The Vulpirans' Honor: The Soul-Linked Saga (42 page)

“Come into the bedroom and we will see what we can do to help you relax,” Hunt said,
leading the way across the living room and into the hall.  He opened the bedroom door
and stepped aside so that Honey could enter first.

“Wow,” she said softly as she entered the room.  There were candles everywhere, all
lit, casting a warm, intimate glow throughout the room.  There was soft, romantic
music playing in the background, and the little table near the window was loaded with
snacks and drinks.  “You guys went all out, didn’t you?”

“We are not sure what all out means,” Vikter said after a moment.  “But if you mean
that we tried to make the setting special for you, then yes, we did.”

“Yes, that’s what I meant,” Honey said as she set her purse down on the dresser. 
“Would you like a glass of wine?” Lance asked.

“Yes, please,” Honey said.  She crossed the room to the table and sat down, kicking
her shoes off while Lance poured her drink.  She accepted it with a smile and took
a long sip of it. 

“Okay,” she said, “how do we begin this?”

“When you are ready, we will give you the first injection with our mating fangs,”
Vikter said.  “After that, we have about an hour before you go to sleep.”

“I’m ready now,” Honey said before taking another healthy sip of her wine.  She rarely
drank so the alcohol went to her head quickly.  When Vikter stood beside her chair
and held out his hand, she set her glass on the table and took it. 

Vikter stepped behind her, Lance took her left hand and Hunt her right.  They both
raised her wrists to their mouths and kissed them while Vikter tilted her head slightly
to the side and kissed her neck.  “Ready?” he asked in a low voice.

Honey felt her heart begin to race, but she nodded her head.  A second later she felt
three sets of needle sharp fangs slide into her skin, then all three men froze.  Honey
glanced up and caught their reflection in the mirror over the dresser, struck by the
expression on her own face.  She looked...aroused.  Sensual.  She’d never seen herself
this way before and couldn’t seem to take her eyes off of herself until Vikter, Lance,
and Hunt all lifted their heads slightly and the fangs were withdrawn.  She felt three
warm tongues lick the tiny holes their fangs had made, then they all stood up straight
and studied her face carefully.

“I’m fine,” she assured them.  “So it’s begun.”

“Yes, zetia, it is begun,” Vikter said.  “Would you like to get more comfortable?”

Honey glanced up at herself in the mirror and smiled.  She was wearing loose white
pants and a white cotton shirt, her work clothes.  “Yes, I would,” she said.  She
started to walk toward the closet but Vikter stopped her. 

“Let us,” he said.  Before she was finished nodding her head Lance was unbuttoning
her blouse, and Hunt was unfastening her pants, while Vikter began removing the pins
from her hair.  Within moments she was standing there naked, with only her hair covering
her back.  Since Vikter, Lance, and Hunt were all dressed, she immediately felt uncomfortable
and shy.  She crossed her arms in front of her, covering her breasts, and looked around
for something to put on.  Hunt hurried over to the closet and came back with a bit
of pale blue fabric in his hands. 

“Put your arms up,” he said. 

Honey frowned, but did as he asked.  He slipped the fabric over her head and she felt
it slide down over her skin.  She looked in the mirror again and gasped softly.  The
nightgown was simple, but cut in such a way that it accentuated her curves and showed
off her tiny waist.  The color matched her eyes exactly, a light, cool blue, and it
felt softer than silk.

“Thank you,” she breathed.  “I’ve never worn anything so beautiful.”

“You are most welcome, zetia,” Vikter said.  “The gown is nothing next to your beauty,
but we thought you would like it.”

“I love it,” Honey said, blinking rapidly to hold back her tears.  She’d never been
given such a gift before.

“Come, sit down and eat a little,” Lance said, distracting her from her tears.

Honey smiled gratefully and went back to her chair while the Vulpirans took seats
around the table as well.  Lance picked up a plate and filled it with food that he
knew she liked, then set it in front of her before fixing a plate for himself. 

“After this, I fall asleep, right?” Honey asked, picking up a square of cheese and
popping it into her mouth.

“Yes,” Vikter replied.  “Right now your body’s ability to regenerate is being increased. 
When that is complete, you will fall asleep and your DNA will be rewritten.”  He didn’t
really want to talk about what came after that.  He’d read the reports, they all had,
and they dreaded it.  But it was a part of the process and could not be avoided.

“Didn’t you say that I would no longer age?” she asked.

“That’s correct,” Lance said.  “You will not become ill, either, and if you are injured,
you will heal quickly.”

“I wish that I could share that with Nica,” she said.  “My only regret will be staying
young while I watch my baby sister grow old.”

“Perhaps she won’t,” Hunt said.  “Grow old, I mean.”

“Why wouldn’t she?” Honey asked.

“Nica has psychic gifts,” Lance explained.  “Not all women who have psychic gifts
are
berezi
, but it is genetic.  Since you and Arima Berta are
berezi
, we believe there’s a good chance that Nica is as well.”

“I don’t want her to be forced into anything,” Honey said.  “
Berezi
or not, her choices are hers to make.”

“No Clan Jasani would ever force a female to do anything,
ahora,
” Hunt said gently.  “Do not worry.  Nica is our sister now too, and under our full
protection.”

“Thank you,” Honey said, relaxing.  She ate a strawberry, then something that looked
like a slice of apple but tasted like maple sugar.  “Shari had a psychic gift,” she
said.  “Do you think she was a
berezi
?”

“There is no way to know that,” Vikter said. 

“Do you know if her family has responded to the news of her death?”

Vikter hesitated, which caught her immediate attention.  “What?”

“Are you sure you wish to know this?  Now?”

“Yes, I’m sure,” she said.

“King Lorick of Terien received the message, and returned it with a request that Shari’s
body be examined carefully for signs of tampering,” Vikter said.  “His word.”

“Tampering?” Honey asked with a grimace.  “What did he suspect?”

“He didn’t say,” Lance replied.  “Doc performed a careful examination as requested,
and he found some disturbing results.”

“Which were?” Honey asked.

“Someone had performed surgery on her brain,” Vikter said reluctantly.  “Doc is certain
that her insanity was a direct result of what was done to her.”

“That’s horrible,” Honey gasped.  “Who would...no wait...Baron Rubai.”

“Yes,” Hunt replied.  “King Lorick sent a long message to Prince Dracon yesterday
explaining what happened.  He’d become suspicious concerning his daughter’s insanity,
which had mysteriously developed during his ten month absence from Terien on a political
tour.  He launched a very secret investigation, but got nowhere.  Then, about six
months ago, a physician claimed, on his deathbed, that he’d performed a procedure
on a young woman that he’d suspected was the Princess at Baron Rubai’s orders.  A
new investigation was launched, and Baron Rubai got wind of it.  He later admitted
that he didn’t quite dare to kill the Princess, but he couldn’t let her be examined
for signs of surgery either.  So he orchestrated her escape.  He knew that the only
person she cared about was Michael, so he told her where Michael was, and that he
was married and had a child.  Then he put her on board a ship to Earth, fully believing
that she’d never be heard from again.  He expected her erratic and violent behavior
to result in her death before she even reached Earth.”

“Baron Rubai,” Honey said, disgusted.  “How many more lives will that man ruin?”

“None,” Hunt said.  “He is no more.”

“He’s dead?” Honey asked in surprise.

“After delivering his confession he was executed by Royal Order,” Vikter said.  “King
Lorick has requested that his daughter’s remains be returned to Terien, and he issued
a formal apology for her actions.  He even offered restitution to the families of
those his daughter harmed.”

“I feel relieved that Rubai is dead,” Honey said.  “I also feel guilty for feeling
relieved, which is strange.  But I can’t help it.  Nica is safe now, and I cannot
be sorry for that.”

“Rubai is not a being to feel sorrow over,” Hunt said.  “It is unfortunate that a
man such as that was given such power over others, and allowed to use it for so long. 
King Lorick should have taken the time to know his own man better than he did.”

Honey nodded.  King Lorick could not be blamed for Rubai’s actions, but he had to
hold some of the responsibility since Rubai had never bothered to pretend to be other
than he was. 

“Does Michael know about all of this?” she asked.

“Yes, he does,” Vikter said.  “According to Elder Vulpiran, our uncle, he appears
to be sad, but otherwise fine.”

I am sorry for him,” Honey said.  “But I’ve come to know Michael well over the past
five years, and I know that he will get over this and move on.  He is brilliant, and
he cares for me, and for Nica.  But he doesn’t really love.  I don’t know if he buried
that part of himself after he was separated from Shari, or if he’s always been that
way.”

“How do you know this?” Lance asked.

“Let me ask you a question,” Honey said.  “If you found me locked in a room somewhere,
crazy as a can of mixed nuts, would you walk away?  Would you bury yourself in your
work so that you could escape to the furthest planet from me that you could get?”

“Never,” Vikter growled.  “We would never leave you in such a place, insane or not. 
We would care for you ourselves every moment of every day for the remainder of our
lives.”

“I would do the same,” Honey said.  “Michael didn’t.  He walked away, telling himself
that she was in good hands and there was nothing he could do to help her.”

“Yes, we noticed that about Michael ourselves,” Lance said after a moment.  “We weren’t
sure if that was him, or if his behavior was normal for human men.”

“I can’t speak for any other men, but that is Michael,” Honey said.  “I truly hope
that he meets a woman one day that he can love deeply.  Everyone deserves that much,
I think.”

“If the Fates mean for such a thing to happen, then it will,” Hunt said, surprising
his brothers.  “Honey, I must make a confession to you,” he said. 

Honey looked into his pale yellow eyes, and saw regret, worry and a little fear in
them.  That a man such as Hunt would feel fear made her heart leap in her chest. 
“All right,” she said, not sure she wanted to hear whatever it was he was about to
confess.

“When we first saw you, and knew that you were our Arima, but that you were married,
I wanted to leave,” Hunt said, struggling not to drop his gaze to the table in his
shame.  “I wanted us to run as far as we could get and stay there until you left Jasan
and returned to where you came from.”

Hunt saw the pain in her big blue eyes, and he swallowed hard against the tears he
felt threatening.  “I’m sorry,” he said when he was sure he could speak again.  “I
do not mean to cause you pain.  I tell you this only so that you understand what I
mean when I promise you that I shall never doubt again.  I shall never, for any reason,
consider walking away from you.  Vikter believed in you, in the Fates, in the idea
that if you were meant to be with us, then you would be.  He never doubted.  I did,
and I am more sorry for it than I can say.”

“It’s all right,” Honey said.  “You saw me as married with a child because that is
what I wanted everyone to see.  Your doubts are more than justified.”

“I love you, ahora,” he said.

“And I love you, all of you,” Honey said before yawning widely.  “Excuse me,” she
said, covering her mouth with her hand.  “I don’t know where that came from.”

Vikter’s heart skipped a beat.  “It is the next stage,” he said in a low voice. 

Honey’s eyes widened in surprise as she yawned again.  “Here we go,” she said, her
voice suddenly trembling.  “What should I do?”

As soon as the words were out of her mouth her eyes closed and she fell sideways out
of her chair.  Vikter was just fast enough to catch her before she hit the floor. 
He clutched her small, soft, body tightly against his chest as he fought to calm himself. 
When his heart returned to a normal pace, he blew out a long breath and looked at
Lance, then Hunt. 

“Here we go,” he said, repeating Honey’s words.  Then he carried her over to the bed
and laid her down, arranging her long braid so that she wasn’t lying on it.  Lance
reached down and pulled the sheet up over her bare legs, tucking it in around her
waist.

“I’ll vox Merrick,” Hunt offered.  “Let him know we’ve begun.”