Total pages in book: 39
Estimated words: 37507 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 188(@200wpm)___ 150(@250wpm)___ 125(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 37507 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 188(@200wpm)___ 150(@250wpm)___ 125(@300wpm)
“That was the first one, sir.”
“The first one. I run a tight ship here, Luanna. Tonight was a mistake on my part. I will never let it happen again. I’m sorry if you feel I’m not taking care of you or Ashley. I care about everyone’s safety.”
“If Ashley wanted to leave, would you let her go?” Luanna asked.
Draven paused. He didn’t like that question or the way it made him feel.
Staring at her, he wondered if she had asked him that on purpose to make him feel so fucking crazy. There was no way he could let Ashley go, not now, not ever. The world was not what it used to be. Women couldn’t just walk down the street, especially fertile women. Men would hurt her. They’d tear her apart for the need to breed her. She’d be nothing more than a vessel.
She’d never smile again or laugh.
She’d be completely broken.
The thought of her broken filled him with deep sorrow.
“You’d be signing her death slip,” he said.
“But you’d let her go?”
“If Ashley couldn’t stand to be with me, and I was one hundred percent sure that she wasn’t pregnant with my child, I’d let her go.” Was that the first lie he’d ever told? No, he’d been a master manipulator.
“She doesn’t want to leave,” Luanna said. “You have nothing to fear.”
“What?”
“I wanted to leave last night when I realized how dangerous it was. I feel responsible for her. She helped me when she didn’t have to. That stupid fucking band, it’ll get her killed.”
“Not while she remains in my protection.”
Luanna snorted. “Your protection. Your own men wanted her.”
“That is not going to happen again,” Luke said. “Most are loyal to him. He’s helped us all to survive. Those men down there, they are ungrateful for the life Draven has given them. We have a chance here. Out there, you’re nothing.”
He saw the tears in Luanna’s eyes. Draven grabbed Luke’s shoulder. “Thank you.”
“I would never choose out there, Draven. I’m loyal to you and you alone. One day, I hope one of the women would … grant me their hand and allow me to make a good husband to them. I have no desire to go out there to be killed. I will die here, protecting our lands and our future.” Luke nodded at him, then at Luanna before moving away, leaving them alone.
Luanna dropped back into her seat. She let out a little cough and took a drink of the lemon and honey.
“You’re sick.”
“I’ve been checking out the perimeter at night. A couple of nights ago, I fell asleep outside. Woke up soaking wet and cold. It’s my own fault.”
“Why do you not trust me?” Draven asked, staring at her.
“I don’t trust any men.”
“You’re going to have to learn to trust the men here, Luanna. We won’t hurt you.”
She took a sip of the drink. It smelled disgusting, but then he didn’t like lemon, hated the taste.
“Do you think it’s ever possible for the world to go back to the way it was before all of this?” she asked.
He shrugged. “No.”
“You don’t even have hope?” she asked.
He ran fingers through his hair. Ashley cared about this woman, even though from what he knew, they had only actually met each other days before coming here. How could two women have a bond that close already? He didn’t get it. Still, to keep Ashley happy, he needed to try to … build bridges with this woman. To maybe have a friendship with her and that way, it would help Ashley feel more comforted by him.
“It’s good to have hope, so I can’t tell you to not have it. It’ll be good for all of us to have someone around here forever hopeful that the future will be a lot better than the past we’ve all experienced.”
“You don’t believe in hope?”
“All the shit I’ve seen, I don’t have hope, no. What I have is a desire to survive. I don’t want to die. I know many of you want things to go back to the way they were, and maybe if we continue to build this fort, or this paradise, we can find some semblance of that past here. The world has changed. Even if it was to go back, there has been too much death and murder. Could you live next to a man who killed and raped a woman who wasn’t fertile? Or butchered men for his chance at a woman?”
She bowed her head, looking into her drink.
“You want to take Ashley out into that?”
“I want us to be safe.”
“You’re safe here,” he said. “All you’ve got to do is pull your weight, do the chores that are required, and you can stay here for life. Once I’ve dealt with those pieces of shit, Ashley will be able to walk around freely. Or at least as much as possible.”