“Just now—when I was dead,” Raak told her.
“When you were what?” she demanded out loud.
So then of course, he had to explain everything.
Thirty-Seven
Kara listened in disbelief as Raak finally explained what had happened. How his sliver of a soul had grown as he came to care for her and love her and how the Goddess had granted them the ability to bond as a consequence.
“But how did you die in the first place?” she demanded. “Did it have something to do with you growing a soul?”
“Exactly,” Raak said, nodding a little too quickly, Kara thought. She was almost certain there was more too it—in fact, she could feel that he was keeping something from her. But she could also sense, though their new bond, that he thought knowing his secret would hurt her and he wanted to keep her safe.
Reluctantly, Kara decided to leave it alone—for now. What really mattered was that Raak was back with her and he seemed to be as healthy as ever. In fact, as soon as he had finished explaining everything, he immediately wanted to make love again.
“Not so fast,” Kara told him sternly. “Before you do any more physical exertion, I want to get you checked out by Silki.”
She left him grumbling about how a male couldn’t even die for a minute or two before being forced to see the doctor and went to find the little Tolleg.
Silki’s pointed ears perked up when Kara informed her of the circumstances and she frowned in apparent surprise.
“So you say he was dead but now he’s alive again? Yes he is, yes he is?”
“He says the Goddess sent him back,” Kara told her. “But I want you to check him out—okay?”
“Of course I will, of course I will! I have to see this—yes I do, yes I do!” Silki exclaimed. She came with Kara at once and gave Raak—who by then had gotten up and put on some trousers—a complete examination. Only when the little Tolleg doctor had pronounced him to be in perfect health, did Kara breathe a sigh of relief.
“See, baby girl?” Raak growled at her. “Told you I was fine. Now how about if we find some privacy for a little while?”
“Only if Doctor Silki says it’s okay,” Kara said cautiously. “And since I seem to be cured too,” she added, because she hadn’t had an essence attack in the past hour while the little Tolleg was examining Raak and her fangs seemed to be working properly again.
“It should be safe for the two of you to resume your love-making,” Silki said with a frankness that made Kara blush. “But I would like to be notified at once if either of you dies again. Yes I would, yes I would.”
“Nobody’s gonna die,” Raak growled. “But thank you for your help, Doc Silki,” he added, nodding graciously at her.
“Just Silki is fine, yes it is, yes it is,” she said, nodding her furry head. “I’ll leave the two of you alone. No—don’t bother. I’ll see myself out—yes I will, yes I will.”
“Now then, baby girl,” Raak said, turning to Kara as soon as they heard the cabin door thunk shut. “Where were we? Come here—I want you.”
“All right.” Kara stepped into his arms. “But slower this time—we need to be careful.”
“Baby, we can be as slow and careful as you want. We’ll take all night.” Raak grinned wolfishly. “Gonna bond you to me all over again.”
And he did. Because, thanks be to the Goddess, Kara thought as she kissed her new mate, he was no longer Unbondable.
Epilogue
“You ready for this?” Raak shot her a sidelong glance filled with concern. “Sure you don’t want us to come with you?”
“Not at first.” Kara took a deep breath. “Let me explain to my parents and my twin brother first—I’ll give you a call when I’m ready for you to come out—both of you.” She shot a quick glance at Silki, who had begged to come back with them and take a tour of the Mother Ship. Since the little Tolleg doctor had been so helpful, Kara hadn’t had the heart to refuse.
“We will wait here. Yes we will, yes we will,” Silki promised, nodding her head and swiveling her furry ears.
“Yup—right here.” Raak settled back into the pilot’s seat and nodded. “We’ll be waiting for your call, baby girl.”
“You’ll hear it in a minute,” Kara promised and then let herself out on the passenger side and went to meet her waiting family.
They were all there—her mom and dad and Kaleb—as well as Yipper, whom they seemed to have brought along with them to check her out.
“Kara! Oh, thank the Goddess you’re safe!”
Her mother, Sophia, was the first to reach her. Running forward, her sandals clattering on the floor of the Docking Bay, she grabbed Kara and pulled her into a tight embrace.
“Oh, my little girl!” She was nearly crying. “We thought you were lost for good!”
“Mom, I’m not that little anymore, you know,” Kara pointed out, looking down at her much shorter mother. But she couldn’t resist the hug—it felt too good to see her mom again.
“Kare-kare!” Kaleb was next, pulling her into a rough embrace. “Gods, where did you go?” He gave her a reproachful look. “You said you were moving out—not leaving the Mother Ship entirely!”
“You’ve given us all a terrible fright.” Sylvan frowned, his face filled with loving concern.
“Your family was most worried—yes they were, yes they were,” Yipper told her, shaking his head so that his floppy ears flew.
“When Baird told us that one of the extra ships was missing and we heard about a disturbance on Tranq Prime, we figured out where you’d gone,” Sophia said.
“But then your trail went cold and we had no idea where to look!” Kaleb exclaimed. “All we knew was that Great Uncle Grennly and Great Aunt Zeelah said you’d run off with that Unbondable bastard!”
Kara took a deep breath, trying to steady her nerves.
“First of all,” she said, “Uncle Grennly and Aunt Zeelah tried to have my fangs pulled. Secondly,” she went on, speaking over their shocked exclamations of dismay. “That ‘Unbondable bastard’ saved my life. Not only that, but he’s now my mate.”
“What? Oh, Kara, no!” her mother cried. She took a closer look at Kara. “Oh, your eyes! Please tell me you didn’t Join yourself to a male you can never bond with!”
“Well, that’s kind of the third thing.” Kara smiled at her. “It turns out Raak isn’t unbondable after all.”
“He’s not?” Sylvan asked blankly. “And how would you know that?”
Kara shrugged, grinning at all of them.
“I know because we’re bonded.”
This caused so many questions, all shouted at once in the echoing confines of the Docking Bay, that she had to hold up her hands for silence and practically yell to be heard.
“Take it easy, you guys! I promise I’ll explain everything.”
“For now, all you need to know is that it involves the Goddess,” a deep voice said behind her.
Turning, Kara saw her new mate coming up behind her with Silki scampering at his side. When Raak reached her, he put an arm around her shoulders and drew her close.
“Hey, I thought you were going to wait for my call,” she sent through their link.
“Got tired of waiting. And it seemed like you could use some backup.”
He smiled at her family and then spoke to her father.
“Forgive me for not asking you formally before taking your daughter as my mate,” he told Sylvan. “But please let me assure you that I love her with all my heart and we were bonded in the sight of the Goddess.”
“And we want to have our Joining Ceremony here in the Mother Ship—in the Sacred Grove,” Kara put in quickly.
“Oh, well…of course, I guess.” Sophia looked flustered. “We’ll have to ask Kat to plan it, I suppose. I mean, there’s so much to do…”
Kaleb was still frowning at Raak distrustfully, however.
“Kara,” he growled, “How do we know the two of you are really bonded and not just pretending?”
&
nbsp; “Kaleb! How can you even say that?” She gave her twin brother a little shove, just as she had back when they were kids and he was being a pain.
“I’m saying it because this ‘mate’ of yours is supposed to be Unbondable.” Kaleb frowned stubbornly. “Which means he shouldn’t be able to bond!”
“I know what Unbondable means,” Kara snapped. “Honestly, Kaleb! What do you want me to do—prove it?”
“Exactly.” He frowned and crossed his arms over his chest. “Come with me and I’ll whisper something in your ear—something only I could know. If you can send it by your bond-link to your new ‘mate’ over there, I’ll believe you’re really bonded.”
“Honestly, Kaleb—I don’t believe you!” Kara bristled but Raak squeezed her shoulders gently.
“It’s all right, baby—I don’t blame your family for doubting and this is as good a way as any to prove ourselves. Go on—go over there with your brother and then send me what he tells you.”
The echoing Docking Bay was suddenly silent as her family waited to see what would happen. Furious with her twin for doubting, Kara grabbed Kaleb by the arm and towed him behind one of the parked ships where they could be alone. She didn’t want her brother to accuse Raak of lip-reading to find out what he was saying to her when they spoke. Things were crazy enough as it was.
“All right,” she snapped in a low voice. “Speak! Tell me something and you’d better make it good.”
Kaleb scowled back.
“I’m trying to think of something—you already know almost everything I do because we’re twins. And twins tell each other everything—especially when they’re planning to run off and leave the ship!”
Kara felt herself melting a little. Of course her brother was mad—he’d been worried about her and had rightfully thought that she ought to have included him in her plans.
“Okay…” she sighed. “I know—I’m sorry. I should have told you I was going but I was afraid you would try and stop me. And Kaleb, I had to go.”
He frowned. “You could have told me. I wouldn’t have betrayed your trust.”
“Unless you thought I was in danger,” Kara pointed out. “In which case you would have told Mom and Dad in a hot minute.”
It was Kaleb’s turn to look uncomfortable.
“I would have come with you,” he finally said. “If you thought it was so important to go, you should have taken me with you.”
“If I had, I never would have ended up bonded to Raak,” Kara pointed out. “You would have run him off because you don’t like him.”
“I don’t like him because I don’t trust him,” Kaleb hissed. “And you shouldn’t either, Kara—he’s got you fooled somehow, I just know it.”
“How dare you?” Kara exclaimed. “I’ll have you know—”
“Raak gave his life for your sister. Yes he did, yes he did.”
The squeaky voice stopped them both and Kara looked down and saw Silki standing there, her furry ears tilted forward as though she had been listening to everything they said.
“What?” she and Kaleb said at the same time.
“I said that he gave his life to get your essence flowing the right way again.” the little Tolleg doctor looked up at Kara seriously. “He didn’t want me to tell you but the only way to cure you and save your life was to allow you to bite him and inject an overdose of your essence into his blood. The overload is what stopped his heart and killed him. Yes it did, yes it did.”
“Oh my Goddess…” Kara felt suddenly weak. So that was what Raak had been hiding from her! “He…he never told me,” she whispered faintly. “He told me he died growing a soul so that the two of us could bond!”
“Wait a minute—he died when the two of you, uh, bonded?” Kaleb demanded.
“Yes—but only for a few minutes,” Kara said distractedly. “Then the Goddess sent him back.” She put a hand to her forehead. “And I’ve been biting him over and over ever since then every time we…oh my Goddess!”
“The same Goddess who sent your mate back to you. Yes she did, yes she did,” Silki said helpfully.
“I don’t believe this—he should have told me!” Kara’s voice was still a hoarse, horrified whisper. “I never would have bitten him again! Oh, I feel terrible!”
“That’s what I was afraid of, baby girl—that’s why I didn’t tell you. Didn’t want you to feel guilty.” Raak was suddenly by her side, putting an arm around her shoulders. “Kara,” he said earnestly. “I can tell how upset you are but please forgive me—I didn’t mean to keep secrets from you.”
“Raak…” She shook her head. “I just…I can’t believe you let me bite you knowing it was going to kill you!”
He shrugged. “I figured your life was worth more than mine. Besides…I love you.”
Kara just shook her head—she didn’t know what to say.
“I guess now you know how it feels,” Kaleb remarked, crossing his arms over his chest. “Having something really important kept from you.”
“Oh, you!” Kara threw her twin a furious glance and then glared at Raak too. “You’re both just impossible!” she exclaimed.
She saw a look pass between the two males and Raak asked,
“Does she always get this upset when you don’t tell her everything?”
Kaleb gave his new brother-in-law a reluctant grin.
“Even more. You should have seen her when we were kids and I didn’t tell her I was getting bullied at school. Of course, it was because I knew she’d try to fight the bully for me.”
“Which I did—when I finally found out,” Kara put in, frowning.
“And got punched yourself for your troubles,” Kaleb pointed out.
“But then you got involved and there was no way Vektor could take on both of us at once,” Kara reminded him. “We sent him home with his tail between his legs!”
Raak was looking back and forth between the two of them, grinning slightly.
“I can see I have a lot of family history to catch up on here,” he rumbled.
“The main thing you have to know is that Kara and I always stick together,” Kaleb told him. “In fact, running off to have adventures and get bonded to you was the first thing she’s ever done without me.”
“If it makes you feel any better, I think I can promise it won’t happen again,” Kara said dryly.
“No, I guess not.” Kaleb looked Raak up and down. “So you swear you’re going to do right by my sister?”
“Kaleb! Didn’t you just hear Silki say he died for me?” Kara’s head was still reeling from that bit of news. “How much ‘righter’ can he do than that?” She shook her head. “I still can’t believe that!”
“I’m sorry, baby—I should have told you,” Raak rumbled. “Just didn’t want you to feel like you couldn’t sink those sexy little fangs into me anymore.”
“Please don’t worry about that, Kara—it’s perfectly safe for you to bite Raak again whenever you make love. Yes it is, yes it is,” Silki exclaimed. “You should never again have enough essence in your fangs to cause a critical overload.”
“Well, that’s good to know, anyway,” Kaleb muttered. He had gone red in the face—no doubt because of all the talk about biting and bonding.
Raak looked at Kaleb directly.
“Listen, I love your sister,” he told Kara’s twin. “Love her so damn much, I came back to life just to be with her which was the hardest fucking thing I’ve ever done. I swear to you now, I’m never going to leave her or hurt her or do anything to make her unhappy.”
“Or keep anything serious like the fact that you died for me from me again,” Kara put in sternly.
“Or keep secrets,” Raak agreed. He looked at Kaleb again and held out his arm. “What do you say? Will you accept me? Since Kara and I are already bonded, it’s gonna be a hell of an awkward situation if her twin hates me.”
Kaleb hesitated for a moment, then sighed.
“Well…all right. But only since you really seem to love her.” He
looked at Kara. “And keeping secrets is out for you too!”
“I promise.” Kara smiled at him. “I swear I’ll never run off and get bonded again without telling you first.”
Kaleb snorted laughter.
“All right then—I forgive you.” He took Raak’s offered arm in a Warrior’s clasp. “Welcome to the family,” he told the other male. “It can be a little crazy at times, but we’re glad to have you.”
“Thanks.” Raak grinned at his new brother in law. “Glad to be here. Crazy or not, with Kara is the only place I want to be.”
“Excuse me but are you all right? Are you, are you?”
This time the squeaky voice interrupting them belonged to Yipper, who was looking up at the three of them with great concern.
“Your parents sent me to check and see if you were well. Yes they did, yes they did,” he told Kara and Kaleb.
“They are perfectly fine now that Kara knows that Raak died for her and has forgiven him for not telling her. Also, Kaleb has forgiven Kara for leaving the Mother Ship to get bonded and not asking him to come with her,” Silki answered for them before Kara could open her mouth.
“Is that so, is that so?” Yipper looked sharply at the other Tolleg with wide eyes. Then his focus seemed to change as he examined her more closely. “If you do not mind me saying so, you have lovely fur. Yes you do, yes you do.”
“Oh, well. Thank you, thank you.”
If Tollegs could blush, Kara was certain the little Tolleg doctor would have been blushing. She swiveled her ears towards Yipper and looked at him with her big dark eyes.
“I have heard much about your surgical knowledge from Kara,” she told him. “And your skill in replacing parts and doing enhancements.”
It was Yipper’s turn to look like he wanted to blush.
“Why thank you, thank you,” he said in turn, nodding his head so that his floppy ears flapped. “Would you like to see my surgical suite? Would you, would you?”
“Yes I would, yes I would!” Silki exclaimed eagerly. “Can we go there now?”
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