Babel Novel
6
Morgan pov.
Humans love doing things backwards. We take massive steps towards freeing ourselves from slavery only to find it appropriate to enslave everything that does not carry our genetic make-up. It's laughable and pretty fucken pathetic. I can feel Rain staring at me from the doorway of the kitchen, watching me as I make him a sandwich. He's still without a shirt and while it's very pleasing to look at his chest I can't help but see the marking on his back. Who the fuck thinks it's a smart idea to still be branding anything? Rain is not a fucken animal. Well... not completely.Content from NôvelDr(a)ma.Org.
"Would you please put on a shirt and come eat." He takes a few seconds to react, disappearing back into the living room and coming back with his shirt on but he doesn't come to sit at the table, instead he stops just inside the doorway and stares at me. "Rain, my patience is hanging on a very thin thread. I'm sick of repeating myself. Take a fucken seat and eat." I huff, sliding the plate across the counter and pointing to the seat. Like he's been doing all night he hesitates before doing what I told him to. "Are you always slow to do as you're told or am I a special case?"
"I thought I wasn't your slave. Why would I do as you tell me?" I bite the inside of my lip to keep myself from smiling. When I feel like I'm under control I walk around the counter and stop behind him, causing him to tense up. With him sitting down it's pretty easy to lean my chin on his shoulder and bring my arms around his chest, one hand resting on his left peck and the other on his stomach.
"You'll do as I tell you because you want to do as I tell you." I nip his right ear lobe, and he grumbles deep in his chest. "Oh, you can make as much noise as you want. We both know who's in charge here. Here's a hint, it's not you." A growl leaves his lips, and I nip his ear again. "You'll finish your food, have a hot shower and go to bed. I'm not repeating myself Rain. Trust me, you won't like it if I have to." I drop my hands from his body and turn his face towards me, making sure he looks me in the eye. A soft almost purr-like sound comes from him, and I let his face go, watching as he starts eating his food. Huh, turns out the big bad wolf is a puppy.
An hour later Rain is knocked out in the guest bedroom and I'm watching him from the doorway. He breathes deeply but his ears keep twitching, making me wonder how much rest he's really getting if he's still this alert to every noise that's made around him. He took the shower and the clothes I gave him without a fuss even though I could see he wasn't very happy about that. I wonder how much of his defiance is because of his nature as a wolf and how much of it is because he's been treated like an object and not a living being.
"Bing, can you pull up Rain's scan." I ask the computer as I walk to the living room. A mini model of Rain appears on the coffee table, and I scan all the data Bing has collected. From previous fractures to the ugly brand on his back, to his heart rate and blood pressure. "Get me a list of doctors who can remove that brand, bonus points if they've worked with wolves before." The computer doesn't disappoint, giving me a list of three names.
"You have an incoming call from Torren Cane." Bing announces and I clear the information in front of me before I accept my sister's call. I don't have the energy to explain Rain to her at this point. "Call accepted." Torren's body appears where Rain's just was and I stare at my sister for a bit, wondering when I'll see her in real life instead of holograms.
"To what do I owe the pleasure?" She asks and I sigh.
"I haven't talked to you in months, Tor. When are you coming home?" Not that she's been home in four years. Between our mother's death, Gallager ending their contract and my acceptance into Glaze-Control, I really have no idea what pushed my sister to abandon me in the Bio-Glaze and make her home in Space. Sure, sector five is awesome but I miss my sister, even though telling her that will only cause arguments.
"I've been on patrol in Gliss. What's this I hear about sector four acting out?" I roll my eyes, of course she's calling me about work. It's never to just talk. To just ask what's been going on in my life and if I'm alright.
"It's not Gloss that's at fault this time. Sinclair wants to push an expansion closer to their boundaries. It's pointless and she's asking for war to break out. I've only just gotten Luca to agree with assessing the effects their magic has on the stability of the portals and now this." For as long as I've been at Glaze-Control Luca has been the spokesperson for the Fairies. He's as painfully handsome as he is perceptive and if he wasn't already an ancient vampire's paramour I would have considered him for a contract. He also has a lot of the famous Fairies temper so working with him is a lot easier when Sinclair isn't involved, and she's just gone and doomed us all.
"Why does the Glaze need expansion?" I shrug my shoulders and Torren narrows her eyes at me.
"I don't know, Torren. Sinclair is on her own power trip. Maybe it's because the Commander scraped her new safety protocols in Gliss so she's looking to start trouble. I haven't signed off on it, so she can't technically do anything yet." That is if she doesn't engage the board to overthrow me.
"Do you need my help?" Having her help would require her to actually enter the Bio-Glaze. "If not, you need to tell me. I'm considering prolonging my stay." I stare at her for a few seconds before shaking my head.
"No, Torren. I don't need your help. I'll put some coins in your account." She sucks her teeth and shakes her head.
"I'm not looking for you to bankroll me, Morgan. I make my own coins. I'll talk to you soon" I nod, and she ends the call, like she always does when coins get involved in the conversation. Her soon, won't be soon enough and we both know it. "Bing, transfer three thousand international coins into Torren Cane's account." I leave the couch with a sigh, making one more stop at the guest bedroom before finally going to bed. As I drift to bed, I can only hope Rain will still be here when I wake up in the morning. He's been my silver lining in this crap day and I'm not ready to lose that yet.