Page 44 of Offering Herself to Darkness

Despite the mental barrier he had erected between them, Xarex still found that he could feel the emotions of his mate through their new link.

When she was feeling so anxious about her daughter, it was difficult for him to keep from going to her. However, he made himself stay away—he had hurt her enough already.

Then later, when he felt her relief, he wished he could be there to share in her joy. Clearly the Bloom had healed Anna—he wished he could see the look on Nora’s lovely face knowing that her daughter was saved. But again, he had already decided that he needed to leave her alone. He told himself this was just another sign that their agreement was over. Hadn’t she said that after Anna was healed they would go their separate ways?

But the hardest test came when he felt her loneliness and caught a glimpse of her thoughts—she wondered where he was. It made him think…was she actually not angry and upset with him for what he had done on Primus Nine? Did she actually miss him?

It doesn’t matter if she misses you or not—you don’t deserve her. Not after the way you acted, the way you took her so roughly, he told himself sternly.

And so, though it was the hardest thing he’d ever done in his life, he didn’t let himself go to her. Instead, he lay alone in his bed—the bed he’d shared with his wife only the night before—and did his best to sleep.

28

NORA

“Well, the tests confirm it—Anna’s Pulmonary Crystalosis is completely cured.” Dr. Liv looked over the test results laid out on the desk in front of her, her face glowing with satisfaction. “I’ll have to show these to Sylvan,” she remarked. “He’ll be so happy for you!”

“Everyone here has been so kind to us,” Nora said, smiling at her. “I’m so grateful to the Kindred and to Commander Sylvan.”

“Well, it wasn’t just the Kindred—though they have some of the best medical tech I’ve ever worked with,” Dr. Liv said. “It was getting the Flower of Healing that really made the difference. And yes, that was Sylvan’s idea but I think your husband must have played a part too.”

Nora felt herself blushing and was glad that Anna and her mother were still in the treatment room while she and Dr. Liv were in a private consolation room.

“Well…he did,” she admitted. “We had to go through some pretty, uh, intense things to get that flower. But of course, it was totally worth it,” she added.

“Of course,” Dr. Liv murmured. She had that speculative look on her face again. “Tell me, if you don’t mind, exactly what did you two have to do in order to get the flower?”

“Oh, um…” Nora cleared her throat. “We, er, had to put on kind of a, uh, sex show, if you want to know the truth,” she admitted, feeling her cheeks get hot with a blush. “It was the only way to give the Primiens what they wanted—which was really strong emotions. They can taste them, you see.”

“They can taste emotions?” Dr. Liv’s eyes widened. “Really?”

“That’s what they said.” Nora shrugged. “Also, they can smell if someone is pregnant or not. At least that was what they claimed when I was worried I might have gotten pregnant when we were, you know, putting on a show for them.”

“That’s a valid concern when you’re with a Kindred male,” Dr. Liv said seriously. “With a human guy, it takes some time for the sperm and egg to come together and for the fertilized egg to actually implant. But with a Kindred, the fertilized egg implants immediately. You can literally be pregnant the minute a Kindred warrior fills you with his seed.”

“That’s what I was afraid of!” Nora exclaimed. “Especially since Xarex made so much uh, seed. And since he used his knot on me, it kept it all inside me so?—”

“Wait—he knotted you?” Liv frowned.

“Well, yes. He’s half Beast Kindred—he said his knot came from that side—and half this other race called W’rx,” Nora explained. “Why? Does that make a difference somehow?”

“I’m just wondering why he hasn’t come to visit you or Anna in the Med Center since he clearly Bonded you to him,” Liv said, shaking her head. “He didn’t come last night while I was gone, did he?”

Nora shook her head.

“No,” she said, trying to keep the sadness out of her voice. “I kept hoping he might show up, but he never did.”

Dr. Liv shook her head.

“That’s not like a newly Bonded male at all. They usually can’t stay away from their mates for any length of time. The need to be close after Bonding is a Kindred trait.” She tapped her fingernails on her desk thoughtfully. “Tell me—have you tried contacting him through your mental link?”

“Mental link?” Nora frowned. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“When a Kindred warrior Bonds you to him, the two of you form a neural connection—it means you can talk to each other with your minds. The same way you can speak to someone using a Think-me device, only the mental bond is much closer and more intimate,” Liv explained. “I always have my husband, Baird, in the back of my mind.” She tapped the side of her head. “We’re not always talking but I can always reach him when I need him and he can reach me the same way.”

“A mental link…that sounds amazing,” Nora murmured. “But…I don’t know. I don’t think Xarex and I formed anything like that.”

“If he knotted you, you formed a link,” Dr. Liv said sounding positive. “You said he’s half Beast Kindred and that’s how they Bond. Why don’t you close your eyes and concentrate—feel around in your mind and see if you can sense him in there.”

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