Saved by the Beast (Kindred Tales)

The idea of letting any other man touch her was repugnant at the moment—the only one she wanted was Bard. But she didn’t want to die in agony. And she knew, from watching poor Helena succumb to the Fever, that she would become a lot less particular as she continued to go over-ripe.

Near the end, Helena had changed her mind and whispered that she would take another man—any man—to ease the terrible pain she was in. But by that time, of course, it had been too late.

Makenna didn’t intend to wait until that point. But she needed to be a bit more desperate before she could be with someone beside the big warrior who had saved her from Passion Prime.

She would hide, she decided, as long as she could—until she started to feel feverish. Once the Fever hit her, she wouldn’t have much time to find a willing man, but hopefully it wouldn’t be a problem. As long as there was a drinking house in town, she ought to be able to find one to help her. And maybe she could close her eyes and pretend it was Bard…

A sob rose in her throat at the thought and she swallowed it down with difficulty. It shouldn’t be this way! She should be with Bard right now, letting him guide her through her ripening!

But the situation couldn’t be helped and this was her only chance to live. Taking a deep breath, she left the shuttle and walked quickly and quietly towards the blue-gray field.

She had no idea that she was being tracked.

29

The locator beeped in Biter’s hand. He had set down his ship—still cloaked—on the far side of the Docking Yard where the Kindred shuttle had landed. How he was going to get to the girl when she was in the middle of the Yard, presumably surrounded by plenty of Beast Kindred, he didn’t know.

Kindred warriors didn’t get as big as a Trollox, of course, but they could be formidable opponents. Also, Biter didn’t like being outnumbered.

He would have to wait for nightfall, he decided. Hopefully she would stay with the shuttle and then he could come and swoop her up, right out from under the pilot’s nose.

The locator beeped again. Biter looked at it and swore. Damnit, she was moving! Was she going into the town a stone’s throw from the Docking Yard?

But as he watched, he saw the red dot on his screen moving off to the West, not into the town, but into the blue-gray field instead.

A slow grin began to grow on his ugly face. Well, well, maybe he was in luck! He would have to work his way around to the little humanoid, since she was headed to the opposite end of the Yard from where he was parked, but he would get to her eventually.

And when he found her, he might just breed her on the spot. After all, there was no time like the present for planting his heir in her belly.

30

The pilot and his brother came looking for her, as Makenna had feared that they might. She’d been hiding in the blue-gray grass that covered the field when they did—an easy enough thing to do, since the grass was almost as tall as her head.

The two of them were sniffing the air, as though trying to catch her scent—a fact which made Makenna extremely nervous. It was hot and humid on this planet and she was already perspiring. She edged further from the two men, trying to move as quietly as possible while still keeping an eye on them.

At last, the pilot shook his head.

“I can tell she’s around here somewhere—or she was a little while ago—but the wind keeps changing and I don’t know her scent that well.”

“All I can smell is the male who marked her,” his brother growled. “If I knew her scent better, maybe I could find her, but other scents keep getting in the way.”

“It’s the damn sweet-grass bushes,” the pilot said, nodding at a line of deep blue bushes with pale pink flowers at the edge of the field. “They keep confusing my nose!”

“Well…” His brother sighed and shrugged his broad shoulders. “I hate to say it, but you’d better go call the male who Marked her. He’ll know her scent better than anybody—he can track her even if we can’t.”

“But Commander Bard’s a member of the High Council! He’ll skin me alive if I tell him I lost his female!” the pilot protested.

“Too bad,” his brother replied. “He needs to know his female’s gone missing. Besides, you think you’ll get into less trouble if you try to hide the fact that she’s missing and a xenox gets her?”

“I was just hoping she’d show up,” the pilot muttered. “I just hope she doesn’t go into the Deep Blue—I warned her how dangerous it is!”