feeling in his stomach. This is something I don't want to know, right?
Pietr nodded. Then he looked up. Can't we just forget it?
Matt shook his head. It was there now, like an elephant in the room. Come on; I'm sure it isn't that bad.
Pietr didn't seem the least bit convinced, and he kept his silence.
You have to tell me, Pietr. You know I can find out if I have to. Matt didn't want to, but he had always been able to find any information in his mate's mind, no matter how deeply Pietr had buried it.
Please, don't. The naked fear in the quiet plea made dread fill Matt. Something was very, very wrong here.
"You're really worrying me, Pietr. Tell me; it can't be any worse than what I'm making up right now."
Pietr's shoulders fell, and he looked down in defeat. I'm in charge of the recruiting.
His mind spoke more than his actual words. He hadn't just been some local boss; he had been a part of the coordination committee running the entire Earth invasion.
Matt's mind went blank. "You what?"
"I'm in charge of the recruiting. Or I will be again when I go back to work." Pietr didn't look up, and his mind was closed off. It should have hurt, but Matt was completely numb.
"You did that? You did that to me?" The memories of his fear the day he was harvested came back to Matt, and for a moment, he was standing outside of the black van again, certain that this was the end of his life. "That was your responsibility?"
"Yes." Pietr didn't say anything else.
Matt got up, stumbling slightly and clutching his arm when his shoulder screamed with pain at the abrupt move. "I need some air."
He turned and went out the door, almost hitting the doorjamb with his bad shoulder. He could hear Pietr get up behind him and say something, but he didn't pay attention. He had to get out.
His legs found the way automatically, the path to the oak one he had followed many times on his jogs. The ground under him seemed far away, and he stumbled more than once. When he tripped over a branch, he fell to his knees, and the abrupt movement jolted his broken bones. The pain in his face and shoulder finally tore him out of his numbness.
Pietr was in charge of the harvesting. His mate was responsible for that.
Matt remembered the screaming and crying people in the gymnasium where he had been brought shortly after being harvested, and he retched, his stomach trying to turn itself inside out. He could feel Pietr's worry through their bond, but he brutally blocked the connection, his disgust too strong to let Pietr in. He wiped his mouth and got up again, walking toward the oak tree.
He was tired, the fatigue that was part of his recovery from the attack making his movements sluggish. But he couldn't go back to Pietr now, and he forced himself to keep walking until he reached the clearing with the big oak. He slumped down on the ground by the tree, his mind a jumble of thoughts.
Pietr was the one who had caused the fear Matt had felt every time he saw a Himiko or heard about the kidnappings. With a shock, Matt realized that his mate had caused those people to go insane, the ones who were kidnapped and came back psychotic.
And it wasn't like the strategy of kidnapping humans was something the Himika agreed upon. Matt remembered his first conversation with Robbie, how the Himiko had been too scared of something to admit that he disagreed with the methods used to kidnap the humans.
Pietr's methods. And it must have been Pietr who caused not only Robbie's fear, but Matt's as well. Not to speak of the fear of the entire human population. Pietr was the source of all of it.
Matt reeled from the realization that his mate, the one he needed more than anything else, had been the one causing all this terror. Pietr had been cruel enough to plan all that and see it carried out. It was an unbearable thought.
Matt's thoughts kept going back to the gymnasium, to the memory of the crying and screaming and catatonic people in there. And his own fear, which had turned
Pietr nodded. Then he looked up. Can't we just forget it?
Matt shook his head. It was there now, like an elephant in the room. Come on; I'm sure it isn't that bad.
Pietr didn't seem the least bit convinced, and he kept his silence.
You have to tell me, Pietr. You know I can find out if I have to. Matt didn't want to, but he had always been able to find any information in his mate's mind, no matter how deeply Pietr had buried it.
Please, don't. The naked fear in the quiet plea made dread fill Matt. Something was very, very wrong here.
"You're really worrying me, Pietr. Tell me; it can't be any worse than what I'm making up right now."
Pietr's shoulders fell, and he looked down in defeat. I'm in charge of the recruiting.
His mind spoke more than his actual words. He hadn't just been some local boss; he had been a part of the coordination committee running the entire Earth invasion.
Matt's mind went blank. "You what?"
"I'm in charge of the recruiting. Or I will be again when I go back to work." Pietr didn't look up, and his mind was closed off. It should have hurt, but Matt was completely numb.
"You did that? You did that to me?" The memories of his fear the day he was harvested came back to Matt, and for a moment, he was standing outside of the black van again, certain that this was the end of his life. "That was your responsibility?"
"Yes." Pietr didn't say anything else.
Matt got up, stumbling slightly and clutching his arm when his shoulder screamed with pain at the abrupt move. "I need some air."
He turned and went out the door, almost hitting the doorjamb with his bad shoulder. He could hear Pietr get up behind him and say something, but he didn't pay attention. He had to get out.
His legs found the way automatically, the path to the oak one he had followed many times on his jogs. The ground under him seemed far away, and he stumbled more than once. When he tripped over a branch, he fell to his knees, and the abrupt movement jolted his broken bones. The pain in his face and shoulder finally tore him out of his numbness.
Pietr was in charge of the harvesting. His mate was responsible for that.
Matt remembered the screaming and crying people in the gymnasium where he had been brought shortly after being harvested, and he retched, his stomach trying to turn itself inside out. He could feel Pietr's worry through their bond, but he brutally blocked the connection, his disgust too strong to let Pietr in. He wiped his mouth and got up again, walking toward the oak tree.
He was tired, the fatigue that was part of his recovery from the attack making his movements sluggish. But he couldn't go back to Pietr now, and he forced himself to keep walking until he reached the clearing with the big oak. He slumped down on the ground by the tree, his mind a jumble of thoughts.
Pietr was the one who had caused the fear Matt had felt every time he saw a Himiko or heard about the kidnappings. With a shock, Matt realized that his mate had caused those people to go insane, the ones who were kidnapped and came back psychotic.
And it wasn't like the strategy of kidnapping humans was something the Himika agreed upon. Matt remembered his first conversation with Robbie, how the Himiko had been too scared of something to admit that he disagreed with the methods used to kidnap the humans.
Pietr's methods. And it must have been Pietr who caused not only Robbie's fear, but Matt's as well. Not to speak of the fear of the entire human population. Pietr was the source of all of it.
Matt reeled from the realization that his mate, the one he needed more than anything else, had been the one causing all this terror. Pietr had been cruel enough to plan all that and see it carried out. It was an unbearable thought.
Matt's thoughts kept going back to the gymnasium, to the memory of the crying and screaming and catatonic people in there. And his own fear, which had turned
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