The Sister Who Pushed Me, The Fate That Swallowed Her Chapter 03

The Sister Who Pushed Me, The Fate That Swallowed Her Chapter 03

Derek scooped Sloane off the bed and pulled her against him.

His forked tongue slid around her neck, slow and deliberate.

“Look at you, already healing.” Derek’s grin split wide. “Good. That means we can go harder. Get you pregnant faster.”

His hand disappeared under the blanket. The last of the color drained from Sloane’s face.

“Get out!” Derek didn’t even look at me.

I was out the door before he finished the sentence.

My dear Sloane was on her own. She could pray if she wanted.

Sloane didn’t come out for two days. Neither did Derek.

I knew what was happening to her behind that door. And I wasn’t going to pretend I didn’t enjoy it.

She killed me in our last life, her own sister, because she couldn’t stand that Derek was mine.

This time, she’d thrown herself at him like he was the prize.

Whatever she got, she brought on herself.

All I needed now was for the Alliance to show up on time and get us off this ship.

If nothing else, I knew when to play the hand I was dealt.

We were in Alliance territory now. Their rules, their world. I could handle that, as long as I got a stable life and real food, the kind we used to have on New Terra.

Three guardian-mates? I could live with that.

This time, I’d get to choose. And I was picking three men who were kind, decent, and good at following orders.

If they treated me well, I’d give each of them a child. Fair exchange.

A full week went by before Sloane surfaced.

She looked wrecked, but smug about it.

“Oh, Audra. I know we hate each other, but I just couldn’t keep this to myself.”

She paused, one hand drifting to her stomach.

“I’m pregnant. Already. Turns out Derek’s incredibly potent. It wasn’t his fault it took you six months. That was all you.”

“Even if they send you to a breeding facility, the best you’ll get is some low-ranking brute. Nobody good would waste their time on you.”

There was something unhinged behind her eyes as she said it. Like getting pregnant proved she’d made the right call stealing Derek from me.

But I wasn’t about to let her have that.

“You really think I couldn’t get pregnant last time?” I let the smile stay on my face.

Sloane blinked, confused. That was when I twisted the knife.

“Shifter genes are strong. Too strong for a human body. Gestation’s only a month, but it doesn’t take much roughness to end it. One bad night, and that poor little life is just gone.”

“You’ve got Derek wrapped around your finger, right? So I’m sure he’ll hold back for you. Control himself. For a whole month.”

What little color Sloane had left vanished.

Her hands flew to her stomach. She was shaking her head before she even spoke.

“No. No, they want children more than anything. They wouldn’t hurt…”

“They care about their mates more.” I cut her off clean.

Then I pressed my fingers to my lips, all mock sympathy.

“Oh, right. You never actually mated to one last time, did you? So you wouldn’t know what they’re really like with their mates.”

I wasn’t lying.

In our last life, after my first child was born, Derek nearly strangled the baby for wanting too much of my attention.

Possessive didn’t begin to cover it. He was unhinged.

The smallest flicker of jealousy could set him off, and once he started, he didn’t stop.

And my dear Sloane had never been faithful to anyone in her life. Even back on New Terra, she’d juggled multiple men at once.

All that talk about monogamy came from too many romance novels and a desperate need to feel special.

Having a few powerful men chase her was never going to be enough. She wanted to be the girl every man in the galaxy fought over, the main character of her own story.

She played the game too long.

“You’re lying! You’re just trying to scare me because you can’t stand that I have him!”

Something vicious flashed through Sloane’s eyes. Her hand came up to hit me.

The ship lurched hard before she made contact.

The Alliance had found us.

My heart slammed against my ribs.

Sloane caught the look on my face, and her expression shifted. She opened her mouth, but Derek was already there. He grabbed her and yanked her back.

“Darling…” Sloane tried to hold him back.

“Shut up!” Derek snarled.

Once they were gone, the shaking stopped.

A man in a white uniform and black leather boots stepped into view on the other side of our cage. A squad of interstellar soldiers flanked him.

“Attention, New Terran civilians. We received your distress signal. You are being evacuated.”

The aide beside the fleet general was doing his best to sound warm.

But the soldiers towered over us, half again as tall as any New Terran. Everyone shrank back.

Everyone except me.

I was already looking at the man at the front. Sharp jaw. Hard eyes. The one clearly in charge.