefinger and thumb.

“Jael!” Micah shouted from the front drive.

“Remember that, Sophia,” Jael whispered. “Hard and fast. I want to rip you open from the inside out.”

Tears stung her eyes, and she stepped back from him, crossing her arms over her chest. She refused to look away, to show weakness even though she was certain in was written all over her face.

“Good-bye, Sophia,” Jael said in a loud voice. “I’ll see you in two weeks.”

The door shut, and Sophia hurried to the back of the house and drew the blinds to the sliding glass door. She heard muffled noises on the side of the house, as if Micah and Jael struggled with whatever they were moving. She fought the desire to peek through the slats.

“If we turn out the lights, they won’t be able to see us,” Megan whispered from the hallway.

Sophia closed her eyes, wondering how much her daughter had heard of her exchange with Jael.

“Mama, let’s just take a peek,” Megan murmured, grabbing Sophia’s hand.

Sophia looked down at her little angel. When did this girl become braver than she was? All she ever wanted to do was protect Megan, but the girl seemed hell-bent on pushing boundaries with Micah.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Megan,” Sophia said.

Megan walked over to the light switch and turned it off, sending the kitchen into darkness.

The subdued glow of Sophia’s brown eyes and Megan’s brownish-red eyes cast the kitchen in a low dim. What was that child doing?

“They’ll see your eyes, Megan,” Sophia whispered, pulling Megan away from the window.

Megan studied her for a moment and then nodded. “You’re right, Mama. We don’t want them to notice us.”

Megan smiled, then wrapped her arms around Sophia’s leg, and Sophia sensed the love in the little girl’s embrace as she ran her fingers through her curls. She couldn’t help but feel like Megan was coercing her into some type of secret alliance against the Platoon.

“They aren’t bad males, Megan,” she whispered. “They protect us from the horrible world outside.”

Megan remained quiet for a few minutes. Sophia heard Micah’s car start up and leave, its tires crunching on the gravel out front.

“I know, Mama,” Megan said with a yawn. “I’m going to bed.”

Sophia nodded, a little feeling niggling in her gut that she shouldn’t trust Megan not go to snooping. “And, Megan, please do not defy Micah and me. Please stay out of the shed.”

Megan glanced over her shoulder and nodded as she went to her room.

Heartbreak also coursed through her as she wondered just what Megan had heard. Did the little female fully understand Sophia’s place in this world? Did she understand what Sophia had to endure? Would Megan one day have to endure the same?

Sophia stared at the floor and chastised herself for allowing her thoughts to run down such an ugly path. Certainly, Micah would never ask Megan to do something like that, to be nothing more than a breeder for their race, but Sophia didn’t understand how their race was to continue unless Megan was involved. Sophia understood and accepted her role, but she hoped Micah would see the brilliance of the daughter he’d brought into this world and not condemn her to the same fate. It would be a terrible waste of intelligence, and Megan certainly would be an asset to the war on the Colonists. However, Sophia and Megan were the only SR44 females left. To continue the race, they would both need to produce offspring. The thought made Sophia’s stomach turn.

She walked through the rest of the house turning off the lights. Glancing into Megan’s room, she saw the little female curled up on the bed snuggled under her pink comforter. Even though she was only three years of age, Sophia couldn’t help but feel her little girl was growing up too fast.