Total pages in book: 137
Estimated words: 130081 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 650(@200wpm)___ 520(@250wpm)___ 434(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 130081 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 650(@200wpm)___ 520(@250wpm)___ 434(@300wpm)
“Now, how could it possibly be your fault?” Davrik asked reasonably.
In broken sentences she explained about her new mate and their Bonding and the way it had caused the energy she’d given to Nate to rush back to her all at once.
“So you see, it is my fault,” she said, blotting her eyes again. “I did this to him—I broke him by Bonding with him. I never should have done it—the priest in the Sacred Grove warned us not to. But I did it anyway and now he might never be able to move again!”
Davrik wanted to comfort her, but he didn’t know what to do. He thought of putting his arm around her, but that didn’t feel right. The scent of another male—of her human mate—was all over her. And besides, he didn’t want to touch any female but Sonya, not even platonically.
“I’m so sorry,” he said helplessly. “If it’s any consolation, at least you got to bond with your human. Mine is rejecting me entirely.”
“Really? Even though you came all this way to find her?” Lan’ara looked up at him with wide, wet eyes.
Davrik nodded shortly.
“Even though,” he said grimly. “She found out about the original Sonya—my Sonya from my universe—before I could think of a good way explain the situation. Now she thinks I just want her as a substitute or a copy of the wife I lost.”
“Don’t you, though?” Lan’ara asked frankly. “I mean, I don’t want to hurt you, but isn’t that the heart of the matter?”
Davrik took a deep breath and forced himself to consider the idea.
“It was to begin with, I suppose, though I always told myself differently,” he admitted at last. “But to be honest, during the time I spent with Sonya—this Sonya—I’ve fallen in love with her all over again. And it’s not just because she’s the doppelganger of the mate I lost—this Sonya is different. She’s gone through things my Sonya never had to face and it’s made her stronger and more resilient. I’m in awe of her will to survive and her persistence in the face of adversity.” He shook his head. “She’s amazing—even if I’d never known my own Sonya, I couldn’t help falling in love with this one.”
“Why don’t you tell her all that, then?” Lan’ara asked reasonably.
Davrik shook his head.
“She won’t listen to me. She didn’t even want me to go with her to surgery to have the pain chip removed that the bastards at The House of a Thousand Flowers had implanted in her.”
“I’m so sorry, Davrik,” Lan’ara murmured, her eyes filled with sympathy. “It seems that both of us have lost the human mates we tried to save…though in different ways.”
“Yes, I’m afraid you’re right,” Davrik said heavily. He sat down on the exam bed beside her, his shoulders slumping dejectedly. “I wish there was something—anything I could do—to prove to her what kind of male I really am.”
“I’ve been wishing there was something I could do to make things up to Nate—to let him know how sorry I am for putting him in this state,” Lan’ara admitted. “I had an idea of how I could do that, but it’s not working out so far.”
“I guess we both want to prove ourselves to our humans,” Davrik remarked. “What is it about their species that brings out such intense emotions in us?”
“I don’t know.” Lan’ara sighed and shook her head. “They’re a complicated people but it seems that the Kindred are drawn to them. The Goddess alone knows why.”
“There must be a reason for it,” Davrik said, frowning. “The Goddess must have a hand in this. She brought us together in the beginning to find our human mates and now we find ourselves together again.” He looked at Lan’ara. “What was the idea you had? The one you said would help make things up to Nate?”
“Oh—his younger sibling, a human female named Madison, is being held by the Scourge in the Father Ship,” Lan’ara said, looking troubled.
“Really? I thought the Scourge were selling all the human females to the slavers for profit,” Davrik said. “Why would they take her to the Father Ship instead?”
“I don’t know but I’m afraid it’s because of the AllFather.” Lan’ara nearly whispered the name of the evil Scourge leader. “You know, he has a liking for a certain kind of mind—when he finds a human he likes, he feeds off their pain and mental anguish.” She looked upset. “I’m afraid that Madison has been taken because she has that kind of mind. Nate did, you know—the AllFather fed on him until he nearly broke him.”
“Yes, I remember how broken he was,” Davrik said grimly, remembering how the human male had attempted to choke Lan’ara when he was first removed from stasis.
“The experience gave him what the humans call ‘PTSD’—Post Traumatic Stress Disorder,” Lan’ara explained. “He’s healed of it now—not that it does him any good now that he can’t move,” she added bitterly. “But I’m afraid that since his little sister shares his DNA, she might have the same kind of mind he does. The AllFather will mind-rape her too—the same way he did to Nate.” She shook her head. “I don’t want that to happen! I want to get her out of there—off the Father Ship. But Commander Sylvania says there’s no way.”