by Maia Starr
"Adriana! I have been waiting. We have been waiting…" Richard said.
"Richard, be quiet; I don't have very much time. Just listen to me. I found a large cache of the flagion. It is in a deep ravine known as Duton. Get the information to your contacts. I must go," I said as I quickly hung up the connection line. As soon as I hung it up I felt guilty. I was torn between my new loyalty to the Drackon because of what I had done with Sentinel Vuna, and my career waiting for me on Earth. I quickly got up and went back to the dining hall. I sat next to Queen Marissa.
"What is the news?" She asked me quietly.
"The agency is going to make it a priority to match me quickly. First they are going to check my other two choices to see if they chose me in return. Then they will contact me and let me know."
"Well that is a beginning. Trust me, these things never start out the way you expect, but I have learned that in the end everything is as it should be," she said with a bright smile as she looked at her husband and her son. I wondered what she had been through.
Chapter 8
CAPTAIN MORDIKYE NEZIS
I moved back and forth in the locked cell. The two days that I had been locked up were enough to make me boil over in anger. I was ready to make my plan happen as soon as Lieutenant Rix returned with the information that I needed. He should be returning any hour now, although he was a patient weredragon and it was that patience that allowed him to take it slow when doing a scouting mission. This prevented him from getting caught and allowed him to get the facts.
"Captain Mordikye…" I heard his voice. I went to the window where he was once again hanging upside down.
"Are we set? What information do you have to report?" I whispered to him.
"The Beti is fueled and unguarded. Best of all, Sentinel Vuna is on a Mooreah. It is the perfect time for our escape. Are you ready? We must go now," he whispered to me.
"All great news, but what of Adriana? Have you pinpointed where she is on the base right at this moment? Where are her living quarters?" I asked.
"Her living quarters are in the west wing of the base on the second level, third window from the end. But captain, she is not on Sala. She was summoned by the king and is on Mooreah with Sentinel Vuna," he said.
"What?!"
"We must go now without her. Are you ready? Grab the bars from that side and we will grab from out here," my lieutenant said.
"No! I am not leaving without her. Return to me when she has returned to Sala. Only then will we proceed with the escape. Go now, before you are seen," I said to him.
"Captain, we can find you another human female wife. This is the perfect opportunity for an escape because the Sentinel is not here. It will give us a lot of time to get a head start before anyone notices we are gone. We will be light years away," Lieutenant Rix said.
"No, I want that one. I am not leaving without Adriana. I will wait until she returns, no matter if it is today or in a week. Report to me as soon as she arrives, but not before then. You must make yourself scarce, as I'm sure they are looking for you."
Lieutenant Rix flew away, and I was left to wait.
I was angrier than I was before he visited. Now that I knew that Adriana was with Terik. What was he doing with her? Was he going to try to claim her for his own? He would do something like that, the bastard! We had been at odds since we were ten years of age. Until then we were the best of friends, but something happened that tore us apart and could never be mended. There was a mutiny in the castle, brother against brother, and it made the Drackon warriors fight against each other for the first time in millennia. This war was friend against friend, brother against brother, families against families as everyone took a side, either for King Jarith Rykor or for his mutinous brother, Prince Traydon.
I tried to persuade Terik to join me as a young scout working under Traydon. He argued with me, saying that King Jarith Rykor was the rightful king. We argued for hours about it until Terik was so angry he shifted and attacked me. It was at that moment that nothing would ever be the same between us. We separated. He went on to fight for King Jarith Rykor, and I for Prince Traydon.
When Prince Traydon lost and King Jarith Rykor took the throne, the youngling weredragons were spared. I was one of them. But the friendship between Terik and I never mended and we became quiet enemies. Now, after all these years, it had finally boiled over. It was inevitable for it to happen.
So now, finding out that he had my bride to be with him made me mad as hell. I had already planned to kill him, but now I was going to torture him. If he laid a finger on her I would know about it. There was no way in hell that he was going to take her from me. I would not let him win. I would not let him have her. She was mine. She was rightfully mine. He was probably pleading to King Jarith and Queen Marissa right now to grant him claim over her, since he had imprisoned me. I could see it all now. It was even more of a reason why I was not leaving without her.
Chapter 9
LAND SENTINEL TERIK VUNA
"Any word on Lieutenant Rix’ whereabouts?" King Jarith Rykor asked me.
"No, after his escape we have kept guards searching for him in the vicinity, as well as here on Mooreah. I am sure he will turn up." I said to him.
"Good, keep on top of it. But my word is final on Captain Mordikye. Continue to question him until he breaks down and gives the information about the illegal cargo and whom it was sold to. We also need to know who on Earth gave it to him."
"Yes, King Jarith Rykor. I understand you loud and clear. Captain Mordikye is to be prosecuted and endure life in prison. He will be subjected to questioning until we know the truth, however long it takes. The navigation system was pulled from his ship and we should be able to pull the records, even though they attempted to wipe it clean. We have data diggers that can work around it. We should know exactly where the ship has been in a week or two. I shall return to Sala to carry out your orders," I said to him.
"Good, keep me informed," King Jarith Rykor said as he left my side. I walked out of the conference room, ready to depart back to Sala.
"Sentinel Vuna, I have been looking for you," Luqan said as she approached me out of breath.
"Luqan, when did you arrive? I did not give you leave to come here to Mooreah from Sala," I said to her sternly. I needed someone on top of taking care of Captain Mordikye and that situation and I trusted Luqan.
"Yes sir, I know that. But I knew that this was too important to sit on. I knew that time could be of the essence and also your happiness," she said to me. I stopped in my tracks and turned around to her and said, "What are you talking about?"
"This," she said as she handed me a page. I looked it over and my eyes grew wide with shock. I could not believe it! Could it be true? I would have to run this by the king, but I couldn't be happier.
"Where did this come from?" I asked Luqan.
She smiled a big smile and said, "It just came in from the registration office. It seems that Dr. Adriana Adams had you down as her number one choice for husband. The registration office has been contacted and knows of Adriana's new situation. They have allowed her to match with one of her other choices, and since you had responded and chosen her in return, they have granted you permission to marry Dr. Adriana Adams and take her as your human female wife."
I was in complete shock. How did the registration office know what was happening? I had not given Adriana access to a communication line to tell them, though it was on my list since she had requested it. This was too good to be true. Now that I had orders from the king to lock up Captain Mordikye forever, Adriana was legally free to take a new husband. Now the registration office on Earth had granted her permission to wed a new match, and that match with me. I could not contain the smile that was on my face.
"You're welcome Sentinel," Luqan said smugly.
"Make sure that my ship is prepared to return to Sala. In the meantime I am going to go look for Dr. Adriana Adams," I said to her.
"Yes sir, right away," she said walking a
way.
I found Adriana sitting at a table examining a small piece of flagion that she had collected from the ravine. It was a memento of our special day together in that ravine, my favorite place. Just thinking about it made me feel passionate all over again, especially now that I had good news for her.
"Adriana," I said as I stood next to her.
"Sentinel? I'm sorry I did not see you there. Are we to return to Sala?" She asked.
"I have something to show you," I said as I handed her the page.
"What is it? I cannot read Drackon," she said to me. "I am ready to go back to Sala with you, but I have not heard back from the registration agency, Queen Marissa had allowed me to call them on a communication line."
"That is what this page is. Adriana, I know that you made me your number one choice. But what you do not know is that I also chose you, not as my number one choice, but as my only choice. I had never chosen any human female before until I saw your photo and read about you. I knew that you were a match with me. But by the time I responded to the registration office you were actually landing on the base with Captain Mordikye."
Her eyes were wide with shock. Those brown eyes that had me from the very first time I saw her photo. She was silent and said nothing.
"I thought you would be happy to hear this news, Adriana."
She came out of her frozen state and said, "I am. I really am. It just seems too good to be true, Terik. I want to be with you, and nothing else seems important other than that. I just wasn’t expecting that it would actually happen. I thought I would be sent back to Earth."
"I feel the same way. I wasn’t expecting it either. The King has ordered Captain Mordikye to be in prison forever. You are free to marry another. The registration office on Earth has given you permission to marry me. Will you Adriana? Will you be my human female wife?"
"Yes! Yes! A thousand times yes!" She said as she threw herself at me, jumping up and putting her arms around my neck. Her legs wrapped around my waist and I picked up and kissed her hard. It was a long and sensual kiss that said in movements what we could not say in words. It was official. She was mine. No one could take her from me, not even Captain Mordikye. Nothing was going to ruin this for us. Finally something good had come of this complex scandal of illegal cargo, and I would do it all over again to end up with her. I finally pulled away from her as I thought about the situation that was still my responsibility. I had to get back to Sala and deal with my new orders from the King. But I had to admit that a great weight had been lifted off my shoulders now that I had secured Adriana as my own. Not only secured her, but found out she WANTED to be with me. She was going to be my human female wife, and we would spend our days together examining and studying the land. I knew that great adventures were yet to come with her. I smiled and looked at her beautiful face and pushed my fingers in her hair.
"I must go. The King has me under urgent orders to return to Sala and oversee this business with the captain. You should stay here, and I will return for you when I am done with this responsibility. The King and Queen are more than delighted to have you as their guest. Besides, if you are with me on Sala I will not get any work done. You are too much of a sensual distraction. I can’t keep my hands off of you," I said to her putting her back down on her feet.
"No! I do not want to be parted from you. Will you not take me back with you? I can stay in my old living quarters while you work, and you can come to me at night. Please Terik," she pouted her lips at me and I could not say no.
"How can I say no when you're looking at me like that? Those lips..."
"Good, I am ready," she said with a big smile. I knew that I would give her anything at that moment, now that I knew she was going to be mine. I would never deny her anything.
Chapter 10
DR. ADRIANA ADAMS
I walked into my living quarters on the base at Sala. I had been gone less than forty-eight hours, yet it seemed like a lifetime, because of everything that had happened. Not only had I coupled with Sentinel Vuna, but also the registration office had come through for me. I was going to be his wife. It was official. I no longer belonged to the criminal Captain Mordikye. I now belonged to my first choice husband, Land Sentinel Terik Vuna. I was astonished to find out that he had chosen me in return and he had done it before we had met. I knew that was why he knew me that day on the Beti, but I didn’t want to admit to myself that I would have such good luck with him. If I had known that he had chosen me in return things would have been so much easier. I began to wonder if I was a source of the very first fight between Mordikye and Terik that day when Terik nearly beat him to death. Was it because he was angry at seeing the one and only human female he had ever chosen as a wife, with the Captain? I smiled to think that I had that effect on Terik. I felt happy and complete. It was everything that I had hoped for the first time I saw his photo and read his biography, but there was something still very wrong. I was on a mission to find the flagion rocks. I had done it. I had reported it. Now, I felt like a big betrayer, not only to Terik but to the Drackon weredragons who had taken me in. The king and queen were so hospitable to me and trusted me and I had betrayed everyone. I wished that I had not made that communication line to Richard. But I did not foresee that I would actually be allowed to wed Sentinel Vuna. I assumed that I was going to be sent back to Earth, and I did not want to go back there without taking the chance to further my career with the flagion. Now, I had made the choice to marry Sentinel Vuna, because as soon as he told me the agency had contacted him I knew that I loved him. I knew that I had fucked up. I had to figure out a way to warn him about the plundering of the ravine without incriminating myself. Was it possible? I didn't even know what Richard would do with that information, if anything. What if I confessed to Terik and then Richard and Xander Black actually took no action on plundering Mooreah for flagion? Then I would have confessed for nothing and lost the love of my life. No, I couldn't do it.
I paced my living quarters feeling hot and flustered by this problem. I was going to ruin everything if I didn’t do this right. I opened the French doors to the outside to let in the cool night air to calm my anxiety. I stepped out onto the small balcony and looked up. There were billions of stars like glitter in the sky. It nearly took my breath away. I had been so preoccupied with my own drama that I had not looked up at the night sky since I arrived in the alien world of the Drackon. Suddenly it felt like everything would be okay.
Boom!
The doors caught on the wind and slammed against the wall. Suddenly, Mordikye was standing in front of me in dragon form.
"Mordikye? What are you doing here?!"
"No time to answer questions Adriana," he said as he picked me up in his arms and flew into the sky. I squirmed, "No! Put me down! What are you doing?! Ahhh!"
"Be quiet," he said as he put a hand over my mouth with his other arm around my waist. I did not know what was going on and I was frightened. Minutes later I was in the Beti and he was shouting orders. Lieutenant Rix strapped me into a seat. The engine roared to life and the Beti shot forward into space. I could not believe what was happening. Just when I was about to have happiness with Terik, it was suddenly taken away. This criminal had snatched me out of the night, and now I was floating into space. Did anyone even know I was gone? What if Terik thought I left with Mordikye on purpose? Shit. What if he didn’t find out I was missing until I was far away, never to be found? I was thinking these thoughts when suddenly the Beti was bumped hard. It was another ship.
That is how I found myself in the middle of a firefight between the ship Beti, commanded by Captain Mordikye, and a smaller speed ship that Terik was in as he tried to hunt down the captain and reclaim me. Now, the Beti was behind Terik’s ship, and Captain Mordikye yelled fire!
I grabbed onto the joystick that controlled the ship and with all my weight pulled it to the right. The entire ship quickly went diagonal and everyone went flying. The fire lasers that left the ship did not hit the ship in front of it. I had s
ucceeded. Red lights alarmed everywhere!
"It's the engine! It's shutting down," Lieutenant Rix shouted. "They must have installed a disabler. They might have known we were going to steal the ship!"
"Shit!" Captain Mordikye shouted. Then he looked at me and growled "Were you with him? Were you with Terik? What did you do with him? You are mine!"
"No I am not! You do not own me! Let me go. Give it up! The ship is going nowhere. You have been caught," I said to him. He grinned a menacing grin and said, "Good, let me be caught. I want to see Terik face-to-face so that I can kill him."
"No!" I shouted.
"Take her away! Lock her up until I come get her. Prepare to be boarded by the enemy, fire at will!"
I kicked and screamed as they were taking me away. I could feel the ship being reeled in by a beam, tracking us in. I knew that any moment Terik and his guards would be boarding the ship and there would be an all out fight. Captain Mordikye was set to kill him.