The Sister Who Pushed Me, The Fate That Swallowed Her Chapter 06

The Sister Who Pushed Me, The Fate That Swallowed Her Chapter 06

Like he wanted to consume me whole.

He only stopped when I ran out of air. Even then, he pulled back like it cost him.

“I’m an arctic wolf.” His forehead rested against mine. “When we’re mates, will you let me carry you on my back?”

“Yes.” The word barely got out.

He kissed me again, this time smiling into it.

The Alliance held its welcome reception on our second day at Silverpine.

Gideon picked out a stunning gown for me and escorted me himself.

The moment we walked in, I saw it. Every New Terran woman was surrounded by interstellar men and

shifters, all of them vying for her attention.

The shifters were in human form, but they stood out: chiseled, almost impossibly good–looking.

Back on New Terra, any one of them could’ve been famous.

Something dangerous clung to them. You could feel it the second they got close.

The New Terran men weren’t getting the same treatment. Out here, strength was currency. New Terrans hadn’t evolved the way interstellar species had. They looked fragile by comparison.

And interstellar women were used to being adored. Refugees didn’t exactly turn heads.

At least the reception itself wasn’t so different from back home. The men settled in well enough.

Once the small talk wound down, the Federation president took the floor.

Every New Terran woman was required to choose at least three guàrdian–mates.

The room shifted. The New Terran women tensed up.

“You can’t do this! We’re not breeding stock!”

“This is barbaric! Where’s the respect?”

The laughter in the hall died. Silence hit like a wall.

Every interstellar face in the room went hard.

These women had survived the same hell I had. I stepped forward.

“Mr. President, please understand. Where we come from, we take one partner for life. Asking us to change something that deep overnight isn’t something we know how to do.”

“We just need time. This is all we’ve ever known. We’ve never heard of any other way.”

The interstellar beings weren’t stupid. They could be reasoned with.

I watched some of the tension leave the room.

“Then how much time would you suggest, miss?” The president’s smile was back.

“Six months to choose the first guardian–mate. Then one more every year after that until we have three. That gives us time to build real relationships, and real relationships lead to children.”

I was gambling for every month I could get.

From what I remembered of my last life, six months was the most they’d accept. But one real choice would

prove we were serious.

And the promise of children would keep them patient for another two years.

It worked. The room softened.

But the president’s eyes stayed fixed on me, his smile fading.

I knew what he needed. “To show that I mean it, I’ll choose my first guardian–mate right now.”

I turned to Gideon.

He dropped to one knee without missing a beat.

“Ms. Mercer, will you allow me to be your guardian–mate?”

A ring sat in his open palm, unlike anything I’d ever seen.

I smiled. “I will.”

The hall erupted with cheers, applause, and interstellar voices rising all around us. Gideon slid the ring onto my finger.

The metal dissolved on contact, reshaping itself into a bond mark pressed into my skin.

“Congratulations to our brave General Rourke and to his beautiful new mate.” The president led the

applause.

He waited for the noise to die down.

“Ms. Mercer has shown us that humanity is willing to meet us halfway. We’ll honor her proposal and give the women from New Terra the time they need.”

The breath I’d been holding finally let go.

Hallway through the reception, I slipped out to use the powder room.

A group of New Terran women cut me off in the corridor.

“Who do you think you are, Audra?” The woman at the front stepped close. “Nobody asked you to speak for

us.”