Forgotten (12 page)

He fully intended to. He had notified
Commander Sylvan, who in addition to being the Kindred High
Chancellor, was also the best doctor aboard the Mother Ship. Sylvan
had graciously agreed to meet them and examine Kate on the spot as
soon as they docked.

Rone just hoped the
problem could be found and fixed quickly. The
hunger
inside him was building…but
maybe that was a good thing. It proved that their bond wasn’t
completely dissolved—only buried or blurred—didn’t it? Rone
certainly hoped so. It had been over six solar months since he had
last touched or tasted his mate and he was in desperate need of
contact with her.

He wondered if Kate felt
the same. It was true that the
hunger
mostly affected Wulven males
but sometimes their mates could experience it too, especially if
the bond between them was strong.

Kate had experienced it in the past, when
they’d been separated for a few days on a case. Rone could still
remember how desperately she’d thrown herself into his arms when
they finally came back together.

“
Oh, God, Rone,” she’d
moaned in his ear as he held her. “I need you in me—need you
so
bad.”

They had stripped as soon
as they got back to the privacy of their own ship, The Finder, and
had spent hours touching and tasting each other and making love
before the
hunger
finally abated.

Now, Rone had no such outlet. He was burning
for his mate but Kate wanted nothing to do with him. For that,
though, he couldn’t blame her. He didn’t know why she had a panic
response every time he got near her but he hoped that problem, as
well as her faulty memory, could be corrected by Kindred
medicine.

“
Well, here we are—the
Mother Ship,” he said as they descended into the docking bay.
“Commander Sylvan—the doctor I told you about—will be here to meet
us and examine you. After that, they’ve promised to have our
regular suite ready for us.”

“
Our regular suite? As in,
we’ll be sharing a room…and a bed?” Kate shot him a look which was
more than a little fearful.

Rone felt his heart twist at her fear but he
tried to speak casually.

“
That is usually what it
means. But don’t worry, Kate—I’d never ask you to give anything you
weren’t willing or ready to give. We don’t have to share the
bed.”

She nodded, looking relieved.

“
So, if we have a regular
suite does it mean that we, uh, come here often?”

“
Not until recently,” Rone
told her as he completed the landing sequence. “We were working on
a case—trying to track an Earth girl who had been abducted by a
Beast Kindred. We did find her but it turned out she was in no
danger—in fact, she got Joined to the one who had taken her. It was
the trap which was set for her that you fell into when you sniffed
those damn Dream Blooms.” His hands clenched tight around the
steering yoke. “If only I’d been faster—if only I’d been able to
stop you—”

“
Don’t beat yourself up
about it.” Kate extended one small hand as though to pat his thigh,
then drew back abruptly. “I mean…” She shifted nervously. “I’m fine
and you found me and maybe this Commander Sylvan guy can help.
Right?”

“
I pray to the Goddess he
can,” Rone said seriously. “Look—there he is now.” He gestured at
the viewscreen which showed a tall Kindred warrior with spiky blond
hair and ice blue eyes coming towards their little shuttle. He was
wearing the tight black leather flight trousers all Kindred males
wore as well as a light blue uniform shirt made of heavy,
satin-like material which denoted him as a Blood Kindred. Beside
him was a pleasant-looking Earth female with long brown hair and
green eyes.

Both of them were smiling when Rone popped
the hatch and got out. He stood aside to allow Kate to
disembark.

It was a long jump from the side of the
shuttle to the metal floor below and he saw Kate eyeing it
uncertainly. In the past, he had always lifted her down, making a
joke about her diminutive height as he did and earning either a
kiss or a playful slap on his chest, depending on what mood Kate
was in. She was actually quite sensitive about her tiny stature and
tended to take offense if anyone else suggested she was too small
or fragile to do something. But with Rone, it was different. She
loved their size difference, loved cuddling in his arms and
allowing him to sweet talk her and baby her…

No more though, Rone saw with sorrow. He
wanted to lift her up and swing her down to the metal floor of the
docking bay as he always did but this time he didn’t dare. Instead,
he extended a hand.

“
Kate,” he said in a low
voice. “I know this is hard for you but if you need a little help
getting down…”

She recoiled from his hand ever so
slightly.

“
Thanks, but I think I can
manage.” Her voice was tight and her smile didn’t reach her eyes.
Rone stepped back, giving her space and watched her scramble down
on her own. Seeing the fear on her face when he got too close just
about gutted him. He had to close his eyes and take a deep breath
to master himself before he could turn to the approaching Kindred
commander.

“
Commander Sylvan,” he
said formally, nodding at the other male. “Allow me to present my
mate. You, er, already know her but I’m afraid she doesn’t remember
you. Or me either, for that matter.”

“
So you told me when you
called.” Sylvan came forward and offered a hand to Kate. She shook
it firmly, as was the Earth custom, and tried to smile.

“
Hi there, I’m Kate. It’s
nice to meet you. I’m sorry I don’t remember you.”

“
That’s quite all right,”
Sylvan said gravely. “Hopefully we can remedy your memory problem.
And may I present my mate, Sophia.”

Kate turned to the other woman with a
tentative smile.

“
Nice to meet you. Am, uh,
I supposed to know you too?”

Sylvan’s mate laughed, a warm, comforting
sound that Rone found soothing.

“
No, don’t worry about
that! I never got to meet you because my twins keep me so busy. But
they’re in day care right now and Sylvan thought it would be nice
for you to see another female face. All these Kindred guys can be
so big and imposing.”

“
Thank you for coming.”
Kate looked grateful. “They
can
be a bit much.”

“
Don’t I know it! I was
scared to death of Sylvan when I first met him…but he grew on me
after a while.” Sophia gave her mate a smile which he returned with
one of his own.

Seeing their easy affection made Rone’s
heart ache.

“
You said you would
examine Kate as soon as we got to the Mother Ship,” he reminded
Sylvan abruptly, his voice coming out harsher than he had intended.
“Please, Commander, if you wouldn’t mind…”

“
Of course not. Come right
this way.” Sylvan nodded at Kate who was eyeing him
uncertainly.

“
Uh…what
exactly
are you planning
to do to me? I’m not really wild about medical procedures. I had
enough of them when I was younger to last me a
lifetime.”

“
Nothing painful or
invasive, I promise you,” Sylvan said gently. He gave his mate a
meaningful look and Sophia came forward quickly.

“
Have you ever had an
MRI?” she asked genially, hooking her arm through
Kate’s.

Kate sighed. “Many times. I had a, uh,
medical condition when I was a kid. A problem with my spine—I’ve
been in too many MRI machines to count.”

“
Okay, well Sylvan has a
machine that’s kind of like the MRI scanner,” Sophia told her.
“Only it’s way more comfortable and it gives a lot more
information. But it won’t hurt a bit—I swear.”

She and Kate walked ahead, their heads
together as they talked. Rone hung back a bit, giving them room as
he and Commander Sylvan followed. When he was sure his mate was out
of earshot, he turned to the other male.

“
Sylvan, please tell me
you can help us. Kate doesn’t remember
anything.
Even showing her
holo-images of our past did nothing to jog her memory. And,
she…she…” His throat worked and he had a hard time getting the
words out. “She
fears
me. Any time I get too close to her, it seems to cause a
panic response.”

“
Hmm…I suppose that could
be a side-effect of the Dream Blooms,” Commander Sylvan mused.
“Though the expert I consulted said nothing about it. Still, we’ll
know soon enough.”

“
You think you’ll be able
to tell from the scans you’re running on Kate?” Rone
asked.

“
Possibly but I think it’s
far more likely that we’ll find out when we test the flowers from
the bouquet your mate sniffed.”

“
You have the Dream
Blooms?” Rone was surprised. “Here? On the Mother Ship?”

Sylvan nodded gravely. “I contacted the
temple on Rageron a little while back and asked that they be put in
stasis and sent here. They just arrived a bit before you
did—they’re in the lab right now being analyzed.”

Rone was impressed. “I can’t thank you
enough for thinking of that.”

“
I was not acting only for
your benefit,” Sylvan said. “I felt that we needed to know as much
as possible about the Dark Kindred, Two, and the way he works. In
setting this trap for the female who will be, according to the
Seeing, the mother of a new race of Kindred, he has proven that he
is willing to go to great lengths to harm us. I do not believe we
can ignore the threat he poses.”

“
Very true,” Rone said.
“But I’m still glad you have the blossoms. Maybe the lab analysis
will show some answers as to why Kate is so frightened of me—why I
can’t touch her.” He clenched his hands into fists. “Even the most
minor skin-to-skin contact makes her panic.”

“
So you cannot touch her
at all?” Sylvan frowned. “That’s very serious for a Wulven Kindred
and his mate. How is your
hunger?”
He nodded, when he saw the look of surprise on
Rone’s face. “Oh yes, I know all about it. I make it my business to
know everything I possibly can about my patients before I treat
them.”

“
Well, technically Kate is
the patient, not me,” Rone pointed out uncomfortably. The
hunger
was a very
personal issue—one a Wulven would normally only discuss with his
mate.

“
She won’t be the only
patient soon if we are unable to restore her memory and lessen her
fear of you,” Sylvan said sternly. “Her problems directly affect
you. It has already been six solar months since you last touched
your mate so I ask you again, Brother—how is your
hunger?
You need have no
shame in telling me—I have only your welfare at heart.”

Rone sighed heavily. “I’m burning,” he
admitted in a low voice. “It’s not very fucking pleasant but I’ll
be all right for a little while longer.”

Sylvan nodded. “And your Beast?”

“
In control,” Rone said
tightly. “I would not come aboard the Mother Ship or allow myself
to be in such close proximity to the female I love
otherwise.”

“
Of course not. Forgive
me.”

Rone shook his head. “Nothing to forgive. I
don’t blame you for asking—I know how many of the other Kindred
look at Wulvens. You’re very tolerant to even allow me to board the
ship in this condition.”

“
I’m trusting you,” Sylvan
said evenly. “I know that the
hunger
makes your Beast restless but
I trust you to control it.”

Rone lifted his head. “I have never once had
an uncontrolled change,” he said. “And I don’t plan to start
now.”

“
Good, I believe you,”
Sylvan said. “Is there anything else you want to tell me before I
begin my examination of Kate?”

“
Only that our bond…” Rone
pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to think how to put it. “Our
bond,” he tried again. “It seems to be broken. Or if not broken,
then almost completely buried somehow. At any rate, it’s totally
inaccessible. I can’t bespeak Kate and she cannot bespeak me. It’s
almost as if we were never bonded in the first place.”

“
That is very strange and
troubling,” Sylvan said, looking worried. “I can only imagine how
painful it must be to have your mate right in front of you and be
unable to touch her either mentally or physically.”

“
Very
fucking painful,” Rone assured him in a low growl. “Which is
why I
really
hope
you can give me some answers soon.”

“
I hope so too,” Sylvan
said quietly. “And I assure you we will do everything in our power.
But in the meantime, you might consider a trip to the Sacred Grove.
One of the priestesses there may be able to cool your
blood.”

“
I will…consider it.” Rone
nodded grudgingly. He didn’t like to ask for help of the
priestesses—they often wanted to “see into” a male before agreeing
to help. It was a painful, invasive process not unlike mental
exploratory surgery. But if there was no other way to cool his
blood and ease the growing
hunger,
he might have to resort to it.

Sylvan seemed to understand his
reluctance.

“
It’s not a pleasant
experience but sometimes it is necessary,” he said quietly. “Now if
you’ll excuse me, I need to get Kate’s scan started.”