Devoured: Brides of the Kindred 11 (28 page)

“I am glad to hear it.” He brushed a soft
kiss over her lips and she tasted her own secret flavor there. It gave her a
surprising flare of heat between her thighs.

“I…um…don’t think I’ve ever come that
hard.
Ever
,” she said.

He growled approval low in his throat.

“I’m glad,
lin’del.
Your pleasure is mine.”

“But did it help?” Tess asked the question
that was making her anxious. “I mean, is your
dr’gin
happy?”

“For now.” He frowned. “But it came damn
close to getting loose tonight. I think…I think tomorrow I need to find the nearest
Human/Kindred Relations building and make a call to my brother. He told me had
had some possible ideas about what to do if I couldn’t control the
dr’gin
on my own or even with your
help.”

Tess felt her heart sink.

“So…you’re going back to the Mother Ship
after all?” She supposed she couldn’t blame him. But after what he’d said about
them already being involved…

“No.” Garron’s eyes blazed brighter.
“Absolutely not. I told you I wouldn’t leave you alone. Wherever I go, you go.
And wherever you go, I go.”

“Sounds good.” Tess was surprised at how
relieved she was. Part of her realized that this probably wasn’t a good thing.
She couldn’t afford to become dependant on the big Kindred—she needed to be
able to fend for herself. But still…she couldn’t help it. She
liked
him.

Maybe
more than like,
whispered Tess BP but
she shut that thought off quickly. It was one thing to admit she was getting
attached to Garron. It was another to let herself imagine she was falling in
love. That was just silly—wasn’t it?

“So you’ll come with me to find a HKR
building?” Garron asked, breaking her train of thought.

Tess nodded. “There’s one in downtown Asheville. I’m from North Carolina. Not this
part but we used to come here on school trips sometimes. Lots of historic
sights—Civil War stuff and Chimney
Rock National
Park. Anyway, I can show you where to go.”

“Good. First thing tomorrow, then.”

“It’ll give me a chance to call Di and
talk to her too,” Tess said. “I have her cell number memorized but I didn’t
want to risk calling from anyplace along the road. The HKR building will have a
secure line.”

“Tell her you’re fine and that I’m staying
with you no matter what.” Garron smiled and pulled her close for another kiss.
“I think it’s time we got some sleep.”

“I agree.” She yawned. “Suddenly I’m
exhausted.”

“I am too.” He yawned too and kissed her
forehead. “Thank you, Tess,” he murmured. “For letting me touch you.”

She gave a sleepy little laugh and
snuggled closer against his big, broad chest.

“I think
I
should be thanking you. That really
was
amazing.”

“For me too,” he murmured. “More than you
know.”

Tess wanted to think of a reply but
suddenly exhaustion caught up with her. All the intense emotions she’d been
through in the past hour came crashing down on her and she could barely keep
her eyes open.

Hope I
don’t have another bad dream!
she thought as she
started to drift off.

“You won’t.” Garron’s deep voice was a
soothing whisper in the darkness and she realized she must have voiced the
thought aloud. “And if you do, I’ll be here to calm you. Good night, Tess.”

“Good ni—” she started to say but the
words ended in a yawn and then she was asleep.

Chapter
Twenty-six

“I can’t do that. You know I can’t.”
Garron frowned at his brother, Truth. The other male was pictured on the
viewscreen in the private call room of the HKR building in downtown Asheville.

Truth frowned.

“Apologies, Brother, I see no other way
for you to let loose your
dr’gin
without
killing or maiming anyone.”

“I won’t mate with a Pairing Puppet,” Garron
said. “I cannot. It would feel…wrong.”

Truth raised an eyebrow. “Because you feel
loyalty to Tess? You wish to call her as your bride?”

“I…do not know.” Garron sighed and ran a
hand through his hair. “I made a vow to myself to stay true to Nella’s memory.
At the time I made it, I was certain I would never love again. Never feel for
any female as I felt for her. But…”

“But you find yourself caring for this
little human female, despite your efforts to remember Nella. Do you not?”

“I do,” Garron confessed. “She’s so
fragile, Brother. And yet so strong. You do not know—I cannot tell you—the
things she has endured at the hands of her ex-mate. And yet she carries on, her
spirit unbroken. I wish to protect her but more than that, I wish to…to
heal
her.”

“Physically? As a
dr’gin
is able to heal his mate?”

“I’ve already done that once,” Garron
confessed.

“What? How?”

“I called upon my
dr’gin
and used its healing power to seal her wounds.”

“What?” Truth demanded. “Garron, you
know
how dangerous even attempting such
a thing is. I don’t know how it was even possible for you to use your
dr’gin’s
power without letting it all
the way out. The closer you let it come to the surface—”

“I know, I
know
.” Garron sighed. “But her ex-mate had hurt her. There would
have been scars and I could not
bear
to think of his marks on her forever.” His jaw clenched when he thought of the
way her creamy flesh had been marred. “The things he’s done to her…I just want
to
kill
him.”

Truth made a ‘calm down’ gesture with one
hand.

“Easy, Brother. Your eyes are glowing.”

“I…” Garron took a deep breath, willing
his
dr’gin
to be quiet. “Forgive me.
It’s just the way he abused her…”

“Has left scars that are not just
physical, I suspect. Scars not visible on her skin. Are these what you wish to
heal her of?”

“Possibly.” Garron thought of the way she
had wept in his arms. Of the terrible loss she had shared with him. Again he
had to take a deep breath to quiet his
dr’gin.
“I just want to be with her,” he told Truth. “Always. But how can I do that
without dishonoring Nella’s memory?”

“Brother, Nella would not begrudge you a
chance at a new life, or a new love,” Truth said gently. “I knew her—she was a
female of worth and she cared deeply for you. She would not have demanded that
you live the rest of your life in celibacy, denying yourself the comfort of a
mate just for her. That wasn’t the kind of female she was.”

“No, I guess not.” Garron sighed. “I
suppose I feel guilty because, well…the emotions I have for Tess are so
intense. So much…”

“Stronger than what you felt for Nella?”
Truth finished for him dryly. “Can you really be surprised at that, Brother?
Remember how we were raised on Pax—to never show physical affection, to keep
our distance, to never speak the feelings or our hearts. I tried to conform but
you…you
always
rebelled against the
unwritten rules of our people. You
always
wanted more. And now, for the first time, you are in a place with a female
you care for where you can
have
more.
Of
course
your emotions are intense.”

“It’s not just that,” Garron said in a low
voice. “It’s Tess herself. She draws me…
all
of me. Not just my conscious self—the male I am now—but the beast within as
well. She draws my
dr’gin.”

“But she can no longer help you control
it?” Truth asked.

Garron shook his head. “She helped me last
night—twice. But the second time it was a near thing. I felt my
dr’gin
actually coming up—taking over.
She
barely
saved me from
transforming.”

His older brother frowned. “It sounds like
a dangerous situation.”

“It was,” Garron said shortly.
“Very
fucking dangerous. Which is why I
can’t risk it again—I need to do
something
.
My name day is only a few days away. I cannot be around Tess when my
dr’gin
finally comes out.”

Truth sighed. “And yet you reject my idea
about the Pairing Puppets. Well, it’s just as well. I don’t know that they have
any to spare. Several have broken down lately—at least, that is what I heard
from a friend in the Unmated Males section.”

“Really?” Garron frowned, remembering the malfunctioning
Puppet with the blue goo all over its face he’d seen when he first found Tess.
“Isn’t someone assigned to repair them?”

“There was a tech team that specialized in
the Pairing House and its inhabitants but they’ve been sent off the Mother Ship
on some kind of mission.” Truth frowned. “Honestly, Brother, it’s probably a
good thing you’re not here right now. Tensions are high—it would not be good
for your emotional state, especially while trying to contain your
dr’gin.”

“Why? What else is going on?” Garron
asked. He hadn’t lived on the Mother Ship for long but he already felt
connected to it and to the Kindred as a whole. Though he had been devastated to
be cast out of Pax at first, it seemed like a blessing now. It had allowed him
to find his true home and his true people—so it concerned him if they were
threatened.

Truth sighed and ran a hand through his
short, black hair.

“I suppose there’s no harm in telling you
since the rumors are flying all over the Mother Ship. There is a human girl—the
daughter of a prominent Earth politician—who had begun dream sharing with a
Dark Kindred.”

“One of the Enhanced Ones?” Garron
frowned. “I don’t know much about them but I thought they never called mates.”

“They don’t,” Truth said grimly. “And for
good reason. Zeaga Four, their home planet, is said to be a dark and dangerous
place and they allow no one who is unenhanced to step foot on the surface. In
fact, they have a fleet of medical barges orbiting their planet for just that
reason—to enhance those that wish to visit Zeaga Four.”

“And this…unusual situation…is causing
problems?”

Truth nodded. “A
lot
of problems. Relations with Earth are strained. So much so that
the Kindred High Council has announced we will stop calling brides for the
Unmated Males for a period of time.”

Garron gave a long, low whistle and shook
his head.

“That’s got to be a very unpopular
decision.”

“It is,” Truth agreed. “Almost as
unpopular as the Council insisting that the girl who is dream sharing must go
with the Dark Kindred who is calling her for a Claiming Period. Or they were
before Chancellor Terex changed his decision.”

“But of all the Kindred, they are the ones
who do not revere females. They don’t even worship the Goddess, do they?”

“They worship only intelligence. Theirs is
the religion of science and technology.” Truth sighed. “I don’t know how it’s
even possible for one of them to dream share with a female at all. They have
implants that allow them to circumvent all emotion, specifically to keep them
from needing to bond. They—”

“Wait a minute.” Garron held up a hand to
stop him. “Go back. What did you say about the implants?”

“That they keep the Dark Kindred from
feeling.
Anything
, apparently. No
joy, no sorrow, no anger—nothing.” Truth frowned. “Wait a minute, Brother.
You’re not thinking—”

“Why not?” Garron demanded. “We both know
it’s emotion that brings the
dr’gin
to
the surface. Emotion is what sets it free and allows the first transformation
to occur. If I could deaden my feelings at will—every time I felt my
dr’gin
rising—my problem would be
solved.”

“But how will you get there? Zeaga Four is
twenty thousand light years from Earth.”

“Just because I’m not allowed aboard the
Mother Ship doesn’t mean it can’t fold space for me,” Garron pointed out. “I
just need a shuttle—I can borrow one from the HKR here in Asheville.”

“You still haven’t been cleared to pilot
one yet.”

“Then talk to Commander Sylvan,” Garron
said. “Have him clear me and get permission to fold space to Zeaga Four.”

Truth frowned. “Commander Sylvan is very
understanding but why would he go to so much trouble?”

“Tell him that while I’m there I can see
if I can find anything out about the male who is dream sharing with this Earth
girl,” Garron said. “I won’t stir up trouble—I’ll just visit one of the medical
barges orbiting the planet. But I might come back with some valuable
information.”

Truth nodded thoughtfully.

“He may agree. I get the idea that his
hands are tied by the Council so he can’t really send anyone from the Mother
Ship. But you’re an independent agent—a transfer from another world who doesn’t
really fall under any jurisdiction. You could easily gather information under
the guise of getting help to control your
dr’gin.”

“Now you’re thinking!” Garron exclaimed.
“Go talk to him, Truth. Right away if you can. Please, I can’t hold back the
dr’gin
much longer on my own. This could
be the answer to all my problems.”

“I hope so, Brother,” Truth said. “I truly
do.” He frowned. “But what about your female? Zeaga Four is a dangerous place.
Would you take her with you?”

Garron frowned. “I do not like the idea of
taking her into danger. I don’t wish to leave her but she might be safer here
at the HKR building awaiting my return. If Commander Sylvan agrees to fold space
for me, it shouldn’t take long to get to the medical barges around Zeaga Four
and back again.”

“You’ll have to decide what to do for
yourself,” Truth said. “Wait a moment while I go find Commander Sylvan. I’ll
Bespeak you with his answer.”

“I’ll stay here in the HKR building,”
Garron promised. “If all goes well, I’ll start for the Vega system today.”

“I hope so. Truth out.” His brother’s
image disappeared from the viewscreen just as Garron heard a soft knocking at
the door.

“Come,” he said.

“Garron?” Tess poked her head around the
door uncertainly. “Am I interrupting?”

“Not at all. I just finished talking to my
brother and we have a possible solution.” For the first time in days, Garron
felt hopeful. “This could be it, Tess,” he said, taking her hands in his. “I
could—” He stopped because something was obviously wrong. Her face was white
and drawn and the bitter scent of sorrow and fear emanated from her. “Tess,” he
murmured. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s my friend, Di.” She took a deep
breath, obviously trying to control her emotions.

“What did she say?” Garron asked
anxiously. He had only met the older female briefly but her loyalty and love
for Tess had been clear.

“She didn’t say anything.” Tess looked
down at her feet, her long hair shielding her face like a curtain. “She…she’s
in the hospital in the ICU.”

“What?” Garron demanded. “What happened?”

“Someone broke into her house and beat
her…” Tess shivered. “Beat her with a baseball bat. That’s what they think it
was, anyway. Whoever it was left her for…for dead. They don’t know if she’ll
ever wake up again. It’s that bad.”

Garron’s heart tightened in his chest at
the hurt sound of her voice.

“Tess,” he said, his voice coming out
rough.
“Lin’del…
look at me.” He
lifted her chin gently and pushed back her hair. Her lovely face was paper
white and a single tear marked her cheek.

“This is my fault,” she whispered. “We
both know who did this. Garron, I have to go to her.”

“No!” He cupped her cheek and looked at
her anxiously. “Don’t you see, Tess? This is what he wants. She probably
wouldn’t give him any information about where you’d gone so he found the
perfect way to draw you back. The
minute
you
step foot in the medical facility where your friend is being tended, he’ll have
you. He’ll have both of us and, as you pointed out, he has the jurisdiction
here.”

“He won’t have you.” Tess lifted her chin.
“I’ll go back alone. I need to be with Di.”

“Is that what she would have wanted?”
Garron demanded. “For you to put yourself straight back into his hands after
all she’d risked to help you go free?”

“No, but…” Her voice wavered. “She’s my
best friend. I should
be
with her.”

“And you will—if and when she wakes up.
Right now all you could do would be to sit by her bedside and wait for him to
drag you away from her,” Garron pointed out. “Don’t forget, Tess—I was dream
sharing with you. I saw how manipulative he can be. He took you out of the HKR
building in Tampa
without anyone saying a thing about it—all because he molded the situation to
look like what he wanted.”