“Yes, definitely. Though one baby seems less developed than the other. He appears to be about…oh, about a month younger than his brother.”
“But there was only one baby yesterday—I’m sure of it!” Liv protested. “How could this happen?”
“Well…” Sylvan put down the wand and rubbed his chin. “Didn’t you tell me that Lilli, here, had been injected with extreme fertility hormones?”
“Quick-grow hormones—yes.” Lilli nodded.
“There’re all the rage on Yonnie Six right now,” Karn said dryly.
“I see. So that’s probably how you got pregnant in the first place,” Sylvan told Lilli. “Because of the extreme hormones. But do you think they might still be in your system?”
Lilli thought of the persistent tingling and sexual need she’d begged Karn to help her with the night before and blushed.
“Maybe,” she admitted, feeling her cheeks get hot.
“Mmm, I see.” Sylvan nodded. “So these hormones make it much easier to get pregnant and they make the fetus grow extremely fast.”
“That’s right,” Karn said.
“And when exactly did you get bonded?” Sylvan raised an eyebrow questioningly.
“Last night,” Lilli said, her cheeks getting hotter.
“All night long,” Karn added, with his lopsided grin.
“Well, I think that solves the mystery of your first baby’s little brother,” Sylvan said dryly. “Apparently these hormones you were given are so potent that you continue to release eggs that can be fertilized even after you’re already pregnant.”
“Oh my!” Lilli put a hand to her mouth. “Does that mean we shouldn’t, uh…do what we did to get bonded anymore for a while?”
“Let me run some blood tests,” Sylvan told her. “It should be safe again as soon as the hormones are out of your system. But until then, unless you want triplets, I’d lay off the, er, bonding activities.”
“Understood,” Karn told him. “Two is enough for us.”
“It’s more than enough.” Lilli looked at Liv. “How in the world am I going to manage two at once?”
“You’ll have your hubby to help you,” Liv said firmly. “Kindred make excellent fathers. And don’t forget I’m going to introduce you to my friends. My own sister, Sophie—who’s married to Sylvan, by the way—had twins.”
“A boy and a girl.” Sylvan smiled proudly.
“And my best friend, Kat, had triplets,” Liv went on. “Of course, she’s got two husbands to help her raise them, but still—they’re a handful.”
“I bet!” Lilli murmured. She promised herself she was going to try and control the extreme sexual desire she felt—she had to unless she wanted to wind up with a whole bunch of babies inside!
“But will the second baby be all right?” Karn asked anxiously. “I mean, will he be born on his older brother’s due date and won’t that be too early for him?”
“Please don’t worry.” Sylvan shook his head. “We can give your mate compounds to help delay her labor until both of your sons are ready to be born.” He patted Lilli’s hands. “We’re going to take good care of her and your babies.”
“Thank you,” Karn said gratefully. “I really appreciate it, Commander Sylvan.”
“It’s the least I can do after you risked your life on such a difficult and dangerous mission,” Sylvan said gravely. “Why, without you, the Nightwalker Kindred you discovered in the Yonnite System would have been put to death by now.”
“Oh—is he going to be all right?” Lilli asked anxiously. When he was telling her about being a spy and not a bodyslave at all, Karn had also admitted his role in trying to save the other warrior. She was glad she’d been involved in helping him find the evidence that would hopefully set the Nightwalker Kindred free.
“He’s going to be, if the Goddess wills it,” Sylvan said grimly. “I’ve spoken to the Councilor who’s helping him in the Yonnite Court System. She’s up against some big challenges but she’s a very determined young woman—I know she’ll prevail.”
“Imani, right?” Liv asked, raising an eyebrow. “The one who took Councilor Allisandra’s place?”
Sylvan nodded. “Exactly. She’s on Yonnie Six right now, fighting for the Nightwalker’s freedom. Though I think there have been a few complications in the case…”
“Whatever it is, the Goddess will lead her through it,” Liv said confidently and Lilli nodded her head in agreement.
“She certainly took care of Karn and me—and our baby,” she pointed out.
“Babies,” Karn corrected, grinning at her. “I never thought I’d even have one son—and now we’re going to have two!”
“Two sons,” Lilli murmured—she was still trying to wrap her head around the idea.
She vowed to herself that she would raise her sons in the ways of the Kindred. She would be a much better mother than her own mother had been and she would love them unconditionally. They would know she was there for them always and they would grow up to be fine men and wonderful warriors.
Sylvan smiled at her.
“Truly, the Goddess is good.”
“She certainly is.” Lilli nodded. But inside, her mind moved from her own joy to the danger of the girl who was still stuck on Yonnie Six.
Let her be safe, Goddess, she prayed. Protect her with your mighty power!
After all, the Nightwalker Kindred had been framed for a gruesome murder—which they knew he had not committed. But what if whoever had killed his Mistress was still on the loose? And what if they targeted Councilor Imani because she was trying to help the male they’d tried to pin it on?
Lilli shivered at the thought. She would keep the other girl in her prayers, she decided.
Imani would need all the prayers she could get.
The End?
OF COURSE NOT!
Read on for a sneak peek at Unleashed by the Defender, Imani and the Nightwalker Kindred’s book, coming soon!
But first, if you’ve enjoyed this book, please consider leaving a short review HERE. Good reviews are like gold for an author in this crazy-crowded e-book landscape. They let other readers know it’s okay to take a chance on a new author or a new series. Plus they give me the warm fuzzies. : )
Thanks for being such an awesome reader!
Hugs,
Evangeline
Prologue
Pale green eyes, glowing in the darkness. Savage eyes…a beast’s eyes.
Imani put a hand up to ward them off. They were coming for her—coming and there was nothing she could do to save herself—nowhere to run, no place she could hide. The eyes would find her and then…
She woke up with a start, her heart pounding, her palms sweating.
“Stop it,” she told herself out loud, wincing at the sound of her own voice in the darkness. “Stop it, it’s just a dream. Only a dream!”
But she couldn’t seem to stop herself from searching the dark confines of her bedroom aboard the Kindred Mother Ship. Couldn’t stop thinking that she saw those eyes watching her…waiting for her.
Waiting for what?
Imani didn’t know but she was desperately afraid she was going to find out…
One
“I’m sorry, but I just can’t wear this—especially not to argue a case in court!”
Imani Williams looked down at the crazy outfit her new friend and advisor, Kat, had put her into with shock and dismay. It looked like something she might wear if she wanted to dance around a silver pole at a strip club—not a respectable ensemble she might put on to go to a courtroom.
The top half—because yes, it was actually a two-piece that showed her midriff—consisted of a thin band of mostly see-through pink lace that barely covered her nipples. This normally wouldn’t have worked for Imani, since she was big up top and needed serious support for her double D cup breasts. But Kat had given her tiny little devices called “float dots” to use which, when applied to the bottom of each breast, right where they met her chest, caus
ed her boobs to lift effortlessly and look positively perky.
The float dots were nice, Imani had to admit, but putting her breasts on display like this most certainly was not.
The bottom part of her new courtroom attire was a long, tight skirt, a darker shade of pink than the barely-there lace top. It would have been okay if not for the slit up the middle which went all the way to her navel. There was a lace panel which covered her panties—also made of lace—but it didn’t do a very good job since it was mostly see-through and extremely short.
“I can’t go into a courtroom on another planet looking like a prostitute!” Imani said, turning to Kat.
“You won’t look like a prostitute, doll—you’ll look like a high-powered female litigator—this is how they dress on Yonnie Six,” Kat assured her. “And believe me, if you don’t dress correctly, they won’t give you the time of day. Those Yonnite women are ruthless when it comes to fashion.”
“But how can it be a sign of female empowerment to show off my body this way?” Imani argued. She would rather crawl under a rock than appear in this get-up in public! “Showing your body means you’re displaying yourself for a man or men and I thought Yonnie Six was ruled exclusively by women.”
“It is,” Kat said patiently. “And on Yonnie Six, showing your body is a sign of empowerment. Essentially you’re saying, ‘look at me—I can show my body and not a single man here can touch me.” She shrugged. “Because they’re pretty much all slaves.”
“Like my client.” Imani frowned, her mind temporarily diverted from her current dress debacle. “He’s been locked up in the Yonnite jail for days now and he’s scheduled to be executed if I can’t get him off.”
“What are the details?” Kat asked curiously. “I’ve heard a little bit about this case from Sylvan, but I don’t know the whole case.”
“There aren’t many,” Imani admitted. “I’m supposed to get more detailed information once I reach Yonnie Six from a Kindred informant. He’s working undercover there and he’s supposed to give me evidence to use in court. But essentially, my client has been accused of murdering his Mistress in cold blood.”
“Wow!” Kat’s lovely blue eyes widened. “That’s a tall order, isn’t it? Have you ever defended a murderer before?”
“I don’t believe he is a murderer,” Imani said, frowning. “Apparently there are some very fishy circumstances surrounding the crime. But the Yonnie Peace Keeper Squad didn’t even try to find any other suspects—they just slapped my client in jail and charged him with murder. It’s not unlike some cases I’ve seen on Earth, actually.”
“So you have defended people in his position before, then,” Kat said.
Imani nodded. “I haven’t been an attorney for very long, but my specialty is defending people who have been wrongly accused and imprisoned. You’d be surprised and appalled at how many people have been locked away for crimes they didn’t commit—just because those in authority wanted someone to blame and they were in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“You sound like it’s personal for you,” Kat remarked.
“It is.” Imani sighed. “It happened to my older brother, Rashaad.” Even now she couldn’t think about her big brother without a lump forming in her throat. What had happened to him was so unnecessary—so wrong. Every time she took a new case she thought of him—thought of the justice she would get for her client, which had been denied to her brother.
“What happened, if you don’t mind me asking?” Kat asked quietly.
Imani shook her head. It hurt too much to talk about the intimate details of her brother’s death. But she could give her new friend the quick and dirty version.
“A routine traffic stop which turned into a drug bust,” she said tightly. “Only Rashaad didn’t do drugs—he was a health freak, wouldn’t even put caffeine in his body, let alone cocaine—which was what the cops claimed they found. And they claimed they had found enough of it to throw him in jail without bail because they said he was a flight risk.”
“That’s horrible!” Kat exclaimed. “Couldn’t your family do anything about it?”
“We tried,” Imani said. “My parents are well connected—my dad’s a tax attorney and my mom is a doctor—a Pediatrician. They hired the best defense attorney they could find. But before the case could even get to court, my brother was…” She took a deep breath. “He was stabbed and killed. We only got word when my Mom and I went to visit him. My Mom was…” She shook her head, remembering the way her mother had broken down, sobbing, right there in the visitors’ area. “She was devastated. We all were.”
“Of course you were. How terrible!” Kat looked truly horrified. “And that’s what made you want to go into law?”
Imani nodded.
“The next day I changed my major from pre-med to pre-law.” She lifted her chin. “I wanted to fight for people like my brother—people who were unjustly accused and railroaded into prison.”
“I think that’s wonderful.” Kat gave her an admiring look. “The fact that you’re turning your personal tragedy into a crusade for justice.”
Imani sighed.
“It’s the best I can do, since there was nothing I could do for my brother. I’ll do anything to help my clients.” She looked down at herself and sighed. “Even, apparently, dress like a stripper.”
“Believe me, doll, you won’t be the only one there dressed like that,” Kat assured her. “And don’t worry, I’ll be packing you more of the same, so if the hearing goes on multiple days, you’ll have plenty of fashion choices.”
“All of them obscene, I suppose?” Imani raised an eyebrow at her. “At least this color looks good with my complexion,” she remarked. The dark pink did an excellent job of emphasizing her chocolaty brown skin tones—perhaps too good a job, she thought wryly, since so much skin was on display.
“They’re all pretty skimpy,” Kat admitted matter-of-factly. “But again, that’s Yonnie Six for you. You have to dress the part or they won’t have anything to do with you.” She shrugged. “But at least you don’t have to pretend to be one of them—if you were, we’d have to find a willing Kindred warrior to pretend to be your bodyslave.”
“Bodyslave?” Imani asked, horrified.
“Sure.” Kat nodded. “In Yonnite high society, you’re nothing if you don’t have a big hot guy trailing around on a leash and a pain collar after you. But since they already know you’re coming from the Kindred, you don’t have to pretend. Not that Sylvan won’t send a guard to protect you, if you want one,” she added.
Imani shook her head firmly.
“No thanks. I prefer to work alone. Besides, from what I’m reading about the Nightwalker Kindred, it’s much better for me to come for him by myself than to present another male that he might see as a challenge. Nightwalkers are extremely territorial.”
“Really?” Kat looked interested as she handed Imani a short, pink lace jacket that matched the band of lace covering her breasts. “Here, put this on—it might help you feel a little less naked.”
A very little bit, Imani thought, as she tried the jacket on. It covered her arms all right but didn’t meet in the middle, which meant her breasts were still exposed.
“Thanks,” she said doubtfully.
“You look gorgeous if it’s any consolation,” Kat told her, smiling. “Better put on your regular clothes though, Sylvan wants us to come to a briefing before you go.”
Imani was more than willing to take off the skimpy Yonnie Six court outfit and slip back into her normal workday clothes of a conservative button-down blouse and pencil skirt. She gave a sigh of relief as she stepped out from behind the folding screen Kat had set up in her office, which also included a clothing simulator—an amazing machine which could print out clothes from on-line images like a 3-D printer.
“Well, you look much more conservative now,” Kat said, grinning as Imani emerged from behind the screen. “Ready for the briefing?”
“Ready.” Imani nodded. She was eage
r to learn more details of the case she was about to try. She’d been taking a crash course in Yonnite Law from Lizabeth Paige to prepare for it. Lizabeth and her husband, Lone, headed up the Kindred’s legal team but they had new twins to care for, so Imani had been chosen to go take care of this particular case.
Of course, the case would have fallen to her mentor, Allisandra Stone, but she had recently moved to an alternate universe to be with the Kindred husband who had Claimed her—which was mind-bogglingly weird as far as Imani was concerned. But everyone aboard the Mother Ship seemed to take it as a matter of course. Apparently strange things happened all the time when you associated with the Kindred.
Imani just hoped none of them happened to her.
Two
“Now, I understand you’ve been studying both Yonnite Law and the Nightwalker Kindred to prepare for this case.” Commander Sylvan steepled his fingers as he leaned across his desk. He was the head of the Kindred High Council and also the one who had hired Imani in the first place—on the recommendation of her mentor.
“Yes.” Imani nodded seriously. She sat across from Sylvan, and Kat was sitting right beside her.
The full-figured redhead was tasked with getting her ready to go to a whole different planet and she had done everything she could from making Imani a whole new Yonnie wardrobe to making sure she got a shot of translation bacteria so she wouldn’t have to deal with a language barrier. Imani sort of wished she could take Kat all the way to Yonnie Six with her, for moral support, but Kat had her hands full with two husbands and three sons to take care of so Imani was on her own.
“I’ve got the law procedures down pretty well,” Imani told Sylvan. “But the literature I could find on the Nightwalker Kindred was limited.”
“Let me see if I can fill in the gaps.” Sylvan sat back and his deep voice took on a lecturing tone. “Back when the Kindred first discovered Ulle Prime—the Nightwalker home world, a great catastrophe had just swept over the planet.”
Protecting His Mistress...Book 24 in the Kindred Tales Series Page 25