Pain and grief were worse companions than a crazed inner dragon, she was sure of it. Any relief from it was welcome. She had to let it be welcome or she didn’t know what she would do.
The small transport ship lifted from the dock and thrust forward through the exit and into space as she thought about her family. She would try to do something to honor their memory and their lives. When she got back to Vlosh, she would ask him about doing something with the mating lottery prize money.
The small vessel flew through the starry black void of space from one massive vessel towards another.
Draconian spaceships looked a lot like what you might see in a science fiction movie. There was a large half-domed area over a smaller cylindrical part. She had a flash of memory and realized they looked like the Enterprise from Star Trek.
Her vessel slid through space until it arrived at the docking bay of the other ship and came to a landing inside.
Indigo felt nervous and excited to meet the other brides. She hoped they liked her and would accept her even though she’d been mated with a guy from the military armada.
The exit of her ship opened, and she unlatched her harness. A moment later, she stepped out into the docking bay.
A group of girls came forward. Two of them were pregnant and the third held a little baby in her arms. All three were dark skinned and curvy like herself.
They rushed forward with beaming smiles and found herself being hugged and petted by all three at once.
“Hi,” one of the girls said. “You must be Indigo.”
“Yes.”
“I’m Tabby,” said a pretty, enthusiastic girl with long wavy hair and bright brown eyes. “This is Loretta,” she said, motioning to a more reserved but equally pretty girl at her side.
Indigo waved at the second girl, who gave her a warm smile in return. “This is our leader, Lexi,” Tabby finally said, motioning to the girl with the baby. She looked like she might be part Hispanic, but Indigo wasn’t sure. She was just as sweet and pretty as the other two girls, even with what appeared to be a very young baby.
“And this is Violet,” Lexi said, folding back the blanket the baby was wrapped in.
Everyone “awed” at the baby as they gazed down at her. She was dark like her mother but had the angular, perfectly proportioned features of a Draconian.
“She’s so beautiful.”
“It is a great blessing to have a Draconian daughter,” Lexi said. “Come on, girls, let’s do some shopping.”
All four of them giggled and turned to the exit of the docking bay. They passed Draconian technicians who seemed to give them a reverential kind of respect as they proceeded toward the hallway.
More Draconian males passed, looking down at the woman as if they really were a lottery prize. It made Indigo feel honored and freaked out at the same time. If these men didn’t have very many women back on their home planet, was it really safe to walk around among them?
They came to the end of the hallway and entered an elevator that took them up to the top level of the command ship. When the doors slid open, Indigo couldn’t believe her eyes.
It was like stepping out onto a street in some cute little touristy town on Earth. It had everything anyone could want. Shops lined the streets. Hanging baskets full of flowers filled the air with a sweet scent. She could even hear the sound of birds singing.
Above, the domed ceiling looked out onto space, but the artificial lights felt and looked like warm summer sunlight.
“Why are you wearing that uniform?” Tabby asked.
“Tabby, don’t be rude,” Loretta said.
“I’m not being rude. I just think she deserves better.”
“It’s a long story,” Indigo said, suddenly feeling a rush of sadness hit her full force.
“What’s wrong?” Lexi asked.
“I had to put this on because I didn’t have anything else to wear. My clothes were covered in blood.”
“Blood!” Loretta said.
“What happened?” Lexi said, putting little Violet in a stroller.
“I found my parents and best friend dead. The Mulgor had slaughtered them in our cabin in the woods. Vlosh suspects they were after me.”
“Oh my God, that’s terrible!” Loretta said. She had a thick southern accent but it didn’t hide her outrage or concern.
“How would the Mulgor even know about you?” Lexi asked.
“I don’t know. I don’t know anything about any of this.”
“I’m going to talk to Nash about it. The vast majority of Draconians are the most upstanding, honorable people you could ever meet. But there are a few bad apples. I know from experience.”
“You think someone leaked the information?” Tabby asked. “Like with the technology?”
“It could be.”
“Let’s keep this quiet for now, girls,” Loretta said.
“Good idea. We’re here to have a good time. Not get down in the dumps. This girl needs cheering up, and she definitely needs some better clothes,” Tabby said, hooking her arms in Indigo’s and Loretta’s.
Indigo let a smile break over her face. It was good to have girls who she could count on as friends. Each of them seemed sweet and special in her own way.
They proceeded down the street, and Indigo tried to push the thoughts of her family out of her mind. The grief was still there, hard and palpable like a rough stone in her stomach and throat. All she could do was try to carry on. Being drenched in despair wouldn’t help anyone, least of all her family.
They took her into the first clothing shop and the girls started pulling beautiful designer fashions off the racks and holding them up to Indigo in front of the mirror.
Indigo had never been in a clothing shop like this before, let alone tried on any of the clothes. The idea that she was going to be able to just take this stuff was a little thrilling and was a slight balm for all of her troubles.
Tabby decided she was Indigo’s fashion consultant and piled up a number of outfits. Indigo took them into the dressing room and began trying each of the things Tabby had picked for her.
It turned out that Tabby had really good taste and a keen eye for what would look good on Indigo. Almost everything she had picked was comfortable and fit her just right.
Indigo came out of the dressing room in a pretty pink dress that brought out the deep chocolate color of her eyes and seemed to make her skin glow.
Tabby handed her a pair of gold pumps and Indigo slipped into them. She looked at herself in the mirror, stunned at how nice she looked in high-end clothing. She had a muscular, curvaceous body but the pink fit and flare dress made her look feminine and pretty.
“Now it’s time to get your hair done,” Tabby said.
The other girls had picked out a few things of their own and they had bags in their hands as they walked out of the first shop.
“Let’s go get something to eat,” Loretta said, rubbing her round belly. Loretta seem to be further along than Tabby, but they were both showing their pregnancies pretty clearly.
“Food sounds awesome. I’ve barely had anything to eat in days.” Indigo said.
“Isn’t your mate feeding you?” Lexi said, flabbergasted.
“It’s complicated.”
The girls walked into the street side patio of a café and sat around a circular patio table.
“This place is my fave,” Tabby said.
“You have to try the cheesecake,” said Loretta.
“I need something more like a burger,” Indigo said, laughing.
“You really are hungry,” Lexi said, checking on Violet in her stroller. She lifted the baby out of the stroller and pulled back her shirt to feed her as the girls talked.
“Tell us why your mate isn’t feeding you,” Loretta said, looking up from her menu.
“It isn’t his fault,” Indigo tried to explain.
“He supposed to be taking care of you,” Tabby said.
“The ship that I’m on is a military vessel. It wasn’
t equipped or prepared for human women to be aboard.”
“That really isn’t an excuse,” Lexi said, gazing down at her baby.
“He should have made accommodations for you,” Loretta said.
“My mate is General Vlosh Torr. He’s the highest ranking officer in the entire Draconian military. If you guys haven’t noticed, the Draconians are at war with the Mulgor.”
“Of course we’ve noticed,” Lexi said. “The Mulgor have been wreaking havoc on this mating mission since day one. The whole thing was completely disorganized. Giving new technologies to humanity was a last-ditch effort to salvage the mission. And we all saw how well that worked out. But the mating mission is the most important thing the Draconians will do for the next thousand years. Without our children, their race will die out.”
“Without Vlosh’s leadership, the race will die out sooner than that.”
“We can appreciate how protective you feel of your new mate, Indigo. But you also have to look out for yourself. If he isn’t making accommodations for you, how are you going to accommodate him?”
Tabby snorted and all three of the other girls looked at each other knowingly. Loretta giggled and Lexi grunted.
“What I think she’s trying to say is that you need to be comfortable. You certainly need to eat.”
“The Draconian replicator table was all in Draconian.”
“At least he sent you over here so you could get a decent meal, some real clothing, and talk to us girls. As far as I know, you’re all alone over there, being the first bride to be matched on the military fleet,” Lexi said. She moved Violet over to the other side.
“There will be more soon,” Tabby said. “You can count on that. When I work in the virtual reality system, spying on techno drug dealers, sometimes I look at the databanks for the mating lottery. Thousands of girls who are registered in the system are already being matched up with the new Draconian males who arrived in the solar system on the military fleet.”
“And new girls enter the lottery every day,” Loretta said. “Especially with what’s happening on Earth with the Mulgor invasion. Being able to escape the planet will become more and more attractive as time goes on.
“How bad is it on Earth?” Tabby asked. “It was bad when I left months ago, but I can’t imagine how bad it is now after all those cities were bombed.”
“I spent most of the invasion in a cabin in the woods. When I drove into Reno, I noticed a lot of buildings had been blown apart, but it seemed like people there were kind of just going back to business as usual.”
“Reno isn’t the most populated city. It wouldn’t have been a prime target. But I’m sure that once invasion is stabilized, the Draconian effort to rebuild the Earth will be revitalized.”
“We’ve bought out almost every corporation with substantial holdings of important resources on the entire planet,” Loretta said.
“Loretta is our resident stockbroker. She’s in charge of the Draconians’ assets of one hundred trillion dollars,” Lexi said. She put Violet over her shoulder and began to gently pat the baby’s back.
“A hundred trillion dollars?” Indigo said, shocked. She couldn’t even imagine that much money, let alone a girl not much older than her being in charge of it.
“I try to look at it like it’s a video game. If I took it too seriously, it would give me a nervous breakdown,” Loretta said.
The Draconian waiter came and they all ordered their lunches and desserts for after. Indigo ordered a burger and fries for lunch and cheesecake for dessert. Usually, for her athletic training, she tried to stick with cleaner foods. Right now, she needed a big, heavy meal after the last few days that she’d had.
Everyone enjoyed a coffee drink, and Indigo looked down at her perfectly prepared cappuccino when the waiter set it in front of her. She brought the cup to her lips and sipped, taking in the rich flavor and aromatic scent. She let out a little moan of pleasure, feeling her body unwind and relax the most it had for over a week.
The girls had a soothing effect on her, and she was glad Vlosh had sent her over here. They didn’t seem to have the best opinion of Vlosh, but she knew he was doing his best under the circumstances.
He was going to be the man she’d spend the rest of her life with. According to Vlosh, he would give her a mating bite that extended that lifetime. She wanted to get along with him. She wanted to support him as if he really was her husband. Otherwise, the next hundred years were going to be a real bitch.
Chapter 12
After they were done eating, the girls helped Indigo carry all of her things back to her transport vessel. They loaded everything and said their goodbyes, promising to visit again soon.
“I’m going to have my mate talk to yours about your living situation,” Lexi said.
“Please don’t. Vlosh is already under so much pressure.”
“You’re way too nice, Indigo,” Tabby said.
“I’m not that nice. I just want to be a good wife for Vlosh. I understand how much responsibility he has. I don’t want to be a greater burden than I already am. The distraction of his mating impulse is already beginning to wear at his sanity. I need to be there for him.”
“You are there for him,” Lexi said. “Now he needs to be there for you, too.”
“If your mate does say something to mine, please ask him to be gentle about it. The Mulgor are still out there, orbiting Venus. Vlosh is doing everything he can to push them out of the solar system and away from our planet. I don’t think it’s time for me to be thinking about myself.”
“Listen to this girl,” Loretta said. “She just lost her family, she got mated to a strange alien, and she hadn’t eaten for two days. But she doesn’t think she should be thinking about herself. I understand your integrity, Indigo. But if you don’t take care of yourself, you won’t be able to take care of Vlosh either.”
Indigo sat down in her chair and heaved a heavy sigh. Loretta was right. If she let herself get worn out, then she wouldn’t be much of a support for Vlosh. The girls might have been joking about being able to “accommodate” Vlosh, but she knew there was truth in their words. If she wasn’t comfortable in her life, how could she ever let him claim her the way that he needed to? Claiming her was the only way to ultimately quiet his dragon and restore his sanity.
“You’re right. I do need to take care of myself. For everyone’s sake.”
“Good girl,” Lexi said.
They helped her get strapped into her seat and everyone said goodbye. Lexi even waved little Violet’s hand in a farewell. Indigo couldn’t help smiling at how absolutely adorable the baby was. She had a warm feeling in her heart and her belly at the idea of having a baby of her own.
After losing everyone she loved, the prospect of a man, a child and such sweet friends gave her hope for the future. She had a lot to be grateful for.
A technician helped set the autopilot, then walked out as the exit door shut. A few moments later, Indigo felt the transport vessel lift from the ground of the docking bay and begin to propel forward and into space. She could see the moon glow below her as she passed between the mating armada and the military fleet.
The site of the moon circling above the Earth was so beautiful and awe-inspiring, she almost missed the sight of another small craft speeding by in the corner of her window.
She tried to get a better view, but the ship was already out of sight. It was probably just another transport vessel going between the fleets. She decided it wasn’t anything to worry about.
But she was wrong.
She heard a large crash, and her vessel jolted, jostling her around in her seat. She was thrust forward against the harness across her chest and lap. The force was so strong, it almost gave her whiplash.
Red flashing lights and a wailing alarm burst on inside the cabin. Another hard crash hit her vessel from behind. It pushed her forward in space, then suddenly she was tumbling in a freefall towards the surface of the moon.
Indigo screamed. She didn’t
want to die. She might have been willing to give it all up a few days ago, but now she saw a light at the end of the tunnel of despair. She wanted the life that Vlosh had to offer.
She saw the other vessel shoot in front of her window and lasers pepper the outer hull of her craft. She couldn’t stop screaming, and the sound of her voice mixed with the sounds of the sirens wailing within the cabin.
Her ship hurtled toward the surface of the moon, and she could see the silver outline coming closer and closer with each passing second.
As she fell downward impossibly fast, it felt as if her craft was caught and suspended. The fall slowed, and her ship gently landed on the surface of the moon.
The sirens and flashing red emergency lights filled the cabin. Indigo’s mind raged with fear. Her breath heaved so quickly she nearly hyperventilated.
Calm down. Just calm down.
She tried to convince herself that everything was going to be okay. If she panicked, her chances of survival were slim. She knew that was the case in any emergency situation, especially a crash landing on the moon.
She looked out her front window and noticed a crack in the glass. Trying to gather her wits, she looked around the cabin of the vessel. What the hell was she supposed to do?
She unfastened her harness and slipped from her chair, moving to the control panel of the small craft. She flicked on the holographic control screen and tried to figure out how to turn off the blaring sirens.
There were some fairly obvious buttons that were labeled in Draconian that blinked with the flickering red lights.
She pressed the button reluctantly, hoping it would turn off the deafening sound.
To her relief, the sirens quieted and the flashing red lights went off. Indigo let out a deep sigh and tried to get some bearing on what was happening.
She flicked through the hologram, trying to see if there was anything else that she could make sense of. Could she send a distress call?
“Where am I?” she said aloud.
“On the dark side of the moon,” a computerized voice said in English.
She jumped from shock. She was not expecting the ship to speak back to her.
Draconians: Complete Series (BWW Dragon Shifter Scifi Romance) Page 28