"Joon," Donte says. "I think you’ve found what you were looking for."
Chapter 20
I sit beside Donte, watching him drive us home from the library. With my excitement over finding the book, I almost forgot what I’d just experienced with him: my first time making love.
I barely let it affect me at all. My mind was so focused on the acquisition of information that I didn't feel my excitement.
I smile wistfully as I gaze at my handsome Donte, happy that it was him I experienced that precious moment with. Of all my mates, he is the wisest among them. He guided me through my first time. I will never forget that.
I’ve watched the mating holofilms and the computerized animations many dragons at the Academy enjoy watching. I knew what to expect. But nothing could have prepared me for the overpowering hunger I experienced mating with my fated.
As we pass Draxos Prime on the way back to Arcadia, Donte looks at me and smiles, squeezing my knee.
“How are you?” he asks.
“Good. Better than I expected.”
“What did you expect?”
“I guess I didn't really know what to expect. But making love with my fated mate was…inexplicably euphoric.”
“It was the same for me, Joon,” he says.
I know that he means it, and it makes my heart explode with joy. I love that I made love with Donte, but I know there will be hell to pay when I get back to the palace.
Donte directs the speeder into the atmosphere of Arcadia and swoops gracefully to land outside my palace. I sigh as the exit hatch slides open and a ramp settles onto the ground. I can see the guys hurrying out of the palace to greet us. Uri is at the exit hatch before Donte and I even place our feet on the soil of Arcadia.
“You've been gone far too long,” he says.
“We went and came back as quickly as possible,” Donte says.
Uri leans over me and sniffs around my neck. He stands back with an angry grimace, prompting the other guys to gather around and smell me too. They can scent what Donte and I did in the library. My face flushes with heat and Donte takes my hand to reassure me.
“You've mated with her, haven’t you?” Uri demands.
Flume crosses his arms and scowls. Reese lets out a long grumbling sigh and Mika stares at me wide-eyed with wonder.
“Can we discuss this inside?” I ask. The servants gather around me, asking what I need.
“Come Joon,” Donte says, placing his hand at the small of my back. “Don’t let them get to you.”
He guides me through the crowd of my mates and servants and into the palace, where he escorts me into our favorite sitting room. There is fire blazing in the hearth. It’s cozy as the rain begins to fall outside the window. The guys file into the room, silently brooding. Their anger fills me with agitation.
“Yes,” I start as they all sit on the couches around the sitting room. “Donte and I made love at the library. We also found critical information in the quest to save our species from extinction. Let’s keep things in perspective.”
“How could you do this?” Uri snaps at Donte.
“I chose to make love to Donte, Uri.”
“Now he has an advantage over all of us,” Uri says.
“No one has an advantage. It just happened.”
“To be fair, we should all get a chance to make love to her,” Uri says.
“I'm not a toy to be shared. I decide who I make love to.”
The looks on their faces are dark and irritable. I can feel the intensity of their energy throbbing in the room. All five of these men are in a deep mating thrall. Their unhinged energy is directed entirely at me. Holofilms and pleasure houses will never satisfy them now. Only I can do that.
I let out a deep sigh, wishing I could go down to the laboratory and explore my new insights without having to deal with any of this. But my mates are my responsibility. Without me, they will die.
“Okay then,” I start. “Since I made love to Donte while we were away. I will date you each again and if things go well on the date, I will make love to you.”
The men all look at each other and nod in agreement. I let out a relieved sigh and stand.
“Well, now that that's taken care of, I need to get to the laboratory to contact my brother. Excuse me gentlemen, I will see you later tonight.”
“Wait?” Uri asks. “Who goes first?”
“To make this easy, let’s use the same rotation we used before. While I’m away, why don’t you all think about how to make the experience romantic and pleasurable for me.”
I stand and exit the sitting room. I wish there were more I could do to reassure them and settle them down, but I'm too focused on my discovery to think about it now. I'll think about it later when it's time to make love to Flume.
Chapter 21
I make my way out of the palace and hop onto my single person speeder. I’ve barely slept in two days, I just lost my maidenhood, and I made possibly one of the greatest discoveries in recent Draxos history. There are far too many things going on for me to keep it all straight.
I know that first and foremost, I must contact my brother. I have the information from the book of mythology, Tales of the Ancients, on a drive in my pocket. I can quickly transfer it to my brother when I get to the high-powered satellite computer at the laboratory.
Flying away on my speeder, I see the guys standing on the landing strip outside the palace. I wish I had more time to spend with them. But I don't. It was never my intention to have my work interrupted like this or for my mating ritual to be interrupted either.
If things had happened on my own terms, on my own time, maybe I could have given each my attention. But since the Draxos have changed their expectations of females, I am stuck in this position.
I speed through the airways to the Academy and land outside the laboratory. Throwing my leg over the speeder, I hop onto the ground and hurry inside. Taylon greets me at the front entrance with a surprised smile on his face.
“Joon, how is the mating ritual treating you?” he asks me kindly.
“As well as can be expected while I’m in the middle of multiple important scientific missions. However, I have important information to share with my brother. It could be exactly what he needs for his Draxos/human breeding program.”
“What is it, Joon?” Taylon asks.
“I found a reference to a book of mythology called Tales of the Ancients in the laboratory databases when I searched for references of ancient genetic research. I went to investigate the Library of Remotis. There are vast chambers full of books and disconnected databases. Nothing is catalogued, according to the jerk librarian, but eventually we did find the book.
“One of the myths tells the story of how the ancients visited an Earth like planet when they first entered the galaxy. It appears that they mated with the native humans during that time. They created a transformation ritual to change humans into dragons, making them compatible with our kind.”
“How exactly did that work?”
“From what I understand, the first hybrids were purely genetic manipulation, using Draxos genetics to splice with human genetics. Then the Draxos were able to mate with the hybrids. But the hybrids still require genetic activation to bring out the hybrid’s recessive genes. That requires a special protein.”
“Did you find out what protein is required?”
“Yes. I did. It’s the semen of the fated mate.”
“This is indeed a great discovery,” Taylon says, beaming at me like a proud mentor.
“The passage was not in our standard history books. The myth I read included a detailed instruction on how to change a hybridized human into a dragon so that they would be compatible for mating. The union of a transformed human and a Draxos creates a viable hatchling who is one hundred percent dragon.”
“Sysko must know of this at once,” Taylon says.
Chapter 22
We hurry into the communications room and Taylon attempts to connect to Sysko�
�s ship. It takes several long moments before there is contact. I wait impatiently until Sysko’s image flickers onto the screen.
“Joon?” Sysko says. What do you have for me?”
“I have found reference to a mating ritual in an old book of mythology. It clearly depicts how to transform a human with recessive dragonoid genes into a dragon.”
“Send me everything you have immediately,” Sysko says.
“Sending now,” I say, connecting my wrist com to the computer.
“I'll have the science team look over it as soon as it arrives.”
“Sysko,” I start.
“Yes, sister?” he says when I hesitate.
“Is it possible for you to send a sample of human genetic material to the Draxos system?” I ask him.
“Why do you need that?”
“The majority of my experimentation for the last year has been attempting to splice Draxos and Zohan genetics. The computer simulations suggested that it should be possible, but not one single experiment has been successful. With this new information about the humans, I believe that I could use the same principle to splice human DNA with Draxos DNA, thus creating an inoculation to the plague,” I tell him.
“I will have samples sent to you immediately.”
“Thank you, Sysko. This could be the breakthrough I've been waiting for.”
“You’ve brought me what could be the key to our breeding program, sister. No request is too large.”
“How goes the fight against the Archon?”
“We have battled them back from the human solar system, but they remain vigilant at the perimeter. Enough about that, I hear congratulations are in order for your mating. I hear you have five mates! If I’d known you had so many, I might not have sent you on this mission.”
“Now I’m glad you didn’t know,” I say with a laugh. “I hope that soon you will get to meet them all.”
“As do I, little sister,” Sysko says. “Farewell for now.”
I'm left in the silence of the conference room with Taylon. We look at each other with excited smiles on our faces. I'm not sure if I should scream or cry or jump up and down or hurry to the lab to continue work on computer simulation of the splicing of human DNA.
I stand on wobbly legs, realizing how tired I am. I don't want to go home and sleep. All I want to do is continue working, to find the cure and to share it with all of my people. I want nothing more than for the dark night of the Draxos to come to an end and to arrive at a new dawn for our species. Something in my heart tells me that between my brother and I we will find a light at the end of the tunnel.
Chapter 23
My body refuses to stay upright so I head home. When I arrive at the palace, I hurry upstairs to my bedroom without alerting my mates. As much as I want to spend time with them, and wish I could focus on their needs, I'm exhausted.
The hum of discovery buzzes in my brain. I can't let up for even a minute. My brother’s and Taylon’s excitement over the discovery are amplifying my own.
I know I shouldn't get ahead of myself. My failures in the past have taught me that it is best to wait for verification before becoming too excited about anything.
One thing my experiments have taught me is that the variation in quantities of components can play a huge difference in the reaction of the combined elements. When I receive the human genetic material, I may not land on the correct quantities right away. It will require patience and perseverance on my part.
As I crawl into my bed, still fully clothed, I think of the sets of experiments I will run when I receive my genetic samples from Sysko. My mind is busy with numbers, data, and genetic sequences as it finally shuts down and I drift off into a dreamless sleep.
I wake with a start sometime later, not sure where I am or how long I've been out. My mind immediately settles on the discovery of the day before, and I jump out of bed. My legs are still stiff with sleep as I stumble toward the washroom.
I remember with a rush of emotion that I made love with Donte for the first time yesterday. Then I remember the deal I made with the rest of my mates.
After showering and choosing a simple yellow dress and black flats, I hurry out of the palace. It's still early and mist clings to the white sandy beaches of the Sea of Light. I let out an icy breath that mists in the morning air and climb onto my single person speeder.
At the lab, I check the computer simulations I started before I left for the library of Remotis. The readouts from my first simulations, splicing generic human DNA sequences, is promising. I spend the next several hours programing multiple variations of the experiment. I also begin a simulation on the human transformation process, as outlined in the Tales of the Ancients.
“You look like you could use a cup of black tea,” I hear Flume say behind me.
I look over my shoulder as he hands me the cup of tea. I accept it gratefully and take a long sip of the hot liquid. Letting out a sigh of satisfaction, I thank him.
“Let me take you out for a morning meal,” he says.
He offers me his elbow, and I slide my fingers into the crook of his arm. I can feel his long powerful muscles under my fingertips. We walk into the open air, and the sun shines on my pale blue skin. I quickly construct pair of nanotech sunglasses and slide them over my eyes.
“There's a café around the corner from the Academy,” Flume says. “I thought we could go there.”
We walk across the campus to Café Rigo, one of my favorite places in the city Borai. As we take a seat under a gauzy umbrella in a round iron table on the patio, a server emerges from the café and stands beside our table.
“Today’s special is sea eggs over easy with gow cheese custard sauce.”
“Ooh, I’ll have that.”
“I'll have the same,” says Flume.
The server enters our order into his tablet and returns inside. I gaze at Flume over the table, and he reaches out to hold my hand.
“I wish to help you with your mission.”
“I don't need help with my work. But I do need your help with the other males. I have so very much to do, and I can't deal with them being so aggressive and obnoxious. Could you get through to Uri to stop being intimidating and insulting to Reese and Mika. And get them all to stop squabbling. I heard from Quintin there’s been more than a dozen brawls in the back field since I left for the library.”
“That's a tall order, My Queen,” he says with a snicker.
“I know,” I say, rolling my eyes.
“But something I can take care of,” he assures me.
The server brings our meal and a pot of black tea. I dig into my meal. The sea eggs and custard is exquisite.
“Thank you for bringing me here. This used to be one of my favorite places to study when I was in school.”
“I wanted to take you somewhere you’d feel at home. Having five mates must be challenging for you. I wanted to give you a breather from all that,” he says. His gaze penetrates me as if he can see into my soul.
“I am glad you are here to help me.”
“I'm honored to do what I can for you, My Lady,” he says. “I’ve seen the worst of the galaxy. Being with you gives me a whole new life.”
“I know you were special forces military,” I say with a gulp.
“I was behind enemy lines in the Archon Empire for quite some time. Deep undercover, involved in criminal elements within cyborg territory. The things that I saw there haunt me. But now I am home and have been given a second chance with you, my mate, my Queen. My life with you is a great pleasure, no matter how biting the pain.”
My heart flips in my chest at his words. Flume has always been kind to me, but he is sometimes distant and brooding in the presence of the others. It has been hard for me to get to know him. I feel like he's showing me inside of himself for the first time.
After our morning meal, we retire to a luxury inn for visiting professors, lecturers, and students. The accommodations are gorgeous, modern, clean and well kept. I walk onto the ba
lcony overlooking the Sea of Light and gaze out at the water.
“You don't have to do this if you don’t want to,” Flume says, coming up behind me on the balcony.
He kisses the back of my neck and sensation spikes down my spine. I let out a long, gasping sigh at the feeling of his lips on my skin. His tongue slides along the back of my neck and down my shoulder. After my experience with Donte, I know what to expect. But every time Flume touches me or kisses me, it’s like fireworks explode from his lips and radiate through my entire body.
Chapter 24
I let out a long, ragged breath as Flume rains kisses down over my back. He turns me around and leads me into the bedchamber. Wind ruffles the gauzy curtains, blowing them into the room with the smell of the salty sea air.
My heart beats double time as Flume holds me around the waist. He envelops me in his strong arms, kissing my forehead right between my eyes. I can feel him holding back, and I don't want him to.
I lean up and catch his lips in mine, and the intensity of my own heat comes to the surface. I can do a magnificent trick with my mind. When I’m focused on something, all other thoughts disappear. In this moment with Flume, my entire attention is on him. He is all I want and all I need.
The heat that’s been building inside me since the tournament, ignites into a burning rush of hot, wet desire. Flume slips his tongue between my lips. My nipples peak painfully hard against my dress. He slowly pulls my dress up my thighs. His hands are on my bare flesh, gripping and squeezing the globes of my behind.
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