Saved by the Beast (Kindred Tales)

It was a death sentence. Whether Bard knew it or not, he was sending her away to die.

Not that she wanted anyone else but him to help her with her ripening, Makenna thought. The inner voice inside her had clearly delineated Bard as the male for the job. But since he was refusing to help her, well…she would rather live than die of Ripening Fever, which would soon be upon her.

Death by Fever was an agonizing way to go—Makenna had seen it happen before. A good friend of hers had lost the man she loved, who was supposed to help her through her first ripening, due to a logging accident. The poor man had been crushed beneath a tree he’d been cutting down just as Helena—that was his fiancée’s name—had started her ripening.

Helena had been grief-stricken and had refused any other man, though both her family and her friends begged her to find a substitute for her lost love. She declared she wanted to die—that she wanted to go and meet the man she’d lost in the afterlife.

Makenna had sat by her bedside, sponging off her forehead which had felt hot enough to bake bread on, as her friend twisted and moaned, overcome with unbearable agony. She had sweated and cried, her body contorting with the terrible cramps as her womb contracted over and over, desperately seeking the male seed that it had been denied.

In the end, Helena had been begging to die—begging someone to kill her and put her out of her misery. It had been a terrible sight—one that Makenna tried hard not to think about. But she couldn’t help thinking of it now.

That’s going to be me, if I can’t find someone to help me with my ripening, she thought, feeling her stomach twist with anxiety and grief. It wasn’t just fear for her life that was making her upset—it was the fact that she was losing Bard—that the big warrior was sending her away.

At the thought of that—of losing him—a low sob broke from her throat and fresh tears filled her eyes.

Tiny whined sadly and licked her face, his long, sky-blue tongue ticklish and wet against her cheeks.

Makenna put her arms around the big beast’s shaggy neck and gave in to her misery. If only she could make Bard understand what was at stake! If only she could explain that her life was on the line, she was certain he wouldn’t send her away.

But though she could understand almost every word spoken around her now, she was still unable to speak the language with any kind of fluency. Sometimes words seemed to be on the very tip of her tongue but when she opened her mouth, what came out sounded like a toddler talking. It was so damn frustrating!

Suddenly, the door opened and Bard was standing there, filling the doorway with his broad shoulders.

“Come on, baby girl,” he said heavily. “Time to get you packed. You’re going on a trip.”

Makenna realized this was her last chance to make him understand. Desperately, she shook her head.

“Makenna not go!” she said urgently.

“Oh, yes you are, baby girl,” Bard said grimly. “I don’t like it anymore than you do, but after what happened this morning, there’s no other way. I’m sorry.”

He walked around the side of the bed and started pulling the new clothes he’d gotten her out of the closet and putting them into a bag.

Packing me up! He’s packing all my clothes—I can’t let him do that! I can’t let him send me away!

“Bard, please!” she begged. Leaning forward, she reached out and grabbed the sleeve of his crimson uniform shirt and tugged it so that he looked at her. “Bard,” she said clearly, looking into his eyes. “Makenna dies without Bard! Makenna dies!”

For a moment, his golden eyes looked suspiciously bright, then he looked away.

“Yeah, baby girl. Feel like I’m gonna die without you, too. But we just can’t be together. It wouldn’t be right.”

Makenna wanted to shout with frustration! Why couldn’t he see what she was saying? He was talking about his feelings but she was being literal and there was no way to explain that to him.

“Makenna not go,” she said desperately. “Not, not, not!”

She sat back in the middle of the bed and Tiny curled his big, hairy body around her protectively. It made her feel a little better—at least the big Ya’greer understood her!

Bard frowned.

“Look, baby girl, don’t make this harder than it already is. You have to go. I’m sending you to a nice place with lots of females your own age—you’re gonna love it.”

“Makenna not love it,” she insisted. She looked into his eyes again, putting all the pleading she could into her voice. “Makenna loves Bard.”

“Gods, baby girl…” He put a hand to his face and when he took it away, his eyes were red but his voice was firm. “I love you too, but I can’t have you. We can’t be together. Makenna and Bard no good,” he said, clearly trying to make her understand.