by Lili Zander
These men are strangers from a different exile batch. Their hair is long and matted. They’re completely naked, and their skin is coated with a white mud. The only thing they wear is a pouch of some kind, slung across their hips.
They look primitive. Barbaric.
My heart hammers in my chest, so loud that I’m afraid that they’ll hear me. I grip the stick in my hand so tightly that my knuckles turn white. I can’t hope to outrun them. My only option is to pray that they haven’t seen me.
It’s too late. Their nostrils flare, as if they can track my scent. Their heads swivel in my direction, and in the blink of an eye, they bound toward me, wild, exultant expressions on their faces.
It takes all the courage I have to stand still, but I force myself to stay where I am. I can’t look afraid. Who knows what might happen if they sense fear?
“Who is this?” The Draekon who addresses me has dirty-blond hair and piercing green eyes. “Could this be another human female?”
“Translating Old Zor to English,” my translator intones. “Unknown dialect. Estimated translation accuracy: sixty-five percent.”
Unknown dialect. These Draekons have been on the prison planet so long that their language has evolved beyond the translator’s ability.
A cold fear trickles down my spine. “Who are you?” I force the words out through dry lips. “Were you exiled from Zoraht? When?”
They give me blank looks of incomprehension. My gaze flies to their ears, and my heart sinks. No translator. They’re not going to be able to understand a word I say.
The other Draekon reaches out and touches my hair, his expression awestruck. “Liorax and Zunix have found a human mate,” he says. He lifts a strand to his nose and breathes deeply. My insides churn. “Are you human, little one?”
The Draekons smell me and touch me, their movements more animal than human. I’m very, very afraid. At any moment, the situation could escalate to violence. These men are a lot more primitive than Arax’s exile batch. What if they take me by force? What if they’ve raped the other girls?
That thought makes my pulse race with terror. “Did you take Olivia, Paige, Felicity, Bryce, and May?” I demand. My palms are damp with sweat, and I’m positive they can smell my nerves, but I won’t scream. I won’t show them how terrified I am. “Are they alive? Are they safe? What have you done with them?”
They ignore me.
The blond Draekon frowns. “She is afraid.” His voice turns soothing, as if he’s addressing a spooked pet, and he strokes my arm. “Do not be afraid of us, little human,” he croons. “We mean you no harm.”
“She is not our mate,” the other man says. “We do not transform for her.”
“No. But there are others in camp, and we will take her to them.”
I shrink back in horror. “Please no,” I beg them. “I already have mates. Please let me go.”
Their eyes fill with concern and they lift their hands in the air. “We will care for you, little human,” one of them says, his voice gentle. “Do not worry. You have nothing to fear.”
“I smell her terror, Cax. She doesn’t seem to want to come with us.”
No shit, Sherlock.
The blond man frowns. “We can’t leave her here,” he replies. “The beasts will tear her from limb to limb. The rains threaten. We must take her to safety.” He puts his big hands around my waist and unceremoniously tosses me over his shoulder. My stick falls to the ground.
I scream in rage and fear. They can’t take me away; I won’t let them. I beat the Draekon’s back, my hands clenched into fists, but the man doesn’t even seem to register my blows.
I’m in big, big trouble. My throat tightens as I imagine Arax and Nyx searching for me, wondering where I went. They won’t be able to track me when the rains come. I might never see them again.
No. I won’t let that happen. I have to fight back.
“Help,” I yell at the top of my voice, even though I’m on a sparsely-inhabited alien planet and no one can hear me. “Help me.”
31
Arax
The moment we hear Viola’s scream, my heart stops.
We drop the packs we carry and begin to run. Our mate is in danger.
Time slows down.
The first transformation was excruciating. Not this time. As I run, the dragon emerges from within me. There isn’t any pain. My skin stretches, and my muscles expand. My claws lengthen. Wings erupt from my back.
This time, the trapped creature doesn’t revel in its freedom. Protect our mate, it says fiercely. She is all that matters.
My wings unfurl. I roar with anger at the thought of someone hurting our mate. Jumping into the air, I take flight, Nyx at my side.
32
Viola
“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” I chant, as the Draekons prepare to take me away.
Then I hear loud, booming roars of anger, and two dark shapes blot out the light from the sky.
The instant the Draekons holding me catch sight of the threat, they swear loudly. Dropping me, they flee through the brush. In the blink of an eye, they are out of sight, lost in the jungle.
Two dragons land on the bank of the river. The air shimmies around them as they morph back to men. It’s Arax and Nyx. My mates.
I run to them, tears streaming down my cheeks. Throwing my arms around them, I cling to them, seeking comfort in their strong arms. “They were going to take me,” I say through my sobs. “I thought I’d never see you again.”
“Who?” Arax asks sharply. “What happened?”
Nyx’s fingers gently wipe the teardrops away. “Viola,” he says softly, stroking my back. “You’re safe. We’re here. We will die before we let anything happen to you.”
“There were two Draekons here,” I tell them, my voice trembling. “They were going to take me to their camp.” I take a deep breath. “They knew I was human. They probably took the others.” Oh God oh God oh God. “We have to find them.”
Nyx kneels at the spot where the two men plunged through the forest. “They haven’t made an effort to conceal their trail,” he says. “We can follow them.”
Before either of us can reply, multiple flashes of lightning illuminate the sky, followed almost immediately by an ominous roll of thunder.
“No.” Arax shakes his head. “The rains are almost here. We can’t risk it. We need to protect Viola.”
He gives me a reassuring look. “Climb on Nyx’s back when we transform,” he orders calmly. “We will make it to the Na’Lung Cliffs unharmed, sweet one. You have nothing to worry about.”
Right. Silly me. I must be in shock from my near-abduction, because it has just occurred to me that Arax and Nyx transformed into dragons to save me. And now they can change at will? It’s pretty damn convenient timing.
Dragons can fly. I’m going to ride through the air on the back of a dragon. I wanted adventure? I’m getting it.
They both back away from me and start to change. The air around us grows colder, and when I exhale, I can see my breath. Frost coats the tips of nearby leaves, and the section of the river closest to me ices over.
If I see it a million times, I don’t think I’ll have words to describe the transformation. One moment, they’re men, and then, in a flash, two massive dragons hulk in front of me.
Sofia asked me if I was terrified when they became dragons, and I told her I wasn’t. I’m not lying. I know fear. When the two strange Draekons came for me, I was petrified. But I’ve never been afraid of Nyx and Arax. They might be dragons, but they are my mates, and I know that they will protect me with their lives.
Also, the whole ‘morphing into a fearsome predator’ thing? Totally hot. Call me superficial, but I’m the mate of the biggest, baddest Draekons, and I like it.
Arax’s crimson tail lashes the ground, bringing me back to the urgency of the situation. I force myself to stop ogling them, and I crawl up Nyx’s tail. It’s like riding a horse, Vi, I tell myself. A really large horse with wings and scales. Y
ou can do this. Legs astride the neck, and hang on tight.
Okay, I might be a little nervous. When Nyx launches into the air, I gasp, and when the skies open and rain pummels down on us, I scream loudly.
Then Arax flies above me, positioning himself so his body blocks out the bulk of the rain. Nyx swoops down to grab something in the jungle, and then, we fly home.
Back at camp, I pace back and forth. Though I’ve wrapped a towel around my body, I’m still shivering. “You should have seen them,” I say, my voice shrill with panic. “They didn’t even wear clothes. They were primitive. Barbaric.” The other exile batch must have been on the prison planet so long that the trappings of civilization have been stripped away. “What if they hurt the other women?”
Arax folds me into his arms. “Viola,” he says, his voice calm. “Breathe, sweet one.” He exchanges a glance at Nyx. “The previous exile batch was sent a year before us. How could they have diminished so quickly?”
“Maybe they didn’t have the Firstborn of Zoraht bossing them around,” Nyx suggests mildly. He laces his fingers in mine. “We can’t find them in the rain, aida,” he says quietly. “Even in dragon form, our eyes cannot see in the downpour. The water washes away their scents. You know that.”
“I do.” I try to dismiss the hard knot of fear in my chest.
Arax crouches next to me and looks into my eyes. “Viola, I promise you. As soon as the deluge ends, we will look for them. You have my word.”
Their concern is a warm blanket of comfort. I hold on to my mates, and I cling to hope. The Draekons from the other tribe were primitive, but they had recognized my terror. They had assured me I had nothing to fear from them. I can only hope they show Olivia, May, Bryce, Felicity and Paige the same care.
“Until then,” Arax continues, “I don’t think we should tell the others about your encounter. The Earth women seem in good spirits at the moment, but I fear they are in shock. At some point, it will sink in that they’re stuck on this planet for the rest of their lives.” He brushes his lips over mine. “You need to be strong, aida. Your companions will look to you for solace.”
Sixty years ago, Arax acted as a leader. Now, he’s telling me I need to do the same thing.
He’s right. I need to stay calm, and I need to lead by example. I take a deep, steadying breath and nod in agreement.
“Which brings me to my next question.” Arax’s expression turns grim. “What you were doing in the lowlands alone?”
Ah, hell.
I was hoping they’d forget to ask me that question, but judging from Arax’s stony look, I’m in trouble. I should back down, but I’m too stubborn. “Are you yelling at me?” I ask him, lifting my chin and glaring at my two infuriating Draekons. “I know you were trying to find the exile batch. You even got Vulrux to lie for you. I had to try and stop you, you stupid lugs. I didn’t want you to drown in the rains.”
Nyx runs his hand through his hair. “What are you talking about, aida?” he asks, his expression filled with confusion. “We weren’t trying to find the exile batch. We went to the spaceship.”
“But Raiht’vi said that you set off to find the other Draekon.”
Arax shakes his head. “The other Draekon? We told Vulrux we were going to the ship. Raiht’vi was half-asleep. Maybe she was confused?”
I look from Arax to Nyx. Arax’s expression is turning dark, and I know that if I continue this conversation, Raiht’vi is in for some serious trouble from my Draekon mates. I’m not sure the Zorahn scientist doesn’t deserve to be punished. I can’t help but remember her words. If I were you, I would kill myself before the mating bond is complete. I would do it to protect my people.
Yet I hold my tongue. I don’t trust either Zorahn scientist, but if Arax banishes them, I won’t be able to find out what their true motives are. And my instincts tell me it’s important that I understand what’s going on. There are wheels within wheels here, and both Raiht’vi and Beirax are involved. I’m sure of it.
“Maybe,” I concede.
An hour later, I’ve had a bath. I’m warm and dry, lying naked on the bed, my mates on either side of me.
“Explain the morphing. Why couldn’t you change before, and what happened?”
Outside, visibility has been reduced almost to nothing. The rain beats down, as thick as a wall, and from the safety of the cliff-top camp, I can see animals flee to higher ground. I have no doubt that if I were stuck in the lowlands, I’d drown.
Arax’s fingers stroke my hair. “Remember, the Zorahn scientists are geneticists,” he says. “When we mated for the first time, our fluids mingled. Your body started a process of transformation.”
Of course. When he points it out, I realize that the clues have been there from the start. My increased stamina. My newfound muscles. Even my vastly improved ability to climb and run. Before I slept with Arax and Nyx, I couldn’t keep up with them; they had to carry me on their backs. After the bonding, however, I matched them step for step.
I have no idea why it took me so long to see what’s been staring me in the face. If my Ph.D. adviser were here, she’d be terribly disappointed in me.
“It wasn’t just your body that was changing. Ours were too. The process took a few days.” Arax shrugs like it’s no big deal. “But once it was complete, we were able to transform.”
Hmm. I put my long-forgotten scientist hat on. “I’m assuming my body is changing so I become ready to bear Draekon babies?”
Arax’s gaze rests on me. “Does that worry you?”
Strangely, no. The idea of creating a little Draekon baby, one with a piece of Arax, Nyx, and me in it, is tantalizing. “No,” I confess. “I think I’d like that.”
Arax and Nyx hug me tight. They’ll probably deny it if I ask them, but I’m pretty sure I can see a sheen of tears in both men’s eyes, and I can understand their emotions. They’ve been exiled for sixty years, cut off from family, from women, from any semblance of love. To be honest, I’m a little weepy at the idea of giving them a baby.
“I love you,” I whisper. The second I say those words, a feeling of rightness sweeps over me. It’s true. If you’d told me two weeks ago that I’d fall in love with two aliens who can morph into dragons, I’d have laughed my head off. I’d have replied that I was done with love; my father’s death caused too much damage, and my heart was forever frozen.
Then I met Arax and Nyx, and I discovered how wrong I was. I’m in love with them, not because I’m their mate, and not because they can change into dragons. I’m in love with them because they care for me. Right from the start, they’ve protected me, and they’ve been at my side, ready to caress me and comfort me. They’ve made what should be a difficult situation so much better.
Arax and Nyx smile back at me. “We love you too, Viola Lewis,” Arax says solemnly.
Nyx nods agreement. A wide grin breaks out on his face. “We have something for you,” he says, jumping out of bed and hurrying out of the room. I just have time to give Arax a confused look—what’s Nyx talking about?—before the dark-haired Draekon comes back into the room, holding a suitcase in his hands. “I thought you might want your belongings,” he says. “That’s why we went to the spaceship. We had to open the hold and retrieve your possessions before the rainfall.”
I stare at my bright pink luggage, my throat thick with tears. They did this for me. Just so I’d be happy.
I throw my arms around them, pulling the two men close and hugging them tight. Then I shift my attention to their cocks. After all, I need to thank them for my luggage.
And I know a really good way to do it.
“Come here, gentlemen.” I scoot back on the bed, and they follow eagerly.
Nyx grins at me. “You want us to prove to you we aren’t too old to please our mate?”
“Um, no. You proved that more than enough times in the past few days. I’ll never look at a bath the same way again.”
Arax approaches, his movements silky and cat-like. He’s hunting me, I r
ealize, just as Nyx pounces in a sneak attack.
I laugh wildly, pretending to fight him off. He catches my hands with ridiculous ease, and holds them with one of his, freeing his left hand to cup my breast.
I sigh and arch my back, pushing into his palm.
“How is it you guys have been here for sixty years, and you know just how to touch a woman?”
“Not just any woman,” Arax says. “You. Our mate.”
“We are very good hunters.” Nyx’s fingers prove his words, sliding straight to the target, hooking around the entrance of my pussy to my soft, welcoming core. He pulls in a “come hither” motion, and little sparks of pleasure rain through me, lighting fires wherever they land.
I roll into him, pressing my face into the curve of his neck to muffle my gasps.
He pulls my leg over his hip and slides inside me. I’m more than ready for him. Behind me, Arax stretches my bottom hole with his fingers, his thick precum both soothing the burn and warming me for his cock.
I sigh with pleasure as their cocks replace their fingers.
Even on their sides, my mates thrust with gentle power. They tease my nipples and tug at strands of my hair, and I’m driven wild with raw desire.
We climax together, our bodies twined so closely I don’t know where I end and they begin.
“My heart,” Arax tells me fiercely.
“My soul,” Nyx presses my hand to his chest.
“My mates.” I blink back tears. It only took a trip through space and surviving a coup, a crash, poison fruit, a kidnap attempt and alien predators, but I’ve found my soulmates—both of them.
Epilogue
Vulrux
Arax believes that he and Nyx are the first to transform into Draekon in a thousand years.