Brides of the Kindred Volume One

by Evangeline Anderson

  “Seriously, like they weren’t ugly before?” Lauren laughed but the sound ended in a sob.

  “Are you all right?” He spared her a quick glance before looking back at the controls. He had to get a good distance from the planet to make sure they weren’t followed.

  “I’m fine.” She lifted her chin but her voice trembled. “Is…is it safe now? Will we be okay?”

  “We should be all right. It might take me a little while to find the right worm hole but I think I can promise to have you home in a fairly short time,” Xairn said.

  “I see.” Lauren nodded stiffly. “Then…can I…is it safe to go to the restroom?”

  He nodded. “You can unstrap your harness.”

  “Thank you.” She was already fumbling with the straps and as soon as she had gotten lose, she almost ran to the back of the ship. Xairn frowned and cast a glance over his shoulder to watch her retreat. Was she really all right? Should he go to her?

  He felt a surge of frustration at his uncertainty. What would a normal male—one who had been raised around females and knew how to treat them—do? Many of Lauren’s emotional responses still confused him. He could tell she was upset and hurt and he wanted to fix that somehow—to assuage her pain. But he didn’t know how. And he didn’t know if he would ever be able to learn.

  Forgive me, Lauren, he thought, staring blankly into the black reaches of space displayed on the viewscreen. For my ignorance and uncertainty. For not knowing how to ease your pain. I am no fit mate for you. He looked down at the burning letters of her name branded on his chest. And yet I don’t know how to be anything else.

  * * * * *

  Lauren slapped the bathroom door shut and clapped a hand over her mouth to stifle a sob. It felt like she’d been crying off and on all morning but what a hellish morning it had been! She honestly couldn’t remember a worse one. Even waking up naked on the cold metal floor of the Fathership didn’t compare.

  She sank to the floor and wrapped her arms around herself, trembling. She didn’t want to be weak but just for this one moment, she couldn’t help it. She had to give in to the tears.

  Over and over she relieved the terrifying sensation of being grabbed and then watching as the clones tried to take her place. The fear that Xairn wouldn’t know the difference, that she would be left behind on a strange planet trapped in a life of prostitution until she died. And then watching as he endured agony for her—as he allowed himself to be branded with her name without saying a word.

  It should have been me! I should have been the one who was marked! I shouldn’t have let him do it. Though she wasn’t sure how she could have stopped him. Now, even though he was going to leave her, he would have a permanent reminder of her stamped forever on his chest. Lauren wanted to go to him, to treat the burns with some of the cooling gel she’d found in the Kindred first aid kit earlier, but she couldn’t bring herself to face him again. Not yet. For now she could only try to deal with what she’d been through…and try not to think about how she was going to feel in a few hours when he left her on Earth and went away for good.

  She cried quietly for awhile, muffling the sobs with her hand so as not to disturb Xairn. Letting out the terror and pain of what she’d just gone through seemed to help and at last, she began to feel calmer. It’s all right, Lauren, everything is going to be all right, she told herself fiercely, blotting her eyes on the sleeve of her muumuu. You got through being kidnapped, held prisoner by the AllFather, having your DNA altered, and being cloned. You’ll make it through this too. You’ll make it through him leaving…But she didn’t know how she could.

  Out of everything that had happened to her since she’d been plucked her from her normal life on Earth and sent on a dizzying, out of control rollercoaster ride of adventure and fear, knowing she would never see Xairn again hurt the worst. The idea of never being held in his arms, of never looking into his eyes—whether they were red-on-black or blue-green, she didn’t care—was so painful it hurt to breathe when she thought of it. She didn’t blame him a bit for wanting to go but God, how was she going to—

  A soft knocking on the other side of the bathroom door broke her train of thought abruptly. “Lauren?” Xairn sounded concerned. “Are you all right? Can I see you?”

  “Just a minute.” She jumped up and turned to the sink to splash some cool water on her face. Blotting her cheeks with a towel, she studied her reflection in the mirror. Red eyes? Check. Puffy face? Check. Great, just great. Well, there was no way to hide from him that she’d been crying but at least she could be calm and collected now. Xairn had been through enough having her name freaking burned into his flesh. He didn’t need to deal with her crazy emotions too.

  “Lauren?” he asked again.

  “Coming.” Take a deep breath, she opened the door.

  Xairn was leaning against the frame, his wide shoulders filling the doorway completely. His shirt was still hanging open and he was so tall that Lauren found she was just about at eye level with the brand.

  “Hi,” she said brightly. “I was just looking for some burn gel for you. So I could treat your—you know…” She gestured to the raised black lines on his chest. They were an angry red around the margins and had to be hurting him terribly.

  “You were crying,” he said, studying her face intently. “I could hear it though I’m sure you were trying to keep quiet.” Hesitantly, he reached out to brush her cheek with the back of his hand. “Don’t hide your pain from me, Lauren. Please.”

  Lauren bit her lip. “I…I didn’t want to bother you. You’ve been through so much already.”

  “We both have.” He studied her with those new, piercing sea colored eyes. “But we went through it together, at least.”

  “Yes, I guess so.”

  Xairn looked troubled. “I…I want to make you feel better but I don’t know how,” he confessed. “I don’t know the correct response or how to ease your suffering.”

  “Make me feel better?” Lauren looked at him in disbelief. “What about you?” She gestured at his chest. “What about that? Why did you let them? The Judge wanted to brand me—it should have been me.”

  “Are you saying I should have stepped back and allowed you to be hurt—to be burned—without trying to protect you?” His eyes flashed briefly red-on-black. “What kind of male do you think I am? I may not know how to comfort you properly but I would never willingly allow you to come to harm!”

  “But look what they did to you!” Lauren protested. “It must hurt horribly! And how will you ever get it off?”

  “What makes you think I would wish to remove it?” Xairn asked quietly. “Did I not say I was proud to wear your name on my body?”

  “How can you say that? How can you be so calm about this whole thing?” Lauren heard the tremble in her own voice but she couldn’t seem to stop it. “I mean now even after…after you leave, you’ll always have my name on you like…like a stain you can’t get off.”

  “It’s not a stain,” he said softly. “It is a brand—a mark of possession. It denotes ownership.”

  Lauren shook her head. “I don’t understand. Whatever point you’re trying to make—I don’t get it.”

  Xairn looked at her steadily. “I spoke the truth when I told the Judge of the Market that you owned me.”

  “What are you talking about?” Lauren protested. “How could I own you?”

  “Because I am yours—body and soul.” To her surprise, he sank slowly to his knees and looked up at her earnestly. “I realized something when I nearly lost you the second time to the Spider, Lauren—I cannot leave you.” His deep voice was hoarse with emotion. “It is wrong and selfish and I still fear hurting you—fear it desperately—but I simply don’t have the strength to leave you on Earth and go.” He bowed his head. “You have mastered me without raising a finger—I am yours.”

  Lauren could hardly believe it. Her heart started pounding like crazy with a dizzying mixture of hope and fear. “You…you mean it? Xairn do you really mean i
t? You’ll stay with me on Earth? You won’t leave?” She got on her knees in front of him and cupped his face in both hands. “Look in my eyes and tell me again,” she begged. “Please, I need to hear it again.”

  He looked at her, his blue-green eyes filled with pain. “I am completely serious—I will stay with you. But…”

  “But what?” Lauren looked at him anxiously. “I thought I owned you—there are conditions?”

  “Not conditions so much as requests.” Xairn still looked pained. “I will stay with you for as long as you want me but I would ask that we limit our physical contact. And that there should be nothing…” he swallowed. “Nothing sexual between us.”

  “What?” Lauren shook her head. “Xairn, honey, we can’t be in a relationship with no touching. I don’t know if you noticed but I’m a really touchy person.” She ran her hands down the smooth column of his neck and over his broad shoulders to illustrate her point. “I mean, I just can’t help myself—I need contact. And I bet you do too. Don’t you like it when I touch you?”

  “I do.” He swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple moving convulsively. “Much more than I should. Please, Lauren, this request is for your own safety.”

  “I’m not worried about that,” she said, squeezing his shoulders. “Not a bit. I feel safer with you than I ever have with anyone else in my whole life.”

  “Well you shouldn’t.” He looked frustrated. “Don’t you know by now what your touch does to me? How even the lightest brush of your fingertips across my skin makes me react? I can’t trust myself with you, Lauren. And you…you shouldn’t trust me either.”

  Lauren let out a surprised burst of laughter. “Xairn, be serious! You don’t honestly think you’re going to snap and rape me, do you?”

  He closed his eyes tightly and pulled away from her hands. “That is exactly what I fear,” he whispered.

  Lauren was a little taken aback. “Xairn, honey, you would never…”

  “How do you know what I would or wouldn’t do?” he demanded, his eyes flashing briefly red-on-black. “When I don’t even know myself? I only know the ways of my people, Lauren, and they are savage and sadistic.” He ran a hand through his thick black hair distractedly. “I don’t even know how to touch you, how to bring you pleasure instead of pain. I don’t know how to let you touch me without wanting to do things…things I do not even wish to think about.”

  “Then let me teach you.”

  “What?”

  Lauren reached out to cup his face again and was relieved when he didn’t pull away. “Of course you don’t know how to touch or be touched,” she said softly, looking into his eyes. “Not after the way you were raised. So I’m going to teach you.” She stroked his cheek. “And I promise you, baby, we can go as slow as you want.”

  He squeezed his eyes shut. “But what if I lose control? If I hurt you, I could never forgive myself. I would want to die.”

  “You’re not going to hurt me,” Lauren insisted. “You keep talking about the ways of your people but you’ve got some of me in you now, too. Look at yourself, Xairn—you don’t have to be afraid. Surely the human DNA you got from me will help control your Scourge impulses—don’t you think?”

  He opened his eyes and frowned. “I hadn’t considered that. Maybe…maybe you’re right.” He looked so hopeful and uncertain that Lauren wanted to hug him and hold him close but somehow she restrained herself.

  “Of course I’m right,” she said firmly. “For now, lets just get home and everything will be fine.”

  “I hope so.” He shook his head. “I truly do, though I’m afraid this will end badly. I know I should have the strength to leave you—”

  “Don’t you dare!” Lauren glared at him. “Don’t even think about it.”

  A small, sad smile crossed his lips. “Let me finish my thought, please. I was going to say that I know I should leave you but I can’t.” He gave her a piercing look. “I can’t.”

  “Good.” Lauren stroked his cheek. “And don’t worry, Xairn, whatever issues you have, we’ll work through them together. I promise.”

  Xairn nodded and sighed. Hesitantly, he reached up to brush his hand over her shoulder. “Thank you, Lauren. For accepting me as I am.”

  “Thank you for protecting me,” she said quietly. “For taking the pain that should have been mine. For leaving your home and everything you’ve ever known to come with me.” Leaning forward, she pressed her mouth to his in a careful, chaste kiss. “I love you,” she whispered against his lips.

  She felt his big frame tremble and then he returned her kiss tentatively, his mouth moving over hers with a shy uncertainty that nearly broke her heart. “I…I love you as well, Lauren.” His voice was hoarse with emotion and she wondered if she was the only woman he had ever said those words to. Almost certainly she was. God how she wanted to pull him close and comfort him, to show him that everything was going to be all right! To prove to him that he could trust himself as she trusted him. But she sensed now wasn’t the time for that.

  “Good,” she said lightly, pulling away with a smile. “Then let’s go home.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  The AllFather tapped his skeletal fingers against the arm of his black metal throne. It was etched in burning lines of poisonous green, made of the same tainted metal he employed in his nutrient slime. Much of his power was derived from this small reminder of his home world but most of it was inside him, gathered in the empty barren wasteland that should have held his heart.

  Where can they be? Where will he take her? He frowned. Why, to her home of course—to that insignificant planet of hers, that is where she will wish to go. But how can I find them in their altered genetic states? How? What weakness can I exploit to bring them back?

  Then again, why should he bother? His peak was past and would not return again for many years. He couldn’t breed the girl as he had originally intended. The prophesy was voided—all hope for the regeneration of the Scourge race was lost.

  May you be damned, my son. I will bring you back if only for revenge.

  But when he considered it, he realized that revenge was not the only reason he had to call his errant son back to the Fathership. He had felt…changes in Xairn during their last encounter. His son was maturing—coming into his own sexually as a Scourge male at last. For years the AllFather had doubted it would ever happen, but the human female had acted as a trigger, undoing years of repression and releasing the beast within.

  And with the advent of his growing sexual energy, Xairn’s personal power would grow as well. He might even come to rival the AllFather himself, in time. Power like that could not be ignored. It must be dealt with and soon. But how?

  The altered DNA would keep him from finding and linking to Xairn—if the alteration held. But Scourge genes were strong—as virulent as weeds in a garden which grew high and fast, choking the other plants and flowers around them. Such genes might be masked for a little while but violent emotions should bring them forth again. But how to evoke those emotions when he didn’t know exactly where his son was and couldn’t get through the Kindred’s security net around the planet to search for him?

  For security measures around Earth had been tightened considerably—not even a small transport pod containing an urlich could get through. And only Kindred ships were allowed in and out of the net—a fact that Xairn had no doubt considered when taking one of those, instead of a Scourge ship, when he’d left the home world with Lauren in the first place.

  “Even if I found him, I could not get to him,” the AllFather muttered, frowning with his lipless mouth. “I mussst draw him out—bring him to me. But how? How?” Suddenly it came to him—a solution so obvious he began to laugh—a high, hissing sound that made his personal guards turn their heads warily in his direction. “What need have I to draw him out? To evoke emotionsss in him? Ssshe will do it for me,” the AllFather hissed

  It was true. The human girl would provoke the change in Xairn—would bring his Scourge DNA to the
surface and cause him to mature both sexually and in terms of his personal power. The moment Xairn took her, he would reach his peak, and his mind would be open once more to the AllFather’s manipulations. Then he would coax his son back to him for a final confrontation. And once he had Xairn within his grasp…

  “His power ssshall be mine. A sssecond birth. A regeneration.” The crimson eyes blazed with greed.

  Of course in order to absorb Xairn’s power, he would have to kill his only son, but the AllFather didn’t let such small details bother him. Xairn had spoiled one plan—the plan to regenerate their race through the female of the prophecy. Very well then, the AllFather would make a new plan—a far deadlier one. What need had he of a newly revived race if he himself could live forever? The girl was now superfluous—the one he needed was Xairn and Xairn alone.

  But it would not do for Xairn to know of this new direction in the AllFather’s thinking. He needed to believe that it was still the human girl the AllFather was after. That Lauren was still in danger. Xairn must not learn that he himself was now the target. Unfortunately, there was a possibility he would glean the information from the AllFather’s mind if they established a new link. Unless the AllFather could cloud the issue.

  Frowning, the AllFather left his throne and began to pace. “What ssshall I do, how ssshall I draw him to me while keeping him ignorant of my true desiresss?”

  When the idea came to him, he began to smile. It was simple—blood simple. And it had the beauty of fulfilling two needs at once. The AllFather licked his lipless mouth with a dry, pointed, papery tongue. He might as well begin the plan at once—it had been too long since he’d received emotional sustenance.

  “Alpha,” he said, looking up at his nearest guard, which he had regrown in the vats. “Prepare the molecular transssfer beam. I am hungry…”

  Chapter Eighteen

  “This is really good—what did you call it again?” Eagerly, Nadiah dug the rounded eating instrument called a spoon into the cold, creamy confection which came in colorful little tubs from Earth.