Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 88235 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88235 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
“Into Rage?” Vicky asked hesitantly.
“It’s a kind of berserker fury a Kindred warrior goes into if he thinks the woman he loves is being threatened,” Kat explained. “Their eyes go red and they pretty much turn into killing machines—they’ll kill anyone who tries to hurt their woman or die trying to save them.”
“Which is pretty much what happed with Lone on Yonnie Two,” Lizabeth said soberly. “When he found the men that were…hurting me.”
“I’m so sorry,” Vicky said soberly. “That sounds awful for you.”
“It was,” Lizabeth said calmly. “But something good came out of it. I finally realized that Lone wanted me despite our age difference—wanted me so much he was willing to do anything to protect me and heal me from the trauma I went through afterwards.” She smiled and rubbed her belly again. “And now we’ve been together almost a whole year and I couldn’t be happier.”
“Well…I’m happy for you and thank you for sharing your story,” Vicky said. “But, um, I’m not quite sure what it has to do with Chain and me.”
“Oh, don’t you see?” Kat exclaimed, “This is all just a big misunderstanding! He thinks you don’t want him because he’s an M-Switch Kindred and you think he doesn’t really want you because you’ve got a little age difference.”
“A little age difference?” Vicky demanded. “I’d say sixteen years is a pretty substantial age difference.”
“You wouldn’t if it was the man who was sixteen years older,” Lizabeth pointed out quietly. “Because our society here on Earth has conditioned us to think that’s okay—that it’s normal. Nobody bats an eye when a male movie star shows up with a girl fifteen or twenty or twenty-five years his junior on his arm. But if the situation is reversed…” She whistled and shook her head. “Look out—the press is all over them. Because how could a younger man possibly want to tie himself to an older woman. Right?”
“Well, I guess so.” Vicky shrugged. “But that’s just the way it is, right?”
“Not in Kindred society,” Kat said firmly. “The Kindred value all females, regardless of age or weight or any kind of physical disability they might have because they believe we all have a spark of divinity—a little piece of the Goddess inside. If Chain loves you, he loves you and he doesn’t give a damn what the age difference between you is.”
“But that’s the thing, I don’t know that he loves me—I mean, he never said that!” Vicky protested. “He only told me that if we made love, we’d be bonded together for life.”
“He did, huh? And what did you say?” Kat asked.
Vicky shrugged. “Well, I said we shouldn’t risk it, of course. I mean, I figured he was trying to give me a way out—to give both of us a way out before something, uh, permanent happened.”
“See—I knew it was a miscommunication!” Kat said, slapping her knee. “He wasn’t telling you that you needed to back off—he was saying that he cared so much for you that if you made love, a bond would form. M-Switch Kindred only form a bond when they feel like they’ve found their soul-mate,” she explained when Vicky gave her a confused look. “Now do you see?”
Vicky shook her head doubtfully.
“Honestly, I’m not sure that I do. “I mean, I won’t deny that my time with Chain was special and unforgettable. But I don’t know that a day and a night is enough time to let you know if you want to be with someone for life.”
Even though to be honest, the idea that Chain might truly want her as his “bride” as he had put it, made her stomach flutter and her heart jump with hope. But it seemed too good to be true—just wishful thinking on Kat’s part, she was sure.
“Okay, I understand what you’re saying.” Kat sounded mildly exasperated. “Honestly, I thought one of my husbands wouldn’t care for me either because I’m plus-sized.” She sighed. “We let all this crap the media and society teaches us about not being good enough or thin enough or young enough get into our heads and run our lives, you know?”
“We certainly do,” Lizabeth agreed. “I think what Kat is trying to tell you, is to just give your Kindred a chance,” she told Vicky. “Date him for a while and get to know him more if it makes you feel better. I can understand why you’d want to do that before making a life-long commitment. “But just try.”
“Well…okay.” Vicky shrugged. “Although I don’t see how I can when I’m down here and Chain is up there—on the Mother Ship. I mean, how can we date from over two hundred thousand miles apart? That’s a really long-distance relationship, you know?”
“Which is why you need to come back with us to the Mother Ship right now,” Kat urged. “Chain is going to be presenting the T’lix-Kruthe to the Kindred High Council tonight. You helped to get it so that’s as good an excuse as any for you to go up there and see him again. You can come to the ceremony and just kind of run into him, you know?”