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  Loesh cleared his throat. “What did you do on Terra?”

  Wren finished her meal and set her implements aside. “I was a long-term caretaker to a woman who was near the end of her life. Before that, I was a caretaker to folk recovering from surgery, and before that, I was in school.”

  She sipped at her juice while the Guardians tore the last of the roast to pieces and scrambled for the final round of rolls and vegetables.

  Drovin didn’t use his talent at the table, and she smiled at that. He had manners, which was nice to see since they were so closely linked.

  Beryl asked, “Is that your normal hair colour?”

  “No. My hair fell out in the tank. It used to be a medium brown. I am getting used to this though.” She flicked her fingers along her silvery locks.

  Beryl asked casually, “The tank?”

  Wren could feel the emotions trying to surge to the fore, but Beryl was being restricted by the chassa supplements.

  “Do you want to do this now?”

  “Yes. With everyone here.”

  Wren nodded when she felt the tension in the room. “Fine. Just over two months ago, my client passed away. I had already been asked to join the Volunteers at that point.”

  She touched the stone at her neckline. “My employer died and I was free to leave Earth, so they gave me the shots to transform me and placed me in the tank, waiting until I completed my alteration. I have always been slated to be on W’lyn as the caretaker to the Guardians. According to the recruiter, I was requested.”

  Beryl narrowed her eyes. “That means that they knew a transformation was needed to survive here unmolested.”

  Wren shook her head, aware of the men staring at them in turn. “That is not the case. My transformation was requested, specifically. I read my file while you were all getting ready for dinner. You left the com link to my med history, and I do not think it was an accident.”

  Beryl sat back and sighed. “Damn. I thought I had you going. So, Drovin. You sent away for a mail order bride?”

  The focus turned to Drovin and his grey skin darkened with a blush. “I didn’t think you would learn of that.”

  Wren snorted. “It was a little obvious considering the focus of the W’lyn bloodlines. You didn’t tell Loesh, did you?”

  Loesh shook his head. “What is going on? Explain this, brother.”

  Drovin ran his hand over his face. “Let me show you.”

  He closed his eyes for a moment and a whistling noise approached them. A picture came toward them, held by his mind. It hovered at the end of the table, and it showed Drovin lying in the embrace of a woman with silvery hair and scars marking her very naked body. The only things covering the Wren in the portrait were a lock of his hair and his very large hands.

  “This was sent to me from Guardian Base Yaccaro, two years ago. The woman’s hair colour is not W’lyn and our medical system would have removed the scars, so it had to be another species. I asked the one who had sent it to me, and he said that his wife painted images of her own kind and this was such an image. So, it had to be a Terran. I contacted the Guardian Project, and they contacted the Alliance, who contacted the Volunteer Project on Terra and they started looking for her.”

  Wren smiled, though she was still blushing at the look of ecstasy on her face in the portrait. “That is when Norz contacted Emily and set up scanners to test for any talent. Emily agreed wholeheartedly, and since we both knew she was not long for life, we agreed that I would go after she did.”

  She touched her gemstone again with affection.

  Drovin smiled. “And when he said he had found her, I was delighted. When he said I had to wait, I was willing, because I knew she would be coming to me free of encumbrances, and the recruiter suggested that we be bonded before she set foot on this world, just in case. She would be able to defend herself as well as be my wife the moment she arrived.”

  Loesh was staring in amazement. “So that is why she smells like him.”

  Rand rolled his eyes and Wren laughed.

  “Whatever Drovin’s plans for me, I will first and foremost be caretaker here. I can’t do anything else.”

  Loesh chuckled. “I wonder how well that will go when you get pregnant.”

  Wren paled. “I can’t get pregnant. Look at the scars in the portrait. My body was nearly crushed and had to be pieced back together over decades. I can’t have children.”

  Drovin’s voice sounded in the sudden silence. “I know.”

  The Guardians and Beryl got to their feet and left Drovin and Wren alone.

  She swallowed and started to clear the table.

  Drovin got to his feet and came to stand behind her. “Leave it for a moment.”

  She looked up at him and had to keep looking up. She wasn’t short by any means, but the W’lyn were descended from elves and vampires. They had height in their genes, along with fascinating beauty. The blue ripples of his hair were loose after his shower, and she focused on that instead of the molten silver of his eyes.

  “I know. I know all about you and am grateful that you are here so that I may join you on this next part of your life’s journey.”

  “That sounds surprisingly formal for a woman you just met.”

  He chuckled and lifted one of her hands to his lips. “I know you wear the soul stone of your client. I know you were in a transport accident and left broken and orphaned at the age of two.”

  He used his grip on her hand to lead her outside and into the garden. “You have spent your life regaining control over events and injuries you should never have felt. You taught yourself to walk again, spent your early earnings on buying surgeries to help your range of motion, and when you had it, you went on to care for others.”

  She swallowed. “It seemed a natural progression.”

  “Indeed. I followed Loesh into service. I had no great urge for it myself, but we are from a large family and it seemed stupid to not enter into service to my world.” He sighed and turned to stare up at the rising moons.

  “Do not mistake me, I live to help those who have not been given what I have. I will continue to be a Guardian of W’lyn, but I wanted something more. I wanted someone who would enrich my life, and the moment I started looking, the portrait arrived.”

  He turned and smiled at her. “The moment I saw that image, I stopped looking and began waiting.”

  She didn’t know what to say. “I thought…I don’t know what I thought.”

  She stepped toward the edge of the stone walkway and followed his lead, staring up at the moons. “Why was I bound to you before I landed?”

  Not making eye contact made the conversation easier. It was a strange business to have to discuss marriage and children before she even knew his last name.

  He squeezed her hand. “I am not the most vocal or forward of the Guardians. I did not want to chance their linking to you before I could introduce myself. I didn’t know about Beryl at the time. Toyo and Rand could have easily gotten between us.”

  “So, you cheated?”

  He chuckled. “I believe the Terran term is stacking the deck in my favour. Bebe taught me that one.”

  She laughed. “I think I can respect that. I have done it myself on occasion when working with folk who did not want to heed me. I use whatever I can to get the desired result.”

  “I am glad you do not resent me for it. Being mated to a man you haven’t even met must be a little disturbing.”

  “The actual mating part is going to have to wait until I am comfortable with you seeing me naked. Really naked, not in the portrait. The scars are not pretty.”

  “They are marks of a survivor, but if you wish, you can have treatment to remove them.”

  Wren tried out something she was longing to do. She moved to stand close enough to feel the body heat coming off him, and he put his arm around her.

  “I will think about it. They are part of me.”

  “I understand. I al
so understand about the lack of children born of your body. There are options there as well.”

  She blinked. If he knew she still had an ovary, then he was right, he did know quite a lot about her.

  For a few minutes, she stood with him, soaking in his body heat through her suit. Finally, she sighed and straightened. “Time to tidy up the dining room.”

  “The bots already took care of it. The others have come out of hiding and are in the common room watching a vid. Well, sort of. They are really watching us.”

  She sighed. “And now we have to go in and face them. Wonderful.”

  “It isn’t so bad. Beryl and Toyo were far worse when they got going. She kept getting arrested.” He chuckled.

  “Oh, that reminds me. Someone has to sign for me with the peacekeepers. I don’t want to chance an incident.”

  “If we are not called out, I will take care of it in the morning.”

  They turned and walked toward the building. She looked at him sideways. “So, does Toyo still think he is the only Guardian who can fly?”

  Drovin winked at her and pressed a finger to his lips. “Shh, I am saving it for a special occasion.”

  She was still giggling when they entered the base and everyone pretended to be watching a small marsupial outrun a rainstorm with a documentary voiceover droning on.

  They silently joined the others and sat with them as the documentary wore on.

  Wren listened to the silent hum of contented emotions and she relaxed. Everyone was satisfied with the direction the evening had taken, and they were enjoying the companionship. They had brought out the second batch of cookies and the cleanup bots were on the lookout for crumbs.

  It was not bad for her first day on an alien world.

  Chapter Five

  The spare room was kept for Nyal Imperium Guardian Project assessors. Wren woke up before dawn, stumbled into the bathroom and got dressed.

  She walked past the other doors, all with slumbering occupants. She began to make breakfast as silently as possible. By the time she felt the first mind waking up, she had tea, caf and the morning beverage of choice that was thick, green and smelled like toasted oatmeal all ready.

  The pancakes were stacking up and the disks of breakfast meat were seared and on the warming element.

  Drovin came in with a shy smile. “Good morning.”

  She smiled. “Good morning.”

  He walked up to her and kissed her quickly. Her lips tingled wildly for a moment and she blinked. “Um, hello.”

  He chuckled and produced a flower from behind his back. “This is an urhing. It only blooms an hour before dawn, so I got up to catch it for you.”

  The flower was purple and scarlet, streaked with a soft gold. The stem was a soft lavender and the leaves were the same gold as the petals.

  No one had ever given her a flower before. She was suddenly, devastatingly unsure. Her fingers trembled as she reached out, and it was only the scent of the pancake that brought her to her senses. She quickly flipped the pancake with her thoughts and she took the flower in both hands, careful not to crush any part of it as she inhaled its heady scent.

  He chuckled. “They told me you had a deft touch with the ability to move objects, but I wasn’t sure until just now.”

  She kept working on breakfast as she admired her prize.

  Drovin laughed. “The way you are looking at that flower, you would think you had never been given one before.”

  She flicked him a quiet glance, and he paled, stammering apologies.

  Wren smiled. “It is fine. You are making up for it now. What do I do with the flower now?” At home, she would have put it in a vase, but she didn’t have a vase.

  He chuckled. “Put it behind your ear. It will continue to flourish with your body heat. Here, let me.”

  He reached out and tucked the flower behind her ear; the scent filled the air the moment it nuzzled against her skin. Drovin nuzzled her cheek with his as he inhaled the scent that flourished against her skin.

  She turned her head and kissed him; the food continued to cook and flip as she threaded her hand under his braid and held his mouth to hers. When she tasted him, her senses went wild and she shivered against him, her arms the only ones that held them together. Her teeth grazed his lips but didn’t bite. The sensation of the fangs descending caught her by surprise and increased her ardor.

  She felt his arousal but also the restraint in his emotions. He was holding himself back and she reluctantly released him.

  “Sorry. Thank you for the flower.” Her words lisped lightly as she spoke around her fangs.

  “Wren, I am not holding back because I don’t want to pursue this, I am holding back because the rest of the base is about to wake and I don’t think you want to find yourself on the counter with me out of control. I am holding on to what little I do possess, but it is not an easy thing.”

  There was sweat on his brow, and she could feel the arousal humming through him. He was right, she could feel the others waking around the base. Beryl and Toyo were leisurely having morning sex that was gaining in intensity and that could have spurred her own reaction. It had happened before.

  She stepped back and let her hands do what her mind had taken over. When the others arrived, breakfast was ready and her body was calm once again, teeth normal.

  Drovin set the table, and when they started to trickle in, all was ready.

  Breakfast was amusing. Everyone had different favourites, and she watched them pick them out and transfer them to their plates. She snickered inwardly but made mental notes to keep track of who liked what.

  The morning grain drink disappeared, as did the caf and tea. This was a thirsty bunch. After breakfast, she took an inventory and went over a supply list with Rand.

  Loesh headed to the city to do Wren’s official transfer as well as some personal shopping.

  Beryl and Toyo went to spar in the gym, but it was more for fitness than a need to blow off steam.

  Drovin was in the living room doing some weird yoga that Wren found fun to watch, and when she finished her itemizing and tour of the facility, she returned to watch him do handstands that turned into leg-free push-ups.

  She took a comfy seat with her feet up, and she watched him while he worked out. “It is impressive, but is it for me or because Toyo and Beryl are getting busy in the gym.”

  “Both.” He gracefully stepped upright. He did lunges with slow deliberation and then smiled. “Would you care to go for a run with me around the island?”

  “I only run when chased. I can move all right, but running is out of my scope of motion.” She sighed regretfully. “You head off and get all sweaty. I will be here when you are done.”

  He stepped over to her with the slow grace of a predator and bent forward. “This exercise is a distraction.”

  She whispered. “I guessed that much.”

  He nuzzled her cheek next to the flower again before he straightened and headed for the exit.

  With a heavy sigh, she looked over at Rand, “So, do you guys put shirts on at all while you are home?”

  “Nope. It cuts down on the laundry.” He grinned.

  She sighed. “From what Beryl has told me, I am amazed no one has complained about my suit.”

  “It is a nice suit. The lines are clean and the design suits you. Hers were just awful.”

  She snickered.

  “Don’t tell her I said that. She seems to be calm today, but you never know.”

  “I am keeping tabs on her. She is exhilarated but calm. The combat with Toyo has amused her.”

  Rand sighed. “Of course it did. He doesn’t hit her and she has license to pound him into the walls. We have had to obtain a special set of repair bots just for the gym.”

  “How have you adjusted to her strength increase?”

  Rand shook his gold head and then shrugged. “Pretty well. She hasn’t taken a swing at any of us since the supplement. Well, no
one but Toyo, and he is rather to blame for her moods.”

  Wren chuckled. “I hope to keep everyone safe and on an even keel.”

  With that goal in mind, she set about creating some snack bars that could be used for Beryl with no preparation. If anyone had told her that she would have become an expert at cooking with insects, she would have sneered that she would never be that desperate, and yet, here she was toasting larvae and estimating their doneness based on the nutty aroma.

  As the chassa cooled, she mixed the rest of the ingredients, sealing everything with a thick honey before pressing it into a pan with oiled hands.

  “That looks good.” Rand looked over her shoulder.

  “It has chassa in it. I can make some without if you are interested.” She smiled at him as Drovin came in.

  Rand went flying through the air and was pinned to the ceiling while Drovin held him there with one arm flung upward to focus the energy that was holding his friend prisoner.

  The dark swirl of emotion coming off Drovin shocked her. Wren sent tendrils of calm into the storm, but they were absorbed and disappeared.

  Contact seemed the less safe but necessary option. A few steps took her to Drovin’s side, and she touched his arm and chest. “Easy, Drovin. He was just after food. He complimented my cooking, so I smiled.”

  She had her mind ready, and the moment that Drovin eased up, she lowered Rand to the floor.

  Drovin’s grey skin was flushed and his heart was pounding. “I…”

  Wren pressed her forehead to his chest and sent calm to him. It crept over him in a warm wave, and she felt his muscles relax.

  He pressed his hands to her shoulders and down to her arms. He lifted her up and their lips were an inch from contact when an alarm rang through the base.

  She felt his hands clench on her arms, but he carefully set her down, backed away and sprinted for his quarters to get into his suit.

  Rand went past her and muttered, “Thank you.”

  The base was a whirlwind of activity for a few minutes, and then, they were gone, leaving Beryl and Wren behind.

  “What about Loesh?”

  Beryl sighed. “He will meet them en route.”