Shades of Werewolf

by T. S. Ryder

  Shay's shoulders slumped, but he nodded. "Of course. I acted in haste, but you are right. Your home is Earth. I'm sure I will receive permission to continue to dwell on Earth with you if that's what you want. Only it will be better this time." His eyes lit up and he gave her the dazzling smile that always had her heart melting. "This time, I won't have to hide my true forms from you."

  Gemma returned the smile, though her heart was sinking at his enthusiasm. She didn't want to hurt him, but the truth was she wasn't certain if she could continue dating an alien. He was an alien.

  "Wait. Forms? Like more than one?"

  Shay nodded. "Yes. We have the form you see now, and what we call our beast form, which we can shift into."

  "Okay," Gemma muttered, storing that away for later. She still needed to wrap her head around this form, let alone another one.

  She was still freaking out in a low-key sort of way, although she had come to terms with the fact he was an alien and she was on an alien spaceship. Technically he had also kidnapped her, but she wasn't so worked up about that anymore. Shay was one of the sweetest men she had ever met, although he could get a little superior when talking about things she didn't understand.

  "Are you hungry?" Shay asked.

  Gemma shook her head just as her stomach rumbled. Shay laughed and leaned forward, then stopped. His blood-red eyes grew worried and he pulled back.

  "Can I still kiss you?"

  Gemma bit her lip. This whole situation was nuts. Wasn't it? But despite his scales, Shay's face was exactly the same. There was even that little pucker in the brow above his left eye that appeared when he was worried. She felt herself relaxing, even though she hadn't realized just how tense she still was.

  It was still him. Still Shay. She nodded.

  Shay pressed a gentle kiss to her lips, and it was the same kiss she knew. The one that made her heart beat faster and made her forget why she was angry with him. She moaned, parting her lips. His tongue darted into her mouth, but as she flung her arms around his neck, Shay pulled away. He was smiling, though, and a deep chuckle vibrated in his chest.

  "I think it would be best if we took things a little slower than that, don't you think? You're still getting used to this. I don't want you to move too fast and then freak out."

  "I… you're right." Heat flooded Gemma's cheeks. "And I am hungry."

  "I'll get something for you."

  Gemma settled back as Shay went to the kitchenette. It suddenly struck her as surprising that there were a fridge and stove instead of alien cooking appliances, but then she shrugged. He’d probably had this place custom made for her or something.

  One of her hands rested on her belly, and she smiled when she remembered how happy he had been when she had told him she was pregnant. He had actually danced around the apartment. She had been a little afraid–not of the thought of having a child, which was something she always knew she wanted–but that Shay would react badly.

  Now he was taking her to his home planet because he was so happy. Knowing that he wanted their baby as much as she did helped the rest of her tension disappear. It would take the time to adjust, but that didn't mean that she couldn't.

  "Would you really move back to Earth for me?" she asked, as Shay cracked a couple of eggs into a frying pan. "I mean… you must have family, friends, hopes and dreams and all sorts of things on your own home world. Would you really give it all up?"

  Shay added some mushrooms to the eggs and Gemma felt her mouth watering. She loved mushrooms, especially when they were in scrambled eggs.

  "I don't have any family left on Bronæl. That's the name of my home world," he added, before she could ask. "I was an only child and both my parents died when I was young. I was raised by my grandfather, and he died just before I decided to come to Earth."

  It was exactly what he had already told her, only he'd said Canada rather than Earth when he told her the story the first time. Still, it felt good to know that he hadn't lied to her about his family. He threw a couple of pieces of bread into a toaster as her stomach growled again.

  "And of course I would live on Earth with you," he continued. "I do plan to be the youngest dragon to ever be appointed to the Science Board, but I still need to prove myself worthy of the position, and I have just over fifty years to do that. Not even a dragoness has been appointed at my age."

  Dragons. Dragonesses. Gemma frowned. He had told her something about two forms, hadn't he? Could he seriously turn into some sort of fantasy creature?

  "I still have a lot of research to continue on Earth. We may not be able to live on Earth while the baby is young, though. There has never been a human-Stlozyn child before, and I'm not certain what traits will be dominant. Once the child is old enough to use shimmer cloak… but in the meantime, we can stay on my ship and commute to work. And I hope you'll be open to visiting Bronæl often."

  The baby. Gemma clasped her hands over her abdomen, her anxiety kicking up again. Shay saw it when he returned with her eggs, and he sat beside her, taking her hand in a comforting gesture.

  "What is it?"

  "Am I going to explode? Or like, is the baby going to eat its way out of me? Am I going to have a two-week pregnancy? Am I going to lay an egg?"

  Shay's brows rose. "An egg?"

  "You're talking about dragons and stuff!"

  He sighed and took her hands in his, rubbing his thumbs along her knuckles. "Gemma, it's going to be fine. You see me right now, don't you?"

  Gemma narrowed her eyes. She hated it when he talked to her like that, like she ought to know something she didn't. It didn’t happen very often, but it did happen.

  "Stlozyn and humans are very similar. We share a closer relationship than humans and chimpanzees. Even polar bears and grizzlies. I assure you, if you were going to lay an egg, our reproductive systems would be too different for you to get pregnant in the first place."

  "How do you know?"

  "You know the scientific definition of a species?"

  "A group of organisms that are capable of interbreeding and producing viable young." He'd explained that to her enough times.

  Shay nodded. "Now that I know our child is growing normally and healthily, it's clear we're technically the same species, just different subspecies."

  "But how is that even possible?"

  "Stlozyn ancestors were human, taken from Earth a few hundred years ago. We were genetically… not modified, really. Just certain genes were made more pronounced, which is why I have scales and you have skin. But there were also additional strands of DNA added into our code that separate us from humans. This DNA allows us to shift shapes, much like the mimic octopus changes its coloring to camouflage itself."

  "Changing skin tones is way different than changing your body." Gemma frowned.

  "On the surface, yes, but the basic science behind it is very similar." Shay hesitated. "Would you like to see my beast form?"

  Gemma quickly shook her head–there was enough craziness that had happened today without seeing whatever shapeshifting magic Shay could do. "So is that why you call yourself a dragon?"

  "Our beast forms resemble the dragons in European mythos." Shay nodded. "But I'm a dragon because I'm male. Humans call themselves man and woman, Stlozyn call themselves dragon and dragoness."

  Gemma nodded. That, at least, she could understand.

  Shay brushed his fingers against her cheek. "You need to eat before your toast gets cold."

  "Right," Gemma muttered. She picked up her food and offered Shay a hesitant smile. He grinned back, and she felt her smile widen further. He really was the perfect man–or dragon–for her.

  This is crazy, but yeah. We can make it work.

  Chapter Four

  Seeing the beautiful ruby of Bronæl was better than Shay thought was possible. There were things he missed about his home planet, but he hadn't realized that he missed the planet itself so much.

  He stood on his command deck, an arm around Gemma's waist as they approached the p
lanet. His crew had been very enthusiastic when Gemma started to leave her room, so much so that Gemma had had to ask him to get them to lay off the congratulations. He had explained just how important children were to Stlozyn, but the attention still got to her.

  "There it is," he said proudly, turning to Gemma. "Bronæl."

  Utter awe shone from Gemma's face. "It's beautiful."

  It was, but not half so beautiful as the human leaning against him. Shay gazed at her, tracing the curve of her lips and reveling in the softness of her skin, the auburn of her hair. She was the most exquisite thing he had ever seen. He wished he could let her know just how beautiful she was, that the 'flaws' she thought she had–large ass, thick thighs, even her hairy toes—were all perfection to him.

  "We'll have to take a transport ship to the surface," he said, turning away from both beautiful sights. "This ship is too large to land except for in emergencies."

  "So, Science Alpha. Does that mean you're like a general?" Gemma asked, as they headed to the docking bay.

  Shay grinned and shook his head. "More like a governor general."

  Gemma's brows rose.

  "Think of this ship like a colony and me its head. I report directly to the Science Board. There are other ships like this one out there, but I have far more power than a general would."

  Gemma nodded. Shay could almost see the thoughts darting around in her head as she processed this. He had to admit, he was surprised at just how well she was taking everything. It was as if she met aliens every day. He did worry that it might be because she was still in shock, but she was showing no other symptoms of being in such a state.

  Once they landed on the planet, they took their time getting to his apartment, Gemma constantly asking questions. Shay checked the time when they finally arrived. He was due to deliver his findings to the Science Board soon. He quickly showed Gemma around, making sure she knew how to use the holographic entertainment system and cooking appliances. Finally, he showed her to her room.

  "We're not staying in the same room?" Gemma frowned at him. "We were living together on Earth. Are Stlozyn more uptight about sex than humans?"

  Shay stared back at her in surprise. Although they had kissed a little on the way here, he had been trying to give her space to come to terms with everything, and not force their relationship to get back to what it was. It was the reason that he thought it would be best for them to have two separate rooms.

  "You want to sleep with me?"

  Gemma nodded. "I'll admit that all this situation is a little weird–make that super weird–but being with you makes it less weird. At least for me…"

  "I just thought… I'm glad I was wrong."

  He bent to kiss her. Her reaction caught him by surprise–Gemma flung her arms around his neck, parting his lips and darting her tongue into his mouth at once. Shay groaned, tightening all over as he pulled her lush body against his. Her fingers tangled into his hair and she wrapped a leg around his hip. Atoms of the universe, she was moving fast! It reminded him of the first time they had made love. Gemma was demanding, eager to please, full of vigor. So passionate, emotional–everything dragonesses were not.

  Gemma let out a gasp as he moved his mouth to her neck. He sucked at her skin, loving the cool taste of her. If only he didn't have a meeting to attend! With a groan, he forced himself to move back.

  His human narrowed her eyes in confusion as he gently peeled her away from himself. "What's wrong?"

  "Nothing. It's just that I have my findings from Earth that I have to present to the Science Board. I can't be late. They are very busy individuals and would not look kindly on me being even a minute tardy." He sighed as Gemma wrinkled her nose, but she nodded her understanding. "I'll be back for supper, though."

  "Supper," Gemma repeated, following him out of the bedroom as he headed towards the door. "Will it be more Earth food or something from here? Will your food be poisonous to me? Will I be allergic?"

  "I have several dishes in mind made from ingredients similar to those that can be found on Earth," Shay replied. "I would not have brought you here if I thought our food would harm you. But there are still some supplies from Earth left. We can have whatever you want."

  Gemma's gaze became sultry. "I want something spicy."

  Shay groaned with desire. He quickly gave his human a kiss. Walking away from her at that moment was the hardest thing he had ever done. But he didn't have long to get to the Science Board, and he could not keep them waiting.

  ***

  Shay had expected his findings to be met with excitement and anticipation of a brighter future, when they arrived on Bronæl. He had expected the news of Gemma's pregnancy to be celebrated, to be broadcast on all information channels. Perhaps even for a human-Stlozyn breeding program to be considered.

  He did not expect that the Science Board would ignore all the exciting possibilities his finds had opened up. He did not expect to be ordered to keep Gemma's pregnancy a strict secret.

  He most certainly did not expect that the Science Board would reprimand him.

  When he entered the Board's throne room and saw the Board sitting on their high chairs wearing blue, the color of discipline, he tensed. What had he done that would be worthy of discipline? He had shared all of his research. Could this be because of Gemma? But it couldn't be. Interactions, even mating, were not forbidden between Stlozyn and other species, though there were few that were sentient enough to bother with.

  "Science Alpha Shay." The speaker, Niqæsh, a dragoness with burnished bronze scales, narrowed her eyes on him. "We have been informed that you have a potential cure for this disease that is ravaging our people, and yet you refuse to take the steps necessary to develop that cure."

  "I am unaware of what you mean," Shay replied, his fires beginning to smolder.

  He had a good guess what Niqæsh was talking about, but there could be no way that the Science Board would expect him to put his precious child and Gemma in danger by extracting DNA at this precarious early stage, could there? It was unethical!

  The dragoness' lips thinned. "You know exactly what I am referring to. Your second, Wynon, has informed us that she suggested extracting DNA from the fetus inside the human you brought back, and not only did you dismiss her suggestion without thought, but also threatened her. Such a display of emotion is inexcusable for a dragon in your position."

  "The fetus is my child," Shay said, his hands clenching. His fire burned hot in his belly and the wings of his beast pressed against the skin of his back. He struggled to keep his beast in. Now was not a time to allow it free reign. "The human's name is Gemma."

  "Alpha—"

  "Are you suggesting that I risk killing possibly the only child I will ever have? My findings on Earth indicate that a synthesis of human DNA will be enough to vaccinate those who have not been infected yet, to ensure they don't contract the disease. With a little more work, perhaps an extraction of DNA from my child after it is born and no risk will come to it, the infertility that plagues us might even be reversed."

  The dragoness leaned forward. "The DNA from a forming fetus will be much more potent. You know that."

  "I do. But what about our most holy ethics? It is sacrilege against science itself to experiment upon those that cannot give reasonable understanding and consent."

  "We are running out of time!" Niqæsh leaped to her feet, eyes firing, hands clenched. Smoke curled out of her mouth. And they called him emotional. "What use are ethics when our people are going to their graves childless?"

  Shay winced and took a deep breath. He could not allow them to experiment on Gemma or the baby. He had promised her that she would be safe. "If children are your main concern, perhaps a breeding program—"

  "Wynon has requested that the pregnant human is given to her custody. We have agreed that it is the best for our people. Either you will comply, or your position will be stripped from you."

  Shay snarled, a flicker of flame escaping his mouth. Never! He would never hand
over his child or Gemma to be experimented on!

  "Our people come first, Alpha." Niqæsh sat again, her eyes narrowed. "You are in a position no other dragon has been in. Your research is impressive. Maybe even enough to be assigned to the Board at your young age. Don't let your feelings get in your way."

  Shay's eyes narrowed.

  "You are dismissed."

  The dragon bowed stiffly, wishing he could tear the dragoness apart instead. Choose between his future, his ship, and Gemma? Unlikely. He would take Gemma away from this planet again, he would keep her safe and he would continue his research. He'd have a cure for this disease before the baby was born.

  Then Niqæsh and the Science Board would be eating their words.

  Chapter Five

  Gemma didn't have the chance to fully explore Shay's lush apartment before he came striding through the door, slamming it behind him. She jumped, her heart jumping to her throat as flames flickered out of Shay's mouth.

  His blood-red eyes were dark, emphasizing his alien appearance. For a moment, Gemma forgot herself and stumbled back as he came towards her.

  "We need to leave," he growled, his voice several octaves deeper and so growly that she could hardly understand him. "The Board–bunch of idiots!"

  He wasn't angry at her. Of course he wasn't. She shook her head–even when he was angry he would never hurt her. Her heart rate returned to normal. "What happened?"

  He glanced at her and the flames died. A pained smile crossed his face and he ran a hand through his hair. "I'll tell you later. Right now we need to get to the ship."

  Her heart flip-flopped. "Are you taking me back to Earth?"

  "I'm not sure yet. But we need to leave now."

  Gemma nodded. She didn't have anything to bring with her, so didn't protest when Shay wrapped an arm around her waist and ushered her out. He walked swiftly, almost too swiftly for her to keep up.