Page 34 of Soren

Even at the thought of hearing her voice, my chest seizes again and I let out another sob. How was she? How was Iris? Were they okay? Did they get the payments?

Here I was having the time of my life on Aesir, and they were still stuck on Earth. It didn't seem fair.

"I'm not sure," Soren admits. "Let me check the comms panel."

He gets up and inspects the tablet-like object next to the doorway in each room. I can barely see what he's doing, only that there's a lot of typing. The lights flicker for a fraction of a second and then go dim, leaving us in the darkness.

I gasp and pull the pillow close to my chest. "Soren? What happened?"

"Just a moment, sweet. Working as intended!"

Not even a second after he says that, the lights come back on and the systems beep online once more. A female voice comes from the speaker on the wall. "Off-world communications unlocked."

My mouth drops open. "How did you..."

Soren beams with pride. "I had to override the power distribution grid to boost the signal, but..." He rubs the back of his neck. "Worth it?"

"Worth it?" I crow. "Oh my gosh, this is amazing! Does this mean I can talk to her now?"

Soren nods. "We can't sustain these power levels for long -- that's why the power went out for a minute -- but it should be enough for you to contact your loved ones."

I wipe the tears from my eyes and jump up to give him a giant hug. He chuckles softly. "Remember what I told you, Lara?" He hums next to my ear. "I will do anything for you. Anything."

"Thank you," I whisper. "How do I..."

"I've got the interface pulled up," Soren points out. "Just type in her number and you should be good to go. One more thing, though: see that timer? You only have that much time before the systems reboot, but that's the best I could do." He stares at his feet. "I hope it's enough."

"It is!" I cry. "Thank you. Again." Honestly, it's more than enough. What kind of man re-routes the entire power grid just so I can talk to my sister back home? This one, apparently.

Aesir men are something else.

He heads for the doorway, then stops. "I have to go out today to oversee some matters with my own people. I will not be long, however, and shall return by sunset. Will you be alright until then?"

I nod. I haven't had a day to myself in weeks, and as great as Soren's company is, it will be nice to just relax. "I'll be fine. Don't worry."

He snickers. "I'm your alpha. It's my job to worry. See you tonight." With a final peck on the cheek, he leaves.

The room falls into silence and I get up to investigate the comms panel. Sure enough, a timer at the corner of the screen ticks down. If I'm going to call Janie, I need to do it now. So with a deep breath, I tap in her number on the screen, put the call up on the monitor, and crawl into bed.

It rings for what feels like forever. I didn't even think to check what time it might be on Earth. I hope she's still awake and that I'm not bothering her. Just when I think she's not going to pick up, the panel makes a click-beep and a familiar voice echoes through the room.

"Lara, is that you?"

Those four simple words pack such an emotional punch I nearly burst into tears all over again. "Yeah," I croak. "It's me."

For a moment neither of us talk. We can't even see each other and the signal is still weak, but I needed this more than I realized.

"Hey, sis." Janie says. Her voice cracks, and I can't tell if it's from the static on the call or her emotion. I'm tearing up as well, so probably a bit of both.

"How are you doing? Is Iris there?" I can't wait any longer. I have to know.

"Yes, she's right here. Say hi to Auntie Lara!"

I hear the shuffling sounds of movement. "Ann...tee..."

And there she is. I choke back a sob. She's the one I'm doing all this for. "Hey there," I coo. "Are you being a good girl for your mommy? I miss you."

"She's a handful as always, but things are a lot better than they were."

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