Bonding With the Beast_a Kindred Tales novella Read online

  They were a pale, piercing, wintry blue—a blue so pale it reminded her of a Husky’s. In fact, the blue would have bled seamlessly into the whites of his eyes except for a ring of black around his irises. He had thick black lashes that were surprisingly long for a man, making his startling eyes strangely beautiful.

  “Blue,” she whispered, unaware that she was speaking aloud. “I could never see them in my dreams but they’re blue.”

  “And yours are brown—just as I saw in my dreams,” Hail murmured.

  “What?” Shock dashed her in the face like a splash of icy water. “You…you dreamed of me?”

  “And you of me.” Those piercing Husky blue eyes seemed to be boring a hole in her soul but somehow Isobel found she couldn’t look away. Her heart was pounding and her palms were clammy and damp. What was happening to her?

  It was Brandon who finally broke the tense silence.

  “Mom,” he said, still looking at his drawing which he seemed completely engrossed in. “Since the Kindred are genetic traders who come to other worlds to find women, did Hail come to marry you? He did—right?”

  “What?” Finally she was able to drag her eyes away from that strange, intense gaze. “Brandon, why in the world would you say something like that?”

  “I don’t know.” He shrugged his thin shoulders. “It just seems like a good idea. I like Hail and he likes me. And if the two of you got married, you could make me a little brother—right?”

  “I…uh…” Isobel didn’t know what to say so she laughed nervously. “Excuse him,” she told Hail. “Kids, right? They come up with the craziest ideas.”

  Hail frowned. “I do not find the idea ‘crazy.’ Although…” He frowned regretfully. “There would be…impediments to such a union.”

  “I like Hail,” Brandon repeated, surprising her. He usually wasn’t so forthright about his feelings. “He talks like a robot and he’s really intelligent.”

  “I could say the same for you, young one,” Hail remarked and a slight smile quirked one corner of his thin but sensual mouth.

  “I don’t talk like a robot—I talk like a grown-up,” Brandon corrected. The fact that he was still speaking directly to Hail, even though he was keeping his eyes down on his drawing, surprised Isobel all over again. Her son had a tendency to withdraw into himself around strangers but somehow this huge, frightening Kindred had brought him out of his shell more completely than she’d ever seen anyone else do before.

  “So how do you do it?” Brandon asked, still drawing intently as he spoke.

  “How do you do what?” Isobel asked. She was used to him asking questions out of nowhere or continuing conversations they’d started days before as though there had been no pause. It was just the way his mind worked—he wasn’t neurotypical. In her eyes, that made him special and unique—she loved the way her son saw the world in such a different way. But it sometimes made other people who didn’t know or understand Brandon uncomfortable.

  “How do you make a baby?” he asked, looking up at last. “I mean, once you two get married. How will you make me a brother?”

  “Oh…uh…Brandon!” Isobel felt her cheeks going hot with a blush. She had ducked this particular question once or twice before but of all times for Brandon to bring it up again! She didn’t even know how to answer but Commander Hail didn’t seem to have a problem.

  “Well, there are the obvious methods of reproduction,” he began but then he saw Isobel shaking her head at him frantically. She was not ready to have this particular talk with Brandon yet—especially not in front of a stranger.

  “What obvious methods?” Brandon demanded.

  “But on my planet—my home world,” Hail continued smoothly, not answering his question, “We do not use such methods. Our DNA is mixed by the Tolleg surgeons and we are grown in a growth tank until we reach adulthood.”

  “What?” Isobel was surprised into blurting out. “So you were grown like a…like a test tube baby? You never had parents?”

  Hail shook his head. “No and I never missed them…before I came to the Mother Ship.” A wistful expression crossed his strong features. “Now when I see warriors and their mates interacting with their young ones I cannot help but wonder…and wish I could experience such a relationship.”

  “You can.” Brandon jumped up and to Isobel’s intense surprise, grabbed Hail by the hand. He almost never touched a stranger voluntarily, though he would submit to having his own hand shaken even when it was clear he didn’t want to. “You will,” he said, looking up at Hail, despite the fact that the big Kindred’s eyes were uncovered. “You’re going to be my new dad. I know because I dreamed it.”

  For a moment Isobel actually felt like the room was spinning around her. How could this be? Was Brandon serious—had he also been having dreams of the huge Kindred warrior? But how could he? What was going on?

  “Excuse me,” she said, putting a hand to her head. “Brandon-bug, mommy doesn’t feel so well. I think…I think I need some water.” Then, remembering her manners, she looked up at the big Kindred who was staring at her intently with a curious expression on his face. “Would…would you like a drink?”

  “Thank you, no—I’m fine. But are you well, Isobel? Your cheeks are very pink and your breathing is labored.”

  Her name spoken in his deep voice sent a shiver from the top of her head all the way down to her toes.

  “I…I’m fine. Just overheated. I’ll get that glass of water now.”

  “Can Hail draw with me some more?” Brandon asked.

  “I…I suppose so.” Isobel nodded distractedly. “I mean, I guess we can’t go anywhere until Mrs. Hallstead shows up.”

  “Good.” Brandon looked up at the big Kindred who was still standing. “You can sit with me again but put back on your oculars—okay?”

  “Certainly.” Hail pressed the button at his left temple again and the black, mirrored lenses extended and slid down in front of his eyes once more, hiding their strange beauty from sight. He settled beside Brandon on the floor and the two of them began talking about the drawing Brandon was doing again, taking up their conversation as though Isobel had never interrupted it in the first place.

  She took one last look at them and fled to the kitchen.

  Chapter Four

  From the safety of the kitchen, Isobel took a deep breath and tried to pull herself together. What was going on here? First she and the huge Kindred were dreaming about each other and now Brandon was dreaming of them together too? How could something like this happen?

  She was tempted to call Kat and try to find out but she didn’t know how sharp the big Kindred’s hearing was. If he could see through walls, he might be able to hear through them too.

  Should I go with him? Or should I make an excuse and cancel?

  But what excuse could she make? Kat was waiting for her and it wasn’t like Hail had threatened her in any way. What would she say?

  “I’m sorry Kat but I can’t make it because I’ve been seeing the guy you sent to fly me up there in my dreams and now it turns out that Brandon has been dreaming of him too and he thinks we’re going to get married and make him a baby brother so I’m too freaked out to fly with him!”

  Right. That sounded just plain crazy. No, there was no way out of it—she would have to go ahead and ride with Commander Hail up to the Mother Ship.

  I’ll go, Isobel told herself. It’s just a quick trip. Kat told me it only takes about thirty minutes each way in a Kindred shuttle. Without Brandon to ask awkward questions, it should be okay.

  She hoped, anyway.

  Now that she had her nerve up and had made up her mind to go, despite the strange dreams, she wished Mrs. Hallstead would hurry and get there. Putting her head out the kitchen door, she took a look at what was happening in the small living room.

  Hail and Brandon were both bent over the diagram, which had grown even more elaborate. Brandon had his crayons out now and was coloring different parts as Hail pointed them out, his deep voi