Page 13 of Forever

The murmurs continued. “Stop. What Moxy and I have is legal and there’s nothing you can do about it. My moral fortitude isn’t at question here. I thank you for dropping the subject, ceasing your speculations, and moving on with the business at hand.”

J’Evi shook his head. He would cause problems being the high magistrate of Zorlox, he oversaw the unions among the Zorloxians. I expected a call from him after the meeting.

Sure enough, the moment it concluded, he stopped us. “I would like to speak with Jefferson Foster to validify the information here before you can file your union with Moxy.”

I chuckled. “Filing with the Zorlox Authority doesn’t stop the fact that Moxy is my fated mate. You can do a physical examination and declare my twin hears beat strongly in unison. That’s all the validation we need here. Filing the papers is just a formality, but it’s not the end of legal validity.”

Moxy clasped my hand and we turned away. My head shook at the audacity of J’Evi. He didn’t have that kind of authority to stop our union.

“I won’t approve the union. She was married to another. It doesn’t matter about the fate part.”

I wheeled around on J’Evi. “Clearly, you have something against me. Maybe you want the official title of Prince. I will change the laws. Synchronized hearts and a free woman gives me the right. She’s our Earth Ambassador and she is here legally. What’s legal on Earth is legal here.”

We walked away. I fumed over the conversation and the accusation that we were in some sort of an illicit affair. Moxy’s face set in stone, her mouth straight.

“I’m causing trouble for you by being here, by us being together.”

My head shook. “No, you’re not. And I really don’t care what J’Evi thinks.”

“But we can’t be together officially.” Her eyes misted with tears.

“We are together. Legally only means a filed document. It really means nothing. Do you think all those on Zorlox come here to file the document? The official ceremony means nothing, it’s justa show. I have physical proof of our right relationship and that’s all we need.”

“This shouldn’t be an issue. On Earth, it wouldn’t be.”

“The only reason it’s an issue is that Zorloxians don’t divorce. They see the vows as forever binding.”

A high pitched shrill of laughter came out of her mouth. “But your people don’t mate just for the fun of it. Or come together like Jefferson and to advance your career.”

“No. We have physical proof of our full intentions. If the hearts aren’t synced, then there’s no legal union. It was always the barometer to establish the relationship. And often, the ceremony came after mating took place. I’ve read about Earth’s strange features. Marrying before consummating the relationship. Our primal urge with synchronized hearts dictates mating right away. It’s why I was glad to stay away from you until you were legally able to be mine.”

She looked down, her face burning with a blush. “Do’Thortn, mating normally means it has an end, a goal. Your people mate to reproduce. At least, until the females died. Isn’t that still true? It’s to produce an heir?”

This time I chuckled sarcastically. “Physically speaking, yes. Mating is procreation. It doesn’t mean we all want young.”

“I was sterilized after Kenna’s birth. I wanted to make sure Jefferson and I didn’t have another child. Now, I regret it. I can’t give you a baby. And I really want to, but I can’t. I’m so sorry. I’m sure this greatly disappoints you. At this juncture, I will fight to stay with you. If you want to find a female to give you an heir, you have my blessing.”

CHAPTER 13

Moxy

Do’Thortn’s eyes flashed as he grabbed me, pulling me into his arms. His great jaw flexed as he peered into my eyes.

“Never. I don’t have to have an heir. Honestly, I never thought I’d find my fated mate. I was set to live my life without love. Having an heir never really crossed my mind. Besides, I’m not sure I want to bring a child into this friction created by my father. Our society is fractured with the ramifications of what he did. We are now creating new races with the others coming in. Pure Zorloxians will never be a thing again. I’m happy to stand by with my true love and watch it unfold. I don’t want another. That’s not what matters to me. You’re what matters.”

“Nevertheless, I feel like I’m failing you. If I weren’t sterilized, you’d want a baby with me, right?” The conflict of emotions stirred me. Never have I regretted doing such a thing as sterilization.

“Of course, I would. But it’s not going to make me walk away from you, so stop it. I figured when I met you that you were done having children. Most on Earth only have one anyway. It was never an option in my mind. Moxy, I’m happy with you. Beyond happy. I can’t see ever turning away from you. Nor do I want to have a baby with another.”

“Oh, but you could. On Earth we do surrogacy, where they do in vitro fertilization. It’s not like you have to have sex with another. It’s a possibility, and I’m willing to do this. That way you’ll have a child, an heir. Please. Would you at least consider it?” I really want him to have his own child. Who was I to deny him the opportunity to have an heir? I have a child, he should have a child.

“Have a baby with some stranger?”

I laughed. “Basically, yes. In fact, this whole process is anonymous if we want. Come on, consider it.”

He shook his head and yet smiled. “I will do anything you want me to do. You would raise the child as your own?”

“That’s the beauty of it. It’s possible to extract the eggs from my ovaries. I still have those, just not my uterus. And we get someone to quietly carry the baby for us. And even if my ovaries aren’t functioning, we can find a female who looks similar to me.”

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