Scarred (Brides of the Kindred Prequel)

by HarperSalt

Prequel to the series. Original characters with cameo from young Baird and Sylvan near the end. Nora Amado is a survivor of a broken home. Smart and reasonable, she always tries to be a kind person and do the right thing. She's drafted to be the bride of a powerful Kindred General and while she's openminded about it, the General's brother decides to make her his own instead.

Author's Notes:

This is a fan-written prequel mini-novel to the Brides of the Kindred book series by Evangeline Anderson. I highly recommend her work if you're a fan of erotic novels featuring big, powerful men in a sci-fi setting. The story I wrote stands on it's own so you don't need to have read any of the books beforehand to know what's going on. (But her books are awesome, so I would definitely suggest checking them out. Unless the offer has expired by now, the first book of the series, "Claimed: Brides of the Kindred" is up for free on Amazon.)

Other notes:

This is a drama and has some really dark moments in it. Trigger warning to people that may be sensitive to references to past childhood abuse, physical violence, suicide, death, and sexual violence and rape. This is not a dark, gritty story but some very terrible things happen throughout it. I wrote this to help me get through some dark experiences of my own life and show how even when life can be harsh and soul-crushing, there's always a way to keep moving forward if you don't give up hope. It's about overcoming hardship and abuse with kindness, an open heart and an open mind. It's also a very, very sexually-focused story, so that's also important to keep in mind. I hope that you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. :)

XxXxX

Nora peered incredulously at the large alien twins that brought her to the local Human Kindred Relations building in Boston. She was yet another lucky woman to be chosen by the draft to become some alien man's bride. She knew a few friends of friends that had been taken, so she was somewhat familiar with the new custom, but admittedly she wasn't very pleased with it, especially now that it was personal.

Not that she had a problem with contributing her fair share to the greater good. She was proud to pay her taxes, it made her feel like a functioning member of society, but to be expected to marry and spend the rest of her life with a total stranger out of duty made her feel used. While legally, being claimed didn't mean you had stay with that person, there was a lot of pressure to do so. It was mandatory to spend a month with the man and complete a series of traditional bonding rituals with him. She had heard it described as systematic seduction and after it was over, almost all the women stayed with the Kindred that claimed them. The whole thing was really unsettling to think about too much.

"It's not the worst thing that could happen to you," she thought, "And maybe the Kindred you're getting paired with will be reasonable. Hell, you might even get along. You might not feel so alone anymore."

She quietly continued to rationalize the whole thing to calm herself down. She and everyone else on Earth owed their lives to the alien warriors. If they hadn't shown up during the Scourge invasion and fought the monsters back, there would be nothing left of the human race. Humankind wasn't even able to put a person on Mars yet, let alone fight a war in space. All they asked for in exchange for their loyal protection was this claiming ritual. Breeding with women outside their race was necessary for Kindred survival since their birthrate was something around 95% male to 5% female.

Lost in her mind, Nora suddenly slipped backwards on the icy steps of the building. Just as she was about to smash her head on the pavement, the darker of the Kindred twins caught her.

Nora smiled a nervously laughed a little as he pulled her back to her feet, "Damn, you caught me trying to escape via hospital."

The Kindred man looked a little puzzled and then went back to his regular stern self, "You've been very compliant, Ms. Amado. Almost too compliant. I honestly have been expecting you to try to run at any moment… We can both smell how fearful you are."

She scowled at him.

"Bad form," Nora said dryly, "I was just trying to ease the tension a little with a bad joke. You don't need to try to intimidate me."

She took off her thick glasses before entering the building, They always fogged up when going from negative temperatures into reasonably heated buildings.

"And as for your concern about me bolting," she added,"I may be scared, but I'm a Goddamn adult, so I'm not going to run from my responsibility… I know you Kindred are up there fighting to keep us safe. I can at least do my part."

That seemed to settle the aggressive twin a little and the other, more friendly-mannered one looked at her apologetically. Nora slipped her glasses back on.

"He intended no insult, Ms. Amado," he said quietly as they walked through the crowded building, "It's just, well, as you can see, most human females are very resistant to this whole process. In the beginning at least. It's very frustrating."

He waved his arm out to the other women that were being brought in. One was being dragged, refusing to use her legs. A few others were crying, surrounded by yelling family members that followed the guards in, threatening lawsuits and other, more violent, things. Many of the women were clearly not dressed as if they were expecting company and one was even soaking wet, just wearing a bathrobe with the meanest expression Nora had ever seen. She was grateful that she herself happened to be decently dressed when they came by her apartment.

"Well, I gotta say, you really need to improve your process here. You should at least let the ladies grab a few things before heading out. I mean, that girl over there isn't even wearing shoes. There's two feet of snow on the ground, for goodness sake! And I don't think I even need to point out the poor lady that was yanked outta her bathtub over there. It's no wonder they're scared halfway to death," Nora said critically and then added with a laugh, "If you're going to run things like a circus, you should at least provide clowns and peanuts."

She kept trying to get at least a small chuckle out of the twins, but her humor didn't seem to translate, or she wasn't really as funny as she thought she was. The nicer one just looked at her puzzled again. The meaner one looked angered by her comment and lectured her about how letting the women linger at their homes for any amount of time would increase the risk of runaways. Nora felt her anxiety increase. Making people laugh was how she handled stressful situations. It was how she handled growing up in an abusive alcoholic family. Without being able to break the tension with a little humor, she felt much less in control. Not to mention, much more isolated.

And she was alone too much already. Her strained romantic relationship of five years had finally broken apart in the past few months, when her significant other left her for a younger "happier" girl. As for her family, she had distanced herself from them years ago, since all they ever seemed to do was try to continue the abuse they dished out since her childhood. On top of that, her only pet, a goldfish, died while moving him to her new tiny unfurnished apartment. She had a few good friends, but she hadn't spoken to any of them for around a year. They all lived far away and were very busy with their kids and jobs. She didn't even have any co-workers to talk to since she worked as a freelance web-designer from her home. She could probably go missing nearly indefinitely before anyone would notice.

The familiar old dull pain in her chest came back as all that ran through her mind again. She really was about as alone as a functioning adult could get. God, it made her feel so tired. She never wanted things to be like this. She was an extrovert. She loved being around people. At least by selecting her for the draft, as opposed to nearly any other person, she wouldn't be leaving anyone behind to worry. Not much of a silver lining, but it was a small one. The last thing she wanted was to put people that she cared for through any kind of anguish on her behalf.

"I said, you need to sign these papers to verify your identity!" the more aggressive Kindred guard repeated with open annoyance and he shoved a tablet at her.

"Oh! Right, sorry!" Nora snapped back into the world and looked over the document. "Ah, on this line here, right?"

"Yes, please," the nicer one said.

"Sure thing then." Just as she was about to sign, a random girl in the building screamed out to the crowd.

"DON'T SIGN! IT'S PERMISSION FOR SOME ALIEN STRANGER TO FUCK Y-" She was cut off when her guard covered her mouth and wrestled her out of the room. Most of the other girls looked horrified, as if they didn't already know what being a "bride" meant. Some of them started to run for the door and were chased down and wrangled by their own guards.

Nora looked over at the scene and back up at the faces of the two kindred men. They were tense and ready to restrain her too.

She rolled her eyes and scribbled her name on the screen with her shaky finger. Scared or not, she was gonna go through with it.

"Your circus has a great clown act," she mumbled.

The men ignored her comment, visibly frustrated with the chaotic situation.

"Thank you, now come with us to meet the male that's claiming you," the aggressive one said, grabbing her shoulder and pulling her down a hallway.

"Hey! No need to shove!"

—

Garruth paced anxiously in the small office. Doing this was the last thing he wanted, but circumstances had left him no choice. His brother, Lothair, who was the girl's future mate, had been called away at the last second for an important defense meeting. Only a brother of the groom could legally stand in his place for a claiming ceremony. Lothair had risen to the high rank of General, while Garruth himself remained a simple pilot. One of the best pilots in the force, but nothing in comparison to his brother's status. This had never really bothered him too badly, but this recent event had placed a seed of jealously in his heart. He couldn't stand the fact that Lothair would be taking a bride.

Garruth's own wife, Sara, had been killed when the Scourge destroyed her transport ship about a year ago. The loss had nearly destroyed him. He could barely eat and rarely slept. Military policy forced him to take a least a year off from duty to grieve, as if it was a kindness. All it left him to do all day was lay sleeplessly in the bed that he and his wife used to share. He could still smell her on the blankets. There were mandatory therapy seasons that he was forced to go to as well. Even though they did a small amount of good, he still felt more pain than he could manage on a daily basis. Lothair had been very supportive to him, but now that he would be getting his own bride, he wouldn't have the time anymore. Not to mention he'd now be flaunting around the kind of happy life that Garruth lost and longed for so dearly.

So today, with everything else he already had to be miserable about, he had to reenact claiming vows with his brother's bride. He remembered the beautiful nervous face Sara had when they stood at that alter. She had vivid, curly red hair, pale skin, and lovely green eyes. She smelled like flowers and wore a simple green dress.

He collapsed down into one of the office chairs. It's was too small for his large Kindred Ranger body and it nearly broke under him. He pressed a hand to his forehead and tried to push his memories back into the vault.

When Nora and the Twin Kindred guards walked into the office, Garruth felt his blood chill at the sight of her.

"You've got to be kidding," he muttered in disgust as his hands balled up into fists.

The girl was wearing a green dress, she had long red wavy hair, and stood just around the height that Sara did. It was like her ghost just walked into the room.

"My thoughts about this exactly," Nora replied quickly, scanning over the huge man before her. He was around seven feet tall and wore a pilot's uniform. He had a face that looked excessively masculine, with a jutting nose, forehead, and strong jaw. His eyes were the color of pale amber and he had long brown hair, tied back into a low ponytail. His skin was a dark tan and he had the kind of bulk that would put any human weightlifter to shame.

Garruth stood up from his chair and walked over to them. He was relived that aside from those broad characteristics, this girl looked quite different from his Sara in many ways. She was darker skinned and wore thick glasses. The features on her face were much sharper than Sara's rounder, cuter ones. Her small nose was narrow and pointed slightly upward as opposed to it being an adorable tiny button nose. Her hair was darker and most-likely dyed red, rather than it being natural. Even her eyes, while just as large, were dark grey instead of cheerful green. Body-wise, this new girl had a very different figure compared to Sara's all-over pleasant plumpness. This girl had larger breasts and wide hips that were oddly paired with a narrow, tight waste. Overall she was much less pleasant too look at, looking like a perverse copy of his dead wife.

"You're not the General!" the more aggressive twin blurted, "Where is he?"

"General?" Nora asked.

"He got called away to an important meeting just a little while ago. Legally, I am able…" he looked down at the girl again with distain, "and required to stand in his place for the ceremony and take her back to the mothership."

So this wasn't the man she was supposed to marry. Thank Goodness. Nora picked up on his dislike of her immediately. It wasn't common for her to get such a negative first reaction from people. She went far out of her way to present a good first impression. Life was just easier that way.

"Thanks so much for stepping in to help at a such short notice. My name's Nora Amado, nice to meet you, future brother-in-law" she said with a sideways smile, extending her hand to shake his. As much as he openly hated her, she figured it wasn't too late get control of this train wreck and be friendly with him. He wouldn't be the first person that she had to win over.

Garruth grabbed her hand and pulled it up to his face to smell her wrist, as ranger Kindred did by custom. He faintly smelled one other male on her, but she must not have had any contact with him for a very long time.

Nora's felt awkward with the sudden contact. While she had fortunately remembered that this was a common custom of his kind, she still didn't care for how intimate it seemed.

"I'm Garruth. My brother's name is Lothair. He'll be your mate. Let's get this ceremony over with so I can take you to him and be done with all this."

"Wait, we're going strait up to the mothership after the ceremony? I have stuff I need for my work back at the apartment. I have a deadline to finish a building a website for one of my clients in three days. I can't get it done without the files on my computer," she said, thinking this through a little more.

"Call your friends or family to bring it here to the HKR building then. We can take it up with us." Garruth said impatiently.

"I would love to, but my goldfish died last week," she replied with a nervous laugh, "If I don't get it myself, then no one else is going to get it for me. I refuse to let down my client just because I was unable to take a one hour detour."

Garruth looked at her with a little more respect.

"Gentlemen," he said to the guards, "Go get her things. We'll wait for you to get back."

"Thanks," said said and told them a couple important things to grab in addition to her work stuff. After a bit, the men left and Nora and Garruth were left alone in the room to wait.

Still wanting to have a positive relationship to her potential brother-in-law, she tried to strike up friendly conversation.

"So what can I expect with this whole thing…. I mean, I know the basic set up. I've heard the stories and propaganda, but I'd feel a lot better if you told me your experience with the bride claiming process," she said as she sat down across from him.

Garruth sighed at her question. He really didn't want to talk about his own experience. Didn't even want to think about it at all and especially not now.

"Do you want the outline or my full biography?" He asked sarcastically crossing his arms.

Nora dismissed his tone and continued.

"Well, I know that the claiming period takes place over one month, with each of the four weeks having different levels of intimacy allowed. The first week is for 'holding', the second week is for 'bathing', the third is for…'tasting', and the fourth week the Kindred man is allowed to have intercourse with the woman, but not full-on bonding sex, not without her permission at least. Any of the weekly restrictions can be lifted early if the female gives permission to do so," she rattled off, as if from a text book, "Something like, ninety-nine percent of claimed women accept the Kindred as her mate and allow the bonding… So whatever you guys do to the ladies, you must be pretty good at it."

"We are very good at it," Garruth said flatly, his mind drifting back to his sweet wife again, back to the first time he tasted her, "And we always love and cherish our brides forever. Most human men are unable and unwilling to give their love to just one female for even a single month. How is it possibly surprising that most human women choose stay with a Kindred when a lifetime of love and loyalty is what they're being offered?"

"…I really hope that what you say is true, but from what I've seen, people are people. Everyone falls out of that honeymoon phase of the relationship at some point. I bet even Kindred do. Then it's just about how well you can diplomatically handle living with another person who doesn't love you anymore… with all their flaws and problems," Nora looked down at her hands, a wave of exhaustion hit her again, "I actually feel kinda bad for your brother, claiming a person like me…. I've got a few issues that I'm still working out. I'm not very good at the whole…. feeling love thing. And I've got some deeper issues too. I think he's going to be a little disappointed when he gets to know me."

Garruth looked at her for a long time in silence.

"I'm sorry you feel that way, but you have nothing to fear. I told you the truth about my kind. His soul sought you out because, for whatever reason, you're the one he's a perfect match with. He's going to love and care for you, despite all your problems, until he dies. And odds are that you're going to love him too," he muttered starting to feel bad for the girl.

Clearly she'd spent most of her life starved for affection and trying to not build her hopes up too high. Telling herself that real love wan't possible was probably just how she coped with never experiencing it.

"So what's your story then? Do you have a mate?" she asked casually switching over the conversation.

Garruth walked over to the dark snowy window, so she couldn't see his face while he talked.

"I did, but she died in a Scourge ambush a little less than a year ago… Killed on a ship that was taking her back to my mother's home-world, Rageron. We were… going to start a family there," he cringed, reliving it for a moment.

Startled, she looked up at him with a surge of empathy. She felt terrible for him. It was reasonable to guess that all those things he'd said about the deep love of a Kindred to his mate were true for him. He must be dying on the on the inside without her. No wonder he was so angry to be here doing this ceremony in proxy of his brother.

"I'm so sorry," Nora said sincerely, quickly standing up and walking to his side, "I understand if you don't want to talk about it, but if you do, I'd be more than happy to listen."

She gave him a brief, gentle side-hug and for a moment Garruth swore she smelled just like Sara. He tensed up and stared down at her. Her face, while looking physically different, had the same kind of caring expression his wife always had when she was worried about him. He stopped himself from touching her cheek. He was surprised at how genuinely this near-stranger wanted to ease his pain, how quickly she seemed to care.

"It's fine you brought it up. You had no way to know. And it makes sense you would want to get to know your future husband's kin. I… I don't need to talk about it now though," he replied, forcing his hand back down to his side and pulling away from her, "I mean, who wants to hear me moaning about my suffering on the day of their claiming ceremony?"

She stood by his side for a little while looking out the window and put a hand on his shoulder.

"I wouldn't mind talking about it on any day, if it would help you. I would feel privileged to help ease your pain. It helps me manage my own."

"It's really not necessary, I see a therapist. It's mandatory for any Kindred who's mate has died," he said quickly, still feeling like he would be taking too much.

"Yeah, I've gone to a few therapists myself. But a friend can sometimes be better."

She smiled at him and gave him another friendly side-hug. An intimate period of quiet hung over them as they watched the snow fall outside.

"So what causes you such pain that you seek to pull it out of others so desperately?" he finally asked, giving in to his curiosity.

She hesitated for a moment, choosing her words carefully. She still wasn't entirely comfortable talking about what troubled her, but if doing so had a constructive purpose to someone in need, then she decided to always open up to help.

"Well, I've had a decent share of bad luck… My dad was an alcoholic that molested and abused me throughout my childhood, especially when my body matured. My mom just let it happen and lived her whole life like a selfish child wandering around in a drugged-out daydream. Both of them were the kind of people that would complain that the world didn't give them anything while they collected their welfare check each month. I was raised in a house infested with fleas and cockroaches. I was sick a lot and the kids at school beat me up to for being a gross, angry, confused little animal," she finally confessed dryly.

He looked at her with a moment of doubt, skeptical that someone like her could come out of such a terrible upbringing, let alone talk about it so matter-of-factly. All his uncertainty was dismissed when he saw how ridged her posture got. She pressed a hand over her heart for just a moment and pushed on it, taking a long breath.

"Most people don't believe me at first," she continued, "Normally I have to show them this."

Nora unbuttoned the collar to the blouse she wore under her dress and pulled the clothing to the side, showing the skin over her heart. A tiny white, circular scar was there.

Garruth stared at it.

"A burn?" He asked.

"A cigaret burn. My dad literally put a cigaret out on my chest one time. He said it's what I got for looking like a slut," she said coldly. He could sense the anger coming off of her as she showed him. He was moved by how much she had just given him. Even though talking about it was clearly agonizing to her, she did it anyway just to try to help him.

"So, yeah, I know how it feels to hurt so much you just don't want to exist anymore. Just know that you're not alone. I'm here with ya, ok? And there's lots more survivors of terrible luck than just me. Kinda unfortunate if you think about it too much, you know? That there's an unending stream of people enduring terrible loss and suffering…But there's lots of people just like us that overcome it, step by step, everyday."

Why should she care so much to help him? Why would anyone put so much out there for someone who was nearly a stranger? Suddenly, he was sure of it, she smelled just like Sara.

In a quick motion, he pulled her into his arms and breathed in the smell of her hair, his chest lurched and he had to focus on not crying. Gods, it felt so good to hold her again. He missed her so much.

Nora patted him on the back.

"It's ok, it's ok. We've got some time before the people come back with my junk. You can cry for a little while and no one will see," she reassure him in a friendly tone, "It'll be good for you and I promise not to tell a soul."

When she spoke his brain suddenly remembered that this wasn't his wife. Everything came back to him in a rush. He pulled back, not realizing that he let a couple tears run down his cheeks and looked at the girl he was holding. Even though she wasn't his Sara, even though she looked so different, she was so sincerely beautiful to him all the sudden. Her smell, while not of flowers, was more like fresh soap. Her grey eyes watered up a little along with his. She felt his pain with him. He wasn't alone.

"It's all gonna be ok. I promise. Just don't give up," she said with a gentle smile.

He tilted up her chin and looked at her lips. Even though her smell was different it was still intoxicating to him. The feeling of holding her tiny fame and soft chest against himself awakened a fire that he thought died with his wife. He felt himself growing hungry for her.

He leaned down to kiss her and Nora suddenly jerked away.

"C'mon, Garruth," she said with an awkward laugh, patting his cheek, "I think you're getting your feelings a little mixed up. We're just sharing pain, remember? This isn't a romantic kinda love. You and I both wouldn't want that anyway. We're gonna be in-laws, remember?"

Quickly she re-buttoned her blouse with a sympathetic smile and he felt a wave of shame roll over him. How could he be so selfish? So thoughtless to his wife's memory and his brother? Not to mention how disrespectful he had been to this new girl.

"I'm so sorry I-" he started to explain himself, but Nora patted him on the shoulder again.

"Hey, none of that now. Anytime you let out a lot of feelings, it's easy to get confused. No shame in that. I'm not gonna judge you, ok?"

"Thank you," he said, putting a hand over hers.

"Do you wanna talk to me about your wife?" Nora prompted cheerfully, "I bet she was wonderful."

"Yeah, she was… and I'd like that a lot," Garruth said with an eased smile, "Thank you."

—

They talked up until the men came back with Nora's things. For the first time since Sara's death Garruth felt a little cheerful and Nora seemed to be genuinely enjoying it too. He couldn't believe it, but he laughed a little at a few of her quips and even made a few jokes himself as he told her about their short, happy life together. Something about the way she framed things made him feel so at ease. He felt so close to her all the sudden. Like he had known her for years.

The fun ended when the twins returned from their errand.

"Your home is shameful!" one of the men exclaimed as he walked into the room with a large box containing her computer and other things they assumed could be important.

Nora felt embarrassed and tried to laugh it off.

"Well, you know I wasn't exactly expecting company," she said trying to dismiss it.

"I can't believe you live like that! You don't even have a real bed! There's only a sleeping bag over there. And why is there no food in the place?!" the Kindred twin continued, "You don't even have a refrigerator ether!"

"Look, I'll live how I live and you can live how you live!" Nora muttered. "I've got water, protein powder, and rice. The damn place is clean, and I'm clean too! Besides, I just moved! I can mess with all that unimportant stuff later."

"You must be crazy to neglect yourself like that," the more aggressive twin grumbled and his brother jabbed him in the side with his elbow.

"Sorry, it's not our place to comment, have a happy claiming ceremony!" He said and dragged his rude brother out the door.

Garruth gave her a shocked look. He hated the idea that this girl was treating herself poorly. Her past clearly caused her more continuous harm than she had let on. It would seem that she wasn't really doing ok after all. He walked over, casually gazing into the boxes and then froze. His mind reeled from what he saw and he stared back up at her with a look of betrayal. Nora shifted uncomfortably under his sudden change of expression.

"You weren't planning to live there long, were you?" he said slowly, appraising her reaction, feeling his anger build.

"Well, like I said, I just moved and-" Nora started.

"You weren't planning to live much longer at all, were you?" Garruth accused out of the blue.

"What?! That's one hell of an assumption, don't you think?!"

He pulled a large ziplock bag of strong prescription sleeping pills out of one of the boxes. She had clearly been stockpiling them for at least a year.

"You fucking liar," he growled, stomping up to her, "You tell me it's all going to be ok, tell me to not give up, while you were planning to KILL YOURSELF?!"

God, it was just like when her ex-boyfriend found out she was fighting suicide. He backed her into a corner of the room just like this. She hadn't quite realized how giant the Kindred man really was until now. Taking a deep breath, she put everything she had into choosing her next words.

"Take it easy, Garruth. You're reading too much into it. I just use those to sleep lately, that's all…"

"LIAR!" Garruth punched the wall beside her and she winced.

"TELL ME THE TRUTH!" he yelled again.

"You've got to believe me when I tell you this. I haven't given up. It's just…. I was really close a while ago during the breakup. I'm better now. I've got too much to do to just go off an end it. It would be too much of a waste," she explained.

"A waste? You haven't killed yourself because you thought it would be a fucking waste?! WHAT ABOUT THE PEOPLE THAT CARE ABOUT YOU?!"

She felt her patience snap.

"WHO?" She yelled back.

The two were quiet and scowled at each other.

"Garruth, look, I managed it. It's done! You don't need to worry about me," she continued.

"You're going to stop hiding the truth from me right fucking now. Clearly it's not 'done'. And I'm not going to let you hurt yourself. You wanna know who cares? Well, I fucking do. I haven't felt anything since Sara died until I met you an hour ago. It's not much, but you're the only light I've got in this world and I'm going to protect you, even if it has to be from yourself," he growled, pushing himself up against her and pinning her to the wall.

Nora looked up at him with her jaw clenched tight, completely unsure of how to respond to something like that.

Garruth pulled away from her when he heard the footsteps of someone walking up to the room.

"Excuse me, but I'm scheduled to preform a claiming ceremony for Ms. Amado and General Lothair," the smaller framed Blood Kindred man said. He seemed cheerful and it felt like such a strange contrast from the crazed emotions that were just being let loose in the room.

"I take it you're Lothair's brother? Thanks for doing this on his behalf", the man continued, and proceeded to hurry them to the alter room, "Sorry to rush things but you're already very late! I've got a long line of happy husbands and wives waiting behind you to do their own ceremonies, so let's make it quick. Shall we?"

"Yeah, ok… Why not?" Nora sighed and gazed up at Garruth. He wouldn't take his judging eyes off her.

"I really messed things up…" Nora thought sadly "What a stupid mistake it was to try to comfort him like that."

It had felt like the right thing to do at the time, but looking back it made sense that butting-in would do more harm than good. Now he was getting his grief all mixed up with her own personal problems. It would have been a million times kinder if she had just kept her distance.

The ceremony was quick since the real groom wasn't present and all the sentimental speeches were cut out. It all just boiled down to an exchange of oaths. Garruth stood there with his arms crossed, looking just as furious as Nora looked awkward. When the official called for it, Garruth swore the oath on the behalf of his brother, to pledge his body and soul to her, and she did the same for him. It was over in no time.

"The claiming period has officially begun, Garruth, in place of your brother, you may kiss his bride as your new kin."

He pulled her close and smelled her hair. Gods, she smell so much like Sara again. It didn't help that this was the exact same alter that he and his wife had stood at during their own claiming ceremony.

Gently he kissed her forehead. He silently swore that he would always protect her, even if it was from herself. She was his. She opened for him and needed him like he needed her. She was all that kept him from being alone again and now she was at least partly his by oath. He balled up a fist in her hair when she tried to pull away.

"Garruth?" She whispered nervously as she kept trying to pull away, "You need to let me go now…"

"Mine…" he growled so quietly and deeply that she could barely hear it. He took another deep breath of her and released her from his grip.

Nora looked up at him horrified. She hoped she didn't hear him right. The damage she'd done seemed to be even worse than she initially expected. He was suffering from serious delusion from his grief. Helping someone with this type of serious mental illness was completely unfamiliar territory to her.

Silently he walked her out of the room, out of the HKR building, and up to his small ship on the rooftop parking lot.

"Hey," Nora said softly, "Are you ok? I thought I heard you say something kinda strange back there. Just wanted to clear it up with you before we have a bigger misunderstanding than necessary."

"You heard me right," he said sternly and opened the door to the passenger side of the ship, "Now get in."

She did as he said, but couldn't find the right words to respond to that ether. They both stopped talking.

—

Lothair was mentally exhausted from his meeting. The tide of the war was starting to turn. The Scourge were developing a new long-range super weapon that had the power to take out the entire Kindred mothership over earth. His intelligence agents reported in sooner than expected with vital information about it's progress. Without intervention, this new threat would be up and operational by the end of the month.

The month that was supposed to be his and Nora's time for bonding. He would be lucky to have much time with her at all with the way things were going.

"But maybe it will be a little better this way," he thought, "It'll give her more space to get used to her new life with me."

He wondered if she was expecting to be called. With the pills she took to sleep, her side of the Dream Sharing period was probably muffled out. She probably knew nothing about him at all. It would be a lie to say he didn't worry for her at times, but he could see the real soul beneath all her struggles. She was a very kind and strong person. She just needed a solid foundation to truly flourish and he could easily provide that for her. As for her past, he believed that the damage she carried inside was the source of her empathy and love for others. She knew what it was to suffer and had a strong urge to save others from it. She would no doubt see past his own scars, the ones he carried inside and out. She would see him in the same way that he saw her. He was absolutely sure that they would be a perfect match.

He felt lucky to have found such a person. Past battles had left him much worse for wear. He wasn't sure how many pieces of shrapnel were embedded in him at this point, but it was a number that was meaningless to count. And that was just one of his more minor issues. A battle from many years ago took his left fore-arm and leg below the knee. As for his face, he completely understood why children stared and even grown men sometimes averted their eyes. There wasn't much left it that wasn't a scarred up mess on his left side. It didn't impair his speech too badly, but his left eye was simply gone. It left him with less-than-desirable depth perception and an unsettling appearance. Even with the prosthetic limbs that allowed him to walk and function for most of the day without impairment, it would take a very open mind and a kind heart to not find him disturbing to look at and Nora was just the person to do it.

He let his mind wander to their future together. Pride swelled in him as he imagined the family that he was going to build and the female he would be building it with. He couldn't wait to fuck her for as long as she could stand and watch as pleasure overtook her little frame over and over. He couldn't wait to hear her beg for more, to see her beautiful body filled by him. How perfect she was going to look while pregnant with his sons…

He had to stop for a moment and cool his mind. He took a deep breath and put the thought of that out of his head. He didn't want to rush things, even if she gave him permission. No, he wanted to go through each step of the ritual slowly, he wanted her to be crazy for him the night they bonded. He wanted her to be begging to be the mother of his children.

It wasn't until the night he found her that he even knew how much he wanted this sort of thing. He had been a blind fool in the past, discrediting all romantic love as just some basic chemical reaction. It annoyed his brother to no end when he would talk about it. He owed Garruth an apology for being so wrong, and his deepest thanks to him for bringing Nora to him.

Lothair's mind snapped back to his brother's well-being. He would probably be an emotional wreck when he got back. He would have to send over something to cheer him up, something really exceptional, maybe even grant him access to the new experimental ship that was just recently developed. Garruth always seemed to do better when he was flying, and since that ship was the fastest and most powerful one that the Kindred scientists had to offer by leagues, he would have a wonderful time with it.

After everything was set up in his quarters for Nora's comfort, he began to wonder where she and his brother were. It was around a half-hour past the expected arrival time for them. He contacted the flight controller, and got the news that the ship had taken off late. Feeling impatient, he wandered to the landing decks to wait for them to arrive. He had to see her, he'd waited long enough and the delay was weighing on his nerves.

—-

The flight was long and quiet. Garruth's mind was racing, trying to figure out how he could possibly stand the fact that his brother would soon be fucking the girl that he suddenly cared so much about. The girl that somehow was both Sara and Nora at the same time. He couldn't figure out why, but he had smelled her. It had to be true in some way.

"What's your brother like?" she asked, breaking their long silence.

"He's bossy and ugly," Garruth spat jealously, gripping harder on the controls.

Nora waited for him so continue, but he seemed to want to leave it at that. She let it go and just contented herself to sit and watch the earth get smaller out of the back viewer.

"… And you don't need to accept his bond," he finally continued," You could just… tolerate the ritual and not let him fully take you at the end. You could give yourself to someone better. Someone who will be able to love and protect you better than he ever could."

Nora looked at him sadly.

"Don't do this," she said sadly, "I think I did some serious harm to you back at the HKR. I just wanted to comfort you after you've been through such an awful loss, but I think I confused you. Made things even harder for you. I'm…. I'm really sorry."

He scowled at her.

"You didn't confuse me."

She got quiet again.

"You're getting me really worried about you…" she finally replied.

He didn't answer.

—-

They continued on without anymore words until they arrived at the docking bay of the Kindred Mothership. After landing, and shutting off the power, Garruth just sat there staring blankly at the console for a while. This was it. He had to let her go out to his brother. Then it suddenly dawned on him that she was definitely going to tell Lothair all the things he'd said to her. She wasn't the type to let trouble grow. She would tell him everything, and then he would be kept away from her.

Nora tried to open the door but it was locked.

"We're here right? Can you unlock the door, please?"

"Promise me you won't tell him." Garruth muttered in monotone.

"… I think that would make things worse for everyone. We can't just let this fester. If we address it openly-"

"It would destroy us as brothers," Garruth said urgently, "This is the only family connection we have. If he knew the things I said, it would cut our tie forever."

"Garruth, it's not your fault. You're just unwell. Don't you think your brother would understand that?"

"No, not if it involves his mate."

"This really doesn't seem like a good idea," Nora murmured.

Garruth gripped her shoulders and shut his eyes to lie, to say anything that would keep her close to him. He pressed his forehead to hers.

"Look, you're right, I'm… unwell. Please. I'm so sorry for the things I said to you. I didn't mean to scare you. I didn't mean any of it. I love my brother, please don't put this wedge between us forever. I have so little left as it is… Don't tell him a word. I promise I'll fix what's wrong inside me."

Nora sighed.

"Well, you do know him better than I do. Maybe you're right. I really don't want to cause anymore harm," she said cautiously thinking it through, "Since it's for the best, I won't tell him."

"Thank you," he said as he hugged her tightly and breathed her in once more, enjoying her pure scent before his brother marked her with his, "Thank you so much."

Nora patted him on the back again and pulled away.

"Well, lets get my stuff and head in, ok?"

—-

Lothair finally saw his brother's ship pull into the the bay and waited eagerly to see Nora for the first time in person. For just a flash of a moment he worried that she might not be as immediately accepting of his appearance as he assumed. It would be painful if the first look he got from her was one of fear or pity. He straightened his jacket a little and tugged at the sleeve over his false arm. Whatever her reaction, he was ready for it. But why was there such a long wait before she got out of the ship? Maybe Garruth was trying to warn her about his scars so she wouldn't be startled.

Finally, he saw her emerge. She looked just like she did from the Dream Sharing. Gods, she was perfect, everything he had ever wanted and she was finally here. He loved the way she held herself and how curiously she looked around at the landing bay.

Lothair focused closer in at her face and was dismayed at her expression. She was scared and worried. Maybe he really had assumed too much about her. He thought she would see the claiming as an adventure, not as a kidnapping. Something was wrong. He watched his brother step out of the ship after her, carrying two large boxes of her possessions. He was trying to hide it, but he was upset too. At least that behavior lined up with Lothair's predictions. He already knew his brother was not happy about the errand. Maybe Nora was just picking up on his anxiety and grief.

"Brother!" Lothair called out. He walked in confident strides down to the landing bay to greet them. "And my dearest Nora! I'm so glad to see you both!"

Garruth was quiet, and Nora looked up at him. This was the moment Lothair had been waiting for. To his relief, she smiled. She smiled so warmly that all his insecurity melted away. He jogged over and took her hands in his.

"Nora, you're even sweeter in person than you were in my dreams," he said with excitement, bringing her hands up to his lips to give them a quick kiss. He thought it would be wiser to adhere more to human customs until she was more settled in.

"So you're Lothair? I… I don't know what to say. I feel like I know you from somewhere. This is all really strange, but I… I'm really happy to meet you too." She was really taken off guard by him, but somehow she felt a deep fondness for the stranger.

She pulled one of her hands away to anxiously fiddle with her glasses and look up at him. He was much taller than his brother and had a stockier frame. His hair was cut short and slicked back neatly, unlike Garruth's long messy ponytail. Most notable though was the severe scarring that dominated his left side and that his limbs on that side were prosthetic. Though he only had one remaining eye, he had the same prominent brow, jutting nose, and strong chin as his brother. His eye was a dark golden-brown and his skin had a deep earthy-tone.

He looked so familiar, and she felt such a strong, instant connection to him that it was uncanny and a little frightening. When he looked down at her, his face had such friendliness that it was like he had known her all his life. Nora wondered if she was sending the same positive emotions back at him. How could he seem to care so much about her if they had only just met and why did she suddenly feel the same way back?

Lothair pulled his attention back to his brother, who looked like he was about to be sick.

"Thank you for bringing my bride to me. I know it couldn't have been easy for you to go through the ritual again. I'm very fortunate to have you as my kin."

Garruth took a deep annoyed sigh, regarding his brother's tone. He seemed so different with all the emotion suddenly rolling out of him. He was nearly unrecognizable. He was almost happy to see his brother in such good sprits, but he couldn't shake his jealousy.

"I'm glad I was able to be there for you," he said dismissively, averting his eyes.

Lothair released Nora for a moment and patted his little brother on the back. Garruth cringed.

"I got you something to cheer you up. Go to your flight hangar and see. It should be there by now," he said with a smile.

"… I don't want pity gifts."

Lothair looked at him sternly and Garruth straightened his posture and tilted up his chin defiantly.

"Brother, you know that's not something I would do to you. Now put your mind at ease and go enjoy yourself," he commanded.

"Fine, if that's what you're ordering, Sir," Garruth growled and stormed off after giving one last glance back at Nora.

—

Lothair gave his bride a brief tour of the ship as he walked her to his quarters. Everywhere they went he seemed to get mixed reactions from the other Kindred. Some of them were eager to speak with the general, congratulating him for finally finding a mate and tossing out other compliments. Those men were obviously trying to win his favor. Others seemed to scurry away from his presence, avoiding any unnecessary interactions with the intimidating man and his scrutiny.

"This place is amazing," Nora said, overlooking the passing crowd of Kindred and their human mates from all over the world, "I can hardly believe the size of this place, not to mention how comfortable it is. I mean, you have a wonderful gravity emulator here, and there's so much plant life! The air is so fresh and alive!"

She smiled and twirled around taking it all in.

"And correct me if I'm wrong, but did I just see a green, two-headed llama walk by with a pile of kids riding it?" she laughed, pointing at the odd spectacle.

Lothair gave a deep chuckle.

"That's a utility animal from the Twin Moons that we use for transport within the ship, it's called a "Take-me"," he explained.

"Is that's it's colloquial name or it's scientific name?"

She gave him an impish grin.

"I'm going to let you guess," he replied in amusement as they continued to stroll side by side down the huge busy corridors, "A lot of things you humans use machines for, we instead use specialized lifeforms for."

Nora seemed fascinated by this.

"You'll have to give me a full tour of the creatures around here so I don't accidentally harm one. I would feel terrible if I threw one into the trash or something!"

"I'll be more than happy to tell you everything about your new home."

Nora paused for a second and looked up at him, suddenly looking sad and worried.

"This whole thing is still just a trial period, right? I love everything I've seen so far, really. I feel like I've fallen into a fantasy world. But… all of this just seems to good to be true. I mean, the reason I'm here is out of duty to your people… All this talk I've been hearing about how Kindred love… it just doesn't seem like it could possibly be real…"

"Considering what you've been through, it's no wonder you always expect things to be hard. But yes, going back to your previous question, you have a choice as to whether or not you stay, but I knew even before I met you that you belong here with me."

Nora felt her anxiety pain again.

"What do you mean when you say that? How do you know me so well? What's all this stuff about dreams?"

Lothair walked her into a beautiful spacious park filled with giant flowering trees, families playing, and a couple wedding ceremonies taking place in the distance.

"I know you from our Dream Sharing period, when our minds first unconsciously found each other, we saw each other in our sleep. It's how my kind finds our perfect mates. You must not have seen me due to the heavy sleep medication you were taking. I assume it's because you commonly have nightmares and the pills give you relief with a heavy, dreamless sleep. That's why you feel you need them and that's why you've never seen me before." He put his good hand on her shoulder and lead her to sit with him on a secluded bench under a beautiful blue-leaved tree. The long drooping branches gave them some privacy, as if it was a thin, lacy curtain.

"… You know a lot."

"I found you on the night you almost killed yourself," he said openly, gazing casually through the branches at a family playing tag in the distance.

"…Why don't you hate me for that? Everyone else does. Why would you want someone that's… that's as messed up inside like I am? Do you really know what I've been through? Eventually everyone realizes that I'm too…I wanna say 'broken' but that feels cliche. I'm not… 'ok'… on the inside."

Lothair listened with ease, as if they were just talking about the weather.

"You don't think you can love yourself or accept being loved. You've never really felt it and you fear you might be unable to," he murmured.

Nora peered down at her fidgeting hands and took a long deep breath, her pain increasing in her chest.

"There's at least million other single women in this world…healthy ones. Why'd you pick a damaged one?"

He gazed at her for a long time until she brought her eyes back up to him.

"You're strong, Nora. Very strong and kind. I know how hard it can be to feel like you've got nothing left, but even at your darkest, you kept going. I saw it. You're like me. You won't ever stop. You can't. No matter how much pain and abuse you endure, outside or in, you'll keep fighting."

Nora fought back tears and wiped her eyes quickly with her sleeve. Lothair pulled her close to him and she buried her face in his shoulder.

"You've been damaged too, huh? And you fight just like I do…" she murmured.

"Yes."

"I want to know more about you. I want to see you in my dreams. Will I if I stop taking the pills?"

Lothair smiled sadly.

"Dream Sharing is at it's strongest just before the claiming period. When we're bonded it'll happen on occasion, but for the most part, our time of shared dreams has passed," he said holding her hand.

"I missed it? But I want to know so much more! I want to know everything about you like you know everything about me!"

He snickered a little.

"I don't know everything about you, but I know enough to make a lot of good assumptions. I look forward to knowing everything about you someday though. But for now, try not to think of missing your side of the dreams as too big of a loss. At least now I have something to talk to you about over several year's worth of dinners," he assured with a smile, but then his face fell to a serious look, "But we do need to address your use of that sleeping medication. It's not good for you, you absolutely won't be permitted to take it while pregnant ether. You're getting off of it tonight."

"But without it I-"

"If you have a nightmare, you'll wake up next to me. After awhile your mind will let go of the past and accept that you're going to spend the rest of your life in a safe, warm bed with your loving mate by your side. You will learn that you have nothing to fear."

"I don't know if I'm ready yet…" she said nervously, withdrawing from his arm a bit.

"You're ready, Nora. You were ready even before now."

He pulled her face up by her chin a gave her a soft kiss. She froze for a second but calmed down quickly. Again, it just felt right. It was eerie how comfortable it was. After all, she had only met him a couple of hours ago. But every time he got close he just smelled so good, like some sort of exotic spice. Her heart suddenly started racing, and before she knew it, she parted her mouth and let him deepen the kiss with his rough lips. She could tell that he was affected too, he slipped his tongue into her for just a moment and he groaned a little. Noticing her excitement, he forced himself to pull away.

"I need to get you back to my quarters right now," he growled as he took a deep breath at her neck.

"I thought we were going to take things slow." Nora was visibly shaken by the kiss, her face getting red.

"We are, but your body is reacting so strongly to mine, that every male within two-hundred feet of us will be able to smell how ready you are for bonding," he pulled her tighter to himself, "I don't want them looking at you, imagining how ready your body is to be filled and taken… You're mine."

Nora got apprehensive again. He used the same possessive word his brother did at the claiming ceremony. It made her fear that Lothair might be unstable like his brother. The scariest thing was that this time she felt like she was loosing control as well.

"I feel really strange," she whispered slowly to him, "I feel-"

"Like you want me too? Like you want me to take you, bond you, and fill you with my seed?" he whispered hotly into her ear.

She started to hyperventilate a little as her body got more aroused by his dirty words. Against her will, she felt like her hair was standing on end. The back of her neck tingled and her nipples suddenly felt tight. A burst of warmth spread through her abdomen concentrating it's heat between her thighs.

"I must not have made myself clear before. Our bodies are letting out chemicals that are driving us to bond. It's going to increase our sexual desire for each other until we can barely stand it."

"So it's just a Kindred chemical thing? Thank goodness, I was afraid I was going crazy!" She let out a breath of relief.

"Well, not in any sort of way that's not to be expected, considering what's happening to us physically," he said with a laugh and pulled her up with him to her feet, "Let's get back to my quarters and relieve a little tension, then we'll have a nice dinner, and hold each other all night in bed."

Nora smiled and agreed, even though she still felt a little unsure. To even imagine that she would feel genuinely loved was almost unreal to her. She kept trying to see the down side of it because it all seemed so impossible. Maybe it was just the chemicals messing with her judgement, but after looking up at his warm expression, scars and all, she pushed her fears aside. Maybe this really was just a good thing. Maybe, for once, things were really going to work out great.

"Sounds like a plan."

—

The moment they stepped through and closed the door of his quarters, Lothair backed Nora against the wall and kissed her again deeply. His huge body pressed against her's and his good hand immediately groped her breasts while the prosthetic one pulled her hips to his.

Nora barely had a chance to breath as he penetrated her mouth with his tick tongue, tasting her, and making her body tingle. She felt his hard erection pressing against her through his uniform pants and his natural hand moved from her chest down to her thighs, working it's way up her skirt. His wonderful masculine scent clouded her mind deeper. Her worries seemed to melt and she loved relaxing feel of his rough touch.

"Gods, you smells so good," he growled as he pulled down her tights and put is hand firmly up against her panty-covered sex, "Your little pussy is already sopping wet for me, isn't it?"

"Wait…I'm not so sure about this yet…" She felt her anxiety spring back and started to pull away, but he pushed his forehead to hers and kissed her cheeks.

"Don't worry, I said we were going to take it slow, didn't I?"

"I don't think anyone would call this is slow," she said with a shaky laugh, and he captured her lips in another passionate kiss. He slid the wet fabric of her panties to the side, rubbing her slit with his eager, thick fingers.

"Just gotta relieve a little tension, Dearest, or we'll never make it the full month," he breathed, "I'm just going to put a single finger inside you. That's all. Just gonna fuck you with my hand tonight. Is that ok with you?"

"Yeah… that'll be ok," she said with both excitement and apprehension. The way he stroked her felt so wonderful that she barely registered that her hips were moving in-time with him. He caressed and pinched her just right, getting her body more aroused than she had ever felt before. No one she'd ever been with prior had known, or cared, to make her feel so good. Her body could hardly stand much more of it. She had to get this heat out of her system to just to be able to think again. God, his fingers stroking her became all that she could sense and all that she wanted. The coarse, scarred skin of his face stimulated her sensitive neck as he leaned in to kiss her and his cold steel hand, kept her shoulder pinned firmly to the wall.

She reached down to his belt and slid a few fingers down his pants.

"Should I…make you feel good to?" she offered in a fog, and felt him suck in a deep hungry breath. His strong reaction to her touch was even more exciting.

"Gods yes, Nora… if you want to. You don't have you." He breathed raggedly, bucking his hips violently at her for a moment, but steadied himself for her to undo his pants and free his huge throbbing member. She was startled when she first felt him in her palm. She ran her hand from the tip of him down to his dark, hair-covered abdomen, slowly pumping him over and over again.

"You're so huge…" she gasped, completely unable to get her hand all the way around it. How would he ever fit inside her? Were all Ranger Kindred this size? She tried to look down to get a better look, but he pushed her face back against the wall with another crushing kiss. His dick was so firm but the skin was soft as flower petals. He throbbed and dripped with pre-cum with each stroke. He rubbed his fingers against her entrance even more firmly and rhythmically.

"Your hot little hand feels so good on me, Dearest," he groaned against her neck and slowly started to push his strong middle finger inside of her.

She flinched as the first inch of his finger entered her, slowing parting her open. He prodded into her gently, over and over, going deeper each time, loving each little gasp she gave him as she relaxed and let him all the way inside. Gods, she was so tight, so hot and slick for him already. He could barely stand it. It was all he could do to not fuck her right then, to bond her to him forever right where they stood.

"You love the feeling of me fucking you, even if it's just with my hand, don't you, Nora? Do you want more?" he asked, tempting her with his slow rhythmic control of her pussy.

She pumped his giant cock to the same beat and moved her hips with him. She was so close to coming, just a few more pumps would take her over the edge.

"Yes… please." Her rational mind could barely recognize her own voice. It was like her body was completely in control, telling more dirty truths than she would ever want to say out loud and begging for more fucking from a man that she just barely knew. What was wrong with her? Why couldn't she control herself?

He smiled wickedly and slid his finger out, teasing her, and licking her juices off his digit. Nora moaned in protest of the abandonment as he savored the taste of her.

"Gods, you're perfect, Dearest. Delicious. I want more, so much more. I can't wait to plunge my tongue into your little tight little cunt and taste your honey from it's source," he said roughly, taking his time to lick the last of her wetness from his hand. When he was done, he pushed his face back against her neck.

"Please, don't stop," she pleaded as she continued to pump his dripping, rock-hard member. She could feel his breaths in rhythm with her strokes and smelled his musky sweat start to work up. She loved the feel of him and longed to feel him against her, inside her.

"Beg me harder, Nora. Say my name and beg for me to fuck you," he ordered, pulling back her head with his metal fist in her hair, getting her to a better angle to suck and stimulate her neck.

"Please, Lothair! Fuck me! I can't stand it!" she wailed. He brought his lips to the soft tingling skin of her collar bone and sucked, leaving a dark hicky to mark on her. "I need you inside me, now!"

"Since you begged so sweetly, I'll grant you your request," he purred against the mark, "But let go of my cock for now. Right now you're completely under my control and you're going to come when I tell you, Dearest. Don't resist me. Look at me."

Slowly she let go of him, and he pulled both her hands over her head with his strong metal arm. Holding her still, he took his natural arm and hooked her leg over one side of his hips. His cock was so close to her that he could feel the heat coming off her entrance, and he just briefly grazed the tip of himself across her pussy. She groaned and pushed at him, but he pulled himself away, and moved his hand back to her wet, little hole.

She met his gaze as he had ordered, and he gave her another wicked grin. She was entranced by his eye and nearly screamed when he plunged his rough finger back inside her. His pace was more violent now, faster and harder. She wondered if he would even be able to stop if she asked him. He rubbed her clit harder with his thumb and she started shouting with each breath, begging for more. He smiled and panted along with her, his strong prosthetic arm almost lifting her off the floor and her body bouncing up with each thrust. She was so close. All her muscles tensed and she screamed his name again.

"NOW." He ordered, and curled his finger deep inside her perfectly, sending wave after wave of pleasure erupting through her.

"That's right, keep coming for me, that's my darling bride," he groaned as she screamed one last time, and he silenced her with a long deep kiss.

He released her mouth and let her catch her breath for a moment. He pressed his throbbing cock against her thigh and took long deep rumbling breaths at her neck.

"It's my turn to finish you," she said after a moment, pulling her hands free from his metal grip and smiling at him.

"Nora," he breathed, "…You still don't have to."

"I need it as much as you do," she said softly as she stoked him.

He threw his head back and ground his teeth when she ran a soft finger over his sensitive tip.

"And you're so close," she cooed. She loved how intensely his face reacted to her gentlest touch when he was on the brink of release.

"I want so much more than I should take…" he panted, thrusting his cock as she pumped him.

"Here, we'll just grind," she offered, moving the base of his cock to press against her dripping pussy. She made sure his tip didn't get too near her entrance and ran his length up and down outside herself, using her hand to hold him tightly against her lips.

He yelled out her name again and slammed her harder against the wall, barely in control of himself. She worried that she'd pushed him too far and that he and would take her fully. After a moment he regained some of his composure. He pumped his cock against her faster and faster, all the way from tip to base. He grabbed her hips as she kept her grip firm, being careful to not let him slip inside on accident. He fucked her like that hard and ragged, his breath getting more frantic until he reached his edge.

He screamed and shot jet after jet of thick, sticky cum against her. It shot all over the front of her dress, and oozed down to smother her already soaked pussy. She never felt so numb and satisfied before and they both held still as the last jolts of pleasure passed through them.

"Gods, Nora," he gasped as he continued to press her against the wall, recovering his breath, "How could I have lived without you for this long?"

She laughed weakly and rested her face against his chest.

"I could ask you the same thing."

He picked her up, and carried her to the washroom. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kept breathing in his wonderful intoxicating scent.

"We're not supposed to bathe together until next week, aren't we?" She asked.

He hesitated.

"Do you still want to wait?" He asked, still barely in control of himself and willing to totally abandon his plan.

She thought about it more and realized that if they saw each other completely naked now, they wouldn't be able to stop themselves from rushing through everything in just one night.

"Yeah. For tonight at least," she said.

He gave a frustrated, cringe-like grin and gently let her down. She wobbled a little on her feet.

"We'll both be glad we waited," he sighed, kissing her again.

—-

Nora walked into the larg,e clean bathroom. It was spacious and had grab bars installed all around it to create easier access to the bath and other appliances. It was clearly designed with wheelchair access in mind. She wondered why since his prosthetics seemed nearly flawless.

After a little thinking, she figured out how to use the bath and came out of the washroom clean and relaxed, wrapped in a warm, fuzzy, (and she suspected living) bathrobe that was clearly meant for her. It was small and green and was hanging by the door along side a much bigger grey one.

She found Lothair sitting at a large desk in the main room. He had moved her computer and devices side by side with his. He was sitting in a motorized wheelchair, reading over some coded documents. Intensely, he scrolled over the symbols, grinding his teeth and didn't seem to notice her presence in the room with him. His prosthetic leg and arm were submerged in a tank of fluid along the wall, possibly being cleaned.

"Hey," she said softly as she walked up from behind him.

He jolted a little, and closed the document he was looking at.

"Stuff that only you're supposed to see?" She asked, sitting down in a chair beside him.

"Yes," he replied softly, turning to look at her. His behavior was much less domineering when he was in his chair. In truth, he hated for her to see him like this. He scanned her face for any indication of pity, but to his relief didn't find any.

"I have a lot of files on my computer that are highly sensitive defense information. I need you to never use my device so you don't accidentally compromise security," he explained.

"I understand," she said with a smile, "So why are you in a chair? I thought your limbs were attached permanently to you."

"We don't have that technology yet," he explained, "These prosthetics contain utility life-forms that read my nerve impulses and allow the appendages to move for me, but the creatures need to re-hydrate and rest after about 15 hours of use at least. During nights and evenings, I'm chair bound, if I'm not in the mood for hopping, that is."

"I see," she said, walking over and looking into the tank curiously, "What amazing little creatures. Can I get them treats?"

"You want to give my arm and leg treats?" he said incredulously with a grin.

"Well, they do a good job and work hard for you everyday."

Lothair laughed and rolled up next to her.

"They don't like surprises, they like a steady food source, hydration, and daily use. Keeps them balanced. But nice of you to offer."

Suddenly he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her onto his lap. She felt so tiny sitting on him, and he kissed the back of her neck.

"Let me give you a tour of the house so you'll know about all the life-forms and which ones you can give treats to," he said, holding her in place, and using the stump of his left arm to control the motorized chair.

Nora smiled up at him.

"Can I give you any treats?" She asked gleefully, poking his nose and resting her head on his shoulder. She felt his cock get hard again under her.

"How about we give each other treats as we're falling asleep tonight? We'll only take things as far as we did earlier. It'll help give us both good dreams," he said with a grin.

"I'd like that," she smiled. She felt so good with him. More relaxed than she could ever remember. Completely safe.

—

Garruth tore around the flight test zone in his new ship. He would have been thrilled to fly the amazing piece of technology if he wasn't convinced that his brother was probably fucking Nora at that very moment. Making her scream his name and drip for him. Gods, he was probably getting her filthy, marking her his with his disgusting scent… making her come for him.

"Pilot, you need to slow down. The maneuvers you're attempting might put too much stress on the experimental engines. They're highly volatile and dangerous! " A flight controller said to him anxiously through the speaker on the control panel.

"The entire point of this is to test the damn thing, isn't it?" He asked, executing an even more dangerous trick and whipping around obstacles like a bat out of Hell.

"Yes, but-"

"Well, then I'm going to fucking test it at it's maximum capacity!" He almost grazed the side of the mothership with a wing and pulled back just a moment before disaster.

"You're risking you're life, Pilot, and the prototype, AND the lives of a large chunk of people on the Mothership. Stick with the approved procedures or else-"

"Fuck you," he dismissed, turning off the communicator and turning up some loud music. He continued on his own, seeing what else the ship could do.

He looked over the weapon list and test fired a few of the cannons at designated targets. Each shot's aim was true and he started to feel a little better as he began to appreciate the power of his new fantastic machine. The engines were the most exciting feature, being of the most powerful equipment he'd ever been trusted with. The flight controller wasn't kidding about how dangerous they were.

He flew the ship until he was satisfied with his control over it and understood fully it's abilities. A single one of these new fighters could replace twenty of their old ones at least. It was almost perfectly stealth, could fly ten-times faster with greater accuracy, and had a variety of powerful offensive tools such energy blasters, railguns, and EMP cannons. Defense-wise, this new fighter was almost like a tank. It could handle a good beating before being damaged in the slightest, which was needed considering how much power was stored in the engines. The Kindred that designed it were beyond brilliant. These machines would end the war if they could make a good number of them fast enough.

After his tests were finished, he returned the bay to land and fill out the disciplinary forms he was sure that he'd earned. Not that they could do much to him anyway. The standard punishment for his infraction was to pull him off-duty for the next week. Considering he was already stuck with mandatory grieving time, it really wouldn't matter.

—

Nora woke up to the harmonious chime of an alarm clock, feeling more rested than she had in years. They'd slept in a spooning position all night, and to her relief and amazement, she didn't have a single nightmare. For once, her past stayed out of her dreams and let her rest. No flashbacks to her drunken father strangling her, no memories of finding her mother passed out on the kitchen floor. Just a nice peaceful dreams of her new mate. Lothair tugged her closer to him and kissed at her neck, pushing his morning erection against her through his pj pants.

"You were right," she whispered, feeling aroused as well and pressing back against him. He groaned and ground at her harder for a brief moment before reluctantly sitting up to get out of bed.

"About your bad dreams?" he asked, swinging his leg over the bedside, steadying himself with a nearby bar, and hopping over to get into his chair.

"Yeah," she said softly, admiring his large exposed chest. Like the rest of him, the left side was scarred, but on his right she still see his beautiful dark brown skin, chiseled muscular build, and thin dusting of masculine hair, "I can't thank you enough for all you've done for me."

He smiled at her. "You've had the same effect on me. I had a lot of trouble sleeping as well before we found each other. Both of us have things we try not to dwell on… Things that try to haunt us at night. But we bring each other peace."

She just smiled at him.

"Can I help you put on your arm and leg?" she offered, eagerly getting out of bed too. She saw how he admired her body in the thin nightgown he'd given her.

"I prefer to do it myself, but you can watch if you want," he said, waving for her to follow and rolling into the other room.

"Ok!" She grinned and walked with him. "So what are we gonna do today?"

"I have to work, unfortunately. There's some issues that we need to take care of concerning the Scourge. Trust me, if it wasn't of dire importance, I would be here with you for every second of our bonding month. It's just not possible right now if I want to keep you and the rest of our people safe."

Nora felt a little sad, but shrugged it off.

"I understand. I have some work I need to get done anyway."

"My brother will come by to help get you settled in. He's going to take you to the medical station to get you your bridal physical," he explained as he pulled his arm from the tank, letting it drip on the living carpet that seemed to gobble up the fluid. He secured the arm to his stump and took a deep focused breath, closing his eyes. Slowly the fingers of the prosthetic started to move at his command.

"A bridal physical? And Garruth's coming over?! He doesn't have to do that, I can find the medical facility myself, I'm sure of it. Just show me a map and let me use the llama thing. It can't be that hard!"

She was apprehensive to be around his brother again after how badly their first encounter went.

Lothair rolled up his pj pants leg to expose the other stump just under his knee, pulled the prosthetic leg out of the tank, and strapped it firmly in place as well. He paused as he focused on the connection and in a moment his metal foot and toes moved at his command.

"If I let you go alone out there, smelling as hot as you are from your pre-bonded state, it'll drive the single males crazy. One of weaker-willed ones might loose his better judgement and try to… force himself on you," he said as he stood up and took a few test steps.

"They might rape me?!" She was shocked. She thought this was such a good place. Slowly, she began to remember how alien her surroundings really were. Even though it already felt like home, she hadn't been here for very long at all, and she only knew this man from the day before. God, what was wrong with her brain to make her forget all of that so fast?

"Worse. Rape and then probably attempt bond to you to himself. If done sloppily, a bad bond could kill both you and the stupid, weak-minded male. But don't worry, my brother will keep you completely safe. I looked out for his wife when he had to be away for a mission during their pre-bonding phase. Brothers aren't nearly as temped by the brides of their kin. And once we're fully bonded, you'll be completely out of danger from the rest of my kind, even the single ones. Everything will be fine."

"Could we reschedule the appointment for when you could go with me? I'd much rather go with you."

Lothair raised an eyebrow at her.

"Do you not trust my brother?"

Nora panicked a little inside, remembering Garruth's plea to not ruin his only family tie.

"I trust him, but I just don't want to be anymore trouble for him than I already have been. I'm sure he's busy. Doesn't need to be escorting me all over the ship like a kid."

"Nonsense, I contacted him last night and he said this was going to be the highlight of his day. He really needs his spirits lifted. Ever since his wife passed, I've feared I was going to loose him."

She sighed and nodded. Maybe he would be better behaved this time.

"Well, how could I say 'no' to that?" She smiled, as he walked into the other room to put on his uniform.

"You're very kind, Nora," he called back.

She walked into the room to get dresses as well. He had just pulled on a clean pair of undergarments when she walked in. She looked him over and her cheeks blushed. She loved to look at him and admire his physique. His whole body was incredibly thick and powerful and he looked strong enough to break a tree in half with his bare hands.

She smiled at him, letting him know that she liked what she saw, and stripped off her nightgown to tease him. She could hear his breath get faster as he watched her hungrily. Just as she turned away to pull up a clean pair of panties, he rushed over and pushed her down on the bed, kissing and sucking at her bare breasts.

"Gods, Nora I can barely stand how beautiful you are! Can't wait to take you. Make you completely mine…" He hissed though his teeth, as he bit lightly at her nipple.

"You're gonna be late!" she laughed as she squirmed under him, fighting the fire he lit in her belly.

"I can be… a little late… just this once," he growled, pulling out his hard cock and and rubbing himself against her wet little lips. She arched her back and moved her hips with him.

"Lothair…" she whispered between gasps.

The moment was ruined with the doorbell rang, but he seemed to ignore it.

"Lothair… the door," she said, but he kept sliding against her.

"Let em' wait."

"Lothair," she repeated, now in a scolding tone, and pushed away from him.

He sighed, let her go, put himself away, and tossed on a robe to get the door.

—-

Garruth was almost physically sick when his brother opened the door. The smell of Nora's pussy was thick on him and he wore just a robe. He was clearly riled up and angry about being interrupted.

"You're early," Lothair greeted flatly, his eyes narrowed in annoyance.

"I was excited to spend time with the mate-of-my-kin," Garruth chimed, strolling into the apartment, "you know how lonely I've been, especially since I've been taken off duty."

Lothair's face softened and welcome him in.

"I heard that you really pushed the new ship to it's limits yesterday. So much so that you've got a disciplinary hearing to go to this evening."

"What can I say? I loved your gift a little too much. Thank you, Lothair."

"You're more than welcome. I'll request that they give you a slap on the wrist for it. After all, Flight Control should have more faith in one of our best pilots."

"You're too good to me," Garruth laughed, walking toward his brother's room, "Where's Nora?"

"Getting dressed… I should see if she needs anything. Will you wait out here?"

Garruth clenched his fists a little.

"That's a thin door. Try to keep your behavior clean because I'll be able to hear everything you two do in there. It would be really embarrassing for your poor little bride to have an audience, don't you think?"

Annoyance returned to his brother's face. He knew Nora could hear them through the door and now she certainly wouldn't let him finish their session.

"Oh course, Brother, we're just getting dressed."

He disappeared into the room and just a moment or two later, Nora came out in a knee-length yellow sundress. It was similar in cut to her green one from the day before, but this time she didn't have a blouse or tights to wear under it. The neckline was low-cut enough that it showed a some of her cleavage and she clearly felt exposed in it. Worse of all, her scar was completely visible. It was obviously not something she would have picked out for herself.

"That's a lovely dress. My brother gave it to you didn't he? Seems like he's really dead-set on showing you off."

Nora crossed her arms, weary under his prying gaze.

"Yeah, well, it means a lot to him to see me wear it. I don't really mind. He thinks he's got quite a prize," she laughed nervously, moving her hair over to one side to cover the scar.

"He does," Garruth said flatly.

Nora looked at him awkwardly as Lothair stepped out of the room, fully in uniform.

"I do!" He said cheerfully, and pulled her up to him for a kiss. She resisted a little, not wanting Garruth to watch their intimacy, but Lothair made it quick.

Garruth fought the impulse to punch his brother in the back of the head until he released her.

"Glad to see you're getting along so well. Have you already…?" Garruth asked trailing off.

"We're trying to take things slow, to make sure the bond is perfect when we make it," Lothair explained with pride, as he gathered up his bag, "Thank you for looking out for her today. It means a lot to us."

"You're more than welcome. Now, you should head out. Don't worry about a thing. I'll take care of everything your bride may need."

Lothair smiled gave him a strong pat on the shoulder.

"Thank you, Brother. And, Nora, try to not give him too much of a hard time," he joked and walked out with a brisk pace.

Garruth slammed the door shut behind him and looked angrily over at her. He had taken all he could stand. Nora backed away from him a little, feeling threatened. She could tell her was furious the moment he walked in.

"You've made yourself right at home, haven't you? That didn't take long."

He rushed up and pulled her into his arms, smelling her neck. He noticed the bruise his brother left on her and felt more jealously building in him.

"Stop it, Garruth. Right now," she warned. She tried to stare him down, but his eyes weren't on her face.

He rubbed his nose along her skin and took deeper breaths of her. She struggled but he held her in place, loosing himself in her flowery scent. Gods, even while filthy, even when he was furious with her, he still loved her so much. She was his, even though she was laying with his brother. She struggled, but he held her effortlessly like she had the strength of a kitten.

"You came really close to letting him inside you, did you? After only one night! Gods, you're filthy with my brother's scent. Please tell me he forced you. That you didn't give yourself to him willingly so quickly," he hissed as he pressed his face harder against her, running one of his hands down to the small of her back. She was getting wet for him, he was sure of it, and she stopped struggling so much. He felt his body ache for her.

Nora panicked. For a moment she felt like she was just a kid again, back in the terrible hell-hole she was raised in, with a father who had said those kind of things to her. Her mind raced and her body felt paralyzed as he moved his hand down to her thigh. She had to think, had to do the right thing to get him back to his senses, had to get control.

"He's just unwell," she repeated in her head,"He doesn't really know what he's doing. I just need to snap him awake. I can do this."

Slowly he started to draw the hand up her skirt and she forced her thighs tightly together.

"You said you wouldn't do this again. If you don't let me go right now, I'll tell your brother," she said as firmly and evenly as she could muster.

Garruth gritted his teeth and drew one more long breath of her before he let her go. His dick pulsed tightly in his pants from her scent. The way her tits heaved as she caught her breath made his heat even harder to control. He wanted to watch how her breasts would bounce when he fucked her. He restrained his imagination and pretended to be remorseful so he could stay near her.

"I'm so sorry, Nora. I lost myself in the memories of my wife… Thank you for bringing my mind back to reality. Thank you so much for your patience with me. It won't happen again."

Nora looked at him suspiciously and walked to the door.

"Make sure that it doesn't," she said sternly.

The words hung in the air for awhile.

"I'm supposed to go get a physical, right?" she finally asked, changing the subject, "They don't give shots for that, do they?"

"Lots. A series of ten. Some are translator shots so you can understand all languages of each of the Kindred-associated planets, plus the Scourge. There's also a series of health-enhancing nutrient shots."

Nora balled up her fists and looked down.

"You're not sacred, are you?"

"Well yeah, I'm am… but I've gotta do it anyway." She tried not to sound embarrassed as she confessed. "I normally faint when I get shots. I've been that way ever since I was a kid. It's not something I'm proud of."

"You don't need to worry, our doctors are very talented," he tried to genuinely comfort her but she eyed him suspiciously.

"Can I trust that you'll behave yourself if I go out cold?"

"You know you can."

"No, actually I don't. Give me your word that you won't do anything inappropriate if I go unconscious."

"You have my word."

"I want to hear your say it."

"You have my word that I won't do anything inappropriate to you if you go unconscious," he growled.

"Thank you."
With that, they walked out the door. Garruth tried to hide that he was back to being angry. How could she think that about him? She had to learn how much he loved her. She needed to understand that he was perfect for her. He was her protector, whether she understood that or not.

—

"Is this the place?" She asked when they arrived outside a large white medical-looking structure. They rode Lothair's Take-Me to get there through the ship. The animal was ridiculous, but seemed to be obedient and do it's job well.

"Yeah."

He climbed off of the large animal, helped Nora get down, and secured the creature inside a holding stall before leading her inside the building. There were lots of new brides sitting in the waiting rooms with their soon-to-be mates. Their nationalities ranged widely and most were very jittery, not talking to anyone other than their males. Nora started to sit down in a free chair next to a girl who seemed to be from somewhere around the African continent and her Blood Kindred mate, but Garruth pulled her strait up to the check-in desk before she even touched the seat. A pair of twin Kindred looked up at them, offering them the sign-in tablet.

"She's got an appointment. Her mate-to-be is General Lothair. He said he left instructions," Garruth explained to them, holding her firmly by the arm.

"Oh, right this way then! We have a room waiting for this female. We request that you stay by her side to help calm her. The bridal physical can be a somewhat frightening for many of our patients," the darker-natured Twin Kindred said.

"What exactly happens during the exam?… I mean other than a bunch of shots," Nora asked.

"Just standard procedure for all new brides. Along with the injections, you get a quick probing to make sure your body will be able to handle a Kindred baby growing inside of you," he answered, walking over and opening the door to a small exam room.

"Is it… really invasive?" she asked.

"Not at all, we'll just put a thin, wire-like tube into your womb, about the thickness of a few millimeters. It'll run some diagnostics inside of you for just a few seconds, then you get your shots, and then you'll be all done!" The lighter twin explained in a very chipper tone.

"That sounds pretty darn invasive actually," she said dubiously, "but I suppose I do want to have kids someday…"

Garruth looked away, barely able stand the thought of her bearing his brother's children. He forced it out of his mind and got back to the present.

"Then you will comply with the full procedure. Your doctor will be in, in just a little bit. Take your cloths off, put on the paper gown next to you, and wait on the exam table," the darker twin ordered quickly before returning to the reception desk.

The moment they were alone Garruth took the opportunity to start helping Nora out of her cloths.

"What do you think you're doing?!" She exclaimed, pulling away from him.

"Stripping you…to help you get your medical gown on. We're soon-to-be kin and I'm your protector in addition to that. I'm allowed to see you nude for medical purposes," he explained with a justified tone.

"Absolutely not! Go wait outside!"

She pointed to the door, but he shook his head.

"I'm not supposed to let you out of my sight. I made a promise."

"We're in a doctor's office. Nothing can happen to me here. Get out while I change, at least!"

"I refuse."

Nora sighed in frustration and narrowed he eyes stubbornly. She walked over to the large paper gown and unfolded it. Garruth watch her intensely but soon realized he was going to be disappointed. She shimmied into the loose garment, and wiggled out of her dress while underneath it. When she was done she hopped up on the table and crossed her arms at him, holding up her pointy nose defiantly.

He scowled at her as the doctor walked in. He was a Blood Kindred with an emotionless face and seemed to be in a hurry.

"You have nothing to fear, human female," the doctor said as if it was a warm greeting, "I've done this procedure at least a thousand times and it's never caused the females any long-lasting pain. Plus the kin-of-your-mate is here to watch over you. Now please lay back and put your feet in the stirrups."

Nora cautiously did as he said.

Thoughtlessly, the doctor pulled up her gown to expose her entire lower half. She instantly felt a wave of panic and all of her muscles tensed.

"I need you to spread you legs," the doctor said mater-of-factly.

"Ok…" She opened her legs just a tiny bit.

The doctor was obviously annoyed and waved over Garruth to help.

"Hold her legs open all the way, please," he ordered, "This will just take a few moments."

"Wait, he doesn't need to do that. I'll can do it!" she said nervously, opening up for him more.

"I'll just keep her steady," Garruth offered, as he walked to the end of the table and grabbed her soft thighs, forcing them all the way open. He stared at her soft, excited opening. She looked so much like Sara between her legs. So wet and ready to take him inside, smelling like the sweetest honey and flowers.

The doctor did not care about any of that and put on his gloves. He took his hand and spread her lower lips quickly, slid in a finger as a guide, and carefully pushed the thin probe inside of her womb.

Nora yelped but tried to hold still, gripping the sides of the table until her knuckles turned white. Even though the probe was thin and numbing, she felt the pressure as it popped into her cervix, invading her tiny innermost hole. Garruth watched her like a starving man looking at a feast. Everything in his body was screaming at him to take her and fill her with his seed. She even reacted the way his Sara did when she had her own bridal exam. She made the same tiny whimpers.

"All done with that part now," the doctor said and smoothy pulled the device out, "She will be a fine mother. Keep holding her still though."

"Wait, you're giving me the shots down th-" she started but was cut off when she felt a thick needle plunge deep into her inner/upper thigh. She gasped and the pain in her chest got so intense she could barely stand it. When the first needle left her, the following ones entered her one after another.

She felt the room spinning. Her breath got short and everything went black.

—-

After the procedure, the doctor left them alone in the room for her to recover. Nora woke up to the feeling of her hair being gently stroked and a dense cloud of haze filling her mind. The paper gown was pulled back down again to cover her fully and she still felt the room spinning.

"I fainted, didn't I?" She asked groggily with a slur.

"You did," Garruth whispered.

"That's really embarrassing," she said weakly, trying to get up. He carefully guided her back down to the table.

"Take it easy. The shots and the probing will leave most females woozy and delirious for awhile. Looks like your body had an even worse reaction to it than most do."

"A bad reaction called, "ima frickin wimp'," she joked with another slur.

"Just lay back for now. If you move around too soon you could hurt yourself."

She did as he said and laid there quietly gazing at his face. He looked so sad. Lothair was right. Garruth really was just barely making it and here she was giving him a hard time today.

"I'm really sorry, Garruth. I'm really sorry for being so mean to you earlier. You're just tryin' to recover from your awful loss…" she murmured. As she spoke, she took his hand and held it.

"I wish I could make you feel better. Make you happy again. Bring Sara back to you," she continued.

He looked down at her face and she smiled back beautifully. With her long red hair tousled around her face she was a perfect copy of his wife on their bonding night. She even had the same relaxed expression of kindness in her eyes.

Garruth pressed his forehead against her's again and squeezed her hand back.

"In a way, you're doing exactly that," he purred, "Let me help you get dressed."

"No… No, I appreciate it but no thanks. I don't want you to get anymore weird feelings. Things are hard enough for you…"

"I promise it'll be fine. Just relax."

She didn't have the strength to resist him as he slowly tore off her paper gown. She tried to cover her breasts and ladyhood with her hands, but was so groggy that she did a terrible job. He drank in the sight of her beautiful nude body, but just as he promised he didn't touch her inappropriately. Chastely, he put her panties back on, hooked her bra back around her and slid her dress back onto her.

"See? it's fine," he said, "Now let me help you sit up so you can have a drink of water."

He went over to the sink to get it for her, but when he turned back around she had fallen back into a deep sleep. Her soft chest rose and fell peacefully and he felt completely alone again in the room. It was so crushing he could barely stand it. Hesitantly, he leaned over and smelled her neck again. Some of his brother's mark had faded a little. He closed his eyes and pressed his face against the soft skin of her shoulder. Before he knew it, he was kissing and licking her.

A small voice in his head ordered him to stop. To leave her alone. Somewhere in his mind he knew this wasn't really his wife, but it was like his body started moving on it's own. He slid a hand up her skirt, and the other into her bra.

Her tiny nipple tightened at his touch and he rolled it between his fingers gently. She moaned a little in her sleep, his shaft hardened from the sound, and his mind clouded even further. He slid his hand all the way up her skirt to the crotch of her panties, and pulled the fabric to the side of her wet little lips. He felt shivers go through him as he stroked her puffy eager folds and massaged her tiny, hard clit. Another groan of pleasure came from her unknowing mouth and he slowly slid his trembling middle finger inside of her.

The rational part of his mind kept screaming at him, begging him to stop, but he dipped his finger in deeper and deeper. Finally the digit was as far inside her velvety tight walls as it could reach. She started breathing in rhythm with his strokes and he moved his hand from her breast to free his painfully throbbing cock from of his pants. He climbed onto the table and straddled her, fucking her harder with his finger while he pumped his cock near her. He hissed for breath through his clenched teeth. He needed to fill her, to be deep inside her. He needed to push his cock all the way inside and lock them together. He positioned his tip outside of her.

"If there's any goodness left inside you, you won't do this. You'll stop right NOW!" the voice inside him screamed, "SHE IS NOT YOURS. SHE IS NOT SARA."

Suddenly he felt her body convulse with an intense orgasm around his finger. She unconsciously thrust back at him and groaned his brother's name, nearly touching herself to his eager, pre-cum covered tip. Feeling her like that on his finger was all he could take. He barely managed to pull back and grab a scrap of the paper gown to cover his cock just as he was driven over the edge. He didn't let a drip touch her, but he pumped his finger inside her harder and harder as he shot jet after jet of hot cum so close to her entrance that he could feel the heat radiating off of her.

Reality snapped back on as he looked down in horror at what he had done. He almost took her. Bonded her to him forever against her will. He felt like a monster but a small thought of relief passed though him. He didn't let any of his cum fall on her. If he had done that or pressed his mouth or dick to her opening, his brother would have smelled the scent of him on her immediately. Then Lothair would keep her away from him and he might not ever see her again. He was sure that she wouldn't have any memory of this event so he could just pretend it never happened. Just stop and never do anything like this ever again. He looked down and realized his finger was still inside her tight little cunt, pumping her gently as the last of her long orgasm echoed through her.

When she was done he drew his finger out and licked the it clean desperately. He looked at her beneath him as he tasted her, legs open and dripping for him. He may as well enjoy what he'd already reaped. Savor it, and delight in it. He slid his other fingers inside her, one at a time, one after another, coating them in her honey. He licked it all up greedily. He wouldn't waste a drop. For this moment at least, he had a bride again.

—

Nora woke up on the table again feeling intensely nauseous. She rolled over to her side and threw up in a trashcan by the exam table.

Garruth rushed over from his seat in the corner and helped her hold back her hair.

"Are you all right? Can I get you anything?" He asked with worry.

"I'm fine," she choked and coughed a little bit, "But some water would be great though."

"Just a second!" He rushed to get a cup and filled it with water from the sink. He pet her back as she rinsed out her mouth and then sat up to drink the rest of it eagerly.

"Thanks," she said kindly with a tired smile.

"I'll always be happy to help you, Lilenta."

"What? Who's Lilenta?"

"It's…" he paused for a moment. It was the pet name he had for Sara, "It's just a Kindred term of endearment."

"I thought I just got jabbed full of needles so I could understand these kinda things."

"It wouldn't necessarily work for nicknames."

"For goodness sake…Aw well," she sighed as she rolled her eyes and sat down her cup, "Can we go home? I feel terrible."

"Let me take you out for tea. It made Sara feel worlds better after her appointment."

Nora held her queasy belly and nodded, feeling another wave of sympathy for him.

"I'd like that. Thanks," she said warmly.

—-

The holding week was over in a flash and Nora and Lothair were looking forward to beginning the next ritual, the bathing week. They had planned a romantic night for themselves. Lothair had gotten some traditional oils and had ordered a special dinner to be brought to their quarters when they called for it. Nora fixed up their bedroom to look extra nice, getting out the proper bedspread and other things she was told were appropriate for the occasion.

But while the new couple had been growing happier with each passing day, Garruth was falling apart. He spent more and more long hours on his experimental ship, trying to distract himself from what he had done and how much he was longing to do it again. He wasn't blind to the fact that Nora was happy with is brother, worse yet, he hand't seen a more perfectly matched couple in years. Despite that, all he could think about was taking her.

Nora and Sara were blending more and more in his mind, and Nora's face even started to appear in his dreams where his wife's had been. The sheets that once smelled like Sara, now occasionally has a touch of Nora's fresh, clean soap smell to them. His therapists couldn't figure out what was going wrong, why his mind seemed to be slipping further and further.

Lothair gathered up his bags to leave his office and head home. He had stayed later than he had intended to. Nora was probably wondering where he was, but the issue of the new Scourge weapon was growing more and more dire, with no solutions seeming to form. The intel they had managed to gather was missing a critical detail. They knew the weapon existed and they had nearly all of it's technical specs, but where was it located? There was a vast rage of places that such a long-range device could be hidden but still pose a critical threat. It needed only minimal external radiation to charge it's powerful directed-energy beam and a single shot had the power to destroy most of the Kindred Mothership at least. It's construction location was so secret that any Scourge assigned to build it were executed before they left the work site. They left no leads at all, even at great cost to their own people.

"Gods, at the current rate of progress, we're in huge trouble," he thought. Lothair decided right then that Nora had to learn the basics of piloting a small ship, or at least how to manage an escape pod. If the situation continued to get worse he needed to know that his bride had an extra boost to her chance of survival.

Putting all that away in his mind, he decided that he'd done all he could do the for the day. His mind was completely exhausted and even his prosthetics were starting to grow stiff. The utility lifeforms inside them were giving their last bit of energy before they would be damaged by further use. It was time to enjoy the restful evening he had planned with his bride and recharge just like his limbs. He would get back to his work in the morning after sending Nora off for her flight lessons with Garruth.

He limped out of the office and walked home. Before he knew it, he was at his door and his beautiful bride was greeting him warmly.

"Welcome home!" She jumped up and threw her arms around him in a tight hug. He stumbled back a little, since his leg wan't quite at it's best, and held her tightly against himself.

"So glad to see you too, Dearest!" He laughed, trying to mask his worry. He gave her a quick kiss and put her back down on her feet. She looked perfect in the little black dress he'd asked her to wear for the occasion.

With a long calming breath, he staggered over to sit in his wheelchair. She eagerly sat on the soft carpet next to him and started asking about his day while he took off his starving prosthetics and put them back into their tank. She talked about how she and a few of the neighborhood females were making friends. Something about learning some new recipes that she thought he would like. There was a new game that all the females had been talking about. Something about cats. He tried to participate and put the war out of his mind, but he must have been giving distracted answers.

"Hey, you seem more beat than usual today," she suddenly said with worry, "Do you wanna do the bathing ritual tomorrow instead and turn in early tonight?"

"No! Absolutely not!" His mind snapped back to the present. "I've been looking forward to this for ages!"

Nora smiled and climbed onto his lap. Slowly she started to take off the top half of his uniform. The feel of her touch eased his mind a great deal. He was excited to massage and wash his tiny bride all over, inside and out tonight. This was exactly what he needed. He let his eye ease closed for a bit as she pulled off the his jacket, shirt and undershirt, exposing his bare skin. She dusted his collarbone with feather-light kisses as she started to undo and pull off his pants. He hoisted himself up in his chair for a moment to help her and when he was free of them she gently ran her hand along his stiffening member.

"You wanna help me out too?" She purred, moving her kisses to his face and starting to teasingly pump his cock a little with her hand.

He groaned appreciatively and helped her out of her clothing. It was all he could do to not just rip it all off like wrapping paper. When he was done, he looked her up and down appreciatively. Her tiny, soft, nude body was sitting so perfectly draped across his lap and the feeling of his cock pressing up against her thighs was wonderful. He managed to completely put the war out of his mind and just loose himself in her scent and touch.

He kissed her smooth shoulders and carried her to the the bath while she was still on his lap. The quarters were humid and smelled like bathing oils, letting him know the bath had already been drawn.

After a little maneuvering to get into the tub, they both were settled in and adjusted to the to hot water. Nora smiled at him as he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close. He roused her up with kisses and pets, and she squirmed so pleasantly against him. It was getting harder and harder to not just give in and bond. Her body was to close to being ready for him. She must have been feeling the heat in her belly constantly like he did, each orgasm only making her hotter, making it harder to think.

Starting with her hair, he washed her with each of the traditional soaps and oils. She groaned with pleasure and when he moved down to her breasts and shoulders, she could barely keep her hands off of him.

"Hold still," he whispered in her ear, "Just relax and let me work you"

"You're driving me crazy, Lothair, I need more…"

"And you'll have it,"

She started to speak again, but was cut off when he moved his soapy hand to between her thighs, rubbing her most sensitive spot firmly and rhythmically. Her body moved with him but he stopped when he felt she was about to come. He pulled his hand back up to her head and went back to running some lightly scented oils though her long wet locks.

"You're teasing me…" She protested softly.

"I am. But don't worry. I won't deny you much longer. For now just be still."

She sighed and eased back against his chest while he massaged her scalp. He loved how much she trusted him. At one point he wondered if she had passed into sleep, but when he paused, she gently opened her eyes and gave him a wink to let him know she was still with him.

"Ok, time to get out and dry off for the next part of the ritual," he said, reaching for a towel.

"But I haven't gotten to wash and paper you yet!" she objected.

He laughed, dismissing the idea.

"That's the male's job, not yours," he cooed.

"But I get so much pleasure out of making you feel good."

He smiled a little.

"Well, I'll allow you to wash my hair if it would really make you happy. Here."

He handed her his regular soaps and maneuvered them both so that she would be able to reach his head easier.

"You want to use this instead of the new fancy stuff?"

She took both bottles in her hands in inspected them curiously.

"Yes I do. I have no desire to go around for the rest of the week smelling like I'm the bride," he said with a laugh.

She set aside the bridal soap and began to wash him with what he preferred.

"Oh, all the other men would just be jealous of how fabulous you smelled," she giggled.

He chucked deeply, relishing in the feeling of her washing him.

"Somehow I don't think that's how it would work out."

He savored the sensation of her tiny fingers lathering his hair and the refreshing cool as she poured the clean water to rise him.

After they finished and dried, he took her to bed and ordered her to lay on her back.

"What happens now?" She could barely contain her excitement.

"The best part," he said as he moved out of his chair to sit next to her.

He leaned over and and kissed her all the way from her neck down to her smooth belly. Moving further down, he kissed near her most sensitive area. At first she held her legs together, but as he licked along the inner part of her hips, she relaxed and let him look at her. He wanted so much to taste her, but he couldn't to do it yet without her permission and he could see that she was still shy about letting his mouth get so close to her pussy.

"You're not going to …taste me, are you?" She asked nervously.

"Not until next week, Dearest," he rumbled, moving his kisses to her thigh, "Not even if you beg me."

She fidgeted with a mix of anticipation and nervousness and he smiled. Reluctantly pulling away from the sweet smell of her arousal, he took the final set of bridal oils from the nightstand and started to massage her with them. They smelled a little like lavender and mint. His hand moved up and down her tiny frame, deeply caressing her breasts, her hands, and slowly he gave her the satisfaction of massaging her between her legs with his fingers. He was glad that she wan't shy when he was just using his hand on her. She bucked her hips in time with his movements as he slowly slid in one finger, then two, then three into her tiny hole. The oils felt cool and gentle on her. Gently he stretched and prepared her body for when he would finally get to fill her with his cock.

She trembled and moved harder against him, reaching down for his erection. He allowed it and then moved to straddle her thighs. He pressed the bottom of his throbbing, dripping shaft against her swollen lips and slowly they fucked without penetration. For a moment, she pressed the pre-cum covered tip of his dick against her entrance, letting her puffy lips cover him with her honey.

"Nora…" he growled, pumping lightly at her, "we both know you don't want to do that just yet…don't tempt me…"

She felt a wave of excitement at the warning, but suddenly noticed something strange at the base of his shaft. She moved his tip away and touched him curiously around the strange bulge.

"What's this?" she asked, feeling his swollen lump.

He flashed her a hungry grin. She pretended to know so much, but hadn't been told some of the most basic things.

"That-" he took another sharp gasp of breath, barely able to talk while she rubbed her hand against it,"That's called a 'mating fist', Dearest, it's what Ranger Kindred have that physically locks them into their mates when they bond. We won't be able to be parted for hours and hours when we finally do it. I'm going to fill you up over and over again without stopping all night long."

He thrust harder in her grasp, loving to slide along her fervent lips. Talking about it was driving him crazy.

"Is that why your kind are called 'Beast-Kindred'?" she asked dreamily.

"I would assume so…" He grunted against her, nearing his edge.

"God, I want you all the way inside me. But…" she whispered.

"But what?" he breathed, keeping up his rhythm.

"How are you going to possibly fit inside me? It looks like it could take weeks of stretching to get…. just the humanoid parts of you inside me, and now that there's…" she stoked his mating fist and he moaned again," This. How is this going to work?"

He forcefully pushed his tip against her entrance himself this time, looming over her and locking his frantic eye to hers.

"My pre-cum releases a compound that will help your body open fully for me without pain. Do you feel it working as I smother you with it? As I drip it against you?" he hissed, pumping his tip against her so hard that it almost popped inside.

She gasped and held perfectly still, waiting to see if he could keep them both under control.

"Lothair, please, just a little more," she begged.

He gritted his teeth.

"You're not ready yet. But, Gods, just one more second of this and I'll force myself in anyway. Need to release… Need to think again… Don't want to hurt you, Nora."

He moved his tip away from her and pressed the base of his shaft between her eager, wet folds, running it up and down along her faster and harder. He gently bit her neck as she gasped his name and jerked rhythmically against him. Feeling her climax drove him over the edge. They came in full force against each other until they felt the last sparks of their orgasms fade away.

He collapsed next to her, catching his breath. Looking at her sleepy face, he felt so peaceful. He took a cloth from the bedside table to wipe her belly and chest clean of his warm cum.

"I love you, Lothair," she whispered, letting her eye lids close, "Love you so much."

"And I love you, Nora. More than anything." He gathered her up to spoon against him. "And, I swear, I'll keep you safe."

He moved his hand down to rest on her belly, and dreamed of how beautiful she would be pregnant with his children. Suddenly a vision of the Scourge ripping her apart shot through his head and he twitched in pain. His body tensed up and held her tighter to himself.

As if she read his mind, she turned her wide-eyed face to the side to look back at him.

"We completely forgot dinner."

—

The next morning Garruth arrived late at his brother's door. Lothair was dressed and walking out just as he arrived. He was smothered in his bride's scent and it pained Garruth intensely when he noticed it. At least there's no way he would be able smell the faint lingering scent of his bride's pussy on his fingers, not over his own overwhelming dose.

"Good-morning, Brother!" Lothair greeted happily, but a look of concern swept over his face when he took a closer look at his kin."You're a mess! When's the last time you slept or ate?"

"Slept a few hours ago. I think I ate two days ago… Yes, I'm sure I did."

"Go inside and have Nora make you something to eat before her flight lessons. She'll be happy to do it," he said patting him on the shoulder roughly, "I would join you, but duty calls."

With that he rushed off and Garruth saw Nora at the door, wearing jeans and t-shirt. Even in the more casual cloths she was perfect.

"You look wonderful today," he said softly, quickly pulling back his messy hair into his regular ponytail as she lead him inside.

She laughed it off awkwardly and lead him to the kitchen. She smelled like the bridal bathing oils, his brother's musk, and her usual flowers. Gods, it made his chest hurt.

"Thanks. I prefer dresses, but Lothair said this would be more appropriate for my training with you today. Who am I to argue with someone that knows more about it? Sit! Sit! I'll get you some breakfast."

Nora searched around the refrigerator and got out all the things to make a traditional Kindred breakfast. Garruth imagined again how sweet she tasted on his fingers and stared down at his hands while she worked. In no time at all, she made him a simple meal and sat down across from him to eat her own breakfast of rice and steamed vegetables.

"It's not much, but I'm getting better. I'm lucky that Lothair doesn't seem to care all that much about fancy food. Never been much of a cook… Let me know if I can get you anything else." She smiled at him, and talked between hungry mouthfuls of food.

"This is perfect. Thank you, Lilenta," he said, staring blankly at his food.

She watched him, a little worried as he mechanically began to eat, but he seemed to look a lot better as he finished up the meal. His eyes opened a bit more and his back got straighter. His golden eyes were more responsive and expressive.

Shyly, his gaze darted to the fridge and back to his empty plate like a hungry puppy.

Nora grinned.

"Lemme get you seconds, ok? I overheard that it's been a long while since you've eaten."

She prepared him a large second helping and he felt his mind snapping back online as his body digested the much needed food.

"It only makes things worse to starve yourself, but I know you know that," she murmured, "I know I did it to myself all the time when things were really hard. Eating just didn't feel important enough to move for sometimes."

There was silence between them as she brought over his second helping to the table.

"Hey, I've got an idea," she said with a smile, "How about I bring over a meal for you each day until you get your energy back. Would you be ok with that?"

He froze. Gods, the idea of her coming to his quarters was wonderful, but it was a shameful mess. He had been living like an animal ever since his wife died. He was pretty sure that at least his carpet was dead since he hadn't watered it properly in months, possibly more of his utility life-forms were dead as well.

"I…" he started, "But my home isn't…"

"Hey, remember when I said I wouldn't judge you? That still applies. Hell, when you've got barely enough energy to wake up and eat each day, why would you clean your house? I could help you with that too, if you'd be ok with it."

"No! I won't let you slave away in my terrible mess! It's bad enough to have you cook for me," he stammered.

"Garruth, it wouldn't be slaving away. It would be helping my brother-in-law survive. How's your brain gonna get any better if you live in filth and don't eat? I grew up in a giant mess anyway. No matter what you've done over there, I swear I've seen and handled worse."

"…If we both clean, I suppose it would be ok… if you insist," he agreed reluctantly, hating himself and looking down at his hands.

She patted his arm and refilled his glass.

"Just relax. We've got a great day to look forward to today."

—

Nora was a terrible pilot. Garruth had heard stories of people that were worse but she was by far the worst he'd ever met in person. There was no way she could safely operate a basic ship without at least a year's worth of extra practice.

Just in time, he shoved her hands away from the controls to bring the training ship down for a rough, safe-ish, upside down landing. There was a heavy lurch and an ear-splitting screech as the ship scraped along the bay, barely avoiding a wall and a few service technicians. He held her against himself with one arm to keep her from flying forward and breaking her nose on the console.

Eyes shut tight, she clung to him for a moment after the crash landing was over. Slowly she processed that they were upside down, dangling from the harnesses of their seats. Both of their long hair was hanging straight up over their heads. Despite the lesson being a disaster, he was feeling pretty good again. The feeling of Nora holding him close, even if is was just out of fear, was really rather nice.

"This is nothing like my video games," she laughed nervously, releasing and pulling away from him as the flight controller had a fit at them through the dashboard speakers, "I didn't expect to be good, but I never thought I'd be this bad."

He let out a long hardy chuckle and pulled her back against himself for a tight hug. She wiggled uncomfortably in his arms.

"Well, maybe you should listen to your instincts and then do exactly the opposite of what they say," he mocked.

Nora made a frustrated face and he laughed even harder.

"I think that the flight controller is going to run out here and beat me to death with his hat," she sighed, finally detangling from him arms.

"Well, that is how we get rid of our worst pilots. We let the flight controller execute them hats," he teased. Nora laughed nervously, wondering if he would do it if he got the chance.

"Sooo, how do we get down?" she asked, her face starting to turn red with blood pooling to her cheeks.

He grinned at her and merrily pinched her nose.

"You look like a strawberry, Lilenta."

She gave him a playful smack in the arm.

"How do we get down?!" she repeated in a flustered tone, much to his amusement.

"We just undo our restraints and drop!"

"You're kidding! The roof of this thing is at least one story high!" she gasped, looking down at the ceiling.

"I'll go first and catch you when you drop."

"You promise you won't fumble and let me smack head-first onto the roof, right?"

"I would never let you get hurt."

She looked in his eyes and nodded.

"Ok, I trust you," she finally said with a smile.

"You should. All right then, watch how I do this."

He showed her the order to undo the belts and how to flip down on her feet. He landed gracefully with a heavy thud and smirked up at her, holding out his thick, strong arms.

"Now it's your turn!"

She took a deep breath and did as he said, releasing her belts and falling down to him. She felt him effortlessly grab her out of the air, but experienced a jab of embarrassment when she realized that her chest landed right against his head, burying his face between her breasts.

"Oh! Sorry! Are you ok?" she yelped as she tried to wiggle out of his strong grip.

"Perfectly fine," he said softly, not letting her move away for a moment, loving the feeling of his face pressed against such an intimate spot. Suddenly there was a loud banging on the door. A few of the crewmen from the dock were checking to see if they were injured.

"Hey! You all ok in there?! What the hell went wrong?!" One of the technicians asked, pushing open the hatch with a first-aid bag in hand.

Nora struggled more and Garruth finally let her down.

"It's fine, I'm just training a the worst pilot in the universe today. I didn't allow there to be any injuries."

"Well, you sure as hell allowed the bay to get ripped up! Get outta here! If she's that bad, downgrade her to operating escape pods for now! At least they can't do as much damage!"

"I'm really, really sorry about that!" she said nervously and then turned back to Garruth, "Let's do what he says and try the pods!"

"Seems like a good plan actually," he mused, "You might actually be able to control a ship that's intended for toddlers, Lilenta."

She made another silly exasperated face and gave him a barrage of tiny slaps for his teasing.

"Go! Go, go, go,go,go,go!" she exclaimed, rushing them out of the ship and away from the angry technicians.

—

Fortunately, she managed to control the the pod just fine. In no time, she had the ship zipping around with a good amount of accuracy and didn't have any trouble with it. The pods were tiny, only intended for one Kindred each, so Nora had to sit on Garruth's lap to operate it. Being in such a tight space with her was soothing to him. He could smell her sweet little body, how her pre-bonded ladyhood was burning with anticipation, even as she tried her hardest to tell herself that it wasn't. She even pretended to not notice his erection growing hard underneath her soft bottom. Even though she refused to acknowledge it, he could tell her body was reacting to him. He could smell her desire swell and felt her little area getting hot.

"You know, these pods are actually really pretty cool!" she said, trying to keep the conversation light, "These are almost exactly like the video games! Much better than those big ships!"

"I'm glad you're having fun," he replied, barely masking his arousal, "Now, run these maneuvers."

He put up a few of the learning challenges on the side screen and Nora began to run them. The g-forces of the turns and acceleration pressed them even harder together and the rumble of the ship was stimulating her body much more than she liked. He wrapped his arms around her to steady her.

"You're doing great, Lilenta, keep going. Push it harder," he whispered against her neck. Her skin got goosebumps and her shoulders tensed.

"…ok."

He felt her heartbeat and breath get faster and smelled her body getting more excited against his throbbing cock. The ship started to rattle even more with the accelerating speed as they piloted swiftly through the more difficult flight courses. During a partially sharp turn, he noticed her stifle a gasp. She was so ready for bonding. Almost crazy for it. Even the slightest stimulation would drive her over the edge while she was like this. He motioned to the operation manual and then to the speed gauge.

"Even Harder, Lilenta. As fast as you can,"

She took a deep breath and bit at her lip, giving a reluctant nod. She tried to focus on anything that would stop her from getting aroused. She hated it. The vibrations were driving her crazy. Every tiny bump sent more shivers down her spine and built up heat between her legs. She tried to shift away from of his erection as best she could, but he held her crushingly in place. The increasing g-forces and rattling stimulated her aching pussy even more.

"Harder…"

She gritted her teeth and slammed the accelerator to the floor. She raced though the final course at full speed, trying to get the experience over with as fast as possible. She didn't want to feel this, couldn't stand it but her body wasn't cooperating with her mind. Finally, the stimulation was more than she could stand and Garruth felt her body suddenly jerk with an unwanted orgasm. He held her firmly against his rock-hard length in his pants, thrusting at her subtly to send more of the unwanted pleasure crashing though her. The sweet sent of her spilled honey filled the pod, and Garruth barely managed to not come himself.

"You did a wonderful job, my little Lilenta," he breathed against the back of her neck as the last of her tremors his joy, he felt her honey soaking though her pants and against his thigh. Her eyes were widened wide with guilt and shock. Disgust soon creeped over her and she couldn't even look at him. She hung her head in shame over the dashboard.

"I feel really sick all the sudden. I… I need to go home."

He hugged her gently and and rocked her in his arms.

"You're fine, Nora. You're fine."

"No, I'm not. I…"

"These kinds of things happen when a female in is your state. It's nothing to be ashamed of. I won't tell a soul," he cooed, loosing himself in the smell of her again. Loving how he drove her over the edge without even touching her bare skin.

"I feel like… I feel like I was unfaithful…"

"With what? The escape pod or gravity?" he laughed.

She was silent.

"Come on, now," he said gently, kissing the top of her head, "Wrap this emergency blanket around yourself so no one can see your wetness. I'll take you back to your quarters so you can clean up. You did nothing wrong, I promise. These things just happen sometimes."

Nora was quiet as he took her home, keeping her eyes to the ground for the entire walk. When they arrived at her door, she paused and stopped him before he could walk in with her.

"I want to be alone for now. I need to clear my head," said murmured gripping the soft warm blanket around herself tighter, even though the air around them was really quite warm.

"What are you going to tell my brother?"

She looked up at him for just a moment and then back down at her feet.

"The truth."

"And what do you think the truth is, Lilenta?"

"That I… came on your lap," she whispered so softly and ashamed he could barely hear it. He felt his heart hurting with her. He never wanted their shared touch to cause her pain. His mind raced on how to contain the damage.

"That's not the whole truth, is it?" he finally said.

"But it's-" she started.

"You could have been sitting in that chair alone and it would have happened just the same. If you tell my brother your version, it'll risk our family tie AND your bond for something that's not even really true."

She was quiet for a long time.

"I'm so sorry Garruth. I, I just feel so…"

"You're in the the middle of your bonding time, Nora," he continued, leaning down and taking her shoulders in his hands, "You have to believe me that nothing bad happened today. You have nothing at all to feel bad about."

She looked him in his eyes. He could see that she was trying to agree with him but her heart just couldn't fully agree.

"Please, Lilenta…I swear it's the truth."

She sighed and smiled sadly at him.

"I… I guess you're right."

"Good, now get changed. I'm going to take you out for more of that tea that relaxed you so much after your physical last week," he said with relief, releasing her.

She gave a weak, bitter laugh.

"I'm going to start associating that tea with traumatic experiences if we keep this pattern up."

"Then we'll move onto ice-cream."

"Will waffles be next?" Her sad smile stayed in place as she and went in to get changed.

—

Lothair noticed a change in her since that day. The rest of the week that he bathed her, she couldn't relax. Every time her body started to get hot for him, she reacted with anxiety and closed up to him. She pretended to loose all interest in sex, even though her body still physically cried out to be bonded and touched. She deflected the topic all every opportunity, suggesting games, telling jokes, keeping busy with her work and acting extremely tired when she was done with it. With his own work pressures as they were, it left very little time that he could be with her to resolve it. He knew something had happened and he kept waiting for her to tell him about it. If she didn't come to him with the truth soon, it could risk their bonding.

This continued on until it was the first night of their tasting week. Lothair was held up again in defense and intelligence meetings until late in the evening. He'd started getting used to limping stiffly home each night. His prosthetic limbs would always get exhausted long before his work was done.

"What could have happened to Nora?" He wondered. His brother gave no indication that anything had gone wrong during their lessons, other than a wrecked training ship and damaged a landing bay. Surely something as trivial as that wasn't enough to make her behavior change that drastically.

"Could anyone have gotten to her? Raped her?" The horrible thought shot through his mind. He didn't smell any trace of another male's musk, just the faint smell of his brother who had been spending time training her that day.

Lothair's mind raced with both that and the growing threat of the new Scourge weapon. Several of the informants he was relying on behind enemy lines were somehow uncovered and executed over the last few days. With no new information coming in, it made their guess work even harder. The last intel they'd received didn't look good though. They received warning that the weapon could be operational much sooner than initially anticipated.

With no practical options left, Lothair ordered a large network of probes released to all potential zones that the weapon could be hidden. It was like trying find a needle in a haystack by picking up one tiny stalk at a time, but there was nothing else to be done. The probing was ineffective and expensive, but it was their only possible option at that point. The council was clearly panicking to approve something so expensive with such a small chance of payoff. They fully understood how dire things were getting.

"Maybe I should confront Nora tonight and bond to her. These could be our final days alive," he mulled over the idea. If the weapon was activated the Kindred sensors would pick up it's location, but it would blow them to bits before they could do anything about it. The weapon's half-hour charging time wasn't nearly enough to move the mothership to safety or get a fleet out to neutralize it before firing.

He arrived home, and Nora was sitting at her desk, working away at a project for some human client. As soon as she heard him enter she twirled her chair around and smiled at him.

"Welcome home! I missed you!" she said as cheerful as she could, trying to cover up the sorrowful mood that she had been stuck in for days. She quickly pushed his chair over to him and took his bag to set aside.

"Another bad day? Can I get you anything? I made your favorite for dinner if you're hungry" she offered.

He sat down and gave her a cautious look. She was pretending to not remember that is was the start of their tasting week. This had to stop.

"Not hungry for food, Nora."

She got quiet and averted her eyes.

"I just don't feel like I'm up for it yet…"

Lothair let her words hang in the air as he took off his arm and leg to put back in the recharging tank.

"You haven't felt up for anything since last week," he finally said, turning his chair to face her, "I should rephrase that. Your mind hasn't been up for anything since last week. Your body has been begging for it."

Nora fumbled with her hands. She sat down on the couch across from him.

"You're going to tell me what happened," he ordered in a gentle but firm tone, "the way you've been hiding your feelings from me is going to jeopardize our bonding if we don't deal with it tonight."

"It's… it's not important, I promise. It was just a misunderstanding. I'll get over it," she said shakily, trying to convince herself even more than him, "Your brother… he told me that nothing bad really happened. He said that I was making a big deal out of nothing."

Lothair clenched his jaw. His trust for his brother suddenly began to crack apart. Could he really have done something to hurt her?

"Just tell me what happened from the beginning. Don't leave out a single detail," he said as he stood from his chair and maneuvered to sit next to her. He pulled her face to his chest and she looked horribly worried and guilty.

"I promise I will always love you. You don't have anything to fear from telling me the truth."

Nora relaxed a little and let a couple regretful tears fall down as she told him everything that happened that day. He held her for a long time, assuring her that he still loved her, that she was still clean, that it wasn't her fault. He compartmentalized his rage at his brother for the current time. He would deal with him later. Part of him wondered if Garruth had done it on purpose. He wondered if he somehow was seeking revenge for a sin he had no way to know about. Sickening thoughts of hate and remorse filled the back of his mind as he slowly stroked his bride's hair and calmed her. He couldn't let this mess ruin their fate together was so fragile at the moment he had to keep her with him.

She finally was calm and completely exhausted from letting all her worries out. Lothair smiled and gave her a soft kiss over each eye.

"I don't deserve you, Lothair," she sighed.

"Nonsense. We love each other, Dearest. It's not about deserving or not. I told you I would always love you and that's not going to change."

She was so relived, she leaned over to kiss him and he kissed her back feverishly. With the heat they had been holding back all week, they both felt immediately overwhelmed with need.

"Nora, are you ready for me to taste you now? I need you so much, I can barely stand it," he groaned with eagerness as he slid his hand up her skirt and gently stroked her sensitive area through her panties.

"Lothair… I want you more than anything, but I… I've never been super comfortable with being kissed… down there. All this other trouble aside, it's just not something I've ever really been able to like."

"Put everything else out of your mind, Dearest. I know a way to do this that you're going to love."

He sat up, maneuvered back into his chair, and pulled her onto his lap, hooking her arms around his neck. He brought her to the bedroom, stripped her of her cloths in a flash, and pushed her down on the bed.

He pulled off his cloths just as eagerly and crawled on top of her, kissing her and resting his heavy, hard, nude body over her. She wrapped her arms around him and spread her legs, letting him run himself up and down along her wet, ready entrance. He savored her slickness on his cock, but pulled away before ether one came.

"Now, just relax and do as I say, Dearest."

She smiled up to him warmly, "I trust you."

He rolled onto his back and pulled her over him into a straddling position facing away from his head. She looked back over her shoulder bashfully and he pulled her hips back so her pussy was over his mouth.

"Don't be scared, you have nothing to be shy about…Gods, You've got such beautiful little cunt. I've wanted this for so long," he moaned against her, "Bring your mouth down to my dick, lick it and work it with your soft little hand while I pleasure you."

She took a deep breath for courage and did as he said, glad to have the distraction of giving him pleasure while he spread her open. Gently she wrapped a hand around his thick, needy cock. Even without touching him to her mouth yet, he was dripping with pre-cum and his mating fist was almost fully engorged. Cautiously, she licked his hot, savory tip and his deep voice rumbled almost incoherently with bliss.

"Gods, that feels so good, Dearest."

Slowly he ran his fingers along her wet slit, and plunged two of them firmly inside her. She tried to pull away but her held her still.

"That's good, just relax," he murmured and gently flicked his tongue over her tiny clit sending tingles up her spine, "Now, take me into your mouth."

She was so tense she could barely breath, but she did as he said, slowly kissing his tip and letting him push deeper in and out of her throat. She gently sucked his cock and ran her tongue over his tip each time her head bobbed up. He roared with bliss against her clit and fucked her harder with his fingers, sucking and lapping at her most sensitive spot. Their rhythm got faster and she sucked and swallowed on him harder. She could taste more and more of his pre-cum drizzling out and her body dripped for him too.

Slowly she felt the pleasure pulling the last of her reservations away, she took him as deep down her throat as she could and he sucked harder at her clit. Her rational mind shutdown and she moaned on his cock as her pussy contracted again and again with the most intense orgasm of her life. He pulled out his fingers and slid his tongue into her sex, drinking her fluid and pumping his cock faster into her mouth until the last of her orgasm's tremors passed. Just then she felt his body tighten and she knew he had just reached his limit. She readied for him.

He pulled his face away from her pussy, threw his head stiffly back against the pillow and roared her name over and over, shallowing his thrusts and shooting thick, white spurts of cum into her ready mouth. She drank everything he gave her, never having tasting anything so satisfying before, and loving how his body trembled as she lapped up the last of it.

His body relaxed as she released him and she curled back up against his chest into their spooning position. He could barely move, he just laid there, panting for a long time and stroking her hair with his hand.

"Lothair," she purred groggily, licking the last of him from her lips, "What you did to me felt amazing. Thank you for encouraging me to try it."

Gently he showered her neck and cheek with kisses, breathing her in. He held her tight and tensed for a moment.

"Nora, I can't wait any longer," he whispered against her ear, "Sleep tonight, but when you wake tomorrow, let me take you entirely. Please, give me permission to bond with you. To make you completely mine."

Nora smiled, but was drifting fast to sleep. He wasn't sure if she heard him.

"I'd like that," she whispered softly.

He watched her until she drifted completely asleep and her eyes started to twitch under their lids from a happy dream. When he was sure he wouldn't disturb her, he carefully rose out of bed, got into to his chair, and dressed in a crisp, clean uniform. He gazed down at her once more, hating to leave, but he had important business to attend to with his brother. He went to the other room to attach his partially-charged limbs and walked out the door straight to Garruth's quarters, getting angrier with each step.

—-

Garruth hadn't slept right since the day he gave Nora her flight lessons. He couldn't stop his feelings of guilt, remembering how horrified she was immediately after he made her orgasm. She said she was sick ever since then, only leaving Lothair's quarters to dutifully drop off meals outside Garruth's door like she said she would. He hadn't even seen her in person. She just called him on the communicator to tell him when the food was waiting for him.

"Gods, how would she feel if she knew I've been inside her? Tasted her? Fucked her with my hands while she dreamed of my brother," the words ran though his head over and over. He felt like a monster.

He laid in his bed staring at the ceiling, smelling both Nora and Sara's scent mixed together. He felt the hours slip by, letting the guilt slowly swallow him, when out of nowhere an earsplitting pounding on his front door ripped through his apartment. He sprang up, threw on his flight uniform, and put on his holster belt with his blaster. Was there an attack? Why didn't the alarms go off? He rushed, completely disheveled to the door and opened it to see his brother towering over him menacingly, almost completely blocking the entire entryway.

"Lothair? What's wrong? What's happening?"

He stared down at him silently, narrowing his eye and took a step inside, slamming the door shut behind him.

"Is there something you want to tell me, Brother?" he said coldly, balling his hands into fists, "Something you want to tell me about your flight lesson with Nora last week?"

Garruth froze and it felt like time slowed down. He knew.

"I WANT TO HEAR YOU SAY IT, BROTHER," Lothar yelled, grabbing Garruth by his collar with his huge metal hand. He brought his scarred, snarling face down to stare at him with only an inch of space between them.

Garruth averted his eyes and suddenly sobbed out of guilt and shame.

"Gods, I'm so sorry, Brother," he finally confessed, convulsing and letting tears run down his face, "I never meant to do it. I'm so sorry. I- I never wanted to hurt her!"

Lothair felt his rage subside a little and his own guilt start to bubble up. Moving some trash, he set his little brother down in a chair and sat across from him. Lothair stared at him for a long time as he cried, letting him calm a bit before talking again.

"Why did you do it, Garruth?" he finally asked in a steady, even tone.

"She…. I never meant to hurt her, but, she, she smelled just like Sara. I can't explain it, but somehow I swear she's my Sara sometimes. When Nora's touching me and I close my eyes, she's alive again. Back with me… I … I can't live without her anymore, brother. I just can't. I love her, my little Nora, my little Sara. Never, never wanted to hurt her…She smells just like Sara's flowers…"

Garruth babbled and cried, ran his hands through his tangled dark hair, and Lothair finally pulled him into a hug, hushing him.

"Brother, you have to listen to me when I tell you this. Your mind is not well," he said gently, patting his brother's back, "It's going to sound like nonsense to you, but I swear to you it's true. You need to listen to me. Listen and try to remember."

"W-what?"

"Brother, you have no sense of smell. How could you have forgotten?"

"That's not possible! It's as strong as ever! I feel it! I swear I do!" Garruth shouted in disbelief.

"I feel my arm and leg sometimes, but we can both see that they're gone," Lothair held out his arm and rolled up the sleeve to show the seam where the prosthetic and his stump meet, "You're suffering from hallucinations. It's a completely natural reaction to a major bodily loss and your grief is adding to it, confusing you."

"No! It can't be true! I know what I sense! I'm not crazy! I know that she IS Sara…somehow. She's my little Sara…"

"Listen and remember, Brother. You lost your ability to smell when you nearly died on a mission, just about a year ago. You were trapped in your dead ship, wedged in and barely surviving inside a tiny inner compartment. There was a chemical leak in there with you. It physically burned the sensory nerves for scent right out of you. Does any of this sound familiar?" Lothair explained calmly.

Garruth shivered in his arms.

"But I smell her, I really do! And, and w-what do you mean I nearly died on a mission? What mission?"

"You volunteered to go. It was a special operations, direct action mission deep in Scourge territory. It was during your bonding month with Sara. You insisted on going because you said you were the only pilot good enough to do it and come back alive."

"… some of that sounds familiar… I remember Sara begging me not to go. She cried, but the other pilots, they all had kids… I couldn't just let them go out and…"

"You were very brave and you made a deep sacrifice. And damn, Brother, you were right about your skills. I watched the ship's flight recording after you came back. The way you took out the target, I've never seen anything like it in my whole life. Neutralizing that enemy ship saved a whole fleet of our men that day."

"Yeah! I- I think I remember that part, but then… something went wrong…"

" Yes, it did. Just as you were heading home, one stealth enemy ship managed to detect and follow you. The bastard ambushed you when your guard was down. He shot the hell out of your ship, ripping it to pieces, you just barely managed to survive in that tiny, reinforced storage room. He thought you were dead and left you there to drift. We all thought you were dead too when our sensors showed that all the life support systems on your ship were down… Sara was devastated…"

"I… I remember a room…it was so cold, I-…"

"Good, do you remember when we found you? When we recovered your ship and towed it into the docking bay? Remember me screaming at you to wake up as they pulled you out of that mess of twisted metal? You were stiff and pale as a corpse but you told me later you could still hear everything. One of the medics noticed you still had a pulse and rushed you over to sickbay. They told us that you only had a hundred to one odds of recovery from the poison and cold you were exposed to but you survived it all. Not only that, but you barely had a damn scratch on you. It was unbelievable! You even made fun of me the day you woke up, saying, "See, this is how you keep a face pretty!" Please tell me you remember some of this…"

Garruth started to laugh between his sobs and felt it all coming back to him. He recalled being in his coma in the sickbay, how he just stared blankly forward, unable to move as all the doctors kept telling Lothair and Sara not to expect anything good. How Sara cried in his brothers arms when the doctors told them their dire predictions over and over. The look on her beautiful face when he finally managed to move and prove the stupid doctors wrong. How she kissed him over and over. How could he have forgotten all that?

"Brother? Are you still with me?" Lothair asked, gently shaking him.

Garruth as quiet for a long time, tears drying on his face.

"Lothair, Brother… please… please kill me. I have nothing left. My Sara is dead and I can't even hold onto my memories anymore. I gave into hallucinations and raped your bride. I don't deserve to live," Garruth begged, burring his face in his hands.

"Brother…" Lothair's anger was completely gone, replaced with pity for his kin, "It was, it was just a mistake. And… I suppose… 'rape' is too strong a world. All you technically did was hold my bride on your lap during a bumpy flight… How could I not forgive you for that when you have to little left as it is?"

"Theres more…."

Lothair's blood turned to ice in his veins. He took two long breaths before speaking again.

"Tell me everything…" he said slowly.

"When I took Nora to her physical… I… took her with my hand while she was unconscious afterwards," he sobbed miserably, pulling at his tangled hair and hyperventilating, "Gods, I'm so sorry. I deserve to die. I hurt her and she never even knew it. I hurt you. I just… she smelled just like Sara. Looked just like her. Tasted like her. It just happened, Gods, I'm so sorry!"

Garruth curled up into a ball on the chair, crying hysterically, and Lothair stood up and paced around the room, breathing heavy, doing everything he could to control is anger. It was all he could do to not beat his brother to a pulp. He stopped in front of a wall and punched a hole though it, letting the words sink in. Trying not to visualize it. Trying to rationalize it.

"I'm a monster, Brother!" Garruth cried again, still curled up, "If only I could have been more like you. You do everything right. You're everything I should have been!"

Lothair took a deep breath, gritted his teeth and faced his brother.

"You're… not a monster. You're just very, very sick," he finally said, hardly able to look at him and lowering his voice, "And I don't do everything right."

Garruth looked up at him skeptically, waiting for him to continue.

"Brother, when you wife…" Lothair started, "When we all thought you were dead…"

Garruth stared at him with wide eyes and stopped shivering. Slowly he sat up in the chair as his brother sat down across from him. He felt paralyzed, waiting for his brother to speak.

"She was devastated. Widowed at the… most needy part of her claiming period…" Lothair continued, looking him strait in his eyes,"She came with me to my quarters on the night we were told you were dead. She begged me to let her stay. She couldn't stop crying…She kept saying that she needed me."

"Please… no…" Garruth breathed, balling his fists.

"I had sex with Sara that night. We tried to bond, but I just couldn't… I didn't really love her like that…" Lothair confessed, burying his face in his hands.

"NO! YOU'RE LYING! I WOULD HAVE SMELLED YOU ON HER!"

"Brother…" Lothair said, sadly, looking back up at him, "You know why you didn't."

Garruth screamed in agony into his hands as Lothair continued.

"She wanted to confess, to tell you as soon as you woke up, but I told her it would harm you too much. With you in mind, we both kept it secret."

Garruth stopped screaming and stared at his brother like a ghost.

"With me in mind?" he asked softly, rising out of his chair, "WITH ME IN MIND?!"

Lothair stood up with him, putting his good arm on his brother's shoulder to try and calm him.

"Brother…"

"YOU FUCKED MY BRIDE?!" he screeched.

Garruth balled up his fist and suddenly punched Lothair square in the face with all his might, breaking his nose, and sending him stumbling back into his chair.

"YOU FUCKED MY SARA?!" he ranted like a madman, pulling Lothair back up by his hair and punching him again, this time on the jaw, breaking a tooth.

"YOU FUCKED HER!" he screamed again, moving to punch his brother a third time, but suddenly Lothair caught his fist with his good hand and punched back with the metal one into his stomach. His temper snapped.

Garruth doubled over in pain and Lothair hit him again and again, beating him down brutally to the floor. He stopped only when he heard Garruth sob when he was collapsed down on his knees.

Lothair caught his breath, gathered his composure, and spit out part of a broken tooth. He turned to solemnly walk away.

"You're never allowed around Nora again. If I see you near her, I'll kill you," he growled, headed for the door with blood drizzling out his nose and mouth.

Suddenly fire burst through his chest. He looked down to see a burning hole blooming out on the front of his uniform. Smoke and flame flared up for a moment from his flesh. Slowly it donned on him that he had just been shot in the back with a blaster. Lothair stumbled. His body felt numb for a moment and he fell to his knees gasping for breath. The pain finally hit him like million hammers. He tried to scream but couldn't get the strength.

His brother's footsteps slowly came up from behind him as he tried to crawl the rest of the way to the door.

Another blaster shot ripped though his good leg. Then another one blew apart his false one.

"B-brother…" Lothair gasped.

"You weren't my brother the moment you fucked my bride."

Garruth blasted Lothair's prosthetic arm to bits.

"And now I'm going to return the favor," he continued.

"Brother, please," Lothair gasped.

"CALL ME BROTHER AGAIN! I FUCKING DARE YOU!" Garruth screamed, pointing the weapon to his brother's head.

Lothair steadied himself and stayed quiet, just trying to pull in his breath and choking on blood.

"As I was saying, I'm going to return the favor," Garruth continued, "But I'm not just going to fuck your bride. I'm going to bond her. Because unlike you did with my bride, I love yours. And I'm going to take her home with me to Rageron, make her give birth to my children, and you'll never, EVER find us."

"Please…Leave Nora out of this."

Garruth blasted Lothair's last remaining limb and he screamed in agony, rolling on his side and curling up. The smell of his burning flesh filled the room.

"And you get to lie here and slowly die on my dirty floor, thinking about how much you DESERVE to go to Hell, and how SOON you're going to be there. No one will be able to hear you yelling for help through these walls. Nice and soundproof, you know, so the neighbors don't have to hear noisy fucking all the time. So go ahead and try to get help, it'll just make you die faster."

Garruth kicked Lothair in his chest wound, making him gag and choke.

"Goodbye, Lothair. Thanks for bringing a replacement bride for my dead one."

With that, Garruth stormed out of the apartment, shut off the lights behind him, and locked the door. Lothair was left in total darkness.

—-

Nora woke up to the sound of the door opening to her room. She felt a little cold and realized that she had been in bed alone for quite some time.

"Lothair?" She called out softly. "Where were you?"

"It me, Nora."

She sat up in bed like a bolt of lightening and turned the lights on, coving herself with a sheet.

"Garruth!?" What are you doing here? What's happening? Are you ok? Why are you all beat up?"

"Lothair is seriously hurt. There's no time to explain. Get dressed and come with me. Grab your necessities for the next week. We need to get off this ship right now," he said in low urgent tone. Opening up a travel bag, he quickly started gathering her things. Over his shoulder, he tossed her the green dress to put on.

"Oh God! Is he going to be ok!?" She gasped, frantically putting on the garment, not bothering with underwear.

"No time for talking! Just hurry!"

She scrambled over to grab her computer, and a few other important things like her glasses. She saw Lothair's limbs weren't in their charging tank. It didn't look like he had left in too much of a hurry.

"Ok, I'm ready!" She said, slipping on her shoes and hoisting her bag onto her shoulder. Wide-eyed and trying not to panic, she tried to guess what could have happened.

Garruth grabbed her hand and ran with her and the bags out the door and down the hall. Nora was confused as they raced by what seemed to be completely calm people going about their normal business. A few Kindred gave them curious looks as they sprinted into the docking bay areas.

"Why isn't anyone else panicking?" Nora asked, trying to keep up but mostly getting dragged along.

"Because they don't know what's happened yet."

"Shouldn't we try to help them then? We can't just leave them with no warning at all!"

"NORA, JUST DO AS I SAY! TRUST ME! THIS IS FOR THE BEST!" He suddenly roared and gripped her arm so tight it was sure to leave a bruise.

"Ok, but I just-"

"Be quiet and come along, NOW!"

They arrived at his personal docking bay and entered his prototype space fighter. He locked her in the back bedroom of the ship without a word of explanation. Then he went straight to his controls, fired up the engines, and blasted out of the bay. The sound on the dashboard was still muted, but he saw message after message from the flight controller berating him for not requesting permission to take off and demanding to know his flight path. He communicated that his planned course was at the farthest part of Kindred-controlled travel space. This satisfied the official's request and stopped any guard ships from following them. Once he reached that outer limit, he blasted past it at top speed, giving him a huge head-start over any ship that may try to apprehend him. With as fast as this new ship was, in addition to the head-start, it made it impossible for anyone on the mothership to have a chance of stopping him.

Satisfied that he and his new bride were safe, he put in the coordinates for the auto pilot to take them to Rageron. Nora had gotten quiet so he walked back to check on her. Opening the door, he saw his bride quietly sitting on the bed with her knees pulled up against her chest, looking out the window.

"Do you have time to tell me what's going on now?" she asked, looking up at him with her big grey eyes.

He climbed on the bed next to her and pressed his face against her neck, taking in a deep breath. Flowers again. Fuck his brother. He must have been lying about his injury. This sensation couldn't possibly be a hallucination. He could smell her as clearly as he could see and touch her.

Nora reached over and took his hands in hers, bringing him back to eye-contact with her.

"Please, tell me what happened to Lothair. How badly is he hurt? I need to know if he's going to be ok."

Garruth let a flash of anger pass over his face.

"You don't need to worry about him anymore," he pulled his hands from hers and held them firmly against her cheeks.

Nora furrowed her brow in worry and waited for him to explain.

"You're not his bride anymore. I'm taking care of you now. We're going to bond, start a family, love each other…"

She tried not to panic as she put the pieces together.

"Garruth… did you hurt your Lothair?" She slowly took his hands back into her's.

He felt his blood boil. He pulled his hands away and grabbed her shoulders to pull her into a passionate kiss. She tried to push him away but he was much to strong for her. She clenched her mouth closed and waited stiffly for him to finish. He hated her lack of cooperation. His hand reached up and pressed on the sides of her jaw, forcing her mouth to open so he could deepen the kiss. His tongue forced it's way into her mouth, tasting her, and he groaned softly as she continued to try to push away and resist.

Maintaining the kiss, he pushed her back on the bed, loving the feeling of her small body under his. Gods, he needed her. Parting their lips, he looked down at her face. Her red hair was spread out around her head, framing her face just like Sara's did on their bonding night. The beauty of it faded though when he saw that her gaze had nothing for him but pity. Reaching up, she cupped the sides of his face in her hands, and pulled him down to her. She gave him a single kiss on the forehead.

"Stop. Just let me hold you for a little while, ok?" she requested softly, knowing that calming him down was the only chance to avoid disaster.

Wrapping her arms around him firmly, she whispered, "Just breath with me."

She slowly drew in long peaceful breaths, moving his head down to rest over her heart, over her scar. He laid still with her for what felt like ages, just listening to her heartbeat and breathing as the stroked his long, messy hair. His body began to feel soothed and his mind started to clear, but suddenly it dawned on him that she was fighting him. She was trying to dampen his passion so he wouldn't force a bond on her. She was defying and rejecting him.

"This doesn't have to be a bad thing, Lilenta," he said, resisting the calmness, "Just let me take you. I promise it'll only hurt for a little bit. I love you. I'll protect you. You'll see."

He pulled himself up to kiss her mouth, but she managed to wiggle away from his lips and kiss his forehead again insistently.

"I love you too," she said with determined, heavyhearted eyes.

He stared back at her in shock, not prepared for that and unsure of how to respond.

"There's lots of kinds of love, Garruth. And I love you like a very dear friend or brother," she continued, " If you need to bond to me to live… I'll make that sacrifice it to save you. But… we won't ever really be happy like that. This is the wrong thing to do."

Garruth's breath came heavier. He furred his brow and felt frustration building in him. What did she know? She wasn't even giving him a chance. He'd force her to see he was right. That they'd have a happy future together.

"I'll show you that you're wrong, Lilenta."

With his renewed resolve, he pulled away from her hug and sat up over her. He pulled off his shirt exposing his strong chiseled chest to her. His tough hands started to massage her breasts through her dress and he studied her face for any sign of arousal. There was none. She was in the middle of her bonding time, her body was screaming for sex, but she gave him nothing emotionally. Not even anger, which made him feel all the worse.

Reaching down, he took hold of the collar of her dress, and started to slowly rip if off of her, exposing her body inch by inch. He tore off the fabric was like it was tissue paper in his strong hands. Before he knew it, he was tossing away the green scraps of fabric and staring down at her beautiful, naked body.

"I love you, Lilenta."

"I love you too, Garruth," she said with so much sadness in her voice that he knew exactly how she meant it.

Gods, he was so angry. He needed her to fight him, to struggle, just react with anything but this, this pity. If she fought, then he could just violently take her without a thought. It would be so much easier that way.

He balled up a fist in her hair, and slapped her across the face, but she didn't even flinch. She didn't even look scared or angry. She just kept staring at him like she was watching his execution as the red mark surfaced on her cheek.

"I'm going to rape you, Nora. Aren't you going to fight me?" he hissed, just an inch from her face.

"We both know that I don't have the strength to fight you, even if I tried," she said as evenly she could manage.

He cringed at her and unfastened his belt and pants, freeing his huge, hard erection. He kept his eyes on her's, hoping at least to find fear or arousal, anything but sadness, but she continued to give him only that. Keeping her eyes steady with his, she intentionally would not look away from him.

Leaning in closer, he rubbed the tip of his dripping cock against her belly. Slowly, he ran it down to her entrance, and just held it there against her lips. Her chest started to heave in fear.

"I'm going to go inside you now, Lilenta. Are you ready?"

She kept her eyes with his, her chest starting to convulse even harder. He looked over her exposed body. She had gone sickly-pale as if she was about to go into shock. Her hands were balled up into tight, shivering fists and he noticed a smear of blood on the white sheets. She had clenched her hands so hard that her nails had dug into her palms. She never openly sobbed, but he saw tears building up in her unwilling eyes. All her skin was cold. She looked like she was about to die.

Was this what he really wanted? Regret crashed back into him and he pulled his length away from her, kissing her on the forehead as he pulled away.

"Gods, I'm sorry, Nora," he said, quickly climbing off of her and sitting at the edge go the bed to hold his face in his hands, "I'm so sorry."

She curled up into a ball and stared up at the ceiling for a bit. Finally she sat up to calm herself, wiping away her tears and unknowingly getting blood on her cheeks.

"You had me really scared for a second there, Garruth," she finally breathed, trying to downplay what had just happened.

He didn't respond for a long time.

"…You were right to be scared."

—

Lothair laid there, dizzy and slipping in and out of consciousness, in the dark room. He could barely think with all the pain shooting through his body, but he was fairly certain he was dying.

"Nora…" he gasped.

None of his limbs worked and he had to slowly worm his way across the floor in the dark to where he remembered the door was. He had to get help. Someone had to unlock the door. He pushed himself up against it and caught his breath.

"Gods… give me strength," he croaked between gasps.

He drew his shoulder back to slam it against the door, trying to get anyone's attention. The jostle to his body sent even worse spasms of pain from around his wounds. The hole in his chest, that was initially cauterized by the burning blast, started to gush blood.

He felt his mind drifting away again, his eyes started to loose focus, but a shrill siren shot through the stagnant air and pulled him back to consciousness. The lights snapped on in the room and the door automatically slide open. The top half of his body fell back into the hallway, and he crawled the rest of the way out the door in confused dizziness. Sprawling out on his back, trying to catch his breath his mind raced to figure out what was happening.

"No…" His eyes shot open with the horrible realization. This was the red alert and that could only mean one thing. The Scourge were charging up their weapon. In a half hour this ship was going to be destroyed and Earth would fall to the enemy.

"General?!" shouted a distant voice paired with the sound of shuffling boots, "THE GENERAL'S BEEN ATTACKED! GET THE MEDICS!"

A swirl of footsteps surrounded him and more voices called out for medics and help. Men who's faces he couldn't quite remember pulled him up onto a gurney and started asking him inane questions. They asked him what happened, if he knew where he was, and even if he knew who he was.

Lothair only bothered to give them information that was important.

"My brother, Garruth…he shot me…" he gasped as the medics worked, he felt he was moving and a number of bandages were being wound around him to slow the bleeding, "Don't know how long ago. Don't know where he is now… but I do know what he's flying…where he's going… and I know he took Nora with him."

He felt the prick of an injection that instantly soothed some of the pain from his wounds. His mind cleared a little. A crowd of about eight doctors was rushing him to the medical bay, trying to secure a breathing mask over his face along with a number of other stabilizing procedures. He weakly tugged the mask aside to talk

"Do I have at least half an hour to live?"

"Yes, you're stable for now, but we need to get you into surgery immediately or-"

"Never mind that. We're all gonna be dead soon enough. A half hour is all I need. Take me to the communications room," he ordered.

"But, Sir, you're still in serious-"

"I'm going to spend my last moments trying to contact my bride one last time. Take me to the communication room and then go home to be with your own damn families. Don't you understand what's happening?"

All the hovering medics looked at each other, hesitating to follow his request. Clearly news as dooming as this didn't sink in easy.

"That's an order! Take me to the communication room and then go home," he barked again, coughing up a little blood.

A young blonde Blood Kindred medic looked up at the others.

"You all go. You've all got wives and kids waiting for you back home. I don't. I'll take care of the General and keep him stable," he said stoically.

The rest of the medics reluctantly nodded, gave a salute to the general and the young medic, and ran off.

"What's your name, boy?" Lothair asked.

"My name is Sylvan, I'm a junior medic, but I'm proud to be serving you as your doctor today, Sir."

Lothair gave him an approving smile.

"Well, you know where our next stop is, Sylvan. Let's go."

—

The silence was heavy in the ship. Garruth and Nora both quickly put some cloths on. He could barely look at her. Several hours passed, and he sat quietly in a chair by a window, watching the stars, trying not to think about everything he had just done. What kind of a future did they really have together? What should he do now? His brother was most likely dead by now. Nora didn't know exactly what had happened yet, but he had a feeling she assumed the worst. She was trying so hard to hide her fear for her mate by not asking about him, but it was clear to see on her face.

"You hungry?" she asked softly, offering him a plate of food.

"I don't deserve to eat your cooking," he said, refusing the dish.

She smiled, and gave a small, sad chuckle.

"You could just tell me if it tastes that bad. I promise I wouldn't mind the criticism."

He finally brought his eyes up to her. She wore a teal t-shirt and jeans and even though she was clearly miserable, her eyes still seemed to still have a tiny spark of hope in them.

She sat down in a chair across from him and looked out the window.

"It's beautiful out there. We're moving so fast, but the stars just hang in place like they always do. Makes you kinda feel small, huh?" She tried to start a light conversation.

He just nodded quietly, not adding anything to the thought.

"Hey, there's a weird beeping that just started coming from the control panel in the other room," she continued, "Is that important?"

"Beeping?" he asked, tilting his head.

Garruth walked over to see what it was, feeling it was strange. He thought he was familiar with all the signals this ship gave. He opened up a menu on the dash to read what it was about.

"What is it?" she asked, peeking over his large shoulder.

His eyes widened and he lurched over for the controls.

"Sit down and fasten your harness!" he yelled, "For some reason there's a giant Scourge ship out here with us in the middle of nowhere."

"WHAT? Why would it be all the way out here?!"

"No idea, but the damn thing is charging up some kind of huge weapon! According to the ships readings, it's detected us! If it's not trying to shoot us with that big beam, it's sure as hell about to blast us with three hundred little ones!"

Nora strapped into her seat and waited for Garruth to tell her what to do.

He needed more information on it. It was cloaked and he was barely able to get any decent readings on it, but the ones he did get were like nothing he'd ever seen before. It was so large it might even house a small fleet of Scourge fighters inside of it. The Kindred Mothership probably had all the information he needed about this thing and it and was only a call away.

He thought over his options. If he asked for help, the Kindred Mothership would be able to confirm his location. They'd have an easier time hunting him down. If he didn't ask for help, whatever this enemy ship was, it had a huge advantage. He didn't care about his own safety but he couldn't drag Nora down with him. Even if he couldn't bond to her, he still had to protect her.

"How can I help?" She asked fidgeting in her seat.

"… Just be quiet. I need to think," he said, pressing a hand to the bridge of his nose and taking a deep breath.

"Fuck it," he growled and opened communication with the the Kindred Mothership.

Instantly he heard the voice of his brother over the intercom. Lothair must have been repeating some sort of message to them, because he just caught the tail end of it.

"…ver forget that, Nora. I-" Lothair's hoarse voice cracked out through the dash.

Nora's eyes widened and looked up at Garruth's, but she didn't speak, as she'd been instructed.

"Shut up, Lothair," Garruth spat, "Tell me what the fuck this giant Scourge ship is doing out here. What the hell is it?"

There was silence over the communicator for a moment and then a series of deathly hacks and gasping.

"WHAT?!" Lothair's voice shouted through the coughs.

"There's a GIANT goddamn Scourge ship right next to me and it's charging up some kinda massive energy weapon. What the hell is it? It seems to know we're here. What do I need to do to fuck it up?"

"For the Gods' sake… of all the odds…One moment. I'm sending over all the specs we have on that ship right now, Don't think it'll do much good though."

"I figured you would know what this thing is," Garruth grumbled, "And are you trying to tell me I can't destroy this thing? Do you know who you're talking to?"

The data arrived and he started going over it.

"… Is Nora… all right? I know that you took her with you… but did you…?" Lothair asked in a shaky voice.

Nora was almost crying, her eyes begging Garruth to give her permission to talk.

"… She's safe. And no… I haven't bonded to her."

She reached over and tugged at Garruth's sleeve. He sighed.

"… and she wants to talk to you very badly," Garruth finally muttered and gave her a nod.

"Oh, God, Lothair, I thought you might be dead!" She sobbed, "You sound terrible! Are you going to be ok?"

He paused for a moment, and Nora's face got even more worried.

"Everything's going to be ok, Dearest."

She took a sharp breath and let more tears roll down her cheeks.

"Don't fucking lie to me, Lothair! Don't you ever do that again!" she shouted, "Tell me what's really happening."

He hesitated.

"… When that weapon fires, and it will in about 10 minutes, our defense of Earth will fall. All of the Kindred stationed on this mothership are going to die. The Scourge will have nothing between them and Earth… This is it, Dearest. I'm sorry. The weapons you have on board aren't enough to even put a scratch on that Scourge ship. They're most likely going to capture you both…You have no way to run… nowhere to go."

Nora's breath came in short bursts. The scar on her chest felt like it was burning and she clutched her fist to it.

"There are so many things worse than death, Nora, and the Scourge are masters of them all. They're going to kill you after they've broken you. I know all about what they do. I've seen the bodies they leave behind. You don't need to die like that. You can still have a peaceful death…"

"Wh-What are you trying to tell me?" she stammered.

"Nora…listen, there are suicide pills in a small slot in the upper right side of the dashboard. It'll be like falling into a heavy, deep sleep, Dearest, I promise. It's the only thing you have left now. Please believe me. Gods, I wish I could have kept you safe. I'm so sorry I failed you. Please, please don't let yourself suffer more than you have to…"

She covered her face with her palms.

"I just wish I could see you one more time, Lothair. This can't really be it…I love you so much, I… I don't think I can really do it…"

"I love you too, Nora. Please, for me, don't let them make your last moments into Hell. Don't let them break you. It's my last request. Please, die in peace with me."

Garruth finished going through the information about the Scourge ship and opened up the specs about his own ship's engines to double check his plan.

Nora opened up the pill-hatch and pulled out the tiny white capsules, taking long deep breaths to suppress her panic. She closed her eyes, but then felt Garruth's hand forced the pills out of her fingers and tossed them aside.

"What are you doing?" She asked, her hands still shaking.

"It's all gonna be ok. I promise. Just don't give up." Garruth replied with a oddly cheerful smile.

She stared at him.

"That's what you said to me back at the HKR, remember? It was after you showed me your scar," he continued, "Just trust me. Go get into the escape pod at the back of the ship. The Scourge won't detect you flying away in it."

"Bu-But what about you?"

"Garruth! Stop! There will be no one able to get to her in time without using the Mothership's long-range shuttles. Those ships don't have nearly enough time to launch before that beam's going to hit. She'll run out of oxygen before getting picked up or reaching anywhere habitable. A slow, lonely death from oxygen deprivation isn't going to be much better than what the Scourge have in store for her."

Nora looked to Garruth to explain, not moving from her seat.

"You still think I'm going to let that damn weapon go off, Brother?" he asked, laughing a little, "Nora, get into the escape pod and pull up the maps. Head as fast as you can back to the Mothership."

"What?!" Lothair asked.

"Ok," she said firmly, unstrapping and heading out, but she paused at the door to look back at him, "This isn't… goodbye, is it?"

"Yeah, it is."

She looked heartbroken.

"I meant what I said earlier," she said, "That I love you as a very dear friend and brother. I… I would take your place if you asked me. "

"I know," he said calmly, "And I love you to… But that offer you made about taking my place is nonsense. You're the worst pilot I've ever met."

Nora laughed nervously, wiping tears from her face.

"Well, it was just my wishful thinking, I suppose," she said with a sideways grin.

"Get outta here. I don't want the last thing I see to be you with that goofy frown you make," Garruth said calmly, pointing to the door.

Nora forced another smile for him and nodded, tears still rolling down her cheeks. She turned and quickly left to get into the escape pod.

—

Garruth saw on the console that she deployed safely and watched as her tiny pod whipped past him in a blur.

"… Brother," Lothair said over the communicator, "I'm sorry… about Sara… and-"

"Shut up. I forgive you," Garruth said quickly, maneuvering his ship to be able to build up the necessary momentum.

"…I want you to know that I forgive you too. I love you, Brother, I-" Lothair said softly.

"Didn't I just tell you to shut up? Don't be a sap. I already know all that stuff," Garruth scolded, "And it's all fine. Soon I'll be with my Sara again. This is what I want. You know how much I hate it when you baby me… you and your big ugly face. I'll see you later when you finally stop scaring away the Grim Reaper, Brother."

With that he flipped off the communicator. The experimental hyper-engines in his ship would make more than a big enough explosion to fuck up the enemy ship up for good. Nora was safe, his ugly brother was safe, all the stupid Kindred and Humans were safe… and his Sara was waiting for him.

He smiled and laughed.

"I MISSED YOU SO MUCH, SARA!" he howled and piloted the ship at top speed directly into the delicate energy focusing mechanism of the Scourge ship.

—-

Nora's ship zoomed through space for what felt like days. She felt numb remembering the flash of light blooming behind her when the Scourge ship was destroyed…when Garruth died. The communicators in the pod were't strong enough to send or pick up signals from the mothership at that range, so she just waited in silence, grieving and sleeping as much as she could. She had expected to have nightmares like she did before, but her mind was so exhausted, it was just a heavy dreamless sleep.

Seemingly out of nowhere, the communicator on her dash picked up a signal.

"Ms. Amado? Ms. Amado can you hear me?" A stranger's voice came through.

"Yes! I'm here! Who is this?"

"I'm the pilot that's been sent to retrieve you, my name's Baird. I'm locking onto your location information now. I'll be picking you up in about four hours."

"Thank you so much!" Nora exclaimed, "What's been happening over there? Have you heard anything from General Lothair?"

"Last I heard he was going into emergency surgery. I've got no new word on his current condition, but they said it was serious."

Nora's mind froze for a second.

"…Thanks for letting me know…"

"I'll get you back to him as fast as I can."

"Thank you, Baird."

—-

After what felt like ages, Nora's was picked up and brought back to the mothership. As soon as they landed and the hatch opened, she bolted down to the medical bay as fast as she could. The waiting room was cold and clean. Empty chairs lined the walls and couple of Twin Kindred were calmly working at the desk next to the door.

"We heard you were coming, Ms. Amado. They should be done sometime relatively soon! He should be just fine!" the lighter of the twins said, trying to calm her.

"Don't lie!" the darker twin scolded, "He's been in there much longer than he would be if he were fi- OW!"

The twins started to squabble and Nora sunk into a chair, eyes tired and feeling numb.

—-

Lothair woke up in a large white room, hooked up to countless wires, tubes and needles. The drugs they had him on were doing a great job. Aside from the fact that his body was probably pile of useless, ripped-up flesh at this point, he felt pretty good. A lot better than when he lost his first arm and leg. It was good to know that the doctors were getting better at this.

He stared at the ceiling.

"Time to assess the total damages," he thought to himself, "Do I have any libs left? Am I paralyzed? Gods, I'd hoped I'd never have to do this kind of thing again."

He took a deep breath through his oxygen mask, readying himself. "Ok, trying to move my toes," his mind began to take inventory, "… got no toes… Ok then, flexing my calf muscles. Got none of them left ether…" He took another breath and flexed the muscles of his thighs.

"At least I've still got both of those working and where they should be." His mental testing continued.

He moved his focus to his arms. No fingers on the hand he already knew was gone, no surprise there, but to his joy there was a sharp pain in his other hand.

"Gods be praised! They saved my right hand! I even still have fingers! The doctors on my team are getting a high letter of recommendation for this!" his thoughts ran happily through his head and a smile of relief spread over his face.

"One outta four's not too bad," said a soft voice by his side.

He carefully turned his head to the side and felt an even greater wave of relief. Nora sat by him, completely unharmed. Her hair was a mess and she had dark circles under her eyes, but Gods, she looked flawless.

"Nora!" he exclaimed in joy, but then realized how he must look to her, "…it's… it's good to see you."

If she didn't see him as weak before, now she definitely would. He was happy to see her but wished she couldn't see him back. He felt very small and pathetic at the moment. He couldn't stand her thinking of him as such.

She leaned over and kissed him all over his head and around his mask. He felt a little better.

"Taking advantage of me while I can't move, huh?" He laughed, but then coughing in pain from the jostle of it.

"I'm not even close to being done with you yet!" She said, returning his smile, kissing him a good while longer, but was careful to not hurt him.

He relished in the sensation and dismissed the last of his fears.

"So, what did the doctor say?" He finally asked.

"He said things won't be too different after you're all healed up. You've got a new leg for your tank now though. It's getting crowded in there."

"Let's try to keep the population steady at just three," he grumbled.

She rested her head on the pillow next to him and touched her forehead to his cheek. He felt his heat for her returning. He longed for her to climb over him and let him taste her again or at least for her pleasure him with her mouth. Too bad he couldn't do a damn thing about it in this over-monitored place.

"How soon can we get out of here and finish our… business?"

Nora chuckled.

"Not for a very long time," she said, "Didn't take long for you to think about that. You're a true Kindred."

"With a bride like you, how could I not be eager?" he said hungrily, "This is going to be a very frustrating recovery."

"The delay won't mess up our bonding, will it?"

"Other than drive us both crazy? No."

She smiled and ran a hand through his thick dark hair, smiling devilishly.

"The doors can lock in these rooms right? Are there any cameras?"

"No to the first part and yes to the second," he said remorsefully.

They both sighed with frustration.

Nora cantankerously leaned back in her chair and looked around the white, sterile room. Among all the machines and furniture, there was a heavy wooden dresser. After appraising is a bit, she figured she could probably move it. Scanning the room further, she noticed a small black dot on the wall just above her head's hight. She started digging through her purse to find a stick of gum.

"Is that the only camera?" she asked, popping the gum into her mouth and pointing at the dot on the wall.

Lothair looked over, wondering what was going through her head.

"Yes, that's it," he said curiously.

"Is that heavy dresser safe to move in front of the door?"

He looked at her a long time, then smirked back at her when he figured out what she had in mind.

"…Yes, I think it would be very safe to move in front of the door, Dearest."

—

It was about three months later and Lothair had recovered enough to get back to most of his regular duties. Despite feeling worlds better, he still required regular checkups and was specifically prohibited from strenuous physical activity. His internal damage was still too delicate.

"And 'strenuous physical activity' includes any kind of rough sex," the doctor told them sternly, eyeing Nora in particular with his judging gaze, "Specifically bonding sex… Let's not forget that he's a Beast Kindred. You need to wait at least another month. If I had my way, he'd wait for three more just to be completely safe"

"You're killing me, doctor…" Lothair grumbled, getting slowly up from the exam table.

"I promise I'll keep him under control," Nora swore giving Lothair a scolding look and trying to help him up.

He gently swatted her hands away and stood up without help on his new prosthetic legs.

"See that you do," the doctor said skeptically as they left.

—

When they arrived home it was still early in the afternoon and Nora had a nice non-strenuous day all planned for them. She had video games, snacks, movies, and more all set out for him. She'd moved the largest gaming screen over to the bedroom and had prepared all the snacks in advance. She even set out a nice offering at the small memorial shine to Garruth in their living room. It still felt so strange that he was gone. She tried not to be sad for him out of respect to his wishes. He sacrificed his life so that she and Lothair could live on and be happy. It was the least they could do to try to honor that.

"So what do you want to do today? I've got that new game you seemed interested in and-"

"Not gonna play any games tonight, Dearest." Lothair closed the door to their quarters, kicked off his shoes, and walked towards her.

"Ok… well, I've got lots of fun things for us to do today, lemme show-"

"We're not doing any of that ether."

She furrowed her brow and looked up at him, adjusting her glasses.

"I know what you really want, and the answer is still 'no'," she said, "Look, it's driving me crazy too, but I don't want you to hurt yourself. Plus, I don't want to be known as the lady that fucked a Kindred general to death. We've gotta follow the doctor's instructions!"

"I'm fine. He's being overly cautious." Lothair backed her into the bedroom, sidestepping to block as she tried to walk away and around him.

"Lothair!"

"I know my body. I know what I need… and what you need. We're not waiting any longer."

He backed her all the way over to the foot of the bed. He loomed over her, starting to strip away his uniform jacket. He looked so huge and strong, his starving eye bore straight into her.

"Look, I can just, you know, ease the tension a little bit for you tonight… gently, " she said slowly easing down on her knees in with a mischievous smile, hoping to distract his attention from bonding.

Honestly it had been difficult for them both. After weeks and weeks of doing nothing but gentle petting, the acts had started to only rise up their hunger rather than ease it back down. They had trouble sleeping and even just keeping focused on simple daily tasks. Their bodies were constantly begging to connect, overproducing massive amounts of mating pheromones whenever they were near each other.

"I'm not after 'easing the tension' tonight, Nora. I'm after something much more substantial."

She look a deep breath as he pulled off his undershirt and exposed his strong rough chest. His wound was still bandaged, but it had looked much better last time she saw it. His spicy scent drew her closer to him and he leaned down to kiss her. While he had her distracted, he quickly unzipped her dress and yanked it down, right off of her body.

"Lothair!" She chastised, pushing away from him weakly but clearly admiring his bare skin, "We've… gotta follow the doctor's orders…"

He gave her a wicked, defiant grin and pulled her to him, unhooking her bra. The feeling of his hard, rough muscles felt amazing against her bare breasts. Seeing her resolve weaken even more, he brought his right hand to her breast and started to gently squeeze and kneed at her, sending shivers down her spine. He brought his stubble-peppered face back down to the nape of her neck to lick and suck at her warm skin. His metal hand quickly unfastened and pulled down his pants and underwear, releasing his hard, ready cock.

Nora gasped as she felt him rub his eager length against her stomach. She tried to pull away again, but he firmly wrapped his metal forearm around her waist to hold her still. Slowly he trailed down his right hand from her breasts to between her legs and in one strong swift motion, tore her thin, lace panties right off of her.

She looked up at his burning gaze, her will to resist was rapidly dissolving.

"Are you completely sure about this?" she asked, breathing heavy and intoxicated by his touch, "That you'll be ok?"

"Yes, now stop worrying about me."

Gently he pushed her back onto the soft bed, laying his naked body down on top of her's and smelling her sweet scent. She wrapped her arms and legs around him, kissing him deeply as he positioned and started rubbing himself outside her wet eager entrance.

"I've wanted you for so long, Nora," his voice rumbled as he slowly pushed his thick tip outside of her, just barely parting her open, "So long I can't stand it anymore."

Nora looked down as they connected, amazed and overwhelmed as he popped in the tip and slowly pumped, inch by inch, deeper into her. He was thicker at his base and significantly more so at his hardened mating fist. She was still a little worried about how she could possibly fit him entirely inside.

"This won't hurt you, I promise," he soothed, "Your body is opening for me perfectly, responding just like it's supposed to. You're completely ready."

"It's not me that I'm worried about," Nora said softly between breaths, "Are you in any pain?"

"I've never felt better in my life," he kissed her eagerly, "Gods you're perfect. Everything I've ever wanted. I need you so much to be mine completely, to never be without you."

She kept her eyes on him. Drank in how he pleasured himself with her body, how even her gentlest movements got an appreciative rumble from deep within him. He filled her so deeply, even when just partially inside, and his quakes of passion ran through her with every thrust. She looked down at their connection again and savored how rough and deep he fucked her. All that remained outside was his swollen base.

His pushes got harder, slowly stretching her almost more than she could take. She wasn't sure if it was pain or pleasure.

"Lothair! I-" Her cry was cut off by his crushing kiss. Then he pulled back and looked deeply into her eyes, holding still for a moment.

"Tell me in absolute honesty if you still want this, Nora. There's no going back after I'm completely inside you. We'll be locked together. The bonding won't be able to be stopped from there."

She nodded without any doubt.

"You don't even have to ask. I want you more than anything. I want to be with you forever. You know this." She softly pushed back against him as best she could and gazed at his strong, proud masculine face.

The scars and damage had never seemed strange or unsightly to her at all. It was almost odd that it had never even crossed her mind to be bothered by it. She loved everything he was, everything he had overcome. From this point on they were never going to feel alone again, never have to face the world without the other. They had seen and lived through so much hardship, but it all just made the happiness they got from each other even more beautiful.

"Then lock you gaze with mine. Relax and focus on opening completely for me. Letting me make us one," he ran his thumb gently against her clit, getting her ready. The deep straining pressure intensified as he pushed into her harder. She gasped, not sure if she could take much more when the pressure abruptly vanished and she felt a strange fullness inside herself. His wide, hard mating fist was locked deeply inside of her, stimulating her innermost flesh more than anything she had ever experienced. She took a breath and he moaned deeply, another body-wide tremor of bliss rocked though her from her core to the tips of her fingers and toes.

"We're locked," he groaned hoarsely, holding her firmly to him, not moving yet so she could get more comfortable with how completely he filled her, "Are you ready?"

"Yes… please!" She begged and kissed his neck.

Suddenly he thrust hard inside her, grinding out a fast rhythm, slamming deeply into her over and over and gripping her by her hips. He was hypnotized, watching how her body bounced and craved to be fucked by him, how she loved him so unconditionally. She never even batted an eye when he confessed everything that had happened to her, when he told her all of his darkest secrets. She truly loved everything he was, mistakes and flaws included. She saw past them all to something greater inside him that he himself had never been able to fully recognize.

Now they were going to become one, mix blood, and begin building a family, fastening their souls to each other for life. He was so close to the edge that he couldn't take much more. Pulling her face back to look up at him, he saw that she was close as well.

"I love you, Nora."

"I love you too, Lothair."

While she said those words, her pussy clenched on him in tight fast contractions sending shooting pleasure all throughout her. She wrapped her arms around him tighter and muffled her screams of satisfaction against his broad chest. That was all he could take, he felt himself releasing in her, spurting his hot seed deep inside, filling her completely, and forging their life-long bond.

They felt their minds open to each other and he could hear her streaming thoughts as clearly as if she just said them in his ear.

"I never thought this feeling was real, I feel you in my heart so completely! For the first time I can remember, I truly don't feel lonely anymore!" her thoughts echoed to him.

"You're never going to be lonely again," he sent back, "Neither one of us will."

She smiled, delighting in the new mental link, trying to dig deeper into his mind and check if he truly was ok.

"And from what I can tell, you haven't even busted you stitches!" She thought to him happily.

She felt his amusement at her worry and he sent back to her his feelings of reassurance, along with a bit of a tease.

"No, not yet, But we're just getting started."