MARKUS

by KD Jones

  “Yeah, my shift starts at nine tonight.”

  “I will see you then, Valorie.” He bent at the waist before turning to go to his vehicle.

  It had been a mistake coming to see her. Now that he had her scent—his dragon had her scent—he would not be able to leave her. It was clear to him now that Valorie Castle was his mate. This wasn’t what he’d planned and it complicated things greatly, especially since she was human and had no idea that dragon shifters existed. A mate, one he and his dragon could bond with, was a precious gift to be protected and treasured.

  It was going to be difficult to explain to his companions that they would have to keep searching for their people without him, because he wouldn’t leave his mate now that he had found her. They would protest, he expected that. The hardest thing was not their resistance. He had to somehow tell Valorie what and who he was and convince her to bond with him and his dragon.

  Chapter 9

  Val was still reeling from her encounter with Markus earlier. There was something off about him and the way he talked. After he left her, she had taken her bike down to the local library, which was Mrs. Baker’s house. She kept one room lined with bookshelves full of books and had a computer there. When Mrs. Baker died, she requested that her daughter Caroline live in the house but keep her personal library open to the town. Caroline, a few years younger than Val, greeted her when she walked in.

  “Hi Val.”

  “Caroline, I just came to use the computer.”

  “No problem. No one’s come in today so far, but the school is sending the first grade to check out our children’s books. So, you’ll have the place to yourself for a couple of hours.”

  “Thank you.” Val sat down in front of the older computer to Google the place he said he was from, Drakonia—nothing. She searched for areas that referred to their soldiers as warriors—nada. She even tried to search for people with golden glowing eyes but came up with zero results. No search findings seemed to fit Markus at all. It made him an even bigger mystery. She liked a good mystery.

  Everything about him was just so different. His gold eyes seemed to glow at times, and the rumbling in his chest sounded like a bear growling. He smelled really good, too. When he picked her up to carry her back to her trailer, she couldn’t help but lean her head close to his neck and inhale. At first she thought he had a really nice cologne on, but then as his body rubbed against hers, his scent grew stronger. His scent was a rich, woodsy cedar-like smell and made her imagine making love with him under the stars.

  Her whole body responded to him and she even loved the feel of the rumbling. Her nipples hardened and she had to tighten her knees together for fear he would notice that she was getting wet between her thighs. She wanted him, but acting on those desires would lead to nothing but heartache. Markus would be leaving in a few days, leaving her behind like Roger had left her behind. She sighed. It didn’t feel right, comparing him to her ex. Roger had always been selfish and greedy. She chose to ignore the bad stuff because she wanted to be loved.

  Maybe her penchant for bad relationships stemmed from the fact that her childhood sucked. Her father left her and her mother when Val was just five years old. Her mother went from one boyfriend to another. Some of the boyfriends didn’t want the responsibility of raising someone else’s kid and would leave, and her mother would blame her for that.

  Then there were the creepy boyfriends that paid a little too much attention to Val, especially when she started to develop physically. Her mother would throw them out in fits of jealousy and she blamed Val for their behavior.

  By the time she graduated high school, her mother was ready for her to move out. She even had a bag packed for her the day she came home from getting her diploma. Val was okay with that; she had taken on a part time job her senior year and saved up to put a deposit on an apartment. She kissed her mother’s cheek, told her she loved her, and left. She hadn’t been back to see her mother since then, and didn’t think of her much. She’d found out that she was better off in the long run.

  After ten years living on her own, she was actually thriving. She’d moved to a new town, had gotten her associates degree online, and was planning to go to nursing school. Everything in her life was going well…except for her love life. She felt what she was missing was having someone to share her life with. It had become kind of lonely. That’s when she met Roger at a friend’s party.

  Roger was blond and blue-eyed, and looked like a California surfer. He flirted with her and she responded to the attention he was giving her. They dated six months before he moved in with her. It was wonderful the first three months of living together, then Roger lost his job.

  She would leave each morning to work and he would be at the table with the newspaper, planning on going out for interviews. Two weeks of that, then he simply said that he would be fine as a stay-at-home husband and father.

  He knew she would think that he was planning to ask her to marry him. It didn’t seem necessary to worry over him getting a job if this was how they would work their household out. She liked working. Unfortunately, Roger wasn’t a very good stay-at-home boyfriend. He was messy and spent her money carelessly. He always redirected her questions and anger by sweet-talking her and telling her how much he wanted to marry her.

  Then she came home from work to find that Roger had been selling all her furniture from the apartment. She lost it.

  “Roger, what the hell are you doing?” she demanded.

  “Remember how we were talking about going to Vegas to get married? Well, I figured we would sell all our stuff and just take a cross-country road trip, see the rest of the United States.”

  “I didn’t agree to a cross-country trip. I have a job and responsibilities.”

  “You should quit your job. Besides, once we are done traveling, I will get a job and you’ll get to be the stay-at-home mom.”

  “I don’t want to quit.”

  “Come on, babe, I’ve given up so much for you. You don’t even like that job. Let’s have an adventure we can tell our children about.”

  Val stupidly believed everything he told her. She quit her job, pulled out all her money she had saved, and helped Roger load up their few meager possession into her car. They had gone to Vegas but before they could get married, Roger got caught up gambling and lost almost all their money in one night. They argued as they drove across the border from Nevada to Arizona. Her car broke down just outside of Dragoon. It didn’t take long after that for him to leave her.

  Looking back now, she could see that she had been lonely and vulnerable when she met Roger. She was looking for someone to fill the empty spaces in her heart and he seemed all too willing. She still felt that emptiness inside, but when she dated JJ she knew that he wasn’t the one for her, either.

  Markus was different from them. She should be scared about even thinking of spending more time with him, but she wasn’t. He excited her, and with the way he carried her and handled JJ, she knew instinctively that he would protect her. No one could predict the future and life was just too short to live cautiously all the time. Maybe she should enjoy him while she had him, it would give her plenty of memories to warm her for future lonely nights.

  Chapter 10

  Later That Night at the Local Saloon

  “Why are we here?” Sonar asked Markus.

  “We’re going to look for signs that our people may have come through. I need to speak to a local to do that.”

  “You mean, you need to speak with the female.” Sonar snorted.

  “Her name is Valorie and yes, I will be speaking with her.” He hadn’t told his friends yet that he would be staying with Valorie in Dragoon. He needed to make sure that he won her over first and didn’t want to be fighting with his friend and wasting his energy.

  They had sat at a table in the corner where they could keep an eye on those coming and going from the saloon. It also allowed him to have a good visual on Valorie, to ensure her safety. She would occasionally look over
at him and smile. The other female, the one with the large breasts, was waiting on them.

  “Is there anything else I can get you, sugar?” The female leaned over, exposing her cleavage. It was nice, but she wasn’t the female he wanted and his dragon actually growled with anger.

  “That’s all, thank you.” Markus paid her and took his drink, glancing over at the bar.

  It aggravated him that males came in and flirted with his female, his mate. She would smile and laugh with the men, which infuriated him further. She should only smile at him.

  “Easy Markus, your eyes are starting to glow,” Sonar warned him.

  It was just him and Sonar at the saloon. They had Roan shift to dragon form and circle the perimeter in the sky. Markus could feel his dragon clawing to get out and fetch their mate. They were having an internal battle of wills.

  “We could fly her to the top of the mountain, claim her, and bond with her,” his dragon insisted.

  He reprimanded his dragon. “She would be terrified of us if we don’t explain to her first.”

  “I want her.”

  “Me too, me too.”

  Sonar was waving his hand in front of his face. “Markus! Are you even listening?”

  “Sorry, I was distracted.”

  “Obviously. I said that your eyes are glowing again. I think your dragon is trying to break free. Go outside, get some fresh air, then come back in when you’re calmed.”

  “Yes…I’ll do that.” Markus stood up and walked to the door of the saloon. He glanced once more at Valorie, who was watching him curiously. His dragon pushed again, wanting out. Markus controlled him and got through the door, breathing in the night air in large gulps.

  “Markus? Are you okay?”

  He turned to find Valorie had followed him outside. “I’m fine, just needed some air.”

  “My shift’s almost up,” she told him as she took a step toward him.

  Markus felt like a magnet was pulling him to her and took a step, bringing them closer. “Would you spend time with me after you are done working?”

  “Absolutely.” She smiled and it lit up her whole face.

  His heart thudded, and both he and his dragon wanted to see her smile like that for the rest of their lives. Moving forward until she was within reach, he slowly reached out his hand so that his fingers caressed her cheek.

  “You are so soft.” He looked into her beautiful eyes. She shivered and he immediately was worried. “Are you cold?” His body temperature always ran hot because of his dragon blood.

  “No, I can feel your body heat, it’s like a furnace.”

  He moved her to the shadows and pulled her against his body. “I know that I’m new to you, but there’s something between us. Can you feel it?”

  She nodded her head. “Yes. It’s crazy, but the moment I looked into your eyes I felt this…pull.”

  “I don’t think I’ll be able to wait until your shift ends before I do this.”

  “Do what?”

  He leaned down and kissed her. She had the most incredibly soft lips he had ever felt. When she opened up and his tongue found hers, the taste of her was explosive. His body reacted and his cock pressed hard against his pants. His dragon rumbled inside of him, eager for them to claim her.

  Valorie wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned against him. Her nipples had hardened and she moaned with desire. He was grateful she was feeling the same desire for him that he felt for her.

  Cupping her ass, he lifted her shorter frame up higher so that he could ground his lower half against hers. By the stars, she made him forget everything but mating with her. It took a few seconds for it to register that there was a screeching sound coming from above. There it was again, followed by two more screeching sounds. It was a dragon call, several of them, and they were getting closer.

  “What the hell is that?” Valorie asked, looking up into the night sky.

  Placing her down on the ground carefully, he pointed to the bar. “Go inside and find my friend. Tell him I need him right now. I want you to stay inside the bar and don’t come out until I come for you.”

  “Markus?”

  “Go!” He gave her a gentle shove. She turned and ran for the saloon door. No sooner had she disappeared inside then three large dragons dropped down from the sky, landing but a few feet away.

  Moving out of the shadows, he faced the dragons, their white shimmering scales gleaming. The lead dragon was easily recognizable. His cowardice had caused the death of many of his people when he broke the line and entered the portal, shutting it closed in both regions. The other kings saved what people they could who were in the portal chamber, but those who were in the West Region of Drakonia died, their portal shutting off abruptly. The dragons shifted and they stood before him in humanoid form. A bag with a rope tied around their necks was removed and clothing was pulled out.

  He addressed the male in the middle, “King Dyson, I see that you have survived.”

  “Who are you?”

  “Captain Markus of the Drakonian Elite Warriors.”

  “The last time I saw you was hundreds of years ago. I’d assumed you stayed on Drakonia. Whose portal did you use?”

  “I came here on board the Zyon. It’s only been ten years since we fled Drakonia.”

  King Dyson took a step back and looked up into the stars. “Only ten years? How is that possible?”

  “The mages were able to find coordinates to take us through wormholes that sped up our travel. Also, the portals transported our people to a time period on each planet that would be more conducive to their survival.”

  “Hundreds of years spent on this horrible planet with these people. Now we can go home in just ten years!” King Dyson paced back and forth, excited, looking up at the stars.

  “No.”

  King Dyson stopped walking to look at him curiously. “What do you mean…no?”

  “There is no more Drakonian homeworld. The atmosphere has been distorted to where it would be difficult to support life. Everything that made it livable for our people is gone. No water, no oxygen, no animal or plant life.”

  Dyson waved that information away. “If we can’t go home to Drakonia, we can at least use the battle cruiser to conquer Earth. It has been hell trying to live amongst these mortals. I tried to rule where I could but…there is always someone getting in my way.”

  It didn’t surprise Markus to hear that King Dyson tried to conquer the people of Earth. He was always the most restless and always ready to start a war.

  “Give me your communicator Markus, and I’ll contact the commander.”

  “General Ranier is not under your command. He answers to King Reichardt, as do I.”

  Dyson growled angrily. “You dare defy me, warrior? I’m King Dyson!”

  Markus felt the air around them swirl as four more dragons landed. These dragons differed in scale colors from red, to green and gold. They shifted to human form and Markus immediately recognized King Reichardt, who stepped forward.

  “You are king only in name. Here on Earth, you rule no one but those you took with you during the evacuation. You closed that portal without thinking about all those you were leaving behind and sentencing to death. You are not worthy of the crown you claim,” Reichardt said before turning to Markus, who knelt down on one knee.

  “Warrior Markus? It has been quite a long time.”

  “My king, ten years for me but I hear it’s been longer for you. I’m sorry it took so long to get back to you.”

  “We’ll tell our stories later.” Reichardt turned to Dyson. “Leave Dyson, this is my territory.”

  “I’m not going anywhere. I heard the dragon call and answered.”

  Reichardt snarled at him. “You attacked humans on the edge of my territory and have been completely banned. If you don’t leave now, I will force you.”

  “You can try but all you’ll accomplish is getting your head chopped off.”

  Markus stood up ready to defend his king. He felt Son
ar’s presence coming up beside him. He didn’t have a weapon—his dragon was a weapon. His claws started to inch out of his fingers. Another scent had his dragon ready to spring forward to defend—their mate

  Chapter 11

  Val was worried when Markus sent her inside for his friend. When she told Sonar that Markus needed him, the male went from motionless and expressionless to a terrifying mask of furiousness. She followed him to the door and stayed inside at first. She couldn’t see everything that was happening because it was dark and she was at an odd angle. It looked like Sonar and Markus were about to take on a bunch of guys as big as they were. She took out her cellphone ready to call the sheriff, but decided that maybe she could defuse the situation.

  “Hey! You guys causing trouble, you need to leave before I call the sheriff.” She moved to stand next to Markus, who glanced down at her with frustration on his face.

  “Go inside, Valorie.”

  “No way. I’ve got my phone right here and I’ll have the sheriff out in a matter of minutes.” She gasped when the man who seemed the most threatening stepped forward.

  “A human? You haven’t been on this planet long enough to taste these little morsels, but let me advise you that they’re good for a little fun but that’s all.”

  She ignored the weird part about just coming to the planet. “Hey, that’s rude!”

  Markus picked her up and placed her behind him. “Go into the saloon now, Valorie!”

  His buddy Sonar gave her a shove, which she didn’t appreciate at all. She stumbled but when she turned around to complain, whatever she was about to say was forgotten. She froze in horror as the men started to fight with what looked like knives in their hands. Then one of them started getting bigger and bigger—he used the knives to rip off his clothes. His body changed—morphed—with scales popping out everywhere, his face elongated, and he grew a tail. He was like an enormous lizard…no, not a lizard, a dragon.