Mending the Rift (3 page)

BY THE
time they reached home—a large brick house surrounded by a luscious garden in what once had been Cologne, Germany—Luca’s tears had dried. He still leaned against Marcus’s chest, a crumpled tissue in one hand. Numbness had settled in. He was pregnant, and no one had thought he should know about it. Why would anyone go behind his back? Was the chief director of the Northern Confederacy Breeding Program responsible? But why?

Luca huddled closer to Marcus, who tightened his hold in response. Sure, Luca had been trouble with all his bad-mouthing the current politics, but seriously, why couldn’t breeders decide on their own who they wanted to marry or have children with? Would their government go so far as to order the pregnancy without the consent of the breeder? They were living in the Northern Confederacy, not the Southern Union, where inconceivable things happened to breeders more often than not.

Was the Northern Confederacy really above these practices? No, probably not. Luca shivered when he thought about the practice two hundred years ago. Breeders had no rights at all. They were hunted down and forced to bear as many children as they could. Rape had been common for female breeders while the male breeders had been captured and undergone surgery for the insemination without their consent. Families with children that were breeders hid them if they could, but even that didn’t help. All children were tested right after birth if they were breeders or not. Even now that remained a standard procedure. All that because the governments had fought over territories and used weapons they didn’t understand the long-term impact of. One of those lasting impacts was sterility and had almost cost humankind their existence. Anyway, they’d come a long way since the early days after the war.

The helicopter landed, and while they waited for the rotor blades to stop moving, Marcus peeled him off his chest. Keith gave them a shrewd look, causing Luca to duck his head.

“Don’t, okay?” Marcus said to Keith, sounding tired, even defeated.

“If you’re in love with each other, you should fight.” Keith ripped open the door. Luca stared after Keith until Marcus cleared his throat and unbuckled him. Marcus jumped out of the heli as well, then turned around and held out a hand for him. Luca took it and carefully climbed out on wobbly legs. As they walked from the heli’s landing platform, through the garden, and toward the back door of his parents’ home, the glass door slid open, revealing his dad. Nicholas Walker jogged to them, smiling in obvious relief. Without thinking, Luca slipped free of Marcus’s hand and buried himself in his dad’s arms.

“Hey, sweetheart, are you all right?” his dad asked.

Luca rose on tiptoes to get a better hold around his dad’s neck, fearing his dad would push him back to get a better look. A spasm in his belly forced a gasp from his mouth.

His dad stilled for a fraction but said nothing, just kissed the side of his face. “Let’s get you inside.”

When he pulled away, Luca rubbed his eyes. His dad linked their arms and kept a steady pace. Marcus hovered at his other side, deep worry lines creasing his forehead.

“Dad? Keith says I’m pregnant, and I think he’s right, but… but that can’t be true. I wasn’t in for the fertilization, I know I wasn’t.”

“Pregnant?” his dad echoed. “That is… strange.”

“Strange? Dad!” Luca stopped, distractedly smelling the ripeness of the apples from the two trees in their garden. He knew both trees well; he’d been climbing them since he was a little boy. “This shouldn’t’ve happened!”

“I’ll look into the protocols after we’ve settled you. If you’re really pregnant, then you’ll want to lie down. What are your symptoms at the moment?”

“How can you be so cool about it? I didn’t consent to the fertilization! I thought the Northern Confederacy Breeder Program prided itself on agreement, and now you’re just standing here as if it’s nothing out of the ordinary!”

His dad laid a hand against his forehead, his dark blue eyes soft and understanding. “I’ll look into it, but right now I’m more concerned with getting you comfortable. A first pregnancy is risky, and the first nidation process can be very painful.”

Swallowing down another retort that wouldn’t help him in any way, Luca trotted along the small pathway laid out with bark mulch, flanked by his dad and Marcus. Once inside, Marcus slid the door closed, and his dad guided Luca through the family room, up the wooden staircase, and into his room.

Everything looked as it had when he’d fled maybe eight hours ago. His bed still stood next to the window with the long, dark blue curtains. In one corner of the room resided a sofa and an armchair, gathered around a small birchwood coffee table. In another corner lived his cluttered desk with the laptop in the middle. The last corner was occupied by his favorite harp, the one he used to practice for concerts, hidden beneath a dark green dust cover. Of course everything looked the same—what did he expect? His nerves seemed to get the better of him.

His dad led him straight to the adjourning door into his own bathroom. “Strip off and get into the tub. That’ll help with the cramps.” Turning to Marcus, he added, “You stay with him, make sure he doesn’t slip. If the pain gets to be too much, get him out of the tub and on the bed.”

Alarmed, Luca stopped fumbling with the zipper of his pants. “Where are you going?”

“Getting some painkillers and your father.”

Luca grimaced. “How mad is he?”

“I’ll make sure he’ll let you live.” Nicholas winked.

“That doesn’t sound promising.”

“If I’d pulled such a stunt at your age, my father would’ve tanned my hide. Your father just yells. You’ll be okay, promise.” Nicholas grasped Luca’s face, pressing their foreheads together for a moment.

“Why did grandfather tan your hide if it never helped?” Luca asked.

Nicholas pulled away, grinning. “Beats me. Now get in the tub. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

“Hurry, please.”

Nicholas nodded. “Marcus, don’t let him out of your sight. Not for one second.”

“I won’t,” Marcus vowed.

Nicholas strode out of the bathroom, heeling the door shut. Luca stared at the closed door. What now? He was alone in a small room with Marcus and obviously pregnant. What was he supposed to say?

He jumped when Marcus rested his large hands on his shoulders. “Come on now, kitten.”

He let go of Luca and turned to open the faucet. The charcoal fatigues hugged Marcus in all the right places. After checking the temperature, Marcus dumped a handful of bath salts into the running water. Immediately, the strong scent of lavender mixed with lemon balm wafted through the air.

“Marcus….” Luca trailed off, not sure what he wanted to say or how to express himself.

“It’s okay, Luca.”

“No, it’s not. I feel… violated. Why did no one tell me? Did you see my dad’s reaction? He didn’t seem all that surprised.” Luca unlaced his boots before he stepped out of his dusty pants. Marcus’s gaze slid over his body, a sudden spark of heat in his eyes. Luca self-consciously slipped his briefs off and climbed into the tub, groaning when the hot water seeped into his chilled body.

“I think your dad tried to play it cool so you wouldn’t freak out even more. I’m sure he’ll do everything in his power to reveal who authorized the fertilization. This is your dad we’re talking about. Besides, he was with you during the procedure. He would’ve told you if there’d been a change in plans.” Marcus smiled as he took a seat on the tub’s edge and checked the water temperature again.

“Did you ever think about becoming a father?” Luca asked on impulse.

“Luca… you know that—”

“Don’t give me the government speech, Marcus, I know that one by heart. Only privileged men have the right to sire children, yes, I know.” When Marcus didn’t rise to the bait, merely kept his intense gaze on him, Luca added softly, “I wouldn’t put up a fight if this was our baby.”

MARCUS BOLTED
to his feet, running his hands through his dark brown hair. Luca had been astonished by the softness of Marcus’s short strands, and his hands itched to sink into the silkiness again. Lowering his lashes, he stared at his flat belly and the defined muscles, partially covered by bath water and bubbles. While he wasn’t overly muscular, he was lithe and in good shape. Would this all go to hell now?

His dad’s belly was flat, and that was after ten pregnancies. But then again, his dad always took care of a group of children or grandchildren, or he worked, something only very few breeders were allowed, or he went for a swim or a ride. The man didn’t do sitting around. His body was as sharp as his mind and constantly in overdrive. Luca had inherited a few of his dad’s character traits, though he wasn’t as restless as Nicholas.

When he looked up, he was startled to find Marcus kneeling next to the tub.

“Are you okay?” Marcus asked.

Luca shrugged, causing water to almost spill over the tub’s edge. “I’m not sure.”

He leaned forward, hoping Marcus wouldn’t rebuff him when he tentatively reached out to brush his fingertips along Marcus’s jaw. Marcus clasped a hand around his neck and pulled him in for a gentle kiss. Luca held on to Marcus’s neck and inhaled Marcus’s scent.

Someone knocked at the door. They jumped apart, sloshing water everywhere.

Marcus cast him a look that seemed to be a mix of guilt and desire before he rose to his feet, calling out, “Yes, who is it?”

“It’s me, Nicholas. Am I interrupting anything?”

Luca froze but only for a moment. Searing pain surged through him, and he yelped. The door opened without preamble, revealing Nicholas. He carried a black leather bag filled with medical equipment.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t’ve dropped that bomb right now, huh?” Nicholas muttered as he set the bag on the closed toilet seat. He snapped on gloves and filled a syringe with a clear fluid.

“Dad! I don’t feel bad. Not even close to consider taking a painkiller, so we definitely don’t need you to stick a needle in me.” Luca held up his hands. His abdomen chose that moment to contradict his statement by twisting and sending a bolt of pain through him. “Ow.”

“Sweetheart, trust me, this is only a weak foretaste of things to come. If you want to stick it out for a while, be my guest, but I’d advise you against it. The pain level will increase, and not even the best painkillers will do much more than take the edge off it.” Nicholas crouched next to the tub, a dark lock falling onto his forehead.

“Isn’t it dangerous for him to take any kind of painkillers?” Marcus sat on the edge of the tub again, one hand resting on Luca’s bent knee.

“There are only a few options for him, and they’re designed not to do any harm, but of course there’s always the possibility of side effects.”

Luca shifted in the tub. He pushed his knee more firmly into Marcus’s hand. Marcus gave his knee a quick squeeze, and tears welled up in Luca’s eyes. He wasn’t usually prone to crying, but he’d read and heard that pregnancy hormones could be a real bitch. He choked on the lump clogging his throat. “When did you usually start to take painkillers?”

The corner of Nicholas’s mouth curved up. “That depended on when your father got wind of the pregnancy.”

“You would’ve gone without painkillers?” Luca gasped at another bolt of pain.

Nicholas shrugged. “I was a stubborn guy and could never think very clearly when the nidation process started.”

“Was? When did that change?” Gregory Walker stepped inside the bathroom, closed the door, then gave Nicholas a kiss. He squatted next to the tub, regardless of his expensive black suit, and fixed a steely stare on Luca.

Luca glanced into his father’s eyes, which were the same bright blue color as his own, and said softly, “I’m sorry for taking off.”

“You better be, you terror.”

“Father!”

“Greg, stop that. He’s hurting,” Nicholas scowled at his husband. Luca caught his parents exchanging a covert glance. They often exchanged such little looks—it had always seemed to Luca as if they talked on a telepathic level. Before he could dwell more on his parents’ communications, Luca’s muscles clenched and a sudden bout of nausea rolled through him. The effort of keeping everything inside left him dizzy. He bent forward, squeezed his eyes shut, and grasped Marcus’s arm in a crushing grip.

“He’s going to puke,” Greg said.

“Why don’t you fetch a bowl or something, then? Or do you want him to take a bath with vomit?” Nicholas replied.

Luca hunched his shoulders. Irrationally, he hoped this would prevent him from listening to his parents squabble.

A moment later Marcus said in a clipped voice, “Maybe you two could have your fight another time, or you could take it outside. I don’t mind which option you choose, but I want you to stop, right now. Luca’s feeling bad enough as it is. Not to mention that he just found out he’s pregnant even though he wasn’t scheduled for insemination.”

There was a moment of total silence; then clothes rustled and someone pushed a plastic bowl underneath Luca’s chin. When he opened his watery eyes, Greg sat on the tub’s edge, holding the basin, a tired smile on his face. “Get it out of your system, runt, you’ll feel better.”

Luca opened his mouth to tell his father that he certainly wouldn’t feel better, but all he did was retch. His stomach heaved over and over again, and he doubled over from the sheer force of the spasms coursing through him. Somehow Marcus had managed to intertwine their hands, and Luca hung on to his hand for dear life while he emptied himself. At one point, he felt a sharp pinch followed by a short pressure in his left upper arm when Nicholas unloaded the content of the syringe.

“How in hell did you get pregnant?” Greg asked after he’d rinsed the basin. “We’ve got protocols to prevent something like this. It’s like being back in the Dark Age. These protocols exist for exactly that reason. Do we even know the baby’s father?”

Luca’s head snapped up. “You mean it could be this isn’t Smith’s baby?”

“Why are you assuming it’s his?” Greg countered.

“Because I’m supposed to marry him, and I’m guessing someone intervened and wanted to hurry things along?” Luca retorted. “Father, I have no idea what’s going on, just that someone got me pregnant without my consent, and I have no idea who’d be doing something like that.”