A Gift for Medif Read online

  A Gift for Medif

  A Mate Index Holiday Novella

  S.J. Sanders

  ©2019 by Samantha Sanders

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without explicit permission granted in writing from the author.

  This book is a work of fiction intended for adult audiences only.

  Editor: LY Publishing

  Cover Artist: Samantha Rose

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Epilogue

  Author’s Note

  Other Works by S.J. Sanders

  About the Author

  Chapter 1

  Medif didn’t know what to do with himself. Oigr and Deena were away on Vrol for the festival of rains, and Nazzek was spending a rather hostile holiday experience with Nikee’s parents in an effort to mend relationships following the birth of their youngling. Although both couples had invited him to accompany them, and Nazzek had no shame in begging for the favor, Medif declined.

  Oigr had even gone so far as to offer to take Medif to Forashual for Mognarima, the festival honoring the mating of the all-giving monsoon god Mog and Ima, the goddess of the fertile soil. Medif had many fond memories as a fashi-mu—a Forad youngling—of his father preparing the meals that would invite the blessings of Mog and Ima. He’d been tempted but, in the end, he politely declined that offer too. It was for that reason that he now was in the hotel suite alone... and it surprisingly did not bother him.

  Being alone seldom bothered him. As the middle offspring among eight siblings born to his parents, he’d come to enjoy solitude when he could get it. In some ways, joining Nazzek and Oigr’s crew had been difficult, since they spent long stretches of time in close, cramped quarters, but it had been worth the friendships he gained. Still, he relished his time away from the other males, enough so that normally he’d be overjoyed at having the suite to himself. Yet lately, such exuberance was tempered by one thing weighing heavy on his mind: a mate.

  Or rather, a lack of one.

  Medif never thought the absence of a female was something he would envy. It was rare for Forad males to have mates if they weren’t among the elite. He was raised with males and all but one of his siblings were male. He didn’t have many memories of his sister. He was still young when she reached maturity and was taken away to be properly matched with a worthy male. The idea of establishing a permanent lifelong bond with a female had been so unattainable in his mind that he never noticed what he lacked until Nazzek bonded with Nikee. His mind had, therefore, already been in a state of turmoil when his eldest brother Ehmhy sent a captured image of himself with his mate and fashix.

  It haunted him, the strange absence and the terrible longing he experienced from day-to-day for something he’d never known. Medif had noticed the concerned looks from his friend but he hadn’t known how to articulate this new need in a way that made sense to himself, much less to anyone else. Nor did he wish to admit that he was envious of his friends when Oigr too found a mate soon after their arrival on Earth. It shamed him that he struggled to be happy for them when it seemed that all he could feel was the relentless need within him.

  It wasn’t that he couldn’t find a female. In the time they’d been on Earth, he enjoyed the company of more than one and a number had openly flirted with him. It bothered him, though, that their allotted time was running out. Soon their visas would expire, and they would have to leave Earth and he still hadn’t found the one female who he wished to call his.

  The process of finding a human mate confused him. Nikee had tried to steer him in the right direction, settling on introducing him to something called the Hallmark Channel when he needed more direct examples of courting behaviors among their species. As far as he could tell, all the movies spoke of one thing: the magic of the winter holidays when it came to finding love. If he went by the vids, all he would need to do was spend time in the areas of festivities and sooner or later the perfect female would practically fall into his lap.

  He just hadn’t had much luck.

  He’d gone to the tree lighting and watched numerous performances without any success. He even contented himself with his favorite pastime of people-watching among the bustle of shoppers hoping that just maybe he would bump into his mate among them. When that didn’t work, he patronized coffee shops, which the vids showed to be bastions of romance, and drank so much of the dark, bitter drink that he was quite sick of the stuff. He was there so often that every shopkeeper knew him now by name, and yet he still hadn’t found his female.

  At least the festive atmosphere throughout the city served as a distraction from his disappointment and so he continued to go out every day to enjoy the celebrations. With a week left until Christmas, he knew that if he were patient, his chance would be at hand.

  With a soft-bristled brush, Medif meticulously groomed his fur as he mentally organized his schedule for the day. He could start his morning with a stroll around the park. The air was a bit brisk according to the weather report, but with his thick fur he would hardly notice it. Then he could...

  A loud chime and flash from the comm sitting beside his bed drew his attention.

  Frowning, Medif set his brush down and bent over to retrieve his comm. He couldn’t imagine who it would be. Nazzek had already tried to wheedle him into saving his miserable hide from Nikee’s family less than an hour ago. Touching the screen, he accepted the message and almost dropped the comm seconds later when Ehmhy grinned at him from the holographic screen. It had been revolutions since he’d seen his brother, but the change was marked. His dark mane was coiled back into a series of intricate braids that the old Ehmhy never would have bothered with, and there was no trace of the stern male he’d been in the happy face beaming at him.

  “Medif! It is good to finally see you. My mate tells me not to scold you for ignoring my messages, so I will say instead that had you not answered my comm I would have been very displeased. Fortunately, I am spared from hunting you down,” Ehmhy growled pleasantly.

  “Ehmhy, my apologies. I was actually on my way out. Perhaps I could comm you later?” Medif asked. He had no intention of doing any such thing, and his brother clearly was of the same mind because the male laughed and shook his head.

  “You will have to delay your plans, brother,” Ehmhy said.

  Medif sighed and sank down onto the bed. “Very well. I can give you an hour or two before I leave.”

  “You misunderstand, Medif. I am coming for you as we speak.”

  “What?” Medif hissed in alarm.

  “Are you trying to scare him?” A feminine voice broke in over the comm as a human female pushed her way into view, her dark eyes sparkling with good humor. “Hello. The lout didn’t bother to introduce me, but I’m Gerry. Sorry about this,” she said with a wide, unrepentant grin, “but your brother was determined to see you, so we are coming for a visit.”

  “I do not understand. How do you know where I am?”

  “Girls talk,” Geree succinctly supplied. When he narrowed his eyes on her in confusion, she sighed. “Seriously? Your brother has been trying for months to get ahold of you. Instead of leaving us to worry, Nikki had enough sense to get ahold of us and let us know where you were and that you were doing well. We got to talking a couple of weeks ago and came up with this plan.” Geree’s eyes narrowed on him speculatively. “She told us to just drop in rather than give you warning. Seems to me that she was right. You look ready to bolt right out of there. It’s a good thing we’re arriving at the hotel. You won’t get far.” She snickered with a wink.

  Medif glanced around his room, his fur puffing up with agitation. He felt moderately betrayed by Nikee, and yet also touched that she cared enough to think of him. The gesture was misplaced but he still could appreciate it for what it was, even if it did sentence him to a long visit with his family. “...I suppose there is enough room for the both of you,” he finally agreed.

  “Oh, it’s not just us!” She laughed. “There is also Tamin and Addie, our fashix. My aunt Bea is also with us, though her mate, Fazur, elected to stay behind to care for her animals.”

  “Fazur? Our father’s younger brother... He found a human to mate with as well?” Medif exclaimed as the weight of failure settled heavy on his shoulders.

  “It’s probably more accurate to say that Bea decided she enjoyed his surliness and that he needed her around. They mated soon after. He protests quite loudly about being attached to an interfering, demanding female, and she calls him a grumpy fuzzball, but you can tell they love each other.”

  “It is a strange mating,” Ehmhy muttered in a barely audible voice from behind his mate.

  She shot him a bemused glance before craning her head to the side as if she were looking at something. “Looks like we’re here. We’ll be up in a few minutes. Don’t go fussing over anything,” she warned before the comm flicked out.

  Medif stared down at his comm unit in disbelief. How was he going to find his perfect mate now?
He spent hours every day searching for her without any luck. It was impossible that he would have time to find her now. He fingered the cuff around his wrist irritably. He didn’t ask for Ehmhy to come. If he had wanted to spend the seasonal festivities with his family, he would have braved his disgrace and visited Forashual.

  He froze at the thought, his eyes widening. What if Ehmhy demanded to know the reason that Medif hadn’t returned home? While Forads often took to roving, they always returned at least once every few revolutions. Medif hadn’t been home for ten revolutions. That was near unheard of among his species. How would his brother react once he knew? He didn’t think he could bear to see the disappointment in Ehmhy’s eyes. There was ultimately no hiding anything from him. Ehmhy had a nose for sniffing out secrets. Like that time when he tried to hide a sweet cake beneath his bed when he was a fashi-mu...

  A sharp bang on the door startled Medif out of his reverie.

  Tail sliding off his lap, Medif stood and made his way out of his rooms and to the front door of the suite. Stopping just in front of them, he straightened his new vest and checked himself for anything unseemly. Another loud bang visibly shook the door and he sighed. Unlatching the door, he pulled it open to greet his brother.

  A dark, furred arm slipped through and yanked Medif forward into a broad chest. A loud purr rumbled in his ear before he was jerked back again onto his feet and his brother’s hand smacked his back affectionately. Somewhat dazed, Medif stared at Ehmhy as the grinning male leaned forward with one arm braced on the door. The woman he’d seen from the comm pushed her way through, smacking at her mate affectionately, a small fashi strapped in a brightly woven carrier over her chest. She smiled and threw her arms around him, embracing him unexpectedly.

  “Medif, are you going to invite us in?” Ehmhy chuckled as he bent and picked up a small fashi-mu that couldn’t be any older than six revolutions. The tiny male’s red tail curled around his father’s wrist as he stared at Medif with wide pale-blue eyes.

  Whiskers flattening against his cheek with embarrassment, Medif nodded and stepped away from the door. “My apologies. I am still quite surprised by your visit. Please come in.”

  The couple walked in with their younglings, followed by an older human female who examined everything nearby with open curiosity. Geree whistled low from where she stood beside her mate in the suite’s common room. Nikee had erected a large tree in the center just the week before and, with Deena’s help, had drawn all of them into decorating the limbs. It had seemed like an absurd tradition to Medif, but he had to admit it looked pretty now, displayed where everyone could enjoy it.

  “This is pretty fancy. You guys must do well for yourselves to afford it,” she observed, her eyebrows arched at him. She scowled at her mate when he nudged her in the side abruptly with his arm. His ears flattened at her in warning, but she squinted back at him and turned an innocent smile on Medif as she handed off the tiny female to her aunt.

  Medif’s tail twitched against the back of his legs and he managed what he hoped was a close facsimile of one of Nazzek’s carefree smiles. “Fortune has often smiled upon us by putting exactly what we need in front of us when we need it, often in a most gracious surplus when everyone least expects it.”

  Geree’s brows winged up and Ehmhy narrowed his eyes on him thoughtfully, but Aunt Bea cackled happily from a plush chair where she’d settled herself with Ehmhy’s fashi. “Now if that ain’t the biggest load of horse manure I’ve ever heard.”

  “No matter,” Geree said cheerfully. “What does matter is that we’re here together. How about we get our bags unpacked and get started with some holiday fun? Tamin has been talking about nothing else but seeing Santa.”

  Ehmhy grimaced at the mention of Santa but smiled fondly at his mate. Medif almost believed that his brother would be too distracted with Geree to scrutinize him too closely, but that notion was quickly rectified by the curious glance his brother threw him before following his mate into one of the empty bedrooms.

  Medif scrubbed his hand over his eyes. It was going to be a very long holiday.

  Chapter 2

  Natasha Baranov stared at the last line on her screen and rubbed her thumb back and forth over the ring around her middle finger as she considered the book she’d finished reading in the early hours of the morning. Both the writers and her fans counted on her to give a thoughtful analysis of the books she reviewed on her blog, Natty’s Hot Loving.

  Not to mention that her mother was an avid fan. Knowing that her mother followed her recommendations of some of the smuttiest books on the Intraweb, translated even from far off planets for Earth audiences, was embarrassing. No more embarrassing than the title of her blog itself, though. When it was conceived, it was never meant to be the road to her livelihood. In fact, it had started as a joke late one night when, on a whim, she came up with the idea to start up a blog to review what had to be, hands down, the worst romance she’d ever picked up. It had been one of those little ironies in life that not only did her blog take off, the name somehow stuck.

  Never turn away from blessings, big or small, her mom always advised, but boy what a way to make use of the literature degree she went into debt for. She couldn’t complain. Seattle was a notoriously expensive place to live, especially after it became one of the primary interplanetary trade hubs. If writing a blog that rated her preferences of smut and romance paid the bills, more power to it.

  Her comm chimed merrily, flashing in her peripheral vision from its place on her wrist just as she was reaching for the perfect description. That quick, the line building up in her head was gone and Natty cursed. Her little island was one of the last places to get comm units, and she still wasn’t used to the damn thing.

  A distorted closeup of her mom’s face flashed over the holograph screen, more mouth, nose, and chin than anything else. “Hello, Natty! How are you?”

  “Mom, back up a bit. You’re too close to the holographic scanner on the comm,” Natty chuckled as she set her datapad down to give her mother her full attention.

  “Oh yes, that’s right.” The hologram shifted and Natty was looking into her mother’s warm, smiling face. It had been several months since she’d been home but other than a few more silvery strands on her thick, glossy dark hair, Sharon never seemed to change. The beautiful, happy crow’s feet at the corner of her mother’s eyes crinkled up with humor as she adjusted her blouse. “Do I look fine now?”

  “Yes, Mom. Beautiful as always.”

  A delighted smile lit up Sharon’s face and she lifted a cheerfully painted Christmas mug to take a sip. “Did you get the package I sent?”

  “Yes, it arrived yesterday. It is beautiful. Thank you!” Her mother was the crafty sort and loved to bead and stitch their clan totem on clothing and accessories with her fine needlework for her children and loved ones. The small felted purse with the broad grinning face of a bear was the perfect size for her datapad. Natty ran a hand over it and smiled. “Have you gotten any snow yet?”

  Her mother shook her head and smiled. “We got a dusting a few nights back, but you know how the rains are... It melted quick. Perhaps it would stay better if you came home for a few days?” Sharon suggested with an amused tip of her lips.

  Natty held back a groan. She had known that the subject of visiting for the holidays would come up eventually and, as much as she hated to disappoint her mother, she had no choice. No matter how often she’d gone over the math, she couldn’t afford a visit. She smiled at the barista and took her cup of coffee with a mouthed ‘thank you’ before giving her attention back to her mother to deliver the bad news. “Sorry, Mom. I am buried under work right now, and I don’t have it in my budget to fly up to Ketchikan.”

  “All right,” Sharon sighed. “It’s at least good to see you are getting out some and meeting people. Have you met an alien yet?” That was her mother’s question every time she commed. Sharon was fascinated with the various species who came to trade with Earth, even at a time when many people had been suspicious of them after the incident of the Budo selling men and women as test subjects. Whenever someone questioned her acceptance, she would merely shrug and point out that they were Kah-shu-goon-yah’s, the creator god’s, people too. “Where are you at?”