Chapter 18 The First Reality Check
After two weeks of hellacious trips to the bathroom, probing questions, and skeptical colleagues, Wyatt walked the familiar path, more than ready to return. As he made his way back to their room in a plain white T-shirt and sweatpants, he never felt more like a victim.
The empty halls remained quiet at this time of night, so he had no one to distract him from his heavy thoughts. Flashes of Adam taking Eve before his very eyes seared into his mind. He shook his head angrily as he reached their door. The sight of it used to fill him with joy. Now, he felt numb.
Eve sat with her legs crossed on the floor, carefully watching the doorknob and the shadows underneath. She felt him approach before the handle began to turn. A huge grin covered her face as she stood, waiting to ambush him with love.
He walked through the door with little to no energy left. Eve launched at him, kissing every bit of skin she could reach. When he flinched with her embrace, she frowned, using every bit of self-restraint to back off. He touched her shoulder as he tried to smile but didn't even come close. "Slow down, lovely."
She positively vibrated with the urge to mush her skin against his. "But I've missed you so much! I ache for you!" Her tone began as urgent, but it sounded more like a plea by the end of her sentence.
A smile flickered across Wyatt's lips as he stepped forward to hug her before she combusted. "There's a lot we need to talk about," he began but didn't know how to continue. "There's no easy way to say this, so I'm just going to say it. The board blames me for Adam's death."
"What?! Why? I killed Adam! I told them to their faces!" Eve flushed in anger as the thought of her lover taking the punishment for her actions made her boil. "I don't understand. Why would they blame you?"
He gently took her hands with a small sigh. "I'm the only employee they can hold responsible, so it's my fault. I have to resign -- I'm sorry. You'll have a new handler soon. I stupidly thought my love would be enough to protect you."
A wild glint reflected in her amber eyes as she stamped her foot with force. "No! I'm going with you, or I'll leave this world. They can't stop me!" Tears began to gather under her eyes as she sniffled and wiped at her face to keep them at bay.
Wyatt kneeled to bury his face into her toned but slightly protruding waist. "Why did Adam hate me? He mentioned a tradition that you broke?" He couldn't bring himself to look into her soulful eyes, but the trembling of her skin calmed the longer he held on.
"While you've been healing and sorting out the mess Adam made, I've been learning about your world. I understand that my relationship with Adam would be strange to you since I called him my brother. He is sort of like my brother, just like all of my species are related and interlinked."
As he stood, he carried Eve to the bed and sat her down. "You have children with Adam, don't you?"
She nodded, full of shame. "Yes, many."
"He brutalized us both out of jealousy? I thought you said your species didn't get attached until you had a bond. Did you have a bond with Adam?" While his questions hit the heart of the matter, his voice dropped with each word.
"We only get one bond, and I chose you," she whispered as she kept steady eye contact. "I made a mistake. In the past, I had children with Adam first. He always accompanies me as my escort. I didn't know his attachment had become toxic." Unable to hold back, big tears pooled and then streaked down her face.
Wyatt stood to gather her in his arms, stroking her back to soothe her nerves. "I think I understand. I might explain some of this, but they will investigate every crevasse. I need to wake up Adam's replacement tomorrow. Then I need to pack my things. I'm afraid I can't let you come with me -- I'm not enough to protect you or our child. I'm unfit."
Eve roughly took his face in her hands, kissing him with the pent-up frustration that an alien pregnant with twins, forced into a fourteen-day sexual hiatus, could muster. He moaned as she bit his lip and shoved him down onto the bed. "You're mine, and I'm yours. Stop trying to leave me behind!"