Bride of Death Read Online Free PDF Page B

worry cascaded through her, and it wasn’t coming from her own mind.
    Saloa grabbed her knife and stunner. She flattened herself against the inner wall next to the door and waited as the footsteps got closer.
    The steps paused outside her door. “Saloa, if you try to stab me, I am going to paddle you into next week.”
    She smiled with relief. “Althur, do you know what a paddling is?”
    “The image is very clear in my mind, and I have to say, it beats having to skip a meal in the crèche.”
    She snickered and pulled the door open, falling into his arms with relief.
    He hugged her tight. “I can feel you scrambling around in your mind. What is going on?”
    “Prothean hormones. They kick in when the child starts to develop. Our men know what is coming, and it is probably why the male sperm hide. We need our mates constantly during the first few weeks. Because, we have an accelerated gestation, our hormones hit hard.”
    “Why didn’t you tell me?”
    She looked up at him. “When would I have had time to do that? I wasn’t sure that it would even work until I got this urge to run.”
    “Is that normal?” He stroked her back in a soothing pattern.
    “Surprisingly, yes. Again, our men are trained for it. They take them aside in school and explain what the sequence of events is.” She chuckled. “You are going to have to learn the hard way.”
    “How did you learn to fly the skimmer?” He kept rubbing her back.
    She pressed her forehead to his chest and whispered, “I saw it on the educational vids you gave me. I am a visual learner.”
    He stiffened. “Tell me you are joking.”
    “Nope. I also learned how to open your clothing and the maximum capacity of a Death Bringer ship.”
    He sighed. “One of your ships has been authorized to return if they want to. The negotiations have started.”
    “Oh. So, you weren’t there because you were getting authorization?” She looked up at him through her lashes.
    Understanding lit his gaze. “From now on, I will tell you when I have to break our pattern. Did you miss me?”
    She chuckled. “Ask the guards I met on the way out.”
    He sighed. “How did you find your way in here?”
    “It is home. This was my home. My people didn’t have fancy buildings that turned into cities. We had a squat generation ship that dropped and woke us up on landing. We grabbed our supply packs and headed into the wilderness, making our new world a home as best we could.”
    “And then, we returned and ejected you.”
    “And then that happened. Yes. Fortunately, we had spent the last decade refuelling the ships, just in case.”
    “A sensible precaution. The enclaves are asking your people now. The ship with the most available women will be the one asked to return. They, of course, have the right of refusal.”
    “Thank you for asking them to make the offer.” She opened the closures on his vest as her moods swung again.
    He jolted, and she could feel his surprise in his thoughts. “You can’t possibly...”
    She laughed, “You can feel it, too, so don’t tell me what is or isn’t running through me.”
    He kissed her, and she surrendered happily, showing him how to open her suit and enjoying the result.
    An hour later, he was trailing his fingers over her belly. “How do you know you are breeding?”
    She laughed. “I know the way all my maternal ancestors knew. Our minds go berserk in the early days, we run or fight to make a safe home for ourselves and our men have to make a safe place for us to stay. We need to be safe and feel safe.”
    “How long does this last?”
    “A few weeks to a month. It is different for every female. I just need to know you are nearby and will come if I call. Can that be arranged?”
    Althur pressed a kiss to her forehead. “It will be arranged. Whatever you need will be arranged.”
    “Are you sure?”
    “I am a man of my word. Whatever you wish will be provided, and if it is not, you and I shall run to the wilds and begin life