Sought...Book 3 in the Brides of the Kindred series (52 page)

“We’d just feel safer if you stayed right
here with us for awhile.” Olivia smiled and squeezed her hand.

“Fine with me,” Kat smiled and settled back
against the comfortable cushions. “But if you want to keep me in
your line of vision every single minute I’m afraid you’re going to
have a fight on your hands. Deep and Lock are expecting me back in
time for dinner…if we even manage to eat. I swear those two are
insatiable.”

“Said the girl who can’t get enough kinky
threesome sex,” muttered Liv.

“Liv!” Sophie nudged her sister and grinned.
“We agreed we weren’t going to keep on teasing her all the time
about that. We have better things to talk about.”

Olivia raised an eyebrow. “Than sex? I don’t
think so.”

“How about how Lauren’s mom reacted to the
news that her daughter is headed for the Maw Cluster—wherever that
is,” Kat said soberly. “Do you guys think I was able to give her
any hope at all? I feel so bad about the whole thing.”

“I think she took it reasonably well,”
Sophie said thoughtfully, breaking off another piece of pretzel and
popping it into her mouth.

“You told her that her daughter was safe and
with a male she trusted. And that she’d be coming home eventually,”
Liv spoke distractedly, busy with doctoring another pretzel into
submission. “What about maple syrup, Sophie? Got any of that?”

“Actually, I do.” Sophie popped up again.
“But
please
tell me you’re not going to mix it with soy
sauce and horseradish.”

Liv gave her a mock glare. “Just get it.
Anyway, as I was saying, Kat,” she continued. “You did the best you
could. I mean, you risked your life to get that information. And I
think Aunt Abby was grateful that you tried.” She sighed and took
the maple syrup Sophie was offering her. “Thanks. Detective Rast is
still coming up in a couple of days to check things out, though. I
think he wants to make sure we’re not hiding Lauren somewhere on
the ship or something.”

“What? Why would we do that?” Kat
protested.

Liv shrugged as she added the syrup to her
nightmare of a pretzel. “Dunno. I get the feeling he doesn’t quite
trust
the Kindred.”

“That’s because he doesn’t know them like we
do,” Sophie said, watching as her twin took a big bite of the
dripping concoction in her hand. “I swear I’m never going to bake
for you again, Liv—you’re
ruining
my perfectly good
pretzels.”

“I’m
improving
them,” Olivia
corrected, licking her fingers. “God, that’s good! Anyway, Rast
should be here on Friday.”

“What? You never told me that!” Sophie put
down her pretzel and frowned. “He’s going to be here right in the
middle of my bonding ceremony.”

“You’re
bonding ceremony?”
Kat and
Liv said at the same time.

“When were you going to tell us? Where are
you going to hold it?” Kat demanded.

“And how do you think you’ll get an entire
wedding together in just a few days?” Liv asked.

Sophie blushed. “It’s not going to be a big
to-do, you guys. Just something small and intimate—only friends and
family. And since Nadiah is on her way, we thought this would be
the perfect time.”

“So she finally came of age?” Kat remembered
the way Sophie had described Sylvan’s cousin, who had helped her
out considerably on Tranq Prime. With her bubbly personality and
multicolored hair she sounded like fun.

Sophie nodded. “Yup. Her mother is having a
fit, too. Apparently she wants Nadiah to settle down and marry some
stodgy full-blooded Prime guy they have all picked out for her. In
fact, I think there was some kind of childhood engagement or
something and she’s claiming Nadiah has no choice.”

“Is that true? Will she cave and marry him?”
Olivia raised her eyebrows.

“Anyone else might but not Nadiah.” Sophie
laughed. “She told me all that from Tranq Prime and then the next
time I heard from her, she was aboard a cargo carrier bound for the
Mother ship. So I’m guessing the Prince Charming dear old Mommy
picked out is going to be left standing at the altar.”

“Well
you
won’t be.” Kat kissed her
cheek impulsively. “You’re going to make a
gorgeous
bride,
Sophie.”

“Thanks.” She smiled. “I just wish there was
someone Nadiah could do the luck kiss with during the ceremony. I
know it would give her such a thrill, but all of Sylvan’s brothers
and second brothers are spoken for now.”

“Isn’t there
anyone?
” Liv asked,
eyeing the last pretzel.

“Well, Sylvan
does
have an old friend
he wants to ask but he’s having trouble getting hold of him.
Apparently he’s doing some kind of religious retreat back on the
original Kindred home world. You know—wearing special clothes,
eating special foods, purifying himself. That kind of thing.”
Sophie shrugged. “We’re hoping he’ll come but it’s kind of iffy
right now. I told Nadiah not to expect too much but she says she’s
just happy to be in the ceremony—even if she doesn’t get to kiss a
Kindred.”

“She has a real thing for the Kindred, huh?”
Kat smiled.

“Mmm-hmm.” Sophie nodded. “Especially the
Blood Kindred. I think it’s kind of a rebellion thing because her
parents are so against them.”

“Well, she can have her pick here,” Liv
said. “Better keep her away from the unmated males area though—that
can get kind of hairy.” She shivered and Kat knew she was still
remembering her own ‘adventure’ there, back when Baird had first
called her.

“I don’t think she’ll have to look far to
find a male—she’s really pretty.” The timer dinged and Sophie
jumped up. “Hang on, that’s my second batch of pretzels.”

Kat groaned. “Another batch? I’m already so
full you’re going to have to roll me out of here.”

“Well, it’s not like you have to go on a
diet,” Liv pointed out. “Since Deep and Lock love you in all your
curvy glory.”

“That’s true.” Kat couldn’t help smiling.
“After a lifetime of Weight Watchers and Slim Fast it’s nice not to
feel horribly guilty if I want a donut now and then. Not that I’m
totally letting myself go,” she added hastily. “But now I feel, I
don’t know…”

“Beautiful, just the way you are?” Sophie
suggested, smiling from across the room. “Honestly, Kat, that’s
what we’ve been telling you all along.”

“Yeah, but having your best friends tell you
is one thing. Having two hot guys panting after you is something
else entirely.” Olivia grinned.

“She’s right.” Kat grinned back and then
sighed.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” Sophie asked
anxiously. “You look so sad all of a sudden. What are you thinking
about?”

“More like ‘who,’” Liv said. “Is Deep
already giving you problems again?”

“Deep? Oh no, he’s fine. More than
fine—incredible, actually.” Kat smiled. “I don’t know exactly what
happened to him while he was, uh, gone for those few minutes and he
won’t say either. But whatever it was, it really changed him.”

“Then why the long face, Kat-woman?” Sophie
asked, piling hot pretzels onto a platter.

“I was just thinking of Lauren again,” Kat
admitted. “There’s something that worries me. Something…well,
something I didn’t tell your aunt.”

“What?” Olivia frowned and Sophie said, “Oh
dear.”

“I’m sorry,” Kat said. “I know you two
agreed to do full discloser with her from now on but I didn’t want
to upset her.”

“What could upset her more than knowing her
daughter is flying through wormholes with a huge Scourge warrior a
hundred thousand light years from Earth?” Liv asked
practically.

“Believe me—this could upset her more.” Kat
sighed again. “It was something Xairn said when Lauren was asking
when he would take her home. He said…” She stopped, biting her
lip.

“Well, go on,” Liv said impatiently. “Spit
it out.”

“Yes, Kat, give!” Sophie demanded.

Kat frowned. “Okay, but you’re not going to
like it. Xairn said that the reason he was taking Lauren to the Maw
Cluster was so they could change their DNA before he took her back
to Earth.”

“What?” both Sophie and Liv shrieked at once
and Sophie almost dropped the pretzels.

“Change her DNA? That’s
crazy,”
Liv
said.

Kat nodded. “I know—I thought so too. What
do you suppose he meant by it? Is he going to turn Lauren into
something else…some other life form he can smuggle back to Earth
without anyone knowing?”

“I hope not.” Sophie looked worried. “Oh,
poor Lauren! I wish Liv and I had gotten a chance to meet her.”

“I think you’ll get your chance.” Kat
straightened her shoulders. “I will say this—I think Xairn had her
best interests at heart. And I don’t think he’d hurt her…not on
purpose anyway.”

“I hope he won’t hurt her at all!” Olivia
exclaimed. “And when do you think he’ll bring her back home?”

Kat shook her head. “I just don’t know. But
I hope she’s being careful and safe—as safe as she can be, anyway.”
She smiled. “Deep and Lock think that he loves her, you know. And
that he acts more like a Kindred than a Scourge.”

“I hope they’re right about that. I’ve heard
what the Scourge like to do to their women.” Sophie shivered.
“Whips and chains and God knows what.”

“Supposedly they’re into domination and
bondage,” Kat said. “But believe me, girls, Lauren has backbone. I
don’t think Xairn will find it easy to dominate her—if he even
tries.”

“Let’s hope he doesn’t.” Liv frowned and
looked at Sophie. “Hey, why are you standing way over there with
the fresh pretzels when I’m sitting over here?”

“Sorry, your pregnant majesty,” Sophie said
sarcastically, but she was smiling as she brought the platter.
“Here you go—have some.”

Kat looked down at the fresh batch
uncertainly. “Uh, Sophie? What did you put on these things? I’ve
never seen pretzels that look like this before.”

“That’s because these are the sweet ones.”
Sophie pointed. “See? These are the s’mores pretzels with crushed
up graham crackers and marshmallows and chocolate. These are the
blueberry ones. And these are cinnamon raisin.”

“Mmm, they look delicious. Thanks,
womb-mate.” Olivia picked up a blueberry pretzel and raised it to
her nose. She inhaled deeply. “Wonderful!”

Kat frowned at Sophie. “I thought you said
she was craving salty things now.”

Sophie shrugged. “It changes daily—sometimes
hourly. I’m just trying to keep up.”

“Salty is good too.” Liv stopped with the
blueberry pretzel halfway to her mouth and looked up. “Hey Sophie,
got any ketchup?”

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, increased sexual need and
the feeling of the blood heating in the veins as well as increased
coloration of the nipples and 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.