Kara sighed and looked up into the darkening sky of the parklands in the center of the Kindred Mother Ship. The artificial green sun, the power source of the ship, was dimming as it did every evening to simulate a planetary nighttime, and a soft breeze rustled through the green and purple leaves of the trees of the Sacred Grove to her left.
For a moment, Kara considered going into the Grove and asking for guidance…but uncertainty held her back. She always felt that the priestesses, who were also Kindred females, disapproved of her because of her distinctly masculine fangs. No other female had such a male trait—it was almost as bad as having a penis! No, not quite as bad, Kara admitted to herself, but still—it was bad enough.
Why do I have to have these things? I hate them! Savagely she bit her own tongue but the only result was a mouthful of blood and a needle-sharp pain that made her gasp. Apparently, her essence didn’t work on her own body—and who knew if it would work on a male either? If she could ever find one that wanted to be bitten—which was doubtful since it was seen as submissive and emasculating—maybe she could find out.
She spat blood onto the green and purple grass and sighed as she felt the healing tingle in her tongue. At least she healed like a Kindred—quickly and cleanly. That was definitely a plus for her heritage.
“Hey, Sis—what are you doing out here?”
Looking up, Kara saw a tall, broad-shouldered shape coming towards her out of the dimness. It was her twin brother, Kaleb who had the same dark brown hair and deep green eyes as their mother.
“Not much,” she said as her twin reached her. “Just getting dumped…again.”
“What? That asshole human dumped you?” Kaleb’s eye flashed angrily. “You want me to teach him a lesson?”
Kara sighed and smiled as she shook her head. Her twin wasn’t usually violent but he had always been extremely protective of her, especially after puberty hit them both and she started to grow fangs, making her different from all the other females aboard the Mother Ship.
“It wasn’t Jason’s fault. He had good reason to dump me.”
“There’s no reason good enough to hurt my sister,” Kaleb growled. “Seriously, Kara, let me go find him and pound him.”
“Now you sound like War,” Kara said, half-laughing. “With Peace running after him, trying to calm him down.” The Twin Kindred brothers were almost like siblings to her and Kaleb—they had all grown up together here on the Mother Ship.
“I just get upset when someone hurts you.” Kaleb offered her his arm. Kara took it and they began walking compatibly through the whispering grasses of the parklands, heading by mutual unspoken consent for the edge of the park nearest to the public transport. “Why did he break up with you?” he asked.
“I…I bit him,” Kara admitted, her voice little more than an embarrassed whisper. “I swear I didn’t mean to, Kaleb but sometimes the urge to bite someone is so strong…” She looked at him hopefully. “Do you know what I mean?”
Kaleb cut his eyes to the side and shook his head quickly.
“Sorry, no. You know a male’s fangs don’t sharpen until he meets the female he wants to bond to him. Guess I just haven’t found the right girl yet.”
“Um…yeah.” Kara wished she could take the shameful admission back. It was kind of like saying that she felt constantly horny, which was not something she wanted to be talking about with her brother, even if they were really close.
But to be honest, she’d been having the almost overpowering urge to sink her fangs into male flesh for the past two years since she came of age and it was only getting worse. Maybe that was why she hadn’t been able to keep herself from nipping Jason when they kissed. She just wanted to bite someone so much but it was completely socially unacceptable—a need that had to be suppressed at all costs.
“Well…” Kaleb looked down at her hand on his arm. “It’s going to be okay, Sis,” he said uneasily. “You’ll find somebody—you’ll see.”
“You mean a male who doesn’t mind being bitten?” Kara laughed bitterly. “Right, I’ve been doing great at finding one of those so far. Why do you think Jason ran away? Even though I bit him by accident, he still didn’t like it.”
“Uh…” Kaleb looked uncomfortable but he didn’t push her away. Talking about biting was like talking about sex among Blood Kindred. It wasn’t something you discussed in polite company but Kara and her twin had always been frank with each other.
“Sorry,” she said, seeing that she had made him uncomfortable. “I didn’t mean—”
“No, no—it’s okay.” Kaleb shook his head dismissively. “Anyway, it’s good he left,” he said, frowning. “You can’t tell me you wanted to bond with a human.”
“Why not?” Kara demanded. “Kindred warriors bond with human females all the time. Our father did. Where would we be if Dad hadn’t found Mom?”
“Yeah, but that’s different. Human females are small and delicate. Human males are puny and weak—that Jacob couldn’t have defended you in a fight,” Kaleb said.
“His name was Jason and who says I need someone to defend me?” Kara demanded, glaring at her brother.
“Nobody. I’m just saying I’d feel better seeing you with a Kindred warrior—or at least someone who isn’t half a head shorter than you.”
“Who’s shorter than Kara?” rumbled a new voice.
Looking up from her argument with her twin, Kara saw their cousin, Daniel, striding over to meet them. He was the son of their Aunt Olivia and Uncle Baird, a Beast Kindred, and he looked like both of them. Tall, and broad shouldered as all Kindred males were, he had a wild mane of black hair
