by Maia Starr
"Come in, Vanessa,” he said. I hated it when he called me Vanessa and not Dr. Lopez. I walked in.
“What is it? What do you want to tell me?” I said.
“Would you like some water?”
“No. Get on with it,” I said.
Why was he acting like this was a regular social call? I wanted to get in and get out.
“You don't have to be so mean. I am doing you a courtesy by telling you first before I go public,” he said.
“Are you? Are you doing me a courtesy?” I asked.
“Come, I will show you,” he said walking into his living room. I followed him. He went to a desk and pulled out two long sheets of paper. I knew exactly what it was. It was the DNA test that I took of Karik. I looked at it. Which results were these?
“I thought it very interesting that this sheet showed both alien and human DNA,” he said.
“Where did you get this?” I asked.
“From the machine, of course. Did you not know that it saves results? After you were in the lab, I just went in and printed another set. You thought I didn't know what you were up to, but I knew. I knew there was more to it than just scientific fascination over this alien creature,” he said.
“What do you want?” I said.
“I thought it was very interesting that the first results show only alien DNA. After, the second results show human and alien. I thought it was very strange. Until I found your DNA results. Remember when I helped you set up the test to run on yourself? I had those results. I compared them. The human DNA that is in the alien DNA is yours. Do you want to tell me how that happened?”
“You can't figure it out yourself?” I said.
“I have my theories. All of them are violent. I only know that the humans of Haven Brook are not going to like this. They are going to know that you and this so-called king have been hiding something. You have been hiding something very big. I don't know what it is, but I know that after I tell everyone, there will be paranoia and suspicion. It will drive these aliens out of here once and for all,” he said.
“You wouldn't dare,” I said.
“Well, I could do you a favor and not say anything. But you would have to do me a favor in return,” he said.
I got a chill down my spine as soon as he said it. “What is that?” I said.
“I think you know what I want. It is what I have always wanted from you,” he said as he moved over to me and pushed my hair out of my face.
I slapped his hand away. “Never. I would never do that with you,” I said.
“Not even to save your fiancé’s army? Not even to save the paranoia that is going to happen when I release this information?” he said.
I did not know what to do. Of course, I did not want to sleep with him. It was the most disgusting thing. But I did not want all of the progress that Karik had made to be unraveled. He was right. Releasing this information would cause paranoia. The humans would no longer trust the Veruka. It wouldn't be good. But I couldn't do it. I was feeling frightened and very confused. My heart was racing. I would have to figure out a way to deal with this another way.
“My answer is no. Now leave me alone. Do what you want with the information,” I said as I turned my back to him. I walked away. But I felt him grab the back of my dress. He yanked it so hard that it tore. He threw me down on the couch. Before I knew it, he was on top of me. I was screaming at the top of my lungs.
“Get off of me! Help! Get off of me!” I shouted over and over as I slapped and hit him.
“Stop. Just don't move. You want this, Vanessa. I know you do,” he said as he mauled me.
“No! I don't. Get the fuck off of me!” I said as I kicked him. He doubled over. I got to my feet and began to run toward the door. But I felt something grab me. He had his hand on my ankle, and I fell to the ground. I fell on my belly. I was terrified. I could feel him crawling out of my body. He was pushing my dress up to my waist. I wiggled and squirmed, trying to get away from him, but he had his entire body weight on top of me, holding me down. I was terrified. I closed my eyes and called out to Karik. I don't know why I did it. But it was all that I could think to do in the moment of desperation. I was terrified. There was no way in hell that I was going to let this happen. I was going to fight every second.
“Help! Someone help me!” I shouted.
“What is going on here?” I heard a voice say. But it wasn't Karik. It was Jessica. She was standing in shock in the living room. Then I heard a loud boom.
Chapter 24
King Karik Korinth
I went to the lab to look for my fiancée, Vanessa. I was so happy that she had said yes to my proposal. She had made me extremely happy by having sex with me. Now she was going to make me even happier by being my queen. And I wanted her at my side always.
The lab was locked. I knocked on the door. There was no answer. I thought it was strange because she was supposed to be in the lab all day. I walked in the direction of our home.
“Have you seen Vanessa?” I asked her student that was on the way to the lab to meet her.
“Yes, I saw her walking earlier. She told me she was going to be late because Dr. Douglas had requested a meeting with her. I believe she went in the direction of his home.”
“Thank you,” I said. I began to walk in that direction. But as I did, I had an overwhelming sense of fear. I wasn't scared of anything. It was coming from another source. I felt Vanessa. I could feel her fright. Something was wrong. That was obvious to me. I quickly shifted and flew directly toward the home of Dr. Bradley Douglas. As I flew overhead, I could hear her screaming. I bolted in a flash and boom kicked open the door.
I saw Vanessa facedown on the floor with the doctor on top of her. She was crying and within a split second I had him in the air and threw him against the wall. His head hit the mantle. He fell unconscious to the floor. I moved back to Vanessa. The woman Jessica was helping her.
“What happened? Are you all right?” Did he hurt you?” I asked.
“He was trying to rape her. I was walking by and heard her screaming. I came in a split second before you did,” Jessica said.
“She's right. He was trying to rape me,” Vanessa said trembling.
“I will kill him,” I said looking back in his direction.
“I think it is already done,” Jessica said. Blood was coming out of his head. It seemed that I had hit him very hard when I threw him against the mantle. Vanessa looked in shock.
“Come, let's get you out of here. I will take you home,” I said.
“I will go get help,” Jessica said.
“Thank you,” I said to her.
I picked Vanessa up and flew back to our home. I put her in a hot bath. She was still shaken.
“I am so sorry that I was not there sooner,” I said feeling extreme regret. “I should have done away with that creep long ago.”
“It's all right. You came in time. Jessica came in time. A few more seconds and…” But she did not finish the sentence.
“I know. I know. He can never hurt you again,” I said.
“How did you know? How did you know where to find me?”
“I ran into your student, and she told me about your meeting with him. But then I had a feeling. I could sense that you were in trouble. I don't know how, but I knew.”
“That is fascinating,” she said, perking up. Her mind was working. Her scientific mind.
“What are you thinking?” I said.
“It could be because we bonded. Our DNA is intertwined. Perhaps you can feel when I am feeling extreme emotion. Like extreme fear,” she said.
“It certainly did feel that way. That is how I knew where to find you and to get to you quickly,” I said.
“I am glad that you did.”
“What were you doing there anyway?” I asked.
"He figured it out. Not all of it, but he figured out that my DNA bonded with yours. He was threatening to tell everyone. I came to find out exactly what he knew. Then he told me.
He didn't know about the blackness. But he said that he was going to tell everyone unless I slept with him. Of course, I said no, and I tried to leave. That is when he attacked me,” she said.
“The motherfucker. How dare he threaten you with something like that. It is nothing. It is nothing to worry about,” I said.
“It isn't? I don't want everyone to grow suspicious if they were to find that out. We have worked so hard. You have worked so hard, coming across galaxies to find a cure for this illness that is killing your planet. If Haven Brook found out, it wouldn't be long before other villages did. And we need you. We need the Veruka to help fight the Clenok. It is important. I was very nervous that he knew. I was going to go find you to figure out how to deal with it.”
“I am glad that you did not let him bully you the way he has before. You are strong, Vanessa. You have proven that over and over. I am glad that you are mine. Do not worry about me and the well-being of the Veruka. I want you to always put yourself first. If the humans find out, we will figure it out. Until then, there is no point in worrying about it. I want you to be safe. I want you to be happy,” I said.
“Will you just hold me,” she said.
“Yes,” I said as I took off my clothes and got into the hot bathtub with her. I sat behind her and then circled my body around her. She leaned back against my chest. I held her for the rest of the day.
The next day I was faced with questioning. I was lucky that Jessica had also been there. She gave testimony to the fact that it was self-defense. Even though Haven Brook did not have a justice system, people still wanted to know why one of their own was dead. I could understand that. Everyone understood what had happened and I was not held accountable. Truly, I did not mean to kill him even though I did hit him with such force, throwing him across the room. But I was not aiming for the mantle. It just happened. But I was getting rid of a predator in Haven Brook. Everyone seemed to be glad to know that he was no longer there. If he had done such a thing to Vanessa, then who would be next?
I was glad that he was gone. I did not want him around to terrorize the woman that I loved. Now things could go on as we had planned. I was going to make Vanessa my wife and my queen.
Chapter 25
Dr. Vanessa Lopez
It took me several weeks to feel normal again. It had me shaken up, more than being abducted by a drone and taken to the Clenok cyborgs. This was different. But many weeks passed, and I began to put it behind me. It helped that I had Karik at my side. He was absolutely wonderful. He was everything that I could ever ask for in a partner, even though he was not human. He was the best man that I had ever met.
I was more than happy to marry him. We had decided to get married in Haven Brook. It was my decision. I thought it was important that a marriage between a human and the Veruka was a normal thing. After my wedding, then it would be considered normal. I thought that was very important. Not only would it make me happy, but it would also send a message and set a standard. I liked it.
The day finally came. We got married in the pine forest where we had first made love. It was a simple ceremony, and I had a very simple dress. When you lived in an isolated village, you did not have the luxury of decorations and wedding dresses. But I managed to find a white dress in one of the abandoned homes. I tailored it to fit me. It was actually very beautiful. Karik married me in dragon form. I insisted on it. It is what I wanted.
The entire village of Haven Brook was in attendance. We were married by General Razook in a Veruka ceremony. It wasn't much different than ours except that the wording was different. I liked it. The people of Haven Brook also seemed to like it simply because it was something different.
After the ceremony, we had a large party. Food and drink were still rationed, but music and happiness were not. The Veruka army had also found a forest not too far away that had lots of wild food growing. There was an abandoned farm next to it. But the crops were still growing. With the ships that the Veruka had, it was easier to collect food around the region and bring it back to the village. This made the people very happy. They were getting used to having the weredragons around and all of the privileges that they were bringing with them. Suddenly food didn't seem so scarce.
The feast lasted late into the night. I think it was a much-needed party for the people of Haven Brook. After everything they had been through in the last few months with the cyborg attack, they deserved some happiness and celebration. I was watching the village transform into a different place. It was good. It was very good.
After the feast, Karik picked me up into his arms and together we flew back to our home.
“You are now a queen,” he said to me. The word hit me hard. Never in a million years did I ever think I would be a queen. Especially after the cyborg invasion. Nothing could prepare me for this turn of events.
“I am a queen. It comes with great responsibility. You are a king; you are my king,” I said, kissing him on the cheek.
“Yes, that is true. You are queen of the Veruka. The first human queen that we have ever had. It will be very interesting to bring you home,” he said.
My eyes grew wide. I never thought about the rejection that I might face on his planet. I have been so busy trying to get the humans to like and trust the Veruka that I did not think about it the other way around.
“Shit. Will they hate me? What if they have a mob and take me from you? I don't know what things are like on your planet. I don't know how much power you actually have,” I said playfully but also with a little bit of fear.
"You have nothing to worry about. My word is the law of the land. What I say goes. You are untouchable. Sure, there might be some grievances, but once they find out that humans are the cure to the blackness, they will be very happy that there is a human queen. That only promises that there will be more humans to come.”
“But I hope that you are right,” I said.
“I am always right,” he said.
“Oh, you are so arogant!” I said laughing.
“And you are so beautiful. Let us not talk of things that make you worry. I only want to kiss you and make love to you. This is the first time making love to you as my queen,” he said.
“And this is the first time making love to you as my king,” I said.
He picked me up and carried me to the bed. “Then let's not wait any longer to get started.”
He kissed me. I kissed him back. A queen to a king: an alien weredragon king.
Epilogue
It was six months after the battle with the Clenok cyborgs. It was time to leave. We had only told everyone in the month before. Karik was very adamant about keeping it between us until thirty days before departure. This had given the humans of Haven Brook time to become acquainted with the army and live alongside them. It had given everyone months to recognize our marriage and consider it the new normal.
So when we left, he left the army and Haven Brook with the exception of two ships. One would be our own ship with the crew and guards. The second ship carried the human female volunteers that had offered to go to Tivoso. There were twenty of them. They were all very excited to go. The crew and another squadron of soldiers were on that ship as well. There needed to be at least one ship guarding the king, and now the queen, myself. I was still getting used to the fact that I was a queen. The soldiers called me my queen, and it was very strange to me.
Then we were off into space. I was amazed by what I saw. I was not expecting such beauty. Space was a fantastic place.
“So what do you think? Is it everything you dreamed of?” Karik asked as I stood by the window looking out into the darkness of deep space.
“It is so much more than I ever expected. Thank you for bringing me with you,” I said. I could not describe what I was feeling. I had such happiness inside of me.
“I am glad that you like it. It is a long journey. The view will never get boring,” he said with a wink. And he was right. The week-long journey was full of beautiful views. I saw a nebula. I saw spiral galaxie
s. I saw stars and other planets. I saw an asteroid shower. There was just so much to see. It was never boring. And of course, we still managed to carry on our activities in space—our bedroom activities, that is.
After a week of travel, we finally arrived on Tivoso. It was not what I was expecting. I was expecting a very foreign-looking planet. But it looked like Earth, only different. They were plants that I have never seen. The sky was blue during the day but with a darker tint of purple to it. Their sun was not as close as the Earth sun. This made it a little cooler on the planet, and I realized this was why the dragons were always burning up. The temperature was much milder. I would get used to it.
But I did love the planet. It was almost as if I was getting Earth returned to me without any high walls that I had to stay in. Here there was no enemy living on the planet. I had freedom. It made me very happy. It was like old times on Earth.