“That’s tiny, all right,” Brand remarked.
“Yes, it is.” Sylvan frowned at Brand, who was 6’11 himself. “Come to think of it, Commander Brand, it’s a damn good thing you’re a Beast Kindred, considering how small your future mate is going to be. At least you won’t have to use any Bonding Fruit.”
Brand nodded. It was an oblique reference to the fact that Beast Kindred made compounds in their saliva and precum which helped a female open for their larger-than-average shafts. No matter how petite his new bride was, Brand had no worry about hurting her when they made love.
Not that he intended to make love to her at once.
“I doubt we’ll have to worry about that for a while,” he said firmly. “I intend to go through the entire Claiming Period before I bond her to me—it will give us a chance to get to know each other and hopefully help her learn to trust me.”
“Good male!” Sylvan clapped him on the shoulder approvingly. “It can be hard to wait, but you’ll be setting the tone for your whole joining by showing patience in the beginning.”
“That’s what I’m hoping,” Brand remarked. “I know she probably hasn’t heard very good things about us—considering that the Q’ess consider us their greatest enemy.”
“That they do.” Sylvan sighed. “That first attempt of one of the earliest Kindred to form a bond with one of their females seemed to sour them on us forever. Though as long as we stay out of their space, they seem content to hate us from afar.”
“Well, maybe all that will change after my Joining to Allara.” Brand liked the way his soon-to-be bride’s name rolled off his tongue. It was musical and alluring…just like the cloudy almost-dreams he’d had of her.
He wished he could have seen her face more clearly in those wispy, barely-there dreams. But he’d only gotten the color of her hair and eyes and the tilt of her chin, leaving him with just a few tantalizing impressions.
She looks determined, he remembered thinking, after waking up from one such dream. But what was she determined about? Brand had no idea, but he supposed he would soon find out.
“I’ve learned as much as I can about her culture,” he said to Sylvan. “But they’re such a secretive society, I’m afraid that isn’t much.”
“They are extremely fond of their privacy,” Sylvan agreed. “I do know they are fond of music.”
“I gathered that, too.” Brand nodded. “Which is why I asked Kat to make sure there was karaoke at the Joining reception. Not that my new bride will know any of our songs or the human’s songs, but maybe it will help her warm up to us here on the Mother Ship.”
“A very good thought.” Sylvan nodded approvingly. “I can see you’re really taking this seriously—trying to make your new bride feel welcome.”
“We’re going to be spending the rest of our lives together,” Brand pointed out. “I want to start off on the ‘right foot,’ as the humans say.”
He looked in the 3-D viewer, checking his appearance once more, wondering what Allara would think when she saw him for the first time. He had the black hair and golden eyes of all Beast Kindred and a neatly trimmed beard he hoped his new bride wouldn’t mind. Of course, he could shave it if she asked him to. He would try to accommodate her every desire—he wanted to please her and make her happy.
It wasn’t just his own Joining that was riding on this. If his new bride sent back good reports of a happy relationship, maybe the Q’ess would allow the Kindred to call brides from among their females. It was always good to have plenty of partners for genetic trades, to keep the bloodlines growing—the Kindred had always valued diversity.
Smoothing his thick, black hair, he decided this was as good as things were going to get. He just hoped he didn’t scare his new bride with his size, since she was so much smaller than him. The Kindred were used to having small brides and being careful of them, but she didn’t know that. All she knew was that her people hated his and had for generations.
Well, maybe hate could turn to love, once he showed her that he honestly cared how she felt.
I’ll do my best to make you happy, Allara, he thought, imagining the moment he would meet her in the Sacred Grove and look into her lovely indigo eyes. And with the Goddess’s help, I’ll succeed.
Three
“Now is the time. Remember your purpose,” Allara’s aunt hissed in her ear. Their ship had landed inside the huge Kindred Mother Ship and it was time for her to meet her new husband.
“I will not forget,” she said, lifting her chin bravely, though her heart was pounding.
“Do your duty and fulfill your mission,” her aunt said sternly, as their pilot pressed a button and the door of the ship swung open. “Send a signal, if you can, that we may celebrate your name in the Song House.”