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“Ooo…I knew I shouldn’t have let you use the Think-me. What was I thinking? And now if anyone finds out we’ll be in serious trouble for compromising your claiming period.” Jillian was wringing her hands in agitation.

  Liv took a deep breath, trying to control her own emotions. It was true that the afternoon had taken a bad turn but previously she’d really enjoyed her time with her old classmate. It seemed like a shame to let her bad mood ruin Jillian’s day. “Don’t worry about that,” she said, trying to sound calm though she was seething inside. “I’m not going to tell a soul. My lips are totally sealed.”

  “But you’re mad at Baird now and it’s all my fault.” Jillian had apparently heard enough of Liv’s side of the conversation to piece that together at least.

  “It’s not your fault. And just because I’m mad at him doesn’t mean I’ll tell him you let me make a long distance call,” Liv said, trying to reassure her. “I’m an adult, Jillian, I can handle this.”

  “Well…if you’re really sure. And you swear not to tell on me…” Jillian’s tone was so pathetic that Liv felt moved to give her a quick hug.

  “Of course not. Believe me, I didn’t like what I found out but I’m still glad I found it out. And I really enjoyed our time together.”

  “You did?” Jillian looked at her hopefully.

  “Are you kidding? You introduced me to my new favorite food. From now on I’m going on a strict all-worm diet—next time you see me I’ll probably be ten pounds lighter.”

  Jillian giggled. “Wouldn’t the girls back on Earth be jealous if they knew? I only wish I could tell my old cheer squad. They would just die.”

  If Liv remembered correctly, most of the girls Jillian was talking about had already been either anorexic, bulimic, or a combination of the two. Finding out they could go on an all protein diet that tasted like chocolate would probably have them foaming at the mouth. But she tactfully didn’t say so. “I bet they would.” She smiled at Jillian. “Look, I should really get back. Baird will be coming home from his conference soon.” And I’ll have a few choice things to tell him when he does.

  “All right.” Jillian returned her hug and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. “Be careful going back and be sure you avoid the unmated males section. I had to plot you a course right by it on your way here because it was the quickest way.” She looked thoughtful. “Well, actually, it would have been quicker for you to go right through it but I didn’t want you to have to do that. Anyway, what I’m trying to say is don’t wander in there on the way back. You know, in case you decide to do any sight-seeing.”

  Liv remembered the dark, forbidding warren of shops and the hungry looks on the males’ faces in that area and shivered. “I’ll pass on the sight-seeing for today. Especially since I don’t really know how to make the push-me pull-you, uh, Take-me, do much of anything.” She patted the shaggy green animal which was waiting patiently to take her back to her side of the ship.

  “Oh, that’s easy. Now that you’ve ridden it once, you’ve established a connection with it. All you have to do is think where you want to go and it’ll take you there—no problem.”

  “Really?” Liv looked at her mount, which was still the size of a large dog, doubtfully.

  “Honestly—they’re mildly telepathic. It makes them easier to train.” Jillian gestured to the waiting Take-me. “Go on, straddle it and think what size you want it.”

  “Uh, okay.” Liv did as she said, making sure she was positioned right over the middle of the sway-backed animal and thought at it, “Twice as big.” Immediately the Take-me doubled in size and she found herself sitting on it instead of straddling it. “Wow. That’s amazing.”

  “Cool, huh?” Jillian patted the Take-me’s closest neck and smiled up at Liv. Then her expression grew serious. “Look, Livvy, I don’t know what you found out from your sister that made you so upset but please, try not to let it ruin the rest of your claiming period. There’s so much to see and do and experience here and you’ll never find a man who loves you like your Kindred warrior. I mean, sure they can be stupid sometimes but show me the man who isn’t, right?”

  “I guess,” Liv said grudgingly. “I don’t know, Jillian. I’m just feeling kind of…betrayed right now. And I think it’s going to take me a little while to get over that.” If I ever do at all.

  “Whatever it was Baird did, you can be sure he didn’t do it on purpose,” Jillian said earnestly.

  Liv frowned. “You don’t even know him. How can you say that?”

  “Because I know the Kindred—I know how they are. They love their women to distraction and would never hurt us on purpose.” Jillian sighed. “Just…give him a chance. Will you at least promise me that?”

  “I’ll try.” It was the best Liv could do. “I really do need to get going,” she said. “But thanks for a great time, Jillian. I hope we can do it again.”

  “I hope so too.” Jillian pressed her hand affectionately and gave a little wave. “See you next time then.”

  “Okay.” Liv gave her a strained smile and then looked down the long metal corridor. Then she thought at the Take-me, “Home, as fast as possible.”

  “I’m tellin’ you, Sylvan, I have a bad feeling about her. I’m worried.” Baird glared at the lighted control panel of the shuttle that was bringing them back from the meeting on the Earth’s moon. The entire conference had been one long painful session of “let’s remember” with his superior officers trying to get information on the AllFather by reviewing what had happened during his numerous torture sessions.

  Baird had tried to tell them that the leader of the Scourge had been too busy sucking out his emotions and twisting his memories to let anything slip about his battle strategy but they didn’t want to hear that. They had heard from somewhere that the AllFather was looking for something or someone—a girl from Earth who could fulfill the strange prophesy about the fate of their dark race.

  Baird had tried to tell them he didn’t know anything about the prophesy but his superiors didn’t want to listen—in their opinion, any warrior who had been a prisoner as long as he had without breaking mentally under the strain should also have had some way of extracting information from the enemy. Baird was exhausted from telling them he didn’t—it had been all he could do just to keep his sanity. Without Olivia, it would have been impossible.

  And now, just to make a bad day worse, she wasn’t answering the holo unit when he tried to call her at the suite.

  “Try her again,” Sylvan said reasonably. “Maybe she’s just not answering because she’s still upset with you. You did say that you had a disagreement before you left, correct?”

  Baird sighed. “Yeah, we did. She’s still determined to hold out. But I think by now she’s getting the idea that she can’t—that she won’t be able to. And since tonight is the start of our tasting week I was hoping to bond her to me permanently.”

  Sylvan frowned. “What about not wanting to bond her unwillingly? From what you’re saying, her body is willing but her mind isn’t. I thought you didn’t want an incomplete bond.”

  “I don’t.” Baird ran a hand through his hair as he punched in the coordinates of his home holo unit again. “But after what the priestess told me, I’d rather have an incomplete bond and have her safe by my side than no bond at all and know she was in danger somewhere.”

  Sylvan looked skeptical. “I don’t know, Baird. I know Father raised us to revere the Mother and believe me, I do. But I’m not sure I’d make such an important decision based on what that priestess told you. Didn’t you say she was vague about the details of her vision?”

  “How many details do you need?” Baird growled as the holo unit beeped over and over with no answer. “She said Olivia would be in danger. How can I protect her if she’s not with me? And what better way to keep her near than to bond her to me? Besides, her body needs it. Her scent has been so hot lately you can smell it from two corridors over. I don’t even dare to take her out of the damn suite since she won’t let me