Shades of Werewolf

by T. S. Ryder

  “You do not give orders here anymore!” Mara snapped at him, but Kenner only gave her an annoyed look and turned back to the Elder.

  “Even if what she says is true, I am still owed a fair trial,” he said calmly, knowing, unlike Mara, that letting his emotions get the better of him was not the smart thing to do. “As was Teresa,” he added. “But all I found when I came back for her were a few fallen scales, so I’m assuming you’re keeping her prisoner.” There was no mistaking the open threat of those words and the Elder who was squaring off with him gulped.

  “You assume correctly.” Elder Fanag appeared then. “But she has already been convicted, and is but awaiting execution.” The corner of the Elder’s lips turned upwards a little as if she had been praying something like this would happen, but she continued in her usual, detached tone. “However, if you can provide new proof attesting to her innocence, and the value of that proof can be verified, then your Teresa might yet come out of this ordeal with her life.”

  She turned to the other members of the Council. “I suggest we all retire for the evening, to allow for Kenner and his witness to rest and replenish their strength,” she said. “We can hear the testimonials and conduct Kenner’s trial on the morrow.” As no one had anything against the idea, the crowd began to dissipate, but Elder Fanag had a few more words to say. “I shall host your lady witness, Kenner,” she informed him, her tone such that it made clear he would do better not to argue with her. “You may sleep in your home, but the Darkwing Squadron will serve as your security detail.” Kenner translated from between the lines: you are a flight risk, and we will not risk letting you out of our sight again.

  Kenner simply nodded and walked towards his house, the Squadron trailing him in two straight lines. The one to the left was headed by Arul. The one to the right, by Mara, who, as usual, had something to say.

  “What do you see in that fat bitch to risk everything you have for her?” she wanted to know. “You never fought like that for me.”

  “She is the love of my life,” he replied honestly. “And you weren’t worth fighting for.”

  That stunned Mara so profoundly that she stopped dead in her tracks, and the members of the Squadron who followed did the same, like the well-oiled machine they were.

  Kenner, Arul and the rest didn’t wait for them.

  Tomorrow morning, upon receiving the summons from the Council of Elders, Kenner made his way into the Long House, where every bit of space that could be occupied had been filled. There were too many spectators for Kenner’s comfort, but the more people could see firsthand what was about to happen here, the better it was for Teresa, so he gritted his teeth and endured for her sake.

  When he saw her brought in, her skin pale and her hands tied behind her back, he tried to reach her and free her from her bonds, but Arul and another member of the Squadron stopped him. “She’s just a little sickly from dehydration,” his friend whispered in his ear. “I know it pains you to see her so, but you’ll do her no favors if you lose your temper now.” He was right, as usual, and Kenner paid heed to his second’s advice, well aware of the results that had come from failing to do so the last time.

  As per custom, the accusers had the first say, with Mara spewing venom in every direction, and both Arul and her dumb little lover boy called in as her witnesses. The men simply repeated the same statements as before, with minimal displays of emotion, Mara’s lover out of embarrassment and Arul for the sake of objectivity.

  When the defense’s turn came, Kenner stood up for both of them. He asked that Lady Esplyn be brought, since they had kept her away to make sure that nothing could influence her to change her testimony, and so she wouldn’t accidentally overhear anything pertaining to the true nature of the Rookery.

  When she came in, all pride and elegance, flanked by two guards at each side, Kenner asked Arul and several other members of the Squadron who’d met the lady during their mission to Wallaria to confirm her identity. Then he finally called the lady herself, who, as it turned out, had quite a tale to tell.

  “About... oh, two or three nights ago, this one...” she began, in her signature insincerely sweet voice, and pointed straight to Mara, making several people in the Long House audibly gasp, “...appeared on the roof of my mansion and demanded that I speak with her. She knew how devastated I was because the Emperor made me sell my Hele to... this...” She made a disgusted face as she looked at Kenner, who gave the insult exactly as much attention as it deserved – nothing. “She offered me a chance to both get her back and get a brand-new, Kinai slave free of charge. She told me to send the best oarsmen I could find in a few kayaks, and have them meet her on a designated day at the designated time at the base of your stupid volcano, and she would bring Hele and a Kinai boy tied and gagged. Just imagine my surprise when she not only backed out on her own agreement but brought another one of her friends with her, and then killed the men I had sent to meet her and sunk their kayaks!” From the sound of it, Lady Esplyn mourned the loss of her boats more than the men who operated them.

  “Lies!” Mara screamed. “It’s lies, all lies! Kenner must’ve paid her to perjure herself!”

  But Lady Esplyn only laughed to that accusation. “He couldn’t afford it,” she replied condescendingly. “And besides, my ship still lies in your waters, where this brute dragged it onto the Obsidian Ridge,” she added, pointing angrily at Kenner. “Just fly out there and question the crew. They know everything.”

  Realizing at last that her scheme had just imploded before her very eyes, Mara tried to flee, but the Blackwings didn’t allow her to get very far.

  Kenner, however, decided he had waited much too long as it was, and ran to Teresa’s side. The crowd around them alternated between congratulating them and jeering at Mara, as she was taken away to wait for her trial in the cages, while the Elders attempted to call for some order, and failed miserably.

  Only Elder Fanag looked happy at this unholy mess, smiling at Kenner and Teresa, and patting him on the back. “Well done, boy,” she praised him. “I knew you could do it.”

  Kenner wisely decided not to remind the Elder that she was contradicting some of her earlier statements and, instead, put his arm around Teresa’s shoulders and nodded. “Thank you... but, if you’ll excuse us now, we’d rather like to go home.”

  The old lady shooed them away, laughing all the while, and Kenner was glad they could get the hell out of there.

  There were things he had to say to his Teresa, things he had to do to show her just how much he had missed her, and he could only feel free to indulge those needs in the privacy of their own house.

  Chapter Eleven

  After the initial drama, the rest of the process went far more smoothly and quickly.

  Lady Esplyn was questioned some more, and when it became clear she was only Mara’s dupe and knew nothing of consequence to the Kinai, she was flown back to her home in Wallaria by Arul. And, since he was already going to the Skatian capital, the First Lieutenant of the Blackwing Squadron was also tasked with paying a visit to the Emperor with a large chest of presents from the Kinai craftsmen for some preemptive damage control.

  The Council concluded that the instabilities in Mara’s character, which were obviously growing more and more prominent, were a result of a Joining that hadn’t gone exactly right, but had gone well enough for the cracks in it to only just now be starting to show. She was sentenced to death, but before the execution could be held, she hung herself in her own home, refusing to the end to bow down to anyone.

  Kenner and Teresa spent the first ten days of their reunion giving the furniture in Kenner’s house a good workout, and no one had the heart to take it against them. After all, the Blackwings were perfectly capable of governing themselves for a while... and, besides, the people of Kinai kind of owed it to the pair to let them have some time to thoroughly consummate their passions, and then repeat the favor a few months later when they finally tied the knot.

  This vigorous consummat
ion resulted in a birth of a twin boy and girl in the spring of the following year, and as a present to the new parents, the Elders permanently lifted all the bans that governed Teresa’s life in Kinai, and she was granted permission to try for a Joining come winter.

  At first, Teresa intended to decline the honor, fearing that the Joining would be unsuccessful and unwilling to risk making a widower and orphans out of her husband and children. But Kenner begged her to have as much faith in herself as he did in her, and so she left a human woman of the planet Earth, and returned a true Kinai, Joined to the core of her being with a majestic beast, its incredible power infusing every single molecule of her body. It took her months to master the use of it, but once she did to the satisfaction of the Squadron Commander and his lieutenants, she became the newest recruit of the Darkwings, finally finding her place amongst her new people.

  And so, life went on. Our lovers tried to make the most of every moment they had, finding fulfillment in their family, in their work and in each other, making plans for the future while resolving the problems of the present.

  But every so often, when their babies were tucked in their little beds, and the world was at peace under the cover of the starry night, our lovers took flight together, wing by wing, their hearts soaring, joined in a love so deep that it makes dragons sing...

  *****

  THE END

  Abducted by the Alien Dragon

  Description

  A curvy lawyer ready for adventure PLUS a sexy alien who is a dragon shifter PLUS a baby who holds the future of an entire species...

  Out-of-work lawyer Gemma Watson thinks she has finally found her one true love in Shay. He's sweet, intelligent and makes her laugh. It doesn't hurt that his sexiness is off the charts. And when he's happy that she's pregnant, everything seems just perfect.

  Except Shay isn't who he appears to be. He's a Stlozyn, a member of a dragon-like alien species. The Stlozyn are suffering from a terrible disease which causes them to become infertile, and if they can't find a way to cure it, their culture will disappear within a few generations. Shay is convinced he will find the cure locked in human DNA.

  He never expected to fall in love with Gemma, but after he learns she's pregnant, he wants her to know everything about him. Including his alien origins. So he decides to take her to his home planet.

  The only problem is Gemma isn't happy with being abducted, and there are scientists on Shay's home world who think that her baby holds the key to eradicating the disease that is ravaging their people.

  When they suggest the unthinkable, both Gemma and Shay have to decide: what sacrifices are worth making, and does love truly conquer all?

  Chapter One

  Her mouth tasted like old carpet. Gemma Watson wrinkled her nose, running her tongue over her teeth. They had a slightly furry texture she didn't like. Her eyes stayed firmly closed–she had hardly been able to sleep at all the previous night, too wrapped up in the pink slip her boss had handed her.

  It wasn't like she hadn't expected to be fired from her small-time lawyer gig. The business had been slow for a while, and she was the newest hire. But it still stung, and now that she was out of a job, she didn't know if she should continue in law, or go back to school for something she enjoyed more.

  There was also the fact that she was pregnant.

  She had only been seeing her boyfriend, Shay, for a year, and she was pregnant.

  After one failed relationship after another, Gemma thought she finally found the one who would be with her forever. Shay actually listened to her, actually cared about her. A smile crossed her lips at how happy he had been when she told him he was pregnant. In all fairness, she had been expecting him to turn tail and run, just like all her past boyfriends did when things turned too serious for them. Shay was different.

  She reached over towards him, her eyes still closed. Her hand met air. Not even the other side of the bed. Just air.

  Gemma's eyes snapped open.

  "What?" she muttered groggily, lifting her head.

  The ceiling above her was not her ceiling. She'd just painted her little one-bedroom apartment, giving herself something to do while the small law firm she worked at was going through the dry spell that ultimately ended in her being fired. She'd put clouds above her bed, and a bright yellow sun peeking out from behind them.

  This ceiling was gray.

  Gemma bolted upright. "What the hell?"

  This wasn't her apartment. There was no carpet, the bed was a narrow cot jutting from the wall and a single, thick blanket lay over her body. She was still in her flannel PJs, at least, but Gemma's heart pounded in her chest and she swiveled from side to side, gaze sliding over the gleaming white walls that surrounded her. Other than the cot she lay on, the room was utterly bare.

  A swishing sound came from the wall opposite her. Gemma leaped to her feet as the wall opened, sweeping open like the curtains being drawn back into a theater. Her fists raised, recalling the self-defense classes she'd taken, but they dropped just as quickly when she saw who it was.

  "Shay!" Gemma rushed forward, throwing her arms around him. She buried her face into his shoulder, inhaling his smoky scent. If Shay was here, it couldn't be so bad. "I think I'm having some sort of bizarre stress dream."

  Thick, muscular arms wrapped around her, pulling her closer. "You're not dreaming, Gemma."

  He grasped her shoulders and pushed her back a step. His warm, dark eyes bored into hers and a shiver ran down her spine.

  "What do you mean, I'm not dreaming?"

  Shay's fingers traced her jaw. She leaned into his touch, sighing as she did so. His skin was always so warm, she loved it.

  "I regrettably lied to you. I'm not from Europe, as I told you. In fact, I'm not human."

  Gemma's first instinct was to laugh at him, but it got choked in her throat when she saw the serious look in his eye. Shay never joked. Her heart beat faster once more and she pulled away from him, shaking her head. This had to be a dream. There was no way what he was saying could be true, so she must be having one bizarre stress dream.

  "Gemma?"

  "If you're not human, what are you?" Her hands trembled. She tried to laugh, because if this was real, she didn't know what she would do.

  "I'm a member of a species known as Stlozyn, from the planet Bronæl."

  "Really?" Had he gone insane, or was this a continuation of the Gemma Watson curse, where she only picked losers? Only this time she'd picked a real nutcase. Or she was the nutcase. How am I going to find a new job if I don't have all my mental faculties about me?

  Shay watched her, the pucker above his left eye giving away just how worried he was. "I should have told you before—"

  "So if you're an… not human…" Gemma couldn't say the word 'alien'. "What are you on Earth for?"

  "I think you should sit down."

  "Well, I think that you should tell me what's going on. Right now." Her stomach was churning by this time. At any minute she was going to completely lose it. The stress was really getting to her.

  "There's a disease causing infertility among my people. It infects our genetic material." He shook his head, sighing. "You wouldn't understand all the details. Suffice it to say, I am a scientist, and I believe that human DNA holds the key to our cure."

  Gemma blinked at him. Nausea started swirling in her stomach and she had to swallow back bile. The floor beneath her feet felt too real, and when he put his hand on her arm, the weight of it was too detailed, too warm, to exist in a dream. But what he was saying couldn’t be possible. It just couldn't. Sure, she had always believed that aliens existed. It just made sense that somewhere in the vast expanses of the universe other life forms existed.

  But she had never believed that they would be six feet tall, with muscles that bulged and roped beneath smooth, warm skin, or have a brilliant smile that flashed pearly-white teeth. If anybody had told her that one day she was going to be pregnant with an alien baby, she'd have laughed at them. Even now she
felt like laughing–hysterically, but still laughing.

  "Okay," Gemma said, stepping back as she shuddered. "So this is a prank, right? You had somebody come in and change up my apartment so you could what? Is this for YouTube? Where's the camera?"

  Shay ran a hand over his face.

  "This isn't funny!" Gemma put her hands on her wide hips and tossed her auburn hair over her shoulder, trying to hide how much she was shivering. "I like pranks as well as the next girl, but you, what, drugged me so that I wouldn't know I was being moved? I don't care. Get out of here before I call the cops!"

  Shay was a goner. Just like her cheating ex-husband, his ass was dropped. She wasn't about to stick around with a man who wanted her to think she was crazy.

  Shay took a step back, holding up his hands. "Gemma, everything I have told you is the truth. I'm not human. We're not on Earth."

  "Bullshit."

  Maybe she was overreacting a smidgen to his prank. Maybe it wasn't actually that bad. Shay was patient and kind, and he didn't mind that her thighs rubbed together or that she had wobbly bits under her arms. She dropped her hands and took a deep breath.

  "Okay, I'm just going to give you one more chance to come clean, because up until now you've been a perfect boyfriend. Where am I?"

  "I thought you wouldn't believe me. I had hoped to wait, but…" He began unbuttoning his shirt.

  Gemma crossed the space between them and jabbed him hard in the chest. "Hold it right there, buster. I don't care how sexy you are, you don't get to try to make me think you're an alien that abducted me and then seduce me. No way, no how."