Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 72065 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 360(@200wpm)___ 288(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72065 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 360(@200wpm)___ 288(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
After Zelia’s passing, he couldn’t bear to go on practicing medicine. What good was he as a physician when he couldn’t even save his own mate’s life? He’d needed something to distract himself from the emptiness and pain of her loss and it just so happened that there was a territorial disagreement between two of the Clans on his home world of Rageron.
Bear had stepped in and offered to lead the negotiations. Since he was a neutral party, both Clans had agreed. To his surprise and satisfaction, he had been able to bring about a deal that kept the bloodshed of the notoriously hot-tempered Beast Kindred at bay. It seemed he had found a new talent—something he was good at that didn’t remind him of his awful loss. So he had thrown himself into it with all of what remained of his heart and before he knew it, his reputation as a negotiator grew.
Now, five years later, he found himself as one of the Kindred’s leading Ambassadors. He was known to be able to strike a deal with even the most fractious and warlike of peoples and he was proud of his reputation.
But it wasn’t pride that kept him coming back to the negotiating table time and time again—it was the fact that while he was negotiating his entire mental force was focused on the deal at hand. He had no time to think about missing his dead mate or feeling guilty that he’d failed to save her when he was trying to get two warring factions to agree to a peace treaty or making the best possible trade agreement with another planet for the Kindred of the Mother Ship.
His new profession consumed him completely and that was exactly the way Bear liked it.
He had no idea that there was someone waiting for him on Karpsian Sigma who would break his focus and cause him to question the vow he had made to never again call a bride…
3
ALEENA
“Are you ready, child? The Kindred Ambassador will be here at any moment.” Aleena’s father looked at her anxiously, taking in the Joining Day dress she was wearing with a critical eye.
It wasn’t new or fancy—it was just a rental that would have to be returned the next day. But it was much nicer than Aleena’s regular clothing—she hadn’t had anything new to wear in the past three years.
The breast net of the rental dress was made of a cheap golden alloy and it almost fit her, showing just a hint of the curves of her breasts. It sparkled in the noonday sun, which helped it look a little like real gold. (Rather than renting an expensive Joining Hall, her father had decided to have the ceremony in the gardens of the Public Parklands, which were free to use.)
The net was split in the middle, to facilitate the part of the ceremony where her new husband would claim her as his property. That was the part of the ceremony that Aleena was dreading. Her nipples were large and extremely sensitive—she hoped she wouldn’t cry or make any noise when her new Kindred husband claimed her. He would probably be rough, so she would have to steel herself for the pain he would no doubt give her.
Other than that, the rest of the rental outfit was standard. It had a long pale purple skirt split up the middle and dark purple panties to match. The flowing sleeves attached to the breast net were white, signifying her purity, though of course her jewel-toned amethyst eyes proclaimed that more eloquently than any article of clothing could.
After tonight you’ll no longer have such pale eyes, whispered a little voice in her head. They’ll be a darker shade once your new husband is done using you.
That was another thing Aleena wasn’t looking forward to—her Joining night. She wondered uneasily how rough her new Kindred husband would be. Rumor had it that the alien warriors were huge—much larger than a Karpsian male. Some were even said to have a kind of knot at the base of their shaft that they used to hold a woman in place so that they could breed her for hours.
Of course, as a pure and untouched virgin, she wasn’t supposed to know such things. But people talked and women gossiped. Aleena knew what to expect on her Joining night and none of it was going to be pleasant, she was sure.
Still, she was determined to go through with the ceremony. Not just because her father had gathered all the local dignitaries and the other members of the Ruling Council but because it was the only way her mother could get her next medical treatment.
Speaking of her mother, she had wanted so badly to come to the ceremony, but as a disavowed wife, she wasn’t allowed to attend an event her former husband was hosting. Of course Aleena’s father could have made an exception to the rule, but her stepmother forbade it. So her mother could only kiss her goodbye and wish her luck on her Joining with tears in her eyes.