Damaged Goods

by Rena Marks

  “Kieran.” Both Vien and Potierre spoke simultaneously.

  “Who’s that?” Alannah asked.

  “He’s one of ours,” Robyn said. “A Xeno Sapien. He worked the prisons—determining which of the prisoners were redeemable. He wanted to sponsor you when you arrived but was afraid you’d be too challenged with his looks.”

  “But he’s…not human.” But her comment about the prisons. If nothing else, that tidbit alone should convince her. He’d told her the prison was located across the city.

  “He has another form. In fact, we didn’t even know he could shapeshift until his anger over losing the chance to sponsor you forced him into it. He ran off before we could talk to him about why we placed you where we did,” Amanda said

  “No one’s seen him since. He’s always been a loner,” Robyn said.

  “It was Kieran that’s been out there?” Potierre said, getting up and going to the window. “He never contacted. Should we be alarmed?”

  “Contacted?” Alannah asked.

  The room went quiet.

  Robyn sighed. “This is not out for publication. Especially not for when the rest of your family arrives. But the Xeno Sapiens are able to communicate with each other telepathically.”

  “I can communicate like that with him. With Kieran.”

  “What?” Amanda’s voice was sharp.

  “That’s how I met him. I sensed him at the edge of the trees, watching me. I saw his thoughts, rolling by like a screen in my head. Now that my B levels are evening out, my mind is clearer without the constant pain. I used to be able to flit inside my sister’s minds when we were younger. It was a game with us until my father shut that down with the increased meds.”

  Robyn strummed her fingers on the desk. “This is why we need to figure out more about your family. There’s a huge puzzle piece missing there. I think we need your mother here more than ever. It may be unethical, but with her visit, no matter how short, we’ll be able to obtain her whole DNA. I think there’s been a name change and the records erased, not sealed. It’s important to find out why. And the connection between her and Nolan.”

  Alannah took a deep breath. “Okay. If I can have Kieran there,” she bargained.

  “You want Kieran in this mix, too?” Robyn’s eyes were wide. “Did you hear us say he was a loner?”

  “He can remain in his animal form,” Alannah said. “But it’ll give me a good excuse to stay away. My mother can’t stand animals. And when he’s alone with me, I’ll see if I can talk him into changing forms again. Maybe he’ll introduce himself to me as a human instead of a wolf.”

  Amanda looked serious. “Robyn, that’s a good idea. I’ve been studying up with Leo. It’s risky for him to remain in one shape for so long. I think that was why his form was caught between the two worlds. More than likely, the doctors at the labs did that to him by forcing him to equate the shift with pain. They left him unable to change fully on his own and wherever he stopped shifting was how he stayed. We don’t know if he’ll ever be able to go back.”

  “It doesn’t matter to me what he looks like,” Alannah said fiercely. “As long as he’s not in pain. He’s my friend. I understand what it’s like to be alone and I understand what it’s like to be in pain.”

  “He’s in pain now. He’s just so used to it he doesn’t know it. Like you were. We have to stir up his emotions to tempt him to change and I think Alannah is just the one to do it,” Robyn said.

  “Vien? Potierre? It’s your home. Do you want to squeeze one more in?” Amanda asked.

  The two of them looked at each other. “For Alannah, anything.”

  “Then it’s up to you to convince him,” Robyn said. “It won’t be easy.”

  “I can do it.”

  Because Alannah had a plan. She knew what it was like to have affection—and then have it withheld. A person craved it, then starved for it. And cruel as it was, that was the point she needed Kieran to get to. That paired with his natural jealousy over Vien and Potierre ought to do the trick to anger him enough to change.

  Her first step was to broadcast mentally with Vien and Potierre replacing him, then shutting herself down here and there as if she was having so much fun she couldn’t keep track of filtering her mind and didn’t know she was broadcasting. When he was curious, she’d ensnare him.

  Kieran was aware of just how much fun Alannah was having with those two idiots, Potierre and Vien. She hardly thought of him anymore. Her nights were filled with watching movies with the two of them. Of dance lessons with the three of them flitting by open windows, laughing and teasing each other.

  Jealousy churned in his gut and he growled softly, but who was there to hear?

  Maybe she didn’t even need to pick one of them. Maybe she was toying with the idea of having them both as mates. After all, the three got along fine.

  He howled, long and loud. He didn’t even care that others would hear. Each day that rolled by, he cared a little less about human protocols and leaned more toward behaving with instinct and urges. Emotions.

  Not thought. Not language. Not…human.

  Part of him thought he remained too long in this form and thought more like a wolf than a man. But then again, who was he to say that was wrong? Both things lived inside him and one shouldn’t say the other was bad. Maybe his fate was to remain this way.

  I hear you howling. Come see me, please?

  He didn’t respond, just traipsed over endless miles of brush and wild grass, trying his damndest to get away from the sight that haunted him. The female, wrapped in the arms of another.

  Why aren’t you talking to me any more?

  Talking? He never technically “talked” at all.

  You’re ignoring me. Why?

  She was going to pester him until he sent her something. And her comments broke his heart. They just exacerbated his jealousy that she spent time with the two idiots who walked upright and tittered at every word she said.

  The way he wanted to.

  He sent her an image of the dry grass and brush as he ran over endless fields and then snatched it away. Hopefully that would get her to leave him to his misery.

  Are you hungry? I’ll fix you something.

  She wouldn’t let go so he ran, relishing the burn in his lungs. Enjoying the cooler night air against his fur. She continued to call to him…inside that part in his brain that thought differently. That existed with language and walking upright. But he refused to allow that part to remember her.

  She was persistent as she continued to soothe him with her lovely, lilting voice. He’d give her that. Part of him craved the voice that called to his soul.

  Chapter Nine

  Alannah:

  KIERAN. I NEED YOU. She sensed his confusion before he blocked the emotion from his thoughts.

  “Yes, I know your name,” she murmured, narrowing her eyes as she stared beyond the gardens to the darkness of the trees. Sneaky wolf. “Come to me.”

  How do you know who I am?

  She almost jumped she was so startled. It was the first time he communicated with words. Usually it was images and emotions he shot across the link. Even though she knew Robyn and Amanda were right when they said he was a Xeno Sapien man, having proof that he wasn’t just her intelligent pet was still shocking.

  She ignored his question. Where are you?

  Why?

  I need you. She repeated again. Please. She broadcast urgency in her mind.

  There was the briefest glimmer of distrust on his end.

  It’s just me. No one else. I promise.

  She walked closer to the trees and then she saw him. A shiver ran down her spine. Goddess of the moon, he was huge. How had she never thought to be afraid?

  You’re frightened. The thought was a snarl in her mind.

  “Not of you,” she whispered, getting out of her mind by speaking words to him.

  His ears shot up and she knew he listened to her.

  “Never of you.” She crooned. “You’
re beautiful…and you’re mine.”

  He came to her then and she dropped to her knees, unaware of how submissive it made her. She hugged him to her desperately, as if she’d never let him go. “Sweet boy.”

  His warm, wet tongue came out to lap at her skin.

  You don’t need me.

  “I do need you. They’re bringing my mother and my sisters here. To keep them safe from the threat against me and to figure out why I’m not safe from my ex. Except, I can’t bear to be in the same house with them. My mother…she’s the devil incarnate. Will you—please—come home with me? Stay in my room? And that way I would have someone in my corner for once.”

  I can’t be around other people. I’m too different.

  “You don’t have to be around anyone. If you don’t want to leave my room, that’s fine. We can access each other’s minds from there. I just want to know you’ll be there when I need to get away from them. That I can run back to my room and hug you whenever I want.”

  I can’t shift from this form. I’m stuck.

  It doesn’t matter to me what form you’re in, Kieran. You’re my friend no matter what.

  You haven’t seen my other form. I’m not…pretty.

  She laughed outright. “Do you know how ugly I’m considered like this? With my repulsive red hair, freckles, and horrific reddish gold eyes? I’m sure you’ll hear an earful from my mother. I’m sure she’ll call them eyes of a demon.”

  Outrage colored his mind. He really did care for her—but for some reason he hid in this form.

  Her fingers came around to his jaw and she turned his face to hers to look into his amber eyes.

  “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”

  Spoken like a true lady. Those are the differences between us. You’re better off with Vien and Potierre. I see that now. His tail hung down.

  “Good. Then you won’t mind coming with me and witnessing all the action. Because your place is with me.” She completely ignored his words and acted as if he’d agreed instead.

  He heaved a sigh and she knew she’d won.

  She strode off in the direction of the house, looking over her shoulder to give him a look, relieved when he followed her. To their credit, Vien and Potierre stayed away. She coaxed Kieran inside and found a note on the table.

  “They went to pick up my mother and sisters at the front gate. They’ll be here shortly.” A brief moment of panic invaded her voice. “I should change. Come on.”

  He stared around at the home as if he’d never even been inside the house of Vien and Potierre. He followed her up the winding staircase to a room of white and gold, whining as they padded up the stairs.

  “This is my room,” she said. “Hop up on the bed if you’d like.”

  He whined, letting her know he was dirty as if he didn’t want to embarrass her. She wasn’t embarrassed but she understood he wanted to be clean.

  “They can wait if you want me to bathe you,” she said softly.

  Yes.

  She smiled at him as they traipsed into the bathroom. She had a large walk in shower and a large sunken tub. It would probably be easier to wash him in the tub. She gently pushed him toward it and then took a brush, rolling it in long strokes over his body. When she was done, she turned on the sprayer and wet him down before shampooing him and rinsing him. Then she grabbed a big fluffy towel and blotted him, noticing he resisted the urge to shake off.

  “I should shower, too,” she whispered. “My mother will notice otherwise. Not that she won’t notice my hair and eyes first, but still.” And right there, with Kieran’s melted gold eyes watching, she stripped naked.

  He froze.

  “Whatever. You’ve seen me naked.” She fought a giggle because if that didn’t get him to change into a man, nothing would. She headed into the shower, washing his scent from her, while he stared in shock. Not that she minded his scent. He’d just smelled a little earthy and wet—a bit like the pond water from the previous bath.

  She switched off the water and stretched, feeling a bit like a femme fatale.

  “Be a dear and get me a dry towel, would you? There are some under the sink. Not that I would mind sharing yours, but it is pretty wet.”

  She heard the cupboard door open and close and the sound of his paws striking the marble floors as he came back to her. She wrapped herself in it and trotted to the bedroom, getting a fresh dress from the closet.

  “I’ll let you in on a secret,” she said. “We don’t wear dresses like princesses all the time on Iota Nine. I was at a party that night they brought me and Jason and Shawn didn’t let me change. Vien and Potierre had a ton more replicated in different colors while I was in medbay. I didn’t have the heart to tell them it was just dress up.” She snickered a bit. “Poor guys. They try really hard.”

  A soft growl rumbled from Kieran.

  “Are you jealous?” she asked, surprised that he allowed it to show.

  Yes.

  Perhaps she could get him to talk about this. “Of Vien and Potierre? Why?”

  Because you’re mine. But they get to sponsor you. And I won’t ever be able to.

  “It doesn’t really matter who sponsors me anymore, does it? You get to live here with me. In my same bedroom. More than I can say for Vien or Potierre. And we really need to work on changing you back.”

  No. The thought was instantaneous. You won’t like what you see.

  “Well, you won’t know for sure unless you change and we find out, hmm? Besides which, if you want to have any sort of relationship, it’s going to be extremely difficult in dog-form.”

  Wolf. He snarled.

  She laughed. “Whatever.”

  “Lady Alannah,” Potierre called out. In the background, she could hear the high-pitched tone of her mother’s voice, along with the softer murmurs of her sisters as they tried to calm the shrew.

  “Time’s up, wolfie,” she said. “Welcome to my hell.”

  He followed Alannah down the hallway to the top of the stairs. In the foyer, three women stood with Vien and Potierre.

  “What is that?” The elder woman’s voice dripped with disdain as she stared at him, not even bothering to greet the daughter who was sickly and in danger. He snarled at her.

  “This, mother, is Kieran. He’s mine.” He loved that comment from her lips.

  “He looks feral. Surely he can’t be domesticated.”

  “This is Xenia, mother. Anything goes.”

  He followed Alannah down the winding stairs. He heard one of the sisters gasp, but her focus was on Alannah. Then the mother uttered, “Your hair.”

  “Oh, yes. Side effect of not being able to take my meds here. I had a new doctor who didn’t see the need for such high levels of vitamin B.”

  “It’s hideous,” her mother snapped. “I won’t be seen in public with you.”

  “Good thing we’re not in public.”

  Alannah reached the bottom of the stairs and her two sisters curtsied deeply, some sort of ritual among the humans, he imagined.

  “May I present my sisters, Danielle and Anastasia.” Alannah said the proper words but to whom she spoke to was anyone’s guess. Then with a smile, Alannah reached for them and hugged them. They looked shocked before they hugged her back. Kieran was sure only he saw the mother’s lips tighten but then he caught Vien’s eyes and knew he’d noticed also.

  If she did pick Vien as a mate, at least he would be sensitive to her needs.

  “You’re not ill,” one of the simpering sisters said and her hand reached up to touch Alannah’s forehead.

  “First time ever,” Alannah agreed.

  “It’s not like she was that sick,” the mother said, rolling her eyes and moving to a sofa to sit. If he didn’t know better, he would think she did it so she wouldn’t have to greet her own daughter.

  “Wow, I can’t believe you got a license for a pet! And they’re so big here,” Anastasia said.

  “Ana, this is an entirely different way of life. They don’t require a l
icense in the city.”

  From the sofa, the mother muttered, “Obviously.” Louder, she said, “I hope we’re not going to have to smell wet dog the entire time we’re here.”

  “More like wet wolf,” Potierre said, smiling.

  Danielle’s eyes widened. “He’s a wolf?”

  “Wow, may I pet him?” Ana asked. “I’ve never seen a domesticated wolf.”

  “Or a wild one,” Alannah laughed. “Or even a wild dog. So, of course.” Alannah bent over and wrapped her arms around him, whispering into his perked ears. “Hold still. They’re just curious. We’ve never seen animals before.” Her voice was soothing, magical. He licked her neck, tasting the sweetness of her skin. Every instinct inside him screamed: mate. He just didn’t know what to do about that. She was human. He was not.

  While he was distracted, Ana tentatively stroked his fur and then Danielle even reached out. His attention was on the glorious being whose scent filled his nose.

  “Once upon a time, we almost had a small puppy,” Ana murmured. “It was to be considered a therapy dog for Alannah. But he didn’t work out.”

  “All that fur in one’s home,” the mother said. “And Alannah didn’t need a therapeutic animal. She just needed bed rest most days. Besides, the puppy was more sickly than she was.”

  Suddenly, Kieran knew what happened to the puppy.

  Then the mother snapped, “Do behave like ladies and sit properly. You’ve touched the dog, fine,” she sneered. “Now move on.”

  The sisters rose automatically, though Alannah stayed near his side. Only her presence—the warmth of her touch—kept him from snarling at the nasty woman.

  “Lady Cynthia, might we offer you tea?” Potierre asked. “I’m sure your journey has been wearying. You came halfway across the world.”

  “It was…taxing.”

  So that was the mother’s name. Cynthia looked disdainfully at his hands as if she didn’t think he would be able to make tea. Potierre’s lip tightened.

  “I’ll help,” Danielle whispered. In an instant she was at Potierre’s side, placing her hand on his forearm.