Chapter Thirty-eight
“So are you and Sylvan going to wait awhile before you tie the knot?” Liv asked. It had been over three weeks since Sophie’s return to the Mother ship and the three of them were sitting on the floor in Kat’s suite having a girl’s night in. Due to Liv’s cravings, the menu consisted mainly of ice cream, ice cream, and more ice cream. “Well?” Liv asked again and took another spoonful of Chunky Monkey from the carton the three of them were sharing. She licked it slowly, clearly savoring its rich flavor. “Mmmm. So good ,” she moaned.
Sophie shook her head and laughed. “You’re too funny, Liv. The way you act, anyone would think you’d never tasted ice cream before.”
“I haven’t—not like this,” Olivia protested. “I’m serious, you guys. You have no idea how good food can taste when you’re pregnant. It’s like everything I eat is the best thing I’ve ever eaten.”
“Except for spaghetti and meatballs, right?” Sophie asked. There had been an incident just the other night with the now infamous Italian staple—one she was sure would never be repeated. Especially by poor Baird, who had been doing the cooking at the time. Liv had taken one look at the plate he’d placed proudly in front of her and promptly lost all the ice cream she’d had earlier for lunch.
Olivia shivered. “Ugh, don’t even talk about that! Don’t even say it. Just the idea of…of S and M makes me feel like I’m going to hurl.”
“Oh yeah? I thought you said Baird was uh, into S and M now.” Sophie nudged her sister and grinned at Kat, who gave her a weak smile in return.
“Ha-ha, very funny,” Olivia said dryly, taking another spoonful of ice cream. “I never should have told you about that. I should have let you find out about the Law of Conduct on your own.”
“Oh I’m not worried about Sylvan spanking me.” Sophie grinned. “He’s too busy biting me for that.”
Liv shook her head. “How you got over your fear of needles enough to be into that I’ll never know. And if he’s biting you all the time, how we can’t see any marks on your skin?”
“He heals me too,” Sophie answered promptly. “He just licks me and the little holes disappear. It’s amazing what he can do with his tongue.”
“I’ll bet,” Liv said dryly.
Sophie blushed. “I didn’t mean—”
“I know what you meant. Anyway, back to your wedding—when are you having it?”
Sophie licked her own spoon of ice cream thoughtfully. “I want to wait until Nadiah comes of age so she can be part of it. Of course her parents think I’m crazy, so they don’t want her to have anything to do with me. But she swears she’ll be here the minute she can legally come.”
“Sounds like you bonded pretty quickly out there on Tranq Prime,” Olivia remarked.
“Well, yeah. She was the only person there besides Sylvan that wasn’t absolutely horrible.” Sophie shivered. “I mean, don’t get me wrong—I’ll give the place another shot if I have to—especially now that MM2 is behaving itself.” She stroked the green tharp, which she was wearing as a shawl at the moment. “But I really don’t want to.”
Liv made a face. “I just can’t believe you came back with one of those creepy live blankets and you actually made a pet out of it.”
“So what?” Sophie said a little defensively. “MM2 is actually really sweet—you just have to know how to talk to it. Isn’t that right, MM2?” she cooed, stroking the tharp.
Olivia just shook her head. “So how does Sylvan feel about you two ‘living in sin’ until Nadiah can be part of the bonding ceremony?” she wanted to know. “I mean, you do know that’s what Grandma and Grandpa Jakes would have called it, right?” Their mother’s parents had been notoriously strict about anyone living together without being legally wed.
“Yes, I know.” Sophie sighed. “But they’re dead so it’s not like I can invite them to the wedding.”
“I wouldn’t think you’d want to even if they were alive,” Olivia said. “That’s the reason they kicked mom’s sister, out of the family, isn’t it?”
“I don’t know,” Sophie admitted. “Mom would never talk much about Aunt Abby to me but I always got the idea that they were really close—almost as close as the three of us.”
“I’m pretty sure that’s the reason they got rid of her.” Liv took another bite of the ice cream which was almost gone. “I got the story out of Dad once. He said Aunt Abby got pregnant ‘out of wedlock’ and they kicked her out of the house when she started to show. Mom wanted to go be with her when she had the baby but Grandma and Grandpa forbid it. And then Aunt Abby died having the baby. It was a little girl and she was going to name it after Mom, only the…the little baby g-girl didn’t make it either.” She sniffed and her eyes began to water. “Dad said Mom never forgave herself for not being with her sister when…when she d-died. Oh God, I’m sorry.” She wiped her eyes on a stray napkin. “Stupid pregnancy hormones.”
“It’s all right.” Sophie put a hand comfortingly on her twin’s shoulder. “It is a really sad story. But to get back to your question, Sylvan doesn’t care how long we wait. I think the Kindred really do these ceremonies more for our benefit than for theirs—in his mind, we’re already married.”
“I think Baird felt the same way once we were bonded,” Liv said thoughtfully. She blew her nose on a paper napkin and then nudged Kat playfully. “What about the Twin Kindred, Kat? How do they feel about ‘living in sin?’”
“I wouldn’t know, since I’m not talking to any of them at the moment.” Kat tried to smile but it turned into kind of a grimace instead.
“Kat, are you all right?” Olivia leaned toward her anxiously.
Kat made a shooing motion with one hand. “Fine, I’m fine.” But her voice was barely there and her usually rosy cheeks were as pale as paper. Worse, the circles under her deep blue eyes were almost as dark as bruises.
“No, you’re not,” Liv said firmly. “You’ve been quiet for weeks. Sophie and I were hoping you’d open up in your own time but we can’t wait anymore. You have to talk, Kat—tell us what’s going on. You’ve hardly said a word all night.”
“And you haven’t eaten a bite,” Sophie pointed out. “I figured you and Liv would do battle once I pulled out the Ben and Jerry’s but you haven’t even had a single spoonful.”
“Yeah, Kat woman, if you keep on like this you won’t be one of the ‘elite’ for long.” Liv’s tone was joking but it was clear she was really worried about their friend.
“Sorry girls but for the first time ever, I’m just not hungry.” Kat put a hand to her head. “I’ll tell you, messing around with the Twin Kindred is a great diet plan.”
“Really?” Liv asked.
Kat nodded. “Seriously, Weight Watchers had better watch their ass. If word gets out they’ll lose half their membership and the HKR building will be packed with plus sized ladies looking for love in all the wrong places.” She tried to laugh but it turned into a groan.
Sophie felt horribly guilty. “It’s because you had to join with Deep and Lock again to find me, isn’t it? Are you still feeling all their emotions?”
Kat nodded. “They’re not fading like they did last time. And this headache…” She shook her head and then winced, as though she regretted the movement. “It just won’t quit.”
“Oh God, Kat, I’m so sorry!” Sophie put an arm around her and pulled her into a hug. “I feel terrible. If you hadn’t been trying to find me you would never have put yourself through that again.”
“Don’t worry about it.” Kat hugged her back tightly before letting go. “I’d do it again if I had to, Sophie. Even if it does mean having two of the most annoying males in the history of the universe stuck in my skull. Well, Lock isn’t so bad—he’s really sweet, actually. But Deep…” She shook her head and winced again. “Damn—gotta stop doing that. Anyway, Deep is a piece of work. And he feels the same way about me that I do about him.”
“Which is?” Olivia raised an eyebrow at her.
“Let’s just say our mutual feelings aren’t all sunshine and rainbows,” Kat said dryly. “And we’re both feeling them just as hard as we can 24/7. Or however you measure a day on this stupid ship.”
“Well it faded last time after awhile,” Sophie said hopefully. “Maybe it’s just taking a little longer this time because you had to look so far away to find me.”
“It was an intense joining,” Kat admitted in a low voice, running one hand through her long auburn hair. “But I just—”
“Just what?” Sophia had turned her attention to the empty ice cream carton again, which Olivia was scraping to get the last spoonful. She looked back over at Kat just in time to see her eyes roll up before she collapsed in a heap on the floor. “Omigod—Liv!” she gasped.
Olivia threw down the ice cream carton and spoon and went into action at once. “She’s having a syncopal episode. Get her feet higher than her head and call Sylvan— now!”
“A what episode?” Sophie grabbed her friend’s feet and began piling cushions from the couch under her knees.
“She fainted,” Liv clarified, helping with the cushions. “Is Sylvan on the way?”
“ Sylvan come quick! Kat fainted!” Sophie sent.
“ On my way. Where are you?” she heard him send back through their new link.
“ Kat’s suite. Hurry, Sylvan! I’m scared!”
“ Is she breathing?”
“Is she breathing?” Sophie asked, repeating his question to Liv.
“Breathing is shallow and her pulse is thready.” Liv had two fingers pressed to the side of Kat’s neck. “I hope Sylvan’s bringing his med kit.”
“I’ve got it right here.” Sylvan burst into the room, a grim look on his face. After checking Kat’s breathing and heartbeat, he lifted her eyelids carefully and examined her eyes.
“Well?” Sophie and Olivia spoke together.
“I was afraid of this.” Sylvan shook his head grimly.
“Afraid of what, Sylvan?” Liv demanded. “Just tell us what’s wrong and if she’ll be okay.”
“I’m sorry.” He shook his head. “I don’t know the answer to either question. “She came to me a little while ago complaining about severe headaches and spells of dizziness. I did several scans but everything came out negative.”
“Then what’s wrong?” Sophie was crying, she couldn’t help it. “I mean if all her scans are clear?”
“I don’t know but I think it has something to do with the joining she had with Deep and Lock.” He touched her shoulder gently. “I’m sorry, Talana. I should have told you earlier but Kat wanted to keep it from you. She was afraid you’d feel guilty.”
“If it has something to do with their joining, then maybe Deep and Lock have an idea of what’s going on,” Liv said practically. “Sophie, run get them now. Sylvan and I will stay with Kat.”
“Don’t bother.” Sylvan shook his head. “Get me a Think-me—I’ll bespeak Lock.”
“Of course.” Liv snapped her fingers. “I brought mine with me—now where did I put it?”
“Here it is!” Sophie snatched it from the end table and jammed it on Sylvan’s temples. “Hurry!”
Sylvan concentrated for a moment and then looked up. “He and Deep are on the way. They’re just down the—”
“Where is she?” Deep burst into the room, a wild look on his dark face. “What happened?”
“She just collapsed.” Sophie was still crying as she looked at the still form of her friend. Oh God, Kat…Kat, please be okay. Please!
“We were just coming to see her.” Lock came in behind his twin. “To tell her our ship was ready to leave for Twin Moons. We…we were going to try and convince her to go with us.”
“She never would have,” Liv objected fiercely. “You know that—you know how she feels.”
“Yes, Olivia, we are intimately acquainted with the way Kat feels,” Deep snarled sarcastically. “Both day and night.” He tapped his temple. “We can’t get away from her feelings, no matter how much we might want to.”
“You’ll have to excuse Deep,” Lock told Liv apologetically. “Kat, uh, doesn’t like him very much.”
“So she was just telling us.” Olivia gave Deep a challenging stare and he glared back in return.
“Enough!” Sylvan’s deep voice rumbled with authority. “Kat’s been complaining of severe headaches and dizziness for weeks and her symptoms weren’t getting any better. Deep, Lock, what can you tell me? Does it have anything to do with the joining the three of you shared?”
“It’s possible.” Lock knelt on the floor beside her and cupped Kat’s pale cheek gently. “It might have to do with the fact that we used her as a focus to find Sophia, even though she’s female and we’re male. Or—”
“Look! Look at her,” Olivia interrupted excitedly. For some of Kat’s color had returned and her breathing seemed more even—at least to Sophie, who was still watching from behind Sylvan’s broad shoulder.
“Is she getting better?” Lock withdrew his hand and sat back, watching Kat hopefully.
But the moment he withdrew his hand, the color faded from her cheeks.
“Oh no!” Liv moaned. “Her pulse was getting so much better but now it’s weak again. Sylvan, can’t you give her some kind of stimulant?”
Sylvan had been watching the situation, his ice blue eyes taking in everything with his typical cool, logical precision. “She doesn’t need a stimulant—not a chemical one, anyway.” He turned to look at Lock. “Touch her again. Put your hand on her bare skin and keep it there.”
Lock followed orders at once, holding one of Kat’s limp hands. Sophie was relieved to see the color return once again to her friend’s cheeks.
“Now you.” Sylvan nodded at Deep. “Come over here—take her other hand.”
Deep looked like he wanted to protest but Lock gave him a pleading glance.
“Please, Brother,” he murmured. “Our Kat needs you.”
Deep didn’t answer but he did act. Scowling, he knelt beside Kat and took her hand with infinite gentleness, as though he was afraid he might break her somehow.
The effect was immediate. Color rushed to Kat’s face and her eyelids fluttered rapidly. “No!” she moaned, writhing on the floor. “Too much… too much!”
Deep dropped her hand as though he’d been stung and she subsided at once.
“She’s stabilized again,” Liv reported, relief in her voice. “For a minute there I thought she was going into cardiac arrest but she’s all right now.”
“It looks like you were wrong, Brother,” Deep sneered, rising to his feet. “ Our Kat doesn’t need me at all. She only needs you.”
“Deep—” Lock began but his brother had already stalked away, making room, presumably, between himself and the scene around Kat.
“She’s doing better now but she can’t stay here,” Sylvan said decisively.
“Of course not,” Olivia agreed. “She’ll have to be moved to the med station. I’ll call for a stretcher.”
“No, Olivia.” Sylvan shook his head. “I ran a full battery of tests on her a week ago and I reran them again yesterday. Every one was negative. There’s nothing more I can do for her here on the Mother ship.”
Sophie was aghast. “But then where are you saying Kat should go? If you can’t help her, who can?”
“Someone on Twin Moons, I hope.” Sylvan looked at Lock. “Your people are the only ones that know anything about how the seeker/finder/focus relationship works. Is there anyone on your home planet that might be able to help Kat?”
“There is a very ancient healer—Mother L’rin,” Lock said slowly. “She knows more about seeking and finding than anyone else on the planet. She might be able to help Kat.”
“What?” Olivia demanded. “You want to just send her off to a strange planet with two men she can’t stand, with the hope that some old witch woman who probably has no formal medical training might be able to help her? No, Sylvan. No!”
Sylvan faced her squarely. “Then she’ll die. Look at her, Olivia—she’s been steadily deteriorating for days. This is the best she’s looked since I saw her at your joining ceremony, but Lock can’t spend the rest of his life holding her hand.”
“I can try.” Lock had been staring down at Kat but now he looked up at Olivia, his heart in his eyes. “I’ll do whatever I can to heal the lady Kat,” he said softly. “I care for her and so does Deep—he just doesn’t know how to express it.”
“I’d say he expresses his emotions just fine,” Liv said sourly. “But that’s not the point. Who even is this Mother L’rin person? What are her qualifications? Where did she do her residency?”
“Olivia…” Sylvan put a steadying hand on his sister-in-law’s shoulder. “Please. You’ve trusted me in the past. I wouldn’t be recommending this course of treatment if I thought there was any other way to save Kat.”
Liv looked at him, her mouth open to say something…and then she seemed to deflate. Her eyes filled with tears and she shook her head. “I’m sorry, Sylvan. But Kat…”
“She’s like a sister to us,” Sophie finished for her twin. She came out from behind Sylvan’s shoulder and went to hug Liv. “And if anything happens to her…”
“It won’t.” Deep was suddenly there beside his brother, standing over Kat protectively. “Lock is right—Mother L’rin has saved more lives than anyone can count. Only the most hopeless and desperate cases are brought to her and with good reason—she generally cures them.” He looked at Liv. “Are those credentials good enough for you?”
Liv swallowed hard. “And…you say she’s an expert at this kind of thing? The…seeker/finder thing?”
Lock answered for his brother. “She is. She’s the one who trained our mentor, F’lir. She’s revered on our planet.”
“She sounds really great,” Sophie ventured. “But to send Kat away to a strange planet—”
“We’ll go with her,” Olivia said, squeezing Sophie’s hand. “Of course we will.”
“Oh, no you won’t .” Baird walked into the room, frowning and Sophie wondered if Sylvan had called him. Liv opened her mouth to protest but he shook his head. “You’re expecting Lilenta. You can’t go.”
“Baird is right,” Sylvan said quietly. “Your can’t go through folded space while you’re pregnant. The effects on the fetus are…bad. Very bad.” He shook his head.
“Well then, I’ll go,” Sophia said. “Sylvan and I have only been together three and a half weeks so—”
“Three and a half weeks in which we’ve been making love every spare minute, Talana,” Sylvan reminded her in a low voice. “How can you be sure you’re not with child as well?”
“I could take a test,” Sophie said weakly but he shook his head.
“It wouldn’t be conclusive—not at this stage. But if you wish to take the risk…”
It was on the tip of her tongue to say that of course she would take the risk but Sophie looked in his eyes and saw the sadness there. Though he hadn’t spoken of it, she knew he yearned for what Baird and Liv had, knew how he wanted a son of his own. And her period was late. It might be a false alarm and she kind of hoped it was—she wasn’t sure if she was ready to be a mom just yet. But if it wasn’t…
“Sophia,” Baird said softly, looking at her. “Kat risked her life to save you. I don’t think she’d want you to lose a child just to go with her.”
Sophie bit her lip. “But to send her all by herself, alone and unprotected to an entirely different planet—”
“She won’t be alone,” Lock said in a low voice.
“And she won’t be unprotected.” Deep’s black eyes flashed. “Kat may hate me,” he said, speaking to Liv and Sophie both. “But I swear to you now, I will protect her with my life. Lock and I will die before we see her come to harm.”
“Deep speaks for us both,” Lock said quietly. “The lady Kat will come to no harm while she is in our care. This we both swear, on our honor as Kindred warriors.”
Sophie looked at the two huge males, one kneeling beside Kat and the other standing protectively over her. And suddenly she knew she could trust them. “Liv,” she said softly, turning to her twin. “They mean it—they really do.”
Liv sighed. “I know,” she whispered, wiping away a tear. “I…I can tell. Do you think Kat will ever forgive us?”
“I don’t know.” Sophie squeezed her hand. “But I think we have to let her go.”
“ You’re making a wise decision,” Sylvan sent through their link. “Kat will thank you for it later.”
“ Will she? I don’t know.” Looking down at Kat’s still form, Sophie felt tears rise in her throat and swallowed them down with difficulty. “Oh Sylvan, I just don’t know…”
THE END
Brides of the Kindred Glossary
AllFather — the evil head of the Scourge, a race that are the byproduct of a failed genetic trade. The AllFather is one of the Old Ones and has the power to reach into a person’s mind to harvest emotional pain and trauma. He lives for the fulfillment of the Scourge Prophesy.
Bespeak —to contact someone mentally using a Think-me device. It is considered rude to bespeak someone you don’t know intimately.
Beast/Rager Kindred —come from Rageron—a jungle planet full of beautiful but deadly flora and fauna. They have dark hair, golden eyes, and hot tempers but their most defining characteristic is the mating fist. The mating fist is an area at the base of the Beast Kindred’s shaft which engages fully only during bonding sex with his chosen mate. When engorged it swells to keep the Beast Kindred and his bride locked together until she is completely bonded to him. This ensures sex that is both extremely long lasting and multiorgasmic for both partners.
Blood Fever — a condition suffered by unmated females on Tranq Prime, the home world of the Blood Kindred. Blood Fever or Burning Blood, as it is often called, is caused by a parasite living on the icy world that affects only women. The parasite—found in the fleeta or blood beetle—reacts with a compound in the Tranq Prime water supply to cause the fever. Symptoms include chills, the feeling of the blood heating in the veins, and increased coloration of the nipples and inner sex. If the fever is not treated in forty-eight hours, it will result in death.
Once a Kindred male has had a female’s blood, he forms a natural antidote to Blood Fever which he can pass on by sharing body fluids with her. The most effective way to get the antidote into the female’s system is for a Blood Kindred to bite her, thereby injecting it along with his essence. However, it is also possible to pass along the healing fluid through sex.
Blood Fever used to be very common on Tranq Prime which is what prompted the cold, proud natives to initiate a genetic exchange with the Kindred in the first place. A recent vaccine has nearly eradicated the disease, however, and the original inhabitants of the ice bound planet have little reason to continue the trade. A faction calling themselves Purists are against any further trade with the Kindred.
Blood/Tranq Kindred —are blond with pale blue eyes and come from Tranq Prime where ice, snow, and arctic-like temperatures are the norm. To combat the severe weather conditions, the Blood Kindred have higher than normal body heat with double the human amount of red blood cells. They have developed specific biting rituals to share their supercharged blood and take the blood of their mates during their own version of bonding sex. They have a set of double fangs located where a human’s canine teeth would be. These fangs do not develop fully or become sharp enough to pierce flesh until a Blood Kindred is with a woman he wishes to mate and bond with.
Bonding Ceremony —a wedding-type ritual which takes place after the Claiming Period if the bride chosen by a Kindred warrior has allowed him to have bonding sex with her and joined her mind to his.
Bonding Sex —the extra step a Kindred warrior takes to bind his bride to him permanently during intercourse. For the Beast Kindred, it is the use of the mating fist. For the Blood Kindred, bonding sex means biting to inject his essence during penetration. Twin Kindred bind a bride to themselves by entering her as one and coming in her at the same time.
Claiming Ceremony —a sort of engagement service that takes place when a bride is first claimed by a Kindred warrior. He declares his intentions toward her and she vows to obey the laws of the Claiming Period.
Claiming Period —women who are drafted are required to go up to the Kindred Mothership and spend a thirty day “claiming period” with the warrior who has chosen them. If, at the end of that time, they have managed to resist the charms of their Kindred mate, they are allowed to go back down to Earth and resume their normal life. However, if they succumb to their Kindred male’s seduction, they are mated for life and must move to the Kindred ship to live, leaving everything else behind and seeing their family and friends on Earth only infrequently. Of course, many women are unwilling to give everything up at the drop of a hat, draft or no draft. But the Kindred have a secret weapon—devotion to their female’s pleasure and attention to detail during incredibly hot sex.
Claming Period Rules —The Claiming Period lasts for four weeks during which the Kindred warrior attempts to seduce his chosen bride and she tries to resist him:
The Holding Week : the Kindred warrior may hold his bride.
The Bathing Week : the warrior and his bride bathe together and he is allowed to massage her with scented oils and make her come.
The Tasting Week : the warrior is allowed to perform oral sex on his bride.
The Bonding Week : sex is allowed but it is completely up to the bride whether she will take things a step further and allow bonding sex which is a special and specific process to the three different types of Kindred males. (Most women have given in well before this point but a few do resist.)
The only way out before the claiming period is up is a breach of contract. This can happen if the Kindred warrior does not strictly follow the rules and tries to skip forward in the order of allowed events or by breaking one of the rules laid down by the Kindred High Council. These rules—mostly to do with restrictions on communication with Earth—are for the safety of everyone aboard the Mothership and are nonnegotiable. Ignorance is no excuse for breaking them and will result in immediate termination of the claiming period.
Dream Sharing — occurs when a Kindred warrior’s mind aligns with that of his bride and they begin to see each other’s day to day activities and memories in their sleep. However, the alignment of the two (or three in the case of the Twin Kindred) minds can take several forms and is not limited to sleep.
Fireflower Juice —an alcoholic beverage made from the Fireflower plant native to Rageron. It resembles milk in appearance but has the flavor of honey, vanilla, lavender and blueberries.
Kindred —a race of genetic traders who have traveled the universe for centuries looking for viable matches to expand their gene pool. Since a genetic anomaly ensures that their population is ninety-five percent male, they are specifically looking for women.
The three genetic trades the Kindred have already made have resulted in three very specific types of men. But though they take on some of the physical characteristics of the race they are trading with, the Kindred gene always ensures three things: physical prowess, extremely large and muscular body structure, and undying loyalty to the female of their choice.
Krik-ka-re — a Scourge tradition in which the mind life of one being may be traded for or ransomed by another.
Law of Conduct — the Kindred law which says every warrior is responsible for the good behavior of his bride and gives him the right to punish her—within reason. Often the “punishment” is sexual in nature and some brides become serial offenders simply to experience their Kindred warrior’s particular form of discipline. ; )
Luck Kiss —a kiss performed by the best man and maid of honor at a Kindred Bonding Ceremony in order to bring the happy couple good luck.
Mate of my kin —the way Kindred warriors refer to the brides chosen by their brothers. It is analogous to the English term sister-in-law.
Mother of All Life —the main Kindred Deity, a kind and benevolent goddess whose teachings include respect and reverence for all things female.
Numala — a Blood Kindred name which means “liquid pussy.” It refers to a female who produces more than the regular amount of lubrication when aroused. Numalas are much prized by the Blood Kindred and sought after as mates because they are more likely to be able to accommodate a Blood Kindred warrior’s larger than average cock.
Rage —also Protective Rage or Berserker Rage — a state of altered consciousness that comes over a Kindred warrior when his bride is threatened. It floods the bloodstream with endorphins and causes such intense anger and aggression that a Kindred in this state becomes a killing machine who will die to protect the woman he has claimed.
Sacred Grove —an area of green and purple trees that houses the temple of the Mother of All Life. The Kindred Mother ship has been equipped with an artificial green sun like the one on their home world in order to allow these holy trees to grow and flourish.
Scourg e —a genetic trade gone wrong, these menacing outsiders have twisted desires and sexual needs fierce enough to frighten away even the most adventurous. Their need to dominate and possess their women completely has led to a strange prophesy that they must fulfill…or die trying.
Scourge Prophesy —“One of two, alike and yet different—the double fruit of a single womb from the third planet of a yellow sun. She shall be marked with a white star between her breasts.” These words were spoken by Mee’ah—the last living female of the Scourge race who was believed to be a great seer. The Scourge are a dying race, forced to create new members in artificial wombs called flesh tanks because they have no females. Yet, because they have some of the same genetic characteristics as the Kindred they are able to create only male children and each new generation is weaker than the last. The prophesy refers to the woman the Scourge believe will be able to mate with the AllFather and bear only daughters to rejuvenate their race.
Take-me —an animal native to Twin Moons that has been domesticated by the Kindred for transportation aboard their ship. The Take-me has green fur and two heads, one on either end. Each head has three purple eyes. The Take-me has the unique features of being to expand and compress its mass which makes it ideal for storage. Because they originally lived in caves, most Take-mes stay very contentedly in small dark areas in the Kindred food prep areas where they live off the scraps and leavings of their master’s meals. They can eat almost anything except banana peels which they are allergic to.
Tharp — an animal that looks very much like a thin fur blanket which can be worn as a garment. Tharps are cultivated on Tranq Prime and prized for their ability to multiply their host’s body heat and keep them warm in even the most frigid conditions. A tharp can be worn by only one person— as a neophyte or youngster it imprints upon a host and will slowly starve if parted from them. Tharps are intelligent and capable of limited movement. They live as long as their host and subsist only on body heat, needing no other form of sustenance to survive.
Think-Me —a thin silver wire worn around the temples which facilitates mental communication between people who already have an intimate connection.
Touch-U —a flat black mat-like animal native to Tranq Prime which the Kindred have adapted to be a home health appliance. The Touch-U is capable of giving a gentle massage or an all-out erotic experience depending on which button is pushed.
Twin Kindred —come from Twin Moons—a world of vast, stormy oceans dotted with craggy but beautiful islands. True to their namesake, Twin Kindred always come in pairs. The brothers are not identical, however. There is always a light twin and a dark twin. These labels refer not just to skin, hair, and eye coloring but to the twin’s moods and perceptions of the world. The dark twin in the pair is usually more moody and withdrawn while the light twin takes a substantially brighter view of life. The twins are closely linked and able to sense each other’s emotions. They cannot be separated by long distances or for long periods of time without severe pain. They must also share a woman, linking her into their mental and emotional exchange for very intense ménage sex.
Urlich — a type of dog bred by the Scourge. At maturity they are modified with machinery to heighten their sense of smell and intelligence which results in a cyborg-type animal. Once in pursuit of whatever scent has been programmed into their brains, the urlich are utterly single minded and incapable of stopping until their prey has been cornered and captured.
Wave —a Kindred cooking appliance which emits thousands of finely collimated beams of heat to cook food in under a minute.
Zichther —an animal native to the jungles of Rageron, the zichther resembles a small bright blue teddy bear in appearance until it opens its mouth and reveals three rows of incredibly sharp, shark-like teeth.
Read on to find out about Brides of the Kindred 3—Sought, coming later this year.
Kat O’Connor is no pushover. She’s a no nonsense girl with a commonsense approach to life. But there’s nothing common about what’s been happening to her lately…
First she was forced to have a kinky mind-ménage with two of the hottest and most irritating men in the galaxy—Twin Kindred warriors, Deep and Lock—in order to locate her kidnapped friend. But the mental three-way left her with a little gift—she can’t get their feelings out of her head. Now she’s on her way to their home planet, Twin Moons, to find a cure for the debilitating illness their unorthodox joining caused, when all she really wants to do is go home.
Locks Tight, the light twin of the two, is already in love with Kat. Her curvy plus-sized body is the epitome of beauty on his home planet and her sharp mind and snarky wit make her doubly attractive. But though he fell for her the moment he saw her, Twin Kindred are unable to mate a woman alone. Lock knows nothing can happen between them without his brother…
Stabs Deep. The dark twin has a secret agony in his past—a tragedy he feels he and he alone is to blame for. He too, hungers for Kat, but he hides his fear of rejection behind an impenetrable wall of angry sarcasm. For if he lets anyone get too close, the unbearable pain he has already endured once may happen again.
Now Kat and her twin warriors are on a quest—but they’re all looking for different things. Kat wants to find a way to dissolve the half-formed bond between them so she can be alone in her own head again. Lock wants to convince both her and his brother to complete the bond which will keep them together forever. And Deep is trying to protect his heart and love Kat from afar…though it grows more and more difficult to deny the hunger he feels for her.
Their travels will take them from the uncharted wilds of Twin Moons to the Deadworld of the Scourge home planet. Will Kat find a cure for having other people’s emotions crowding her mind? Will Lock convince his brother and the woman they both love that they’re all meant to be together forever? And will Deep ever unshield his heart long enough to let Kat in?
You’ll have to read Sought , the third book in the Brides of the Kindred series, to find out…