by Maia Starr
“What? Are you saying that you absorbed my DNA and you are healed?”
“Yes, I think so. I cannot be sure without the test that Dr. Vanessa Lopez was able to run on my king, but it seems that way,” I said.
“Unbelievable. I can't believe this! I knew that I should be suspicious of you from the beginning. You are not here to help us fight the cyborgs out of the kindness of your own hearts; it is because you need human females to save yourselves. And you used me! That's what all that chasing me was? I thought you actually cared for me. This is complete bullshit,” she said as she reached up and slapped me. It was only a small stain against my cheek; a human could not hurt us.
“No, I did not. It is not like that at all,” I said, but she did not let me finish. She turned around and walked off.
“Don't talk to me, Azlo! Never talk to me! You are a selfish pig!”
“Wait, Sheila; you are not letting me explain,” I said. But she rounded the corner and was out of my view.
“Shit,” I said.
I turned and walked in the other direction. I knew this was going to happen. But I had to tell her. I didn't have a choice. I was in love with her, and I wanted to be honest. I stomped down the street, wondering how I could get her back. It was important. I wanted her at my side. I didn't want her to be suspicious of me.
“General, wait,” I heard Chrissy say. I stopped.
“Hello,” I said trying to hide the fact that I was completely pissed off.
“General, I never got a chance to thank you for saving the village. We would not have survived if it wasn't for you and your many, many dragons,” she said arching her brows.
“You are welcome. We are doing what is honorable,” I said.
"No, you could have left us, but you did not. So thank you. If you ever want me to thank you personally, I am open to that as well,” she said. I wished that Sheila was here to hear her talk. If she knew that I had options to heal myself if that was all that I was looking for, then she would know that I wasn't just using her.
“General, Commander Zai, is looking for you,” Lieutenant Reqan said as he flew down from the sky and landed next to me. I heard Chrissy let out a delightful sigh.
“I am on my way. Lieutenant, let me introduce you to Chrissy Jones. She was just offering to make a meal for a weredragon in thanks for defeating the cyborgs at the battle. I think you should have the honor of enjoying that meal,” I said.
“Yes, that would be exceptional, Lieutenant. If you would like it?” she said.
Reqan had a big smile on his face. “I would be honored,” he said. I patted him on the back and flew into the air, letting the two of them talk about arrangements. There: why couldn't Sheila see that I wasn't just after sex with any human females? I would have to prove it to her somehow, or she would never forgive me. I went to see the commander right away.
Chapter 10
Sergeant Sheila Adams
I knew the dragon scum was not to be trusted. But I didn't know that it would be because of this. I thought they were playing some sort of trick on the village, but I didn't know that I would be the trick. I felt so stupid. I was so filled with anger that I could feel my face turning a bright red as I walked away from General Azlo. I wanted to do more than slap him, but there was not much I can do to hurt him. He was too strong, much stronger than humans.
He had told me the truth about why he had sex with me. He did it to save his own life. I didn't know what to believe about the bonding of DNA. It seemed impossible to me, but then again, he was an alien, and a month ago I would have considered him to be impossible. Years ago I would've considered cyborgs taking over the Earth impossible, so maybe there was truth to this DNA bonding stuff. Having sex with me saved his life, but why me?
Later that night, I understood this bonding thing better than I wanted to. I lay in bed trying to go to sleep. Finally, I dozed off, but in the middle of the night, I felt Azlo’s heat on me. I could feel his hard dragon scales brush across my nipples. I moaned in my sleep. His hot dragon hand was on my ankle. It caressed me and moved up my leg, slowly over my knee to my inner thigh. Then it pressed against my wet center. His thumb pressed on my clit and moved it from side to side. “Oh god. Oh yes…” I whispered. Then his hand kept moving. It moved up my belly and over my breasts. His fingers rolled my hard nipples gently. I arched my back up and opened my mouth, craving his kiss. I felt his mouth clamp over mine, and his long tongue massaged my tongue as his hands massaged and kneaded my breasts. I felt so small and delicate in his hands. He was so large. The heat from inside of him was radiating through his skin and on to me. I felt like I was sweating in heat under him. I moved and rolled around. Then he trailed kisses from my mouth down my neck. His tongue licked my breasts. He kissed my belly, further and further down. Until his tongue was pressed on my clitoris. In a flash, I exploded into orgasmic pleasure. I screamed. I woke.
“What?” I said out of breath as I looked around the empty room. I was completely naked and sweating.
I looked around the room again, “Azlo?” There was no answer. I grabbed a match and lit the candle next to my bed. The room was empty. I slid out of bed, wrapping a sheet around me. I picked up the candle and went to the living room. It was empty. The door was locked the windows were closed. There was no sign that anyone had been there. I was alone.
“Shit, it was a dream. But it was so real,” I said sitting on the couch. How could that be? I had sex dreams before but never like that. I had never had an orgasm in my sleep before. How did this happen? I was so confused. I walked back to my bed and blew out the candle. I laid down trying to cool off and not think of Azlo fucking me. Then it hit me.
“No fucking way! He said we bonded….” I whispered to myself.
I realized this dream could be part of the bonding. I could feel him even when he wasn't with me. I wondered if he could feel me? It was unbelievable and hard to understand. I knew that it was a sex dream only, but could it be that it was so strong because we were now bonded? I was a part of him now, and if he was thinking about sex with me, or even dreaming it, maybe I could feel it too. It was completely insane! But I liked it. Was that bad?
Then at that moment, I thought about Devon, but for some reason, thinking about him didn't hurt the way that it used to. I didn’t feel the same amount of guilt that had burdened me. But why? The regret and remorse was all that I had left of Devon. I had wanted to hold tight to it even though I knew that it wasn’t healthy. But it kept the memory of Devon inside of me, and that was what I wanted. It was fading
Could it be? Could it be that bonding with this weredragon had pushed the love and pain that I felt over my fiancé out of my heart? Fuck, how dare he do this to me? And he knew that it would happen this way too. He knew all along because it had happened to his king with another human female. This was his plan all along. I felt stupid. But more than that, I felt more and more in love with this weredragon. I would always have my fiancé in my heart, but the love for Azlo was growing stronger and stronger by the minute. I felt like I had no control over it. He had claimed my heart, body, and soul.
The next day I tried to keep my mind occupied with work. There was a lot to do. The infrastructure of the village had suffered ever since the attack because people were traumatized, and it took a few days to feel normal again. It took a few days to feel safe. I had to admit that the Veruka army did save us. We owed them a lot. If they had not been here, then we would not have survived the attack.
“Sergeant.” I turned around to see Lieutenant Reqan coming toward me.
“Yes, Lieutenant?” I said.
“Our engineers are with your man Richard. They are requesting your presence. Do you have time to meet with them now?” he gestured in the direction of the mechanic shop.
“Yes, I do,” I said as I began to walk with him.
“I have to admit that I am very impressed with your skills, Sergeant. The way you have kept this village up and running practically on your own, under your leadershi
p,” he said.
“Thank you, Lieutenant. But how do you know about the work that I did here before you arrived?” I asked.
“I have become… friendly with a human female named Chrissy Jones. She told me all about it; she speaks highly of you,” he said.
I gave him a look. I knew exactly what he meant by friendly. It seemed that she was throwing herself at all the dragons in the village. Then it made me remember something; she had been overly flirtatious with Azlo before he was ever with me. She was throwing herself at him. Why did he not sleep with her? It would have healed him of the sickness that very day. Instead, it was days later before he laid with me. It did not make sense to me.
“I understand. I hope that she is making you feel very welcome here,” I said.
“Yes, she is. She has come to admire me, I think, and I admire her in return. At first, she was drawn to the general, but he refused her. I should say that I am glad that he did. Otherwise, I would not be with her,” he said with a big smile.
I looked at him in shock. “How do you know he refused her?”
“Because it was him that put us together. She had been trying to be with him since we arrived, but he had no interest, even if it was very important that he did,” he said. I stopped walking. He knew. He knew about the sickness.
“Important? Are you talking about the blackness that he had?” I asked. He stopped walking and looked at me with shock.
“I was not supposed to speak of this. The general will be pissed off at me,” he said.
“Your secret is safe with me. I already know that he was sick; he told me yesterday. But that being with me healed him,” I said.
“It is true. But do not speak of this to anyone else. He was showing the signs of the blackness. I feared for his life. He could've died at any moment, and I thought it was very selfish of him to not simply mate with any of the humans here in order to save his life. He has an army to run. The soldiers look to him for leadership. The king gave him an important mission, and he was being stubborn and would not take just any female,” he said.
“And why is that? He could've died waiting?” I said confused.
“I asked him that very question daily. He did not want to hear it. His heart was set on another; I believe you are that human female he was willing to wait for or die. With all due respect, Sheila, it was a risky move that he should not have taken,” he said.
“Yes, I agree with that. Come; let's go see with the engineers say,” I said urging him to continue walking. I didn't want to admit that I was on the verge of tears. I now understood. Azlo could have had sex with any human female to save his life. But instead, he waited because he wanted me. He wanted to bond with me. I didn't know how I felt about it, but I was overwhelmed.
Chapter 11
General Azlo Bron
I had bonded with Sheila, but she still would not let me in. She was angry with me, and she had every right to be. I did keep the plague secret from her, but it wasn't because I was trying to use her to heal me. It was because I did not want her to think that I only wanted to use her; I wanted her to want to me without suspicion. But I had ruined all of it. I should've been honest with her from the start. Now I had made a mess of things. It was wrong. But now we were bonded, and I did not want to live without her. Now more than ever. I could feel her inside of me. I felt extreme joy. I had the strength of three Veruka. I have never felt better in my one hundred years of life, and it was all because of her.
“General, we intercepted radio static,” Lieutenant Reqan said as he came into my office.
“Humans?” I asked as I stood up.
“We don't think so,” he said.
“Clenok… We need to find out where it is coming from,” I said.
“Should we send out a scouting party?” he asked.
“Yes, but I want to go myself,” I said.
“I will prepare a ship,” he said.
“No, we should fly as Dragon. We cannot be detected.”
“Is that wise? We cannot have you injured,” he said.
“That is up to me. You will stay here. If I do not return I leave you in charge. Sergeant Sheila has one copy of the virus; you know where the rest are. You will continue this mission,” I said.
“But, General—”
“Enough. I want ten soldiers with me prepared to leave in fifteen minutes. I want coordinates of the radio transmission,” I said.
“Yes, right away,” he said.
I stretched and prepared to go on the scouting journey. I walked to the roof of the tower building. I had still been thinking about the drones dropping the cyborgs onto the bank building. It was obvious that they had somehow connected to the keddle panel after we turned it on. I feared that they had our location locked and that a bigger army would be coming. The cyborgs that we battled with were only the beginning. So I had to know for myself. If there was a Clenok army out there mobilizing toward us, then we would need to plan for it. I was ready to stretch my wings and get out there in the thick of it. I shifted into weredragon form. I stretched my emerald wings out behind me. I needed to let go of some of this energy that had built up inside of me since being with Sheila. It was itching to explode.
I looked and saw several dragons flying toward me. They were flying from the base camp and landing on the roof.
“Reporting for duty, scout team,” a captain said.
“Good. Do you have the radio transmission coordinates?” I said.
He walked to my side and pressed on his armband. A hologram appeared floating above his arm with a map and the coordinates of the transmission.
“Good, swipe those to every armband here, including my own,” I said. He swiped, and the hologram information traveled and copied itself to every armband of the scout party.
“Team, listen up. We are going to scout in this direction. We are going to fly at our vertical capacity to be high above the cyborgs. We are hoping they will not even know we are there. When we come in range of this coordinate, all radio communication between us shall be silenced. We do not want them picking up on our transmissions. This is scouting only. We do not engage. If we see an army, we are trying to get a headcount. We want to see which direction they are moving. That is all the information that we need. Then we turn and head back. Is that understood?” I said as I walked back-and-forth in front of the team.
“Yes, General, sir!” they shouted.
“Good. Let's scout. After me!” I shouted and then ran off of the roof and flew into the air. My wings stretched out behind me, and I dove over the base camp. The weredragons below cheered and whistled as the team flew over them. Then we flew straight up toward the sky and flew out over the fence lines toward the coordinates. It felt good to fly and to be reckless again.
Chapter 12
Sergeant Sheila Adams
After talking to Lieutenant Reqan and hearing about the sacrifice that Azlo made in order to be with me, wait for me had me thinking all night. I could not get him out of my mind. I knew that I was falling in love with him. There was no escaping it. So the next morning, I decided that I would go to him. I would talk to him. I wasn't sure if I was ready to trust him or believe everything he had told me, but I ached for him. I needed to see him. I needed to touch him.
“Lieutenant, I need to speak with the general,” I said as I found Lieutenant Reqan walking around the base camp.
“Sergeant, good to see you. The general is not here,” he said.
“What? What do you mean? Do you mean he is in the village?” I asked.
“No, I mean he is not here in Providence,” he said.
My eyes grew wide. I did not know what to think of this information. “He left us?” I began to panic.
“No, he went on a scouting mission to look for the Clenok army. We intercepted a transmission yesterday; we think it is Clenok. So he went with the scouting party to look for the source of the transmission. He was very stubborn about going even though I told him it was too dangerous for him to go,” he said.<
br />
“Yes, it is very dangerous. It was very stupid of him to leave like that to go look for the Clenok army. He is so frustrating. How do you deal with it?” I said getting angry that he was putting himself in this danger. But really, I was angry with myself for being angry at him and separating from him, leaving things the way they were. Now he could die.
“I take it day by day. It isn't easy working with the general. But he is the bravest Veruka I know, besides my king of course,” he said with a wink.
“Which direction did the scout go in?” I asked.
“South of the front gates,” he said.
“Then that is where I will be, at the gates. Please let me know if you hear anything, as soon as you hear it,” I said, and I could not fight back the water gathering in my eyes. He put his hand on my shoulder. “He will be all right, Sheila. He will return to you,” he said. Then he turned and walked away. My worry for Azlo must have been all over my face. I pulled myself together and went to the front gates. I climbed the spiral staircase and took a position in the guard tower. I scanned the sky hoping to see the familiar sight of dragon wings headed toward me. The sky was empty except for beautiful clouds on a bright sunny day. Even the snow on the ground was starting to melt. Spring would be about a month away.