Chained

by Evangeline Anderson

  “No, it’s not.” Far glowered at his brother. “It’s my turn.”

  “Boys…” Becca held up her hands to stop them. “You’re doing it again.”

  They both muttered apologies but neither looked happy.

  “Good.” Becca took a deep breath. “Anyway, I don’t want to pick just one of you to go on a walk with. I thought it would be nice if we all three went.”

  “Really?” Far looked surprised.

  “Is this really necessary?” Truth’s face was like a thundercloud.

  “Yes, it is,” Becca said firmly. “Now, let’s go. Maybe we can go down to the common area and get some sun.” She was referring, of course, to the artificial green sun that hung in the center of the Kindred Mother Ship. It was the ship’s power source and it also shed light over the Sacred Grove and the vast, grassy parkland that surrounded it.

  “What—down by the Sacred Grove where we first met?” Truth asked, looking at her significantly.

  “Um…yes.” Becca felt her cheeks heating in a blush when she considered what their first “meeting” had entailed. It was the first and last time she had touched either of the brothers sexually—or rather, they had touched her. She knew Truth and Far were thinking of it too.

  “Look what you’ve done—you embarrassed her,” Far accused his brother.

  “Apologies,” Truth murmured, his eyes still trained on her face. “I just wanted to be certain I knew what my lady wanted.”

  “That’s right, Becca is a lady and you should treat her as such—not some automated pairing puppet you want to—”

  “Enough!” Becca held up her hands again. “Come on, let’s walk. And listen, boys—if you can’t say anything nice to each other then don’t say anything at all.”

  That shut them up at last and the three of them walked in silence down the long, curving metal corridor towards the transports that would take them to the common area.

  Becca walked between the brothers but she was very, very careful not to touch them. She kept her hands securely in her pockets and her elbows tucked close to her torso to avoid brushing either one of the big male bodies bracketing hers. She was wearing a t-shirt and a modest knee-length denim skirt but her casual clothing didn’t feel like nearly enough of a barrier. She wished she hadn’t forgotten her cardigan back at the guest suite she was staying at—not because she was cold but because it would have formed another layer of insulation…protection between herself and the men.

  Anyone watching her careful avoidance would probably think she was being so cautious because of her background as a novice and her attempt to retain her chastity—but they would be only half right. Becca had other reasons to avoid contact with the two of them.

  As they walked, she reflected that she didn’t have to be nearly so careful when she was with either one of them alone. Far liked to hold her hand and stroke her fingers when they talked and Truth loved kissing the pulse point of her wrist—probably because that was the only place Becca would allow him to kiss her. But though both of these contacts made her heart quicken pleasantly, neither one felt dangerous. Being with the two of them—especially being between the two brothers—did.

  Even now, Becca wished she could walk on one side or the other and not be in the middle but that was impossible—she always had to act as a buffer between them or they fought like cats and dogs.

  You’re not a buffer, whispered a little voice in her head. You’re a conduit. A catalyst. A channel between the two of them. And when they touch you both at once…

  Becca shivered, trying to push the thought away but she couldn’t help remembering the one and only time she had touched both brothers skin-to-skin at the same time. The electricity that had jumped between them, the pleasure so intense it was scary, not to mention the way they were suddenly all in each other’s heads and the things she had seen…felt…experienced…

  It was only that way because I ate the bonding fruit cake, she told herself uneasily. I’m sure it would be perfectly safe for me to touch them both now.

  All the same she kept her hands in her pockets. She might be brave enough to go out with both of them at once, but she wasn’t that brave. Small steps—she would take small steps and see where they led her. And there was no way she was risking that scary pleasure again—not today, anyway. It was too easy to lose herself that way and after finally deciding not to take her vows, Becca felt like she was just beginning to find herself. She didn’t want to lose the ground she’d gained.

  “Well, here we are,” Truth said as they stepped out onto the park-like common area.

  “Thank you for that, Captain Oblivious,” Far muttered.

  “I believe the Earth term is ‘Captain Obvious,’” Truth growled, frowning.

  “No, I think I got it right the first time.” Far raised an eyebrow at his brother meaningfully.

  “Boys, please!” Becca glared at the two of them. “I swear—it’s like being with a pair of Kindergarteners!”

  She stalked off, heading over the grassy plain dotted with green and purple trees and happy Kindred families, leaving them to either catch up or argue.

  Unfortunately, they did both.

  “I think we should stay away from the Sacred Grove,” Far was saying under his breath as they came up to her again. “It might bring back…memories.”

  “What’s so wrong with that?” Truth demanded. “I swear that was the only time I could stand being in the same space with you.”

  “And I, you, Brother,” Far spat.

  Becca sighed mentally. Back in high school she might have thought that being fought over by two hot guys was a rush but she was well past that stage now. The constant bickering between the two of them was really getting old. Trying to tune them out, she watched as a human girl tried to show her Beast Kindred boyfriend how to play Frisbee.

  “Look,” the girl was saying. “You hold it like this and then just give it a fling—it’s all in the wrist.”

  “What is the point of this game?” her Kindred boyfriend growled, his amber eyes flashing.

  “To catch it and throw it back, of course.” The girl was half exasperated, half laughing. “Come on—it’s fun.”

  “So you say. I fail to see the inherent amusement in throwing a flat disk back and forth.”

  “It’s good exercise too!” the girl said.

  “I prefer shedding the blood of my enemies.” The Beast Kindred glowered. “It is not nearly so…ridiculous as jumping and running after a plastic disk.”

  “I’m sure shedding enemy blood is more aerobically effective but no enemy is going to kiss you like I do when you make a good catch.” The girl batted her eyelashes at her Kindred who looked suddenly more interested.

  “Is that so?”

  “Yeah—that’s so. Come on, what do you say?”

  Becca felt a flash of envy run through her as she watched the flirty little exchange.

  She only has one guy to worry about. One sexually confusing partner to deal with. Why did I have to get stuck with two? Why did I have to get stuck at all? I would have taken my vows and become a good nun. Now I have to doubt myself and everything in my life—all because of what happened when I mistakenly ate the wrong piece of cake. It’s not fair!

  “Are you ready?” the girl asked her boyfriend.

  He sighed, though Becca could tell he was really enjoying himself.

  “I suppose. Fling it, then.”

  The girl wound up and threw the Frisbee in a comically high arch which was destined to go right over her boyfriend’s head. Despite his initial reluctance, however, he appeared determined to do his best. The look on his dark face seemed to say that if she wanted him to play such a foolish game, he was damn well going to play it to the best of his ability. Accordingly, he took a running jump for the Frisbee…

  And crashed right into Becca, one thick, meaty elbow hitting her right in the forehead.

  “Oof!” she gasped, going down hard. Or she would have, if there hadn’t been a big male body to
cushion her blow.

  “Becca? Mi’now?” That would be Far, Becca knew. The name he called her was a word in the Twin Kindred dialect which meant something like “cherished one” or “beloved.”

  “Get off her, you oaf,” growled another voice which was certainly Truth. Then he was on the other side of her saying, “Are you well, Rebecca?” He only called her by her full name when he was worried or really serious about something.

  “Fine…I’m fine,” Becca tried to say but the words came out so faint she couldn’t even hear them herself. Her throbbing head was being cushioned in someone’s lap and someone else was propping up her knees.

  “Leave her alone,” Far was saying as he stroked her hair gently away from her hurt forehead. “Go call the nearest Med Station.”

  “I’m not leaving her,” Truth’s deep, growling voice sounded angry and belligerent. “You go run for help. I’ll stay here.” As he spoke, he lifted her knees a little higher, trying to make her comfortable on the grassy ground.

  Becca felt a surge of warning zip through her. They were close—way too close, the both of them. If they both touched her at the same time…

  And then they did.

  To be continued…sometime in early 2014 ; )

  Brides of the Kindred Glossary

  AllFather—the evil head of the Scourge, a race that are the byproduct of a failed genetic trade. The AllFather is one of the Old Ones and has the power to reach into a person’s mind to harvest emotional pain and trauma. He lives for the fulfillment of the Scourge Prophesy.

  Ancient Ones—beings which live in the Deep Blue—the darkest and most inaccessible part of the Rageron jungles. They are sentient but not related in any way to the Kindred. Each Ancient One has two forms—a bipedal form which resembles a human or Kindred and a beast form which can be deadly and they can change between forms at will. The Ancient Ones predate even the First Kindred and revere the skrillix plant, which they guard jealously.

  Bespeak—to contact someone mentally using a Think-me device. It is considered rude to bespeak someone you don’t know intimately.

  Beast/Rager Kindred—come from Rageron—a jungle planet full of beautiful but deadly flora and fauna. They have dark hair, golden eyes, and hot tempers but their most defining characteristic is the mating fist. The mating fist is an area at the base of the Beast Kindred’s shaft which engages fully only during bonding sex with his chosen mate. When engorged it swells to keep the Beast Kindred and his bride locked together until she is completely bonded to him. This ensures sex that is both extremely long lasting and multiorgasmic for both partners.

  Blackness between the Stars—another name for the Hoard or Grimlax, an ancient enemy of the Kindred. These beings have no souls and so are considered demonic by the Kindred.

  Blood Fever—a condition suffered by unmated females on Tranq Prime, the home world of the Blood Kindred. Blood Fever or Burning Blood as it is often called, is caused by a parasite living on the icy world that affects only women. The parasite—found in the fleeta or blood beetle—reacts with a compound in the Tranq Prime water supply to cause the fever. Symptoms include chills, increased sexual need and the feeling of the blood heating in the veins as well as increased coloration of the nipples and sex. If the fever is not treated in forty-eight hours, it will result in death.

  Once a Kindred male has had a female’s blood, he forms a natural antidote to Blood Fever which he can pass on by sharing body fluids with her. The most effective way to get the antidote into the female’s system is for a Blood Kindred to bite her, thereby injecting it along with his essence. However, it is also possible to pass along the healing fluid through sex.

  Blood Fever used to be very common on Tranq Prime which is what prompted the cold, proud natives to initiate a genetic exchange with the Kindred in the first place. A recent vaccine has nearly eradicated the disease, however, and the original inhabitants of the ice bound planet have little reason to continue the trade. A faction calling themselves Purists are against any further trade with the Kindred.

  Blood/Tranq Kindred—are blond with pale blue eyes and come from Tranq Prime where ice, snow, and arctic-like temperatures are the norm. To combat the severe weather conditions, the Blood Kindred have higher than normal body heat with double the human amount of red blood cells. They have developed specific biting rituals to share their supercharged blood and take the blood of their mates during their own version of bonding sex. They have a set of double fangs located where a human’s canine teeth would be. These fangs do not develop fully or become sharp enough to pierce flesh until a Blood Kindred is with a woman he wishes to mate and bond with.

  Bonding Ceremony—a wedding-type ritual which takes place after the Claiming Period if the bride chosen by a Kindred warrior has allowed him to have bonding sex with her and joined her mind to his.

  Bonding Sex—the extra step a Kindred warrior takes to bind his bride to him permanently during intercourse. For the Beast Kindred, it is the use of the mating fist. For the Blood Kindred, bonding sex means sex during penetration. Twin Kindred bind a bride to themselves by entering her and coming in her at the same time.

  Claiming Ceremony—a sort of engagement service that takes place when a bride is first claimed by a Kindred warrior. He declares his intentions toward her and she vows to obey the laws of the Claiming Period.

  Claiming Period—women who are drafted are required to go up to the Kindred Mothership and spend a thirty day “claiming period” with the warrior who has chosen them. If, at the end of that time, they have managed to resist the charms of their Kindred mate, they are allowed to go back down to Earth and resume their normal life. However, if they succumb to their Kindred male’s seduction, they are mated for life and must move to the Kindred ship to live, leaving everything else behind and seeing their family and friends on Earth only infrequently. Of course, many women are unwilling to give everything up at the drop of a hat, draft or no draft. But the Kindred have a secret weapon—devotion to their female’s pleasure and attention to detail during incredibly hot sex.

  Claming Period Rules—The Claiming Period lasts for four weeks during which the Kindred warrior attempts to seduce his chosen bride and she tries to resist him:

  The Holding Week: the Kindred warrior may hold his bride.

  The Bathing Week: the warrior and his bride bathe together and he is allowed to massage her with scented oils and make her come.

  The Tasting Week: the warrior is allowed to perform oral sex on his bride.

  The Bonding Week: sex is allowed but it is completely up to the bride whether she will take things a step further and allow bonding sex which is a special and specific process to the three different types of Kindred males. (Most women have given in well before this point but a few do resist.)

  The only way out before the claiming period is up is a breach of contract. This can happen if the Kindred warrior does not strictly follow the rules and tries to skip forward in the order of allowed events or by breaking one of the rules laid down by the Kindred High Council. These rules—mostly to do with restrictions on communication with Earth—are for the safety of everyone aboard the Mothership and are nonnegotiable. Ignorance is no excuse for breaking them and will result in immediate termination of the claiming period.

  Convo-pillar—A half inch long insect which resembles a brightly colored caterpillar. Convo-pillars were genetically engineered by traders on the fringe colonies around Rageron to translate alien languages by communicating via thought waves to their wearer’s brain. They have been outlawed by the Kindred High Council because their notoriously unreliable translations cause more conflicts than they solve.

  Deep Blue—the darkest and most inaccessible part of the Rageron jungles

  Dream Sharing—occurs when a Kindred warrior’s mind aligns with that of his bride and they begin to see each other’s day to day activities and memories in their sleep. However, the alignment of the two (or three in the case of the Twin Kindred) minds can take several fo
rms and is not limited to sleep.

  Fireflower Juice—an alcoholic beverage made from the Fireflower plant native to Rageron. It resembles milk in appearance but has the flavor of honey, vanilla, lavender and blueberries.

  High Councilor—the rightful ruler and defender of the Kindred home planet, First World. Only the High Councilor may sit upon the throne of wisdom and see with the eye of foreknowledge. Without a High Councilor in place, First World and the rest of the Kindred race cannot be adequately protected against the evil machinations of the Hoard.

  Hoard—an ancient enemy of the First Kindred also known as the Grimlax or the Blackness which eats the Stars, they are evil, demonic beings with ravenous appetites and a desire to conquer, devour, and destroy every living thing in the universe. They are divided into tribes with the lowest echelon being the most numerous and primitive. The elite or upper echelon tribes are more sophisticated and intelligent but also much more dangerous. They are notoriously manipulative and able to change their appearances using a technique called “shadowing” to look like anyone or anything they choose.

  Kindred—a race of genetic traders who have traveled the universe for centuries looking for viable matches to expand their gene pool. Since a genetic anomaly ensures that their population is ninety-five percent male, they are specifically looking for women.

  The three genetic trades the Kindred have already made have resulted in three very specific types of men. But though they take on some of the physical characteristics of the race they are trading with, the Kindred gene always ensures three things: physical prowess, extremely large and muscular body structure, and undying loyalty to the female of their choice.

  Krik-ka-re—a Scourge tradition in which the mind life of one being may be traded for or ransomed by another.