by Elin Peer
“Sounds like a plan.” I nodded my head to William, who had fallen asleep an hour ago in his chair. “What do we do about Willy?”
Storm walked over and pulled William’s head back, slapping his right cheek a little. “Go to bed, William.”
Without opening his eyes, William pushed at Storm’s hands and groaned.
“Just let him sleep. It’s not that cold; he’ll be fine.” Boulder instructed. “If it starts to rain, he’ll find his way to bed.”
The other men said their good nights, and Boulder and Finn walked to the cabins while the rest of us spread out to find our tents.
“Careful,” I said when Hunter stumbled into the tent.
He gave a small laugh. “I’m so fucking drunk.”
“Yeah, me too.”
“How about we take a morning dip in the lake tomorrow when we wake up. I’ll bet that will sober us up real quick,” Hunter suggested.
“Yeah, it’s a solid plan. Very solid.”
Like me, Hunter was too tall to stand upright in the tent. “Where the fuck are my tooth cleaners?” he asked while digging through his bag. “Oh, here they are.”
“So you’re Shelly’s protector now,” Hunter asked when he finally lay down.
“Yeah. We’re having a child together.” It flew out of me without a filter.
Hunter laughed. “Now you’re dreaming, my friend. Not all women marry their protector.”
“It’s not a dream.” I propped myself up on my elbow and focused my blurry eyesight. “Shelly is really pregnant with my child.”
Hunter gaped. “For real?”
“Yeah, for real.”
He sat up. “Wait, I’m confused.”
“Shelly and I began having sex together and she got pregnant.”
“But you’re not married,” he said and rubbed his chin.
“Not yet. But we will be soon if I can convince her. Boulder found us making out tonight and he was close to killing me for it.”
“Shit. That’s bad.” Hunter pulled his knees to his chest and leaned on them with his head in his hand. “Hang on – I’m very drunk so I have to make sure I get this right. Are you saying that you’re going to be a father?”
“Yup.” I nodded my head with drunken exaggeration. “That’s exactly what I’m saying.”
“And Shelly Summers is the mother?”
“Yup, the genius herself.”
“Jesus Christ, congratulations.” He lit up. “That’s fucking phenomenal. I’m so happy for you.”
“Thank you.”
“Do you love her?”
I broke into a wide grin. “You have no idea. I’m so fucking screwed, that’s how crazy I am about her.”
“And you’re going to marry her?”
“I would have already, but Shelly doesn’t see the point.”
Hunter’s expression changed to a serious and more guarded one. “Hmm, that does sound like something a Motlander would say.”
“The good thing is that she has moved into my apartment, and she says that she loves me.”
“Hmm.” Lying back down, Hunter stared up at the ceiling of the tent. “This could get ugly. If it was me I would go crazy with jealousy. I mean, your woman is among single men here and they don’t know she’s taken.”
“I am going crazy.”
“How can she say that she loves you and not want to marry you?”
“Because despite her being a genius, sometimes she’s not very bright.”
Hunter nodded. “This is why I’m staying away from women in general. They break your fucking heart.”
“Who broke your heart?”
“It doesn’t matter. Let’s just say that you’re not the only one who’s had his marriage proposal rejected.”
“What happened?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Is that why you’re so protective of Willow? Because you know what it’s like to have your heart broken?” I asked.
Hunter sighed again. “Could be. And because I would be a fucking lousy protector if I allowed Solo to get anywhere close to her again.”
“What happened between Willow and Solo?”
Hunter kept gazing at the ceiling. “He hurt her.”
“Physically or did he break her heart?”
“Both.”
My eyes widened. “No way. Did Solo hit Willow?”
Hunter turned his head to look at me. “Don’t be stupid. Solo isn’t like that.”
“I was just going to say that. He was always so protective of her.”
Rubbing his forehead, Hunter began to talk. “Remember how much in love they were? It was like they were magnets or something; they always took enormous risks to touch or kiss when it wasn’t allowed. Magni almost killed Solo once because they got caught kissing.”
“Yeah, I remember that.”
“Willow and Solo made some stupid pact that as soon as she turned eighteen they would marry. Of course, Solo had to leave the school that year when he turned fifteen and after that contact between them was only sporadic.”
“Let me guess – he got mad when she wanted to break the pact.”
“I wish, but no, that’s not what happened. When Willow turned fifteen and it was her time to leave the school, the contact between them intensified. Two weeks before she was scheduled to return to the Motherlands, Solo panicked and convinced her to run away with him.”
I lowered my brow. “What? That’s not possible –where would they live?”
“The woods.” Hunter’s chest rose in a deep intake of air. “It was a stupid plan, but he managed to convince her anyway.”
“She ran away with him?”
“Yes, and it took us eight miserable days to track them down.”
“You helped?”
“At first the mentors wouldn’t let me, but I threw a major fit.” There was pain in Hunter’s eyes. “Willow is my twin and he had stolen her from me.”
I nodded in understanding. “But how could it take eight days? This island isn’t very big.”
“He took Willow off the island. The first two days, the search party consisted of me, Archer, Boulder, Magni, and the two ranchers that live on this island with their hunting dogs. Initially, the men all thought it would be easy since it was basically two kids on a small island. But Solo has always been fucking phenomenal in the wilderness and he managed to trick us several times.”
“Eight days is a long time.”
“On day two, Magni realized they weren’t on the island and he brought in three of his Huntsmen; still we didn’t find them. On day five he brought in ten more of his Huntsmen, and it took the sixteen of us three more days to find them.”
“How is that even possible?”
“It shouldn’t be.” Hunter yawned. “When we found them, Willow was injured. Her hand was broken; she had a concussion, and scratches from a bad fall. She could have died.”
“I’m surprised Magni didn’t kill Solo on the spot when he found them.”
“I think he would have, but he wasn’t the one to find them. Three of the Huntsmen did, and Willow threatened to kill herself if anything happened to Solo, so they spared his life.”
“Now I understand why you are angry with him.”
Hunter turned on his side, using his hands as pillows. “We used to be friends, Solo and me.”
“I remember.”
“On my good days I remind myself that he was just eighteen and madly in love. But there are days when I want to kill him for putting my sister in danger like that. She and I never talked much about what happened to her in those eight days, but I know they must have been traumatic to her. She cried for weeks and fumed that we’d separated them. It wasn’t until they sent her to a place of reflection in the Motherlands that she began to see that Solo had been asking her to abandon her friends and family for him. She understands now that it was a selfish plan on his part and that they would’ve both been miserable living in the woods.”
“Does she sti
ll love him?”
“She hates him.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, she’s completely over him by now. It’s taken many years, though.”
“Wow.” I yawned and rubbed my eyes. “I had no idea about this part. All I heard was something about you and Solo being in a fight.”
Hunter gave a loud yawn too. “That’s because things were hushed up. The fight happened here when I saw Solo after he and Willow had been found. I was so furious that I attacked him.”
“I don’t blame you. What Solo did was rotten.”
For a few minutes I was quiet while reflecting on what Hunter had just told me.
“Hey, Hunter.”
Hunter’s eyes were closed and his breathing heavy. “Mmm?” he muttered.
“Did the students find out about what happened?
“No, the adults kept it a secret.”
“Everything?”
His speech had turned into a drowsy muttering. “They said Willow had been called back to the Motherlands to a dying relative or something. They didn’t want any of the other kids to get inspired to run away.”
“I see. But why would the kids try to run away? It’s fucking paradise here.”
A light snore revealed that Hunter had fallen asleep.
Comparing myself to Solo, I concluded that I was the lucky one. He could’ve never married Willow in the woods, but he would’ve been happy living with her in exile. I was already living with my woman and she was carrying my child. Maybe Shelly had a point that those were the things that mattered the most anyway.
CHAPTER 27
Illusions
Shelly
Nero was swearing out loud and spitting on the ground after Raven got a kick to his ribs. At least with this fight, Raven and Nero were wearing safety gear. I didn’t understand why Marco had fought yesterday without protection. To me that was stupidity.
“Whoa!” Some of the men gave impressive cheers when Raven followed up with another kick that looked painful. Nero resembled a wild boar when he made his counterattack: red face, fury in his eyes, and his head down.
“Can I talk to you?” I touched my sister’s arm.
Rochelle turned her head to me. “Sure.”
“In private.” I signaled for us to walk away from the fight, where Raven and Nero were now wrestling on the ground while giving groans and growls.
We moved around the school building, out of earshot, before I began talking. “Rochelle, there’s something I need to tell you.”
Rochelle had both our mother’s height and her black hair. We didn’t look much alike, which wasn’t uncommon in the Motherlands. With women being impregnated in fertility clinics using anonymous sperm donors, we all had different fathers than our siblings.
“I’m not sure how to tell you this, so I’m just going to come out with it.”
“You slept with Marco?”
It took me by surprise and I blinked a few times. “Ehm, yes, how did you know?”
“Mom told me about your conversation with her.”
“But I never mentioned Marco’s name.”
A curious smile tipped the corner of Rochelle’s mouth. “Ahh, so I was right.”
“Yes, but how did you know? I’ve been careful not to show anything around you.”
“I’m your sister; of course, I would pick up on the heated looks between you two. Plus, I did a test on Marco yesterday to be sure.”
“What test?”
“Showed him a lot of interest, laughed at his jokes, and sat close to him. He got so flustered that he got up and left. And then later when he was fighting, the first person he looked to was you. He was trying to impress you, Shelly.”
“Was it really that obvious that something was going on between us?”
“Maybe not to the others, but after the fight you told me that he was your protector, and then I knew.”
“Does Mom know?”
Her smile was gone. “That it’s Marco? No, I spoke to Mom yesterday and I said that I had an idea about who it was, but she didn’t want details.”
“If you knew, then why haven’t you come and talked to me about it?”
Rochelle lifted her shoulders in a small shrug. “I was waiting for you to come to me. To be honest I’ve been a little bit offended that it’s taken you this long.”
“It’s not an easy thing to tell your family that you have fallen in love with an Nman.”
Rochelle’s expression did not change; it merely seemed to tighten, so shadows now appeared beneath her cheekbones. “Didn’t Marco just fight in a tournament to win a bride?”
“Yes. But he pulled out of the tournament and came back to be with me.”
“Be with you?” Her eyes grew bigger. “What does that mean?”
“Marco and I…” I paused and licked my lips. “We’re not just sleeping together. We are a couple.”
“You married Marco?” Her words came out loud and shrill. I hurried to hush her voice.
“No, we’re not married.”
“But if you slept with Marco, he’s going to demand that you marry him. You know how territorial and possessive Nmen get.”
“Rochelle, I didn’t come to the Northlands to marry.”
She threw her hands up in the air. “Then you shouldn’t have slept with him. You could have gotten pregnant.”
Taking a deep breath, I spoke in a soft voice. “I did.”
Rochelle’s reaction was so delayed that I wondered if she had heard me at all, but then her eyes fell to my belly.
“It’s only been two months, so it’ll take a while for it to show, but I’m pregnant, Rochelle.”
“I don’t know what to say.” She was visibly shaken and fiddled with a ring on her finger, a classic variation of calming behavior that told me Rochelle was thrown off balance. “Mom is going to freak out when she hears that.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of. She was terribly upset about me having sex with a man.”
Rochelle leaned against the façade of the school, as if she needed support to stay on her feet. “I can’t believe you put yourself in this situation. What were you thinking?”
I lifted my shoulders and let them fall down with a sigh. “I wasn’t thinking, it just kind of happened.”
Rochelle’s eyes were fixed on the ground and for a while neither of us spoke.
“This changes things,” Rochelle said in a low voice.
I gave a nod in agreement and looked up to meet her eyes when she broke into quiet laughter.
“What’s so funny?” I asked.
“I just realized that for the first time ever, I might be Mom’s favorite daughter for a while.”
“Don’t say that. I’m not her favorite,” I protested.
“Tsk.” Rochelle made a sound similar to that of a bike tire getting a flat. “She brags about you all the time, but one thing is for sure: she’s not going to be bragging about you getting pregnant with an Nman.”
“I guess not.”
“If I were you, I’d call her right now and tell her about the pregnancy. Just get it over with.”
“Maybe now isn’t the right time,” I said, trying to delay the inevitable.
“There’s never going to be a right time to tell Mom that you are pregnant and in love with an Nman. It’s not fair that other people know about it and she doesn’t.”
I kicked at some dirt on the ground, looking down.
Rochelle took my hand. “If you want me to, I’ll stay for support.”
“Maybe she won’t be upset,” I said in a hopeful tone.
Rochelle tilted her head, giving me a don’t fool yourself look. “Prepare for her to freak out. You know Mom. She likes plans and this isn’t part of the plan, is it?”
“I think everybody needs to calm down and remember that every child is a miracle.”
“Mom isn’t going to mind you having a child, Shelly. It’s Marco that will freak her out. She’s hoping that you working up here the Northlands is some sor
t of unfortunate phase that we can soon put behind us. It’s going to break her heart that you’re choosing him.”
An idea struck me. “Maybe not.”
“Oh, I’m one hundred percent certain that it will crush her.”
My eyes were darting around, my mind spinning to find a way to tell my mom in a way that would make it easier for her to accept it.
“You’re twirling your hair again. I know what that means but you can’t solve this with some advanced mathematical equation.”
“I can fix this.”
“How?”
“Would you do me a favor?”
“Shelly, what are you up to?”
I explained my simple plan to Rochelle and it left her with an expression of horror.
“I can’t do that.”
“Yes, you can.”
“Mom might die of shock.”
“Don’t be silly. Mom has a perfectly healthy heart, she won’t die of shock.”
“If I tell her what you just told me to say, she will.” Rochelle hardened her jaw. “I once heard about a woman who got so shocked that she died.”
“That woman probably died of fear, which isn’t the same thing.” I began to explain. “What happens with fear is that if you get scared enough, the reaction can release too large a dose of adrenaline, which will numb the heart and cause it to stop beating.”
“I don’t need a lecture. Just know that if Mom’s heart stops beating, I’m blaming you.” Rochelle was pointing her finger at my face.
“Just tell her exactly what I told you.”
Rochelle was reluctant, and it took a bit more coaxing until she agreed and called our mother. I made sure I wouldn’t be in the picture but kept close enough to hear her say the words that I knew would make my mother react strongly.
“It’s done,” Rochelle said afterward. “Your plan is crazy, Shelly. I hope you know that.”
“It’ll work. Give her a few minutes and Mom will call me.”
“I don’t want to be here when she calls.”
“I understand.”
“Promise that you’ll be gentle with her,” Rochelle said and hurried away when our mother called me.
“Shelly, I just spoke to your sister,” my mom began as soon as her hologram appeared. “I’m shaken to my core. Look at my hands, do you see how much they’re trembling?”
