Forgotten Read online

  “Of course you are. So you’re to have my best guest room right by the flower garden where you can smell lovely scents all night long.”

  Tante Corri led her through the small cottage to a back room. It was small but it had a soft, low bed covered in a blanket of little red flowers that Kate loved at once. In one corner of the room was a door that led out into a garden filled with so many different types of flowers she was amazed.

  “Oh, these are gorgeous,” she exclaimed, examining the riot of color when the old woman threw open the door to show her. “And they smell so good.” A mixture of aromas, some delicate and some rich and heady was carried into the small room by a soft breeze.

  “Ah yes, I love to watch them grow.” Tante Corii looked at the garden proudly. “Just you leave the door cracked a bit while you sleep and their scents will bring you sweet dreams. Don’t worry—it’s perfectly safe.”

  “Is it? But what about all the males at the Howlund?” Kate looked towards the forest uncertainly.

  “Never you mind about that, child. See these?” Tante Corii walked to the edge of the little garden and pointed to a border of tall purple flowers that looked a little bit like lilies. “These are purple gloved staybacks. A male in his Beast form can’t stand the scent of them.”

  “Even when the moons, uh, converge?” Kate shivered and looked up at the two silvery disks in the sky. As the sunlight faded, they were becoming clearer and obviously coming closer together. She wondered if all the males at the Howlund would change at the same time once the moons overlapped or if they were already mindless Beasts.

  Rone’s aunt laughed. “Yes, child, even at the convergence when all males with Beasts within must turn, whether they want to or no. The purple gloved staybacks will keep you safe as long as you stay within the borders of the garden.”

  Kate smiled. “I’m staying right here—I promise. I just want to snuggle down under that gorgeous blanket and get some sleep. Is it really made of living flowers?”

  “That it is, my child.” Tante Corii smiled rather sadly. “You admired it the first time you came to meet me, too. And you wanted me to teach you the technique to grow your own living blanket.”

  “Maybe this time you really can teach me,” Kate said, smiling back. “I would love to learn.”

  “We’ll talk about it on the morrow,” Tante Corii promised. “For now, I’ll leave a glow on for you.” She pointed to a small lamp on a low table by the bed. “You can just blow it out when you’re ready to sleep. Oh—and before I forget—I put your favorite petal gown in the fresher for you.” She nodded at a small doorway in the corner of the room. But instead of a door, it had a long curtain which appeared to be made of flowering vines. “You always told me wearing it when you sleep under the living blanket gives you the best dreams.”

  “I did?” Kate shrugged. “Okay, that sounds really nice. Thank you so much, Tante Corii.”

  “You’re welcome, child. Now do try and get some sleep.”

  “I will,” Kate promised and smiled as the old lady let herself out of the room and shut the door behind her.

  Chapter Twenty-three

  As soon as she had the room to herself, Kate went into the small fresher and examined the “petal gown” that Tante Corii had left out for her. It did indeed appear to be a long, flowing nightgown made entirely out of green and white flower petals. The color started off white and light at the shoulders and then gradually darkened to a deep emerald green at the hem, which swirled around her ankles when she put it on.

  “Oh my God, this is gorgeous,” Kate murmured looking down at herself appreciatively. The petal gown had a high back and a low—a very low—front which scooped down to show the tops of her breasts in a way that was sensual without being slutty. The bodice of the gown fit nicely too—molding itself to her curves in a flattering way that made her feel like some kind of nymph or dryad. Maybe a flower spirit, wandering barefoot through the moonlit garden at night…

  Kate stepped out of the bathroom—or fresher—and gazed through the open door that led to the garden. The hem seemed to float, lighter than air, around her ankles and she found herself looking longingly at the flowers under the light of G’nera’s full moons. The multicolored blooms were painted in silver and shadows and a soft breeze brought their rich, heady scents to her nose.

  It was such a beautiful scene and, in the lovely petal gown, she felt like she was part of it. The cool, waxy petals slipped over her bare skin sensuously, sending a shiver of delight down her spine. It was like wearing living silk—like being a flower herself.

  I should be in the garden, she thought and the conviction felt very real and certain in her head. I should be out among the flowers… I should—

  A long, guttural cry that was almost a howl cut the silence. Kate, who was already halfway out the door and into the garden, stiffened suddenly. What was she doing? And why had she suddenly felt such a strong urge to go outside?

  Danger, whispered the Knowing in her head. Be careful, Kate—something here isn’t right.

  Stepping back, Kate quickly shut the door. She didn’t know what was going on but she refused to take any chances. Going quickly back to the bed, she got under the living quilt of small red flowers and snuggled down, trying to get comfortable and get rid of the uneasy feeling that was creeping up her spine. But as she turned on her side, something hard poked her in the back.

  “Ouch!” Kate reached under the cover to find what it was and drew out the blue leather-bound Volume of Submission that Tante Corii had given her. She frowned. That was strange—she could have sworn she’d left it lying on the kitchen table.

  Curiously, she flipped to the front page. The title of the book was written in an alien script she had never seen before. But thanks to the translation bacteria in her bloodstream, she was able to read it easily.

  “The Volume of Submission,” Kate read aloud to herself. “Being the way in which to seduce and submit to the Beast in order to tame it for the safety and benefit of she who wishes such a thing.”

  Hmm…interesting.

  She flipped the page and was at once greeted with a picture of a girl with dark hair and brilliant blue eyes. The girl was wearing a gown that looked almost exactly like Kate’s own, except it was made with white and blue petals instead of white and green. “The gown of petals is traditional garb and will aid in intensifying the scent of she who wishes to tame the Beast,” read the caption.

  “Huh.” Kate looked down at her own gown suspiciously. Was there more to this gown than she’d thought? Had Tante Corii, who clearly believed that Kate should be allowed to tame Rone’s Beast, been giving a not-so-subtle hint when she gave Kate the petal gown as a present?

  She turned the page and found an illustration of a tall, muscular man. He was standing naked in a moonlit glade and his eyes were pure silver so deep that even the pupils were no longer black—they had been swallowed by the other color, giving him a mindless, bestial expression. His chest and arms were covered in a dense mat of hair almost more like fur, and the hair on his head was shaggy and wild.

  “The male as a Beast,” Kate read, looking at the caption. “Though he is most fearsome, it should be noted that a male in fur-form used to be considerably more terrifying.”

  The next page showed a huge, furry animal that looked like a cross between a bear and a wolf. It had staring silver eyes and a slavering mouth filled with long, sharp teeth that made Kate shiver. So that was what the Wulvens’ Beast had looked like before the Kindred had come to interbreed with them! Thank goodness she didn’t have to worry about Rone turning into something like that.

  Not that it matters what he turns into. It’s not like I’m going to see him, she told herself. But she still had an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach when she turned the page.

  This illustration showed the girl in the petal gown stepping into the moonlit glade to meet the male with silver eyes. She held her hands at her sides, palms up in a non-threatening manner. Her head was lo