The Sister Who Pushed Me, The Fate That Swallowed Her Chapter 07

The Sister Who Pushed Me, The Fate That Swallowed Her Chapter 07

I almost laughed. “If you had a problem with it, why didn’t you say something back there?”

“You already agreed for us. If we’d said no after that, we’d look like the difficult ones.”

“Exactly! We’re supposed to stick together! You should’ve pushed back with us, not given in!”

Their faces were tight with resentment.

“What exactly is unfair here? You’re demanding that a whole new civilization play by our rules. That’s like moving to another country and insisting they follow the laws you left behind. How’s that going to work?”

“We came here as refugees. If they don’t take us, where are we supposed to go? Their own president follows this system. You think you’re above the president of the entire Alliance?”

I wasn’t being gentle about it. Each word came out harder than the last.

Every human on that ark had been part of New Terra’s elite. That was the price of a ticket.

They’d spent their whole lives giving orders. Taking orders, needing someone, none of it was in their

vocabulary.

But they were still my people. I didn’t want to watch them wreck themselves.

“You’ve been here two days. Open your eyes. These people live five hundred years. Their tech makes ours look like toys. They’re not beneath you, so stop acting like they are.”

“You don’t have to take my advice. But if you’re not willing to play by their rules, stop taking their gifts. Get jobs. Support yourselves. Because these people aren’t stupid, and you don’t want to find out what happens

when they feel used.”

In my last life, most of these women had done exactly what Sloane did: soaked up the attention, accepted the gifts, and acted like they were owed all of it.

And when the bill came due, not one of them was willing to bend.

They ended up in reproductive facilities too. Every last one of them.

If they’d just refused the courtship gifts from the start, none of it would have happened. Under interstellar law, they’d have been randomly assigned guardian–mates. Unpleasant, but survivable.

And the fallout didn’t stop with them. The human men, already struggling to find work, got dragged down by the reputation those women built.

Eventually, every human got the same label. Greedy. Deceitful. That became what “New Terran” meant.

The women around me went red, some with shame, some with fury.

‘Stop trying to scare us with that garbage!”

‘She’s not trying to scare you. She’s being nice about it.” The voice was amused, almost lazy. “Lie to an nterstellar male, and it doesn’t matter how rare and precious you are. You’ll end up in a breeding facility with no say in who walks through the door.”

Every one of us flinched.

A man sat on the windowsill, legs crossed, a massive red tail draped behind him as if he owned the place.

His eyes found mine, sharp and tilted upward at the corners, shining with something that was definitely

trouble.

[backed up. He dropped off the sill and landed right in front of me.

“Enoch Sterling. A hundred and fifteen. That’s about twenty–five in your years. Red fox.” He grinned.

“Obviously.”

He offered me his hand.

Behind him, that enormous tail was wagging so fast it blurred.

I took another step back.

I’d agreed to the system. That didn’t mean I was in a rush. A year and a half before I had to pick a second

mate. I intended to use every day of it.

His tail shot out and curled around my wrist.

“Because you’re a creep. What kind of guy hides in a women’s restroom to eavesdrop?” I snapped.

He didn’t even flinch. Just kept grinning.

Then he pulled a green crystal from his pocket and held it out.”

“Life crystal. One of these adds fifty years to a woman’s lifespan. “He dangled it between his fingers. “Pick

me as your guardian–mate, and it’s yours.”

“She doesn’t need your crystal. I’ll take care of my mate myself.”

Gideon’s voice cut in from behind me, low, cold, and final.

A flash of white light, and the tail around my wrist vanished. Familiar warmth closed around me.

“Easy, General Rourke.” Enoch Sterling clicked his tongue. “Rough handling isn’t going to help your case with her.”

“Audra is my mate.” Gideon’s voice left no room for argument.

They were about to tear into each other. I grabbed the arm Gideon had around me and held on.

“I have a year and a half. I’m not picking a second mate before then. End of discussion.”

“A year and a half?” Enoch looked completely unbothered. “I can do that.”

If he had a death wish, who was I to stop it? I let go of Gideon’s arm.

“You know what? Go ahead. Kill him.”

Enoch’s face dropped.

“Audra! That’s cold! I’m your future guardian–mate!”

“No, you’re not!”

Gideon let go of me and went for him.