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CHAPTER SIXTEEN

GYRIK

I held Ava and waited for her pulse to calm from the jump down. She felt so good in my arms. But the way she wrapped her arms around my waist and held me in return was even better.

My brothers glanced at us and grinned knowingly.

I’d found my female, and I would never let her go. However, when she lifted her head and looked up at me, I knew I needed to. Temporarily. I brushed the hair back from her face that had come loose, and she smiled as she released me.

“What do you think?” Zach asked, walking over to us. “Are you staying?”

“Mya said that I could choose which community,” Ava said. “Gyrik and I are going to tour Unity. Since my day job no longer exists, I’ll need something to occupy my time, or I’ll go crazy. Gardening seems like a good fit.”

One of my brothers near Bram asked him, “Why is sex not an occupation?”

Bram choked on his laughter as they waited for his answer. Ava glanced at him, but I knew she hadn’t heard the question. They were too far away and spoke softly. It was a good question, though, and I was about to ask Ava when she looked up at me.

“You have a lot of experience gardening, right? You said there were fields in the caves that you tended?”

I nodded.

“Good. Then we can be farmers together.”

Together . The way she said it warmed my chest.

“Well, all your supplies are still in your truck except for the generator and the batteries,” Zach said. “If you don’t mind, we’ll allocate those to wherever they’re needed most.”

“That makes sense.” Her gaze found mine again. “Are you ready?”

Ready to live with her? Ready to hold her in my arms every night? I nodded as my heart beat faster in anticipation.

“If Unity isn’t a good fit, come back here. I know you’d like living in Tolerance,” Zach said.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Ava said as she moved toward her truck.

Bauts opened the passenger door for her and handed her Pete. I took Repeat from Ashkii and got in.

“Are they going to take that truck?” Ava asked, nodding toward the one Bram and my brothers were almost done unloading.

“No. They will run.” I started the engine and set Repeat on my shoulder so he could make himself comfortable. He jumped to the headrest, using it and my neck to lie down.

“How far away is Unity?” Ava asked, watching my brothers as I turned the truck around.

“Not far.”

I started down the road, and they kept pace. She sat back in her seat and sighed, petting Pete. When I glanced at her, she was staring straight ahead, wearing a small frown.

“Are you angry?” I asked.

“No, I’m wondering what life will be like now. It’s kind of annoying thinking of how much time I spent learning something that doesn’t even exist anymore. I think that’s why I like the idea of Unity and gardening. No matter what, growing food won’t be a waste of time.” She looked down at Pete and played with his ear.

Heat flooded my shaft at the thought of her touching my ear like that.

She sighed again. “I’m a logic-based person. Logic says I probably won’t ever see my family again, and I guess I’m feeling a little lost.”

I reached across the seat and threaded my fingers through hers.

“There might not be as many humans as there were, but there are still survivors out there. If your sister is as smart as you are, you will see her again.”

The corner of Ava’s mouth curved. “Smart? I was just plain lucky. The world has changed so much, Gyrik. I really hope they survived it.”

I rubbed my thumb over her soft skin. “The world has changed, but not all of the changes are bad.”

“Tell me the good ones so I can focus on those.”

“Cleaner air. When we first arrived, the air tasted bad. It’s different now. Better. Humans now have the freedom to do what they want. Ryan told us how the world was. You needed to work, not to survive but to please others. Slaves to those who had more money and power.”

“Eh, I’m not sure that’s how I would view that, but I understand what you’re trying to say. Not all changes are bad. The air is cleaner. And it’s quieter. Soothing.”

Her fingers traced over mine before she pulled away and looked out the window again.

Unity’s main gate opened as we approached. Ryan waited inside near the space he’d made for the supply trucks to park.

“That’s Ryan?” Ava asked as I stopped the truck. “He’s a lot younger than I’d imagined him.”

I glanced from her to him. She was studying him closely. Why? Did Ava think Ryan was handsome?

Looking at Mya’s brother, a man who was always willing to help and support us, I wondered if he would be opposed to living in a different community for a while.

He grinned at me and waved as I passed Repeat to Ava and got out to hurry around the truck to open the door for her. I passed the cats to my brothers and took her hand to help her down.

“Hey, Gyrik. Mya radioed you’d be joining us with a new friend.”

Ava smiled and held out her hand to Ryan. “I’m Ava.”

I took her hand in mine and brought it to my side. She looked at me with surprise, but that faded as she smiled, and a pretty pink flushed her cheeks.

She glanced at Ryan. “Sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m used to it. I heard you brought some very welcome pets.”

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure Repeat’s engaged.”

Ryan laughed and nodded while my fingers traced over Ava’s. Would she give me a ring to claim me as hers like Brooke claimed Solin?

“Allow me to give you a tour.” Ryan motioned to the street, and I listened to Ryan tell Ava about Unity as we walked with him.

“My sister mentioned you recently learned what’s been happening these last few months. It must be a bit of a shock.”

“Yeah. It’s going to take some getting used to.”

“I bet. Honestly, the worst part is going to be that you can’t run to the corner store for milk and eggs when you run out. But that’s what we’re hoping to make Unity into, maybe not the corner grocery store but the place you can go to for some of the things you used to find at one. Produce first. Eventually more, like milk and eggs.”

“I saw the cow in Tolerance. Gyrik mentioned you have some here, too. I didn’t know about the chickens, though.”

“We don’t have a lot of them yet. I found an incubator, and one of the fey found a rooster, but it’ll take time to increase the flock and the production. Time and the right people.”

My stomach tightened as I looked at Ryan. Was he saying Ava wasn’t the right person?

“We’re not looking to rebuild things the way they were,” he continued. “We want people who want to be a part of building a better, safer future. People who aren’t focused on getting more than their neighbor, you know?

“Our goal is to have our communities run on a fair-trade system. Maybe we grow the produce, Tenacity bakes the bread, and Tolerance makes the clothes. Who knows? We’re not worried about getting anything out of it but surviving collectively.”

Ava nodded but said nothing.

“It’s a lot to take in, I know. But I want you to know I’m interested in hearing your thoughts, whatever they might be, when you’re ready to share them. We can’t make a community thrive unless all the voices are heard. That doesn’t mean everyone will get their way. It means listening, compromising, and pitching in to be a part of something. If that sounds good to you, the unoccupied houses have the flag up on the mailbox.”

“That’s it? Just pick a house and move in.”

“Yep. That’s it. We’ve made sure they all have a heat source. We fitted them with outdoor wood furnaces or wood stoves if they didn’t already have a fireplace. Not all of them have solar yet, but we have generators we can move if you like one without solar.”

“Why bother with electricity? Gyrik said the light draws in the infected.”

Gyrik said…

Gyrik said…

My cock twitched. I wanted to pull Ava into my arms and breathe in her scent. More than that, I wanted to kiss her and taste her until my name was the only thing she could say.

“And even if the walls keep them out,” she continued, oblivious to the direction of my thoughts, “eventually, the solar panels will fail like all the appliances. Wouldn’t it be better to start out less dependent on what we once had?”

Ryan shrugged. “Adapting takes time. We’ve lost so much already. Small comforts now might make it easier to lose the rest more slowly.”

I thought back to my conversation with Ava. Humans truly had lost so much while my brothers and I had gained everything. Guilt flooded me, and I silently vowed that I would do everything I could to help her live a comfortable life.

She glanced back at me. “Do you like any of these houses?”

“I like any house you like,” I said.

She smiled and looked at Ryan. “Do you mind if we walk through some of them?”

“Help yourselves. I better get back to the fields. We have a lot to clear so we can plant.”

He dipped his head in farewell and jogged away. Ava stared after him. My worry grew.

“I feel guilty that I’m so far behind everyone else. Ryan already seems fine. Adjusted. How old is he?”

“He’s still a child.”

“No. He’s eighteen,” Bauts said, correcting me. “Mom told me.”

I wanted to growl at Bauts.

“Mom?” Ava asked.

“Mya and Ryan’s mom,” Bauts said. “But she said she will be our mom, too, since we don’t have one.”

Ava looked from Bauts to me, her expression hard for me to read.

After a moment, she said, “Well, let’s see if Pete and Repeat like any of these houses.”

Ava and her cats decided on a one-story home at the end of a block near the back of the community. She liked the house because it had a large backyard and because one of the cars in the nearby section of wall reminded her of her grandfather’s.

Bauts and Ashkii helped carry the supplies from the truck and left afterward.

I watched Ava set up the cats’ litterbox in the corner of the second bathroom and their food and water bowls in the kitchen. The way she moved and her quiet words to the animals created a sense of peace that I’d never known before. I could watch her endlessly and never tire of it.

“Now what?” she asked, not looking at me.

Images of hugging and kissing Ava for hours flashed through my head, but I knew it was too soon for that. I didn’t just want Ava’s body—although I did want that, too…very badly—I needed to win her heart and mind so she would stay forever.

“Are you hungry?” I asked instead. “We could make a meal together.”

“Sure. What are you hungry for? I have cans of tuna, chicken, and some jerky. Not sure what we can do with that other than eat it. Honestly, that’s what I normally do. I tend not to spend a lot of time making meals. Mostly because I didn’t have the time, not because I didn’t like it.”

As she talked, she moved around the kitchen, putting items into cabinets.

When she climbed onto the counter to reach the top shelf for some supplies, I quickly moved behind her, worried she’d fall. She turned to hop down and saw me standing there at the same time.

Her eyes widened, and her hands caught on my shoulders as she tipped forward.

I grabbed her waist as her mouth bumped against mine. Soft. Warm. Inviting.