“Really?” Imani felt her eyes getting wider.
J’are nodded seriously.
“That way there’s no chance that she can Claim another male and leave him.”
“But… what is the ‘breeding frenzy?’” Imani asked, shaking her head. There was so much about Nightwalker Kindred that she didn’t know!
“A kind of…point of no return,” J’are said, frowning, as though trying to think how to explain. “It’s the time when a male goes completely feral—the conscious part of his mind is utterly gone and only animal instincts remain. That’s when he’s intent on bonding and breeding his female at all costs and nothing will deter or stop him.”
“Nothing at all?” Imani whispered, putting a hand to her throat.
“Nothing.” J’are shook his head. “He’s determined to breed his child into her. It’s one reason why a male Nightwalker’s shaft swells to fill a female’s channel at the moment of ejaculation.”
“It does?” Imani couldn’t help thinking this just got stranger and stranger. But strange or not, it gave her a sexual thrill to hear him talk to her about the way his species bonded in such an open and direct way.
“Oh, yes,” J’are murmured. “It ties the two of them together and ensures she can’t escape when he fills her with his seed. He can’t pull out immediately, either. It takes quite some time for his shaft to go down so he can withdraw. That way he can be sure she’s carrying his child.”
“But surely a woman who, uh, gets with a Nightwalker Kindred doesn’t get pregnant every time,” Imani objected. “I mean, a woman’s cycle—”
But J’are was shaking his head.
“It doesn’t matter where she is in her cycle,” he said. “The Nightwalker’s seed has a hormonal compound in it which, when introduced into a female’s body, will cause her to ovulate immediately.” He gave Imani a level look. “If you bond with a Nightwalker Kindred, you will get pregnant. That’s something to remember, Councilor.”
“I…I’ll remember,” Imani said softly.
“I’m sorry if I’m scaring you.” He sighed and ran a hand over his short hair. “It’s just…I can feel the feral half of myself wanting to bond you even now. So I thought it was important for you to understand how my people work.”
“You…you can?” Imani looked at him with wide eyes. “But I mean, that side of you isn’t in control right now, right? I mean—”
“Don’t worry.” J’are raised his hands in a “calm down” gesture. “I’m not going to hurt you. And…” His voice dropped. “And I’m sorry if I did last night. Apparently my feral half thought you had Claimed me as your own and he was eager to seal the deal.”
“No apologies necessary,” Imani said quickly. “We both, er, made mistakes. But now that we know who we are, well…” She took a deep breath. “We can start over and have a professional relationship, like we ought to.”
“Of course.” J’are nodded. “That’s proper. You’re my Defender, after all—not the female the Goddess sent to Claim me.”
“I still find it fascinating that the females Claim the males in your branch of the Kindred,” Imani said, looking away. “Especially when it’s the other way around in all the other branches—at least the ones I know of.”
J’are nodded.
“Well, we’re also some of the only Kindred who live two whole different existences. “During the day, the males of my kind are in their ‘thinking mind’ as we call it. But when the light fades, the feral side or ‘animal mind’ takes over— unless we exert a great effort to hold it a bay.”
“So you can hold back the feral part of yourself?” Imani asked. “Even at night?”
“It’s difficult but we can do it—unless something triggers our feral half,” J’are told her. “We’re not meant to be in our thinking mind during the dark hours. On my home world, males spend their nights in the jungle, running free and wild, hunting prey.”
“And you said the women have to come and find them to Claim them?” Imani asked.
J’are nodded again.
“One night a year, when all three moons converge, the young women who are ready to call mates go into the jungle and search for the male they want. They can tell him by his k’dra—his markings—which are unique.”
“So you’re born with those?” Imani nodded to the thick black markings. “I thought they were some kind of tattoo.”
J’are shook his head.
“No—every Nightwalker male is born with a different pattern. So every female has an easy time finding the male she wants to Claim. When she finds him, she calls him by name.”
Just like I called J’are, Imani thought and her heart started beating hard again as she remembered the way she had tamed the big Kindred and called him by name in the courtroom. No wonder he thought I was there to Claim him if that’s the way his people mate!
“So when she calls him, he comes with her?” she asked hesitantly.
“Yes.” J’are nodded. “If she’s the right one for him, of course.” He gave Imani a direct look. “I must have thought you were the right one for me.”
“I…I may have had something to do with that,” Imani confessed. “You were so upset and I was trying to calm you down so I called you by your name. I thought it would help you calm down and come back to yourself.”
“It certainly calmed me down.” J’are sighed. “And I’m back in my right mind—my thinking mind—again, so that’s good.” He shook his head. “Please don’t apologize, Councilor Imani. You were doing your best to save my life and you succeeded.”
“For now, I did.” Imani bit her lip. “I’m afraid, though, that we have to appear in court again. We have to prove to the judge that you’re safe and sane and not a threat to society.”
To her relief, J’are didn’t seem upset or angry about going back to court.
“I can imagine how antisocial I was acting yesterday,” he said dryly. “I have memories of being surrounded by Horvath guards with pain prods. Not to mention seeing Mistress Bittlebum—who was Mother Hownow’s
