by Viola Grace
“You have been chosen by your host to be his bride. That requires a few alterations to your physiology. We are going to tank you, and when you rise, you will meet your mate.”
“No one said anything about alteration.” She looked at him with wide eyes.
“You know enough about interspecies matings to know that most are not directly accomplished. All the women here were selected because they could be altered to match the requirements. That included you.”
Honour nodded. “May I ask a question before you start?”
“Of course.”
“Why do all the Freyalki here wear masks?”
“They are humidified breathers. We need more moisture in our air than you do.” He pulled his mask aside, and there were pleasant features that matched the rest of his nut-brown skin.
“Oh. How long will I be under?”
He smiled before he put the mask back. “It will feel like no time at all.”
“Will I dream?”
“I believe so.”
She sighed, “Oh, damn.”
The hypo hissed and her world went black.
She was back in the dream world, looking out over the edge of the cliff to the forest beyond.
“So, you are in the moment of transformation.” He walked toward her, he was less shadow and more dark skin with a wave of midnight hair cascading in a cloak behind him.
“Apparently. It seems you are as well. You seem fairly Freyalki.”
He grinned. “It is the best form to take when you are representing a species. You become one of them.”
“Will I change?”
“No, I enjoy your colouring. The changes will be minor and not take too much energy. You will be able to inhale and process greater amounts of humidity than your lungs currently allow for. There are a few other alterations but that is the greatest one.”
She nodded and turned back to the view. “It is truly breathtaking.”
He wrapped his arms around her from behind. “It is. I am glad you can enjoy the sight of the green and growing world.”
“It has been a fascination with me since I was on earth. Plants were always my favourite companions.” She smiled and leaned back against him.
“That warms my heart.”
Honour felt the rise of his erection against her lower back. “It seems to be warming more than your heart.”
“No, that is just proximity to you. Since the moment you stepped into my garden, you have been stimulating my senses.”
She inhaled deeply and shifted her hips against him. His senses weren’t the only ones on overdrive. He smelled like every plant she had ever loved in her life, like rich soil and heady musk.
His long fingers stroked her skin with reverence, and she turned in his arms. She rubbed her breasts against the smooth wall of his chest, down the ridges of muscle.
He let out a long sigh and cupped her buttocks, pulling her up against him. The heat of his cock slid against the lips of her pussy, parting her as he slid her back and forth.
She shivered wildly, pressing her lips to his in a ravenous kiss. He tasted better than he smelled, at least on the dream plane.
He lifted her with one hand in a feat of strength that sent a nervous thrill through her. If he could lift her this easily, what else could he do?
Her host thrust into her shallowly, slowly inching into her.
She gripped his shoulders and held on as he worked himself inside her.
He leaned forward and took one nipple between his teeth.
Honour squeaked and clenched her hands in his hair.
He chuckled and lapped at the abused flesh with his tongue. He pulled her completely onto him until he could go no further. She winced and wrapped her legs around his hips.
He lifted and lowered her slowly, holding her against him as he shifted inside her. Once again, he seemed to swell to fit her perfectly, or was she swelling to fit him? It was the dream plane, who cared?
Honour opened her eyes and inhaled sharply. She felt the humidity in the air, but it was welcomed as she hacked and coughed the liquid from her lungs.
A blanket was pulled over her as she was tilted to her side.
“Breathe easy, lady. You are through the worst of it.”
Her physician was there, patting her on the back and running scans in rotation.
She focused on breathing and looked around at her new environment. The interior of the room was painted in soft green; it was much more soothing than the brighter colours of the candidate facility.
The readouts must have been what he was looking for, because she was left alone in the decanting room.
Footfalls told her that she wasn’t alone in the room. “Hello?”
She twisted to look around, but she ended up coughing again.
“Rest, Honour. You fought the transformation for longer than anticipated.” He stroked her hair back with his hand.
She looked into eyes that were bright leaf green in an amethyst setting. In all their couplings in the dream plane, he had never shown her his eyes.
Honour fought her blush. “How long was I out?”
“Two months. It had been anticipated as less than a week, so you are overdue.” He smiled.
“Do you have an actual name?” She blinked and held her blanket to her chest as he lifted her and carried her to a chair in the corner of the decanting room.
He sighed, “I don’t have an actual name. I am the consciousness of millions of living organisms that each give a portion of themselves to give me awareness.”
“What do they call you?”
“The Great Forest of Yalki. What do you want to call me?”
Mine. The word formed in her mind before she could speak, and he smiled slightly.
“Acuar-yalki. Ace for short.” She smiled.
“And Acuar for the great trees that are part of me. I accept it. What is Ace?”
“A nickname. It is an affectionate term that is used between friends.” She fidgeted with her blanket, curious as to what other changes had been made to her body, aside from the alteration to her lungs.
“And what nickname can be generated from Honour?”
She blinked. “Whatever you like.”
“Honey. Yes, I believe that Honey will suit you.”
She wrinkled her nose. “As you like.”
He laughed. “If you do not like it, I suppose I will have to call you Rose.”
With the nicknames settled, she had one more question. “What am I going to wear now?”
“Funny you should mention that.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead and grinned as if he had a secret that she was about to find out.
She couldn’t wait.
Chapter Five
She was still too weak to walk, so he carried her out of the decanting lab and into the air of Yalki. Wrapped in nothing but the light blanket, she felt a little uncomfortable when the applause from the audience of Freyalki began.
Acuar carried her through the crowd and into a large structure on the edge of the forest, guarded by trees. The gauntlet of smiling faces made Honour aware of how big a deal Acuar finding a mate had to be.
“Smile, dearest Rose. These will soon be your people.”
She blinked at him and scowled. “Soon?”
“Yes, you have not yet met the forest. It is a tradition that all three of us join as one.”
“I thought you were the forest.” She fixed a smile on her face and freed one hand to wave a little as they continued to pass the Freyalki.
“I am a fraction of each soul in the forest, from grasses to the flowers.”
Honour tried to imagine what a coupling with the forest would entail. She was drawing a blank.
She continued to wave at the folk that they passed, smiling at the children who were standing to see her for the first time, the damp hair from her time in the tank still chilling her skin.
He whispered to her, “They have not seen
a bride in their lifetimes. This is an exciting day.”
“I am getting that feeling, but there is also a distinct breeze.”
He grinned and lifted her for a quick kiss. “I will not let your blanket go if that is your worry.”
“Oh, thanks. That is not the way I want to expose myself to the population.”
His smile was gleeful as they walked the last five hundred meters to the building. Vines covered the doorways, and they pulled the doors open at their approach.
“The doors are automatic?”
Acuar said, “So to speak. This is the gathering house and our home. The forest is alive within its walls and over them.”
“So, we are going to be living inside the forest itself?” She tried to keep her tone casual as he walked through a huge ballroom and up a winding staircase.
“You will see.”
Honour was left in suspense as he walked her through the interior of the building and to a private wing.
“The public has access to the rest of the building, but this is our private wing. No one will come in here with anything but pure intentions.”
Honour looked around, and she could see the subtle veining of green throughout the walls. “So, I am done with medical attention?”
“Yes. You are strictly in my purview now.”
Honour was conflicted about that, but he entered a room whose doors closed behind them. He crossed the room to the bed nestled between two windows, settled her on the edge of the bed and turned to the wardrobe. “The forest has offered you clothing. It is all alive, just so you are aware.”
Her voice was weak. “Alive?”
“Indeed. Once we have completed the bonding, you will be able to manipulate them or request them to change on you. For now, you are stuck with their natural patterns.”
She raised her brows as he pulled out lengths of rippling fabric and a pair of sandals. “Wow.”
“The raw materials are offered from the grasses and trees. They haven’t seen a bride for a few centuries.”
“Why do you need me now? Why do they need you?” It was rude, but it would solve a lot of questions.
He put the clothing down next to her and sat on her other side. “Well, I suppose it is time that you knew everything.”
She slowly got dressed while he explained that the Yalki system was under pressure to part with some of their natural resources. They needed a physical presence to attend to the negotiations on the orbital station.
Only the host for the forest and his bride had the right to negotiate away any resources on any of their worlds.
“How many worlds and moons are there in the Yalki system?”
“There are ten worlds and twenty-three orbital bodies. Twelve billion bipedal beings and untold amounts of living trees.” He smiled.
She twisted and turned, looking in the mirror on the interior of the wardrobe. Layers of the thinnest silk she had ever worn provided a soft and opaque gown. Leathery leaves formed her shoulder pieces and a twisted cincher made of vines pulled in the gown under her bust and let the downy silk flow free to her ankles. Her sandals hugged her feet snugly. She scowled at her hair and left the large bedroom to examine the lav. Every inch of the interior was stone and wood, but she was able to find a hairbrush and go to work on her locks.
“There is a dressing table in the bedroom as well.” Acuar was leaning in the doorway and watching her brush her hair.
“I guessed as much, but I wanted to explore and I still needed a hairbrush.” She smiled brightly.
“There are pins and clips in the table. If you wish, one of the women from the selection centre will be at your disposal to help you arrange your hair.”
Sighing, she set the brush down and moved past him into the bedroom. She ignored the light stroke of his fingers across her hip as she passed.
She did indeed find the pins, and in a few minutes, she had arranged her waist-length locks. Two coils were pinned on either side of her head and the rest was hanging loose down her back. The pins she was using were carved icons with gemstone eyes. She didn’t recognise the species depicted, but they were striking and ferocious.
“Are you feeling up to meeting the staff that will be caring for you and preparing your meals?”
She could see him reflected in the mirror. His clothing appeared to be leather, but knowing what she now knew about Yalki, she suspected that he had crafted his clothing out of the same leaves that decorated her shoulders.
“I suppose so. My legs feel steadier, but I am a little hungry. Can we find something to eat?”
He chuckled. “You are not supposed to eat until we have bonded completely. Your body cannot break down the minerals here yet.”
“Water then? Maybe tea?” She looked at him hopefully.
“Water will be fine. We will see about the tea.” He offered her his hand.
She rose to her feet and slipped her hand in his.
His fingers clenched around her’s for a moment before they made their way out of the bedroom, through the entry room and back into the hall, the doors opening and closing automatically.
The crew that manned the building waited at the foot of the staircase.
She was introduced to the sixteen individuals who worked in the kitchen, arranged the queries from the locals and generally ran things when there was no host in residence.
She asked the major domo, “Do you mind him coming here?”
“We begged for the host to return. The surrounding systems have become aggressive in their demands, and without the host, we are sitting and vulnerable.” He smiled ruefully. “We need him, and he needs you to be whole.”
Acuar was standing right there next to them with nothing but a smile on his features. He didn’t seem to mind being analyzed.
She sipped at the water that an eager Nayin had brought her. The maid had been eager to introduce herself and offer her services as a groomer. Honour had smiled, she recognised the woman’s bright gaze from the candidate centre.
“Of course, Nayin. You have magical hands.” Honour nodded, and the woman clapped her hands together.
“I will serve you well. I, also, have training with hairstyles.”
“Good. It seems to have grown a bit since I arrived.” She looked over at Acuar, but he was speaking quietly with the major domo.
“That is a side effect of the tank energy. Normally, a bride does not take as long as you did to complete her change.”
Honour shrugged. “I guess some things take as long as they take.”
“You speak Yalki very well.”
“Let me guess, programming in the tank?”
Nayin’s cheeks darkened. “I thought they would have told you.”
“They told me as little as they could get away with. Once the host had my agreement, there was nothing else to be said. I went under and then I went in.”
The housekeeper brought over more water and refilled her glass. “Thank you, Myli.”
“You are most welcome, lady. It is the least I can do. You are looking very pale though.” Myli had deep chestnut hair streaked with white and olive-gold skin. Her eyes were the softest brown and filled with kindness.
“I am always this colour, Myli.”
“Are you usually grey under your skin? You look weak.”
“As far as I know, I have not had anything to eat since I went into the tank. I don’t care how good the nutrition supplements are, you get hungry.” She chuckled, but her stomach rumbled around the fourth glass of water.
The meet and greet had turned into an impromptu cocktail party, but the only cocktail being served was water, out of deference to Honour.
She swayed lightly as she carried on a conversation with three of the housemaids. When she staggered and caught herself, two arms came around her to hold her steady.
“I believe that you have proved your point. You are stronger than most would have given you credit for, and three of those who worked with yo
u in the centre have won their betting pools for how long you could go before the joining.”
She looked up at Acuar and smiled. “Is that a subtle hint?”
“Not subtle. As soon as you came out of that tank, the clock was ticking.” He held her hand and started the slow walk back to their wing.
She was in step with him all the way, side by side, step by step. When they entered the anteroom to the bedroom, she paused and removed her shoes. It was a silly reflex, but it made her feel at home.
Once in the bedroom, she looked at the bed. It was a huge structure of vines and flowers. Petals of every nature were spread over the entire bed.
Honour removed her clothing, releasing the cincher, slipping the gown off her shoulders and stepping out of it. Every step took her closer to the bed itself. The final article of clothing she was wearing were the loops of hair on her head. She pulled the pins out and set them on the chest at the foot of the bed.
Naked, she turned to Acuar and smiled. “Well, how does this work?”
She watched as he inhaled slowly and let his breath out on a hiss. “You are off to a good start, but we need to invite the forest in. Are you ready for that?”
Honour nodded, and the next moment, the windows flew open and vines twisted from the structure of the bed itself grabbing her wrists and waist, pulling her up and back into the sheets.
Apparently, that was all the foreplay she was going to get.
Chapter Six
Honour blinked in surprise as she was pinned in place. To her astonishment, Acuar was given the same treatment. He was lifted into the bed just as she had been, and the vines were getting very personal as they stripped off his clothing.
“Ace, what is going on here?”
“Do not fight the forest; they are in control now.” His words were calming. He seemed to take being turned into a puppet with good grace.
She twisted slightly as the vines tickled her skin, arousing her with the caress of cool green leaves. “This is odd.”
“You are the bride of the host of the forest. I am the host, and this is the forest.” He chuckled.
The forest moved his arms over her, his fingertips skating along her skin. As his clothing was discarded, the forest moved him over her and more vines wrapped around her thighs, parting them.