Page 3 of Gairo

“There’s a disturbance at these coordinates, and I want to make sure that you’re there with me when I go there.”

I took a look at the map of where he was pointing and had a shock. I was found right there as an amnesiac when I was an adolescent. I had a head injury and no memories. I could still walk, talk, and fly. I had no idea how I’d gotten injured or what I was doing there.

“It’s probably a faulty sensor and a flock of birds or herd of herbivores or something. We need to check it out.”

“But that’s where I’m from.”

Soren shook his head. “Not anymore. You’re a valued alpha warlord in this clan, no matter who you were before. I know sometimes you feel like you don’t fit in.”

“Every day. I’m a flyboy, one of the pilots who can command most of the spaceships, but I don’t know where I fit in. I have a new baby coming out of this surrogacy contract, but I don’t want to lose her…”

Soren coughed. “A lot of the surrogates stay past the end of their contracts, one way or another.”

“She said that she’s leaving after the contract is done.”

Soren grinned at me. “Keep her thinking that, then. I know something about human Earth surrogates; I have one of my own. She brought her sister and niece to charm Rathgar. It’ll work out.”

“I don’t know what kind of position I’m brining my new child into. I don’t know how to handle newborn young. She said sometime about how her colony used to be, and she doesn’t want to become a housewife.”

“That’s different. I guess she’s not directly from the same place as Lara, Janie, and Iris.”

“No, I don’t think that they had the famine that the three of them escaped from. She had a rigid role in her colony, from the way that she tells it. Her aunts and mother made sure that she was an apothecary.”

“We get everything we need from a dispensing machine and also robotic checkups. She’s suited to look after children on this planet.”

“She sounded like she didn’t want to look after children at all.”

“Then why did she sign up to be a surrogate?”

“She was forced into it.”

“Oh.” Soren’s eyes were round. “That’s definitely a different situation. I made sure that the three of them had the food to survive, and my heart-mate fell in love with me partially because I let her go to her sister. You know that Rathgar’s heart-mate didn’t want him at first. He couldn’t stand her.”

“My mate indulges in being a brat more times than I can count.”

Soren coughed again. “You like that in bed, or?”

I couldn’t hold back my own smile. “I guess that I am worrying too much and I’ll figure out everything.”

“Good job, flyboy. I want your head in the game for this mission. I know that there’s history in that valley for you, but I need you to be at the top of your game. You have a duty to your commander that has nothing to do with impregnating your new surrogate.”

* * *

When Soren gaveme the command through my headset to go home, I breathed a sigh of relief. I didn’t know what had been before I was found. I didn’t like going back to the valley. I was full of apprehension that I’d learn something that I didn’t like from my past in there. I was glad that I had a home to go to at all.

ENJOYMENT

VERONICA

Imissed Gairo all day when he was gone and didn’t find Sarah at all. I knew that the omega injection was wearing off because I didn’t even want to jump him and have him in bed. I was starting to behave like one of the wives from my own colony, but he let me leave the house.

“I’m home,” Gairo called softly. “And I noticed my missing blade.”

I blushed a little bit. He didn’t seem that upset, though. My father was always upset abut my heists.

“I’m going to find a belt loop and sheath that are suited to your much smaller size.”

“Why don’t you want to take your knife back?” In the colony, the men would’ve been furious with me.

---