Page 35 of Bought and Shared

A urora

“Micah!” I gasp, my eyes rounding with shock.

Grabbing my hand, Micah drags me further into the stacks so that we have a modicum of privacy. “Quiet! You don’t want that big oaf following you around to hear us!”

Big oaf? He must be referring to Rollins. Peeking through the books, I see the Voltan soldier is still dutifully at his post.

“Micah, how long have you been here?” And, I wonder with a bit more concern, how long has he been following me?

My former fiancé shrugs. “A while. It hasn’t been easy to get you alone without that freak shadowing your every move like an oversized rottweiler.”

“You shouldn’t be here,” I tell him, speaking more to myself than him.

Chuckling without mirth, Micah’s chin rises several arrogant notches. “Why not?”

“Because you have no business here, Micah. If the Voltan find out what you’re doing on base, they’ll be very angry.”

“They aren’t going to find out,” the audacious man says. “I’ve got connections on base that don’t report to the invaders.”

That statement causes a cold shiver to course down my back. Who is he talking about? Are they human or Voltan informants?

My mouth goes dry as I whisper, “What kind of connections?”

“We don’t have time for all that now,” Micah says dismissively, his face flushed and excited looking. “There are other things we have to discuss today. More pressing matters that must be attended to.”

I’m still shocked that he’s here. The man barely ever visited me when we were engaged, now it seems I can’t shake him no matter how far away I get.

Trying to make sense of a crazy situation, I take a step back and take a steadying breath. “What are you talking about?”

Micah snorts. “Isn’t it obvious? I’ve come to take you home where you belong, Aurora.”

I frown with annoyance at his inability to accept my earlier answer. I don’t want to marry him, or anyone else for that matter. I just want to be left alone.

Willing patience, I count to ten in my head so I can calm down some before I speak.

“The last time we spoke, Micah, I told you I was happy with my life. I don’t want to go back to the compound.

I still feel the same way. That’s not how I want to live anymore.

I’m never going back. Not today or in ten years or ever. ”

Taking a step closer, Micah’s plain face wrinkles with confusion. “You’d rather live as a whore to these men than as my wife? How can you reject me for such a disgraceful alternative?”

His rage is a palpable thing. It feels like a slap in the face, only more threatening. “This isn’t about you, Micah. Can’t you understand that I’m focused on myself and what I want for the first time in my life?”

Though I’m whispering, my voice is rising in sharpness.

I’m tired of being questioned about my choices.

I’m tired of considering everyone else’s feelings more than my own.

I’ve only just become a woman. I’m not ready to be a wife and a mother, and most certainly not to this contemptible man.

I’m ready to explore this world on my own terms, in my own way.

The word “mate” and all that entails swims to the forefront of my mind then.

I’m suddenly so overwhelmed I could cry.

My eyes pool with water and my throat thickens with unshed tears.

Have I exchanged one prison for another?

Will being a mate to Knox and Oren strip me of my choices in life the same way that being married to Micah would?

I can’t deny it’s a paralyzing thought no matter how much I enjoy my time with Oren and Knox.

“What YOU want? Your only destiny is to be my wife!” Micah haughtily declares into my prolonged silence. “To be a wife and a mother is every woman’s highest calling. To fight it is arrogant and self-serving!”

I’ve been told this my whole life. That my “calling” is to serve others and never myself. While I want children one day in the distant future, I’m not ready to make that kind of commitment when I’ve only just become an adult myself. And I will never make that commitment to this man.

It’s then that I realize I’m not powerless in this situation at all. If Micah pushes things too far, I can easily call for Rollins and he’ll make sure the man leaves me alone, permanently if necessary!

Gathering my books in my arms, I strengthen my resolve and my spine. “I’m leaving now, Micah, and I think you should too. Don’t contact me again. If you do, you won’t like the outcome.”

Sneering, Micah edges closer. “Is that a threat?”

The man was insufferable. “Take it however you want.”

Tilting his head, my former fiancé quickly scans the titles of the books stacked in my arms. “Not only are you willing to fornicate with these foreigners, but you’re studying their culture as well?

You’ve strayed so far from redemption, Aurora, I’m not even sure you can be saved.

” His judgmental tone of voice is so condescending I have to fight the urge to slap his face.

“Then stop trying,” I retort, before turning and strolling away with my selections.

Rollins spies the heavy stack of books in my hands and quickly takes them for me. As we walk over to the front desk to check them out, I notice that Micah is discreetly exiting the library. Good. I hope he got my message loud and clear and never returns.

I had two cups of coffee with breakfast, and I can feel my bladder protest as we finish checking out. Telling Rollins I’m going to use the restroom before we head back to my suite, I dip inside and do my business.

As I’m washing my hands, I sense him before I see him. I don’t even get a chance to yell. A cloth with some foul-smelling substance is slapped over my mouth and nose, and the last thing I notice before I pass out is Micah’s smug expression glaring back at me in the mirror.