by Lili Zander
Both men inhale sharply, and the dark-haired man pulls away. “The kilpei poison has made you weak,” he says gently. “Rest now, aida.”
The others, I think with a stab. Harper, Ryanna, and Sofia, left to fend for themselves in this dangerous place. Olivia, May, and the other women in stasis. Beirax and Raiht’vi. I should get back to the ship.
Something else nudges at my consciousness. Something important. Something I’m forgetting…
But the blanket of sleep presses down on me, firm and insistent, and I can’t rouse myself out of my half-slumber. It’s okay, Vi, I think sleepily, as tendrils of darkness coil over me. There’s nothing to worry about. It’s just a dream.
6
Arax
The stories were true after all.
“Tell me again,” Nyx says, once the woman is asleep, his voice vibrating with anger, “what you know about the Draekon mutation.”
There are only three people that have unfettered access to the ThoughtVaults of Zoraht, where the true story of the Draekons is written down. The High Emperor himself, the Firstborn, and the head of the Council of Scientists.
Nyx had no warning.
I lean back against the wall of the cave, my legs stretched in front of me. As Firstborn on Zoraht, I’ve been trained to keep secrets, but after sixty years in exile, it’s finally time to let some of them go. “Twelve hundred years ago,” I begin, “the scientists created the Draekons, a race of invincible warriors with the ability to shift into dragons.”
“Like we just did.”
I nod. “The scientists intended for the Draekons to be sterile.”
Nyx surveys me with his dark eyes. “The beast inside me,” he says, “insists that this woman is my mate. Our mate.”
Not just the beast inside Nyx. The beast inside me rages at me, demanding that I claim the woman. She is ours, it says. We must take her. We must complete the bond.
“Something went wrong,” I reply. “The gene mutated. Each mutation gave the Draekon race more power, and finally the ability to mate. But,” I swallow before I explain this next part, “for some reason—maybe because compatible females were few and far between—instead of a pair bond, Draekons form a triad.”
“A triad?” Nyx raises a brow.
“Two Draekons mate one woman.”
Nyx is silent for a very long time, examining his fingernails as if remembering them turning into claws. I resist the urge to do the same. Wonder still courses through me over the way our bodies morphed into such powerful creatures.
My skin tingles pleasantly when I look at the soft woman beside us. I rise and turn away, and it grows stronger, almost painful.
So the legends are true. The Draekons are tainted with darkness.
My mouth goes dry with fear. “My dragon,” I say, through stiff lips, placing a hand on my chest where the buzzing is the worst. “It wants to mate.”
Nyx’s brow creases. He looks from me to the woman, and rises as well, his hand over his chest. “I feel it, too.” His expression changes from wonder to horror. “This is why they sent us away,” he says quietly. “Are we animals, Arax? Do we fall on the woman and rut her, the way the beast inside me demands I do?”
I clench my hands into fists, willing the tingling to dissipate. When it does not, I center my mind as I was taught, and relief pours through me as the desperate need ebbs. The buzzing desire is there, but it is in the background, an annoying insect.
I want to pick our mate up, hold her and cradle her against my body, but I force back that need. The man in me will not take what is not freely offered, even though the dragon inside me yearns for the bonding to be complete. I will not force our mate.
“No.” I’m feeling the same storm of emotions that Nyx is. Even though we’ve been on this planet for sixty seasons, even though we’ve been forced to live in exile without the comfort of a woman’s touch, I’m not ready to surrender to the wild animal that prowls inside me. “I will not do that. Not while the man in me still has control.”
The ThoughtVaults speak of a Draekon rebellion and its swift, brutal suppression. When the Zorahn realized that their creations could turn against them, Kannix, High Emperor of Zoraht, ordered the scientists to create a disease that would eradicate the Draekons. And it was done.
An entire generation of Draekon warriors died, as did their offspring.
The Draekons were exterminated because they lost control. I cannot allow my resolve to weaken. Then Nyx asks the most important question, the one I haven’t yet answered.
“How do you transform into the beast?” He asks pensively. “Is it in the presence of imminent danger?”
Nyx isn’t going to like my answer.
“No.” I take a deep breath and recite the relevant passage from the ThoughtVaults. “An unmated Draekon shifts into the beast for the first time when he recognizes his mate. After that first shift, the Draekon is trapped and cannot shift until the bonding is complete.”
I lift my head up and meet his gaze squarely. “The creature inside wants to be free, Nyx. It rages at us to mate now, and the pressure’s only going to get worse as time goes on.”
“You’re telling me,” he says slowly, putting the pieces of the puzzle together, “that sooner or later, the dragon will take over.”
I nod heavily. “Sooner or later,” I say, “we’re going to have to mate with her. There is no choice.”
7
Viola
I’m not dreaming.
The two alien men who turned into dragons are sitting at the mouth of the cave, talking quietly. When I hear their words, I freeze.
Sooner or later, we’re going to have to mate with her. There is no choice.
That’s when a bunch of realizations crash into me, things I should have figured out earlier, but didn’t, thanks to the kilpei.
These two men are Draekons. The fearsome beasts that Raiht’vi warned us about. What did she say, back on the ship? The Draekons are dangerous. Not to be trusted.
Next realization? They’re talking about me. They mean to mate with me. The two of them. And I won’t have any choice in the matter because if I fight back, they’ll probably turn into dragons and burn me to a crisp.
It wasn’t until I was an adult that I realized that the wolf in Little Red Riding Hood was an allegory. It wasn’t a real wolf that Red needed to be afraid of. No, the danger came from strange men who would take her against her will. Is this what Raiht’vi was warning me about?
I thought crash-landing on a jungle planet was bad. Turns out I jumped from the frying pan into the fire.
Think, Vi, think. What are you going to do?
There’s a moment of silence, and one of them turns his head toward me. I hold my breath and wonder if they’ll figure out I’m awake, but I get lucky because they continue their conversation. “The object we saw must have been a ship,” Arax says. “How else could she have got here?”
“It’s the only explanation that makes sense,” the other alien agrees. “It must be within a day’s walk of here. Tomorrow morning, I’ll go looking for it.”
“I’m not sure if that’s a good idea, Nyx,” Arax says. “Uzzan is shrouded tonight. The rainy season is almost on us. We need to hunt before the lowlands flood.”
The rainy season is approaching, and the lowlands will flood.
That’s not good.
As best as I can tell, our ship is smack dab in the middle of the lowlands. Visions of rain pouring through the ship run through my mind. The water level rising, seeping into the stasis pods, drowning the others in their sleep... Stop that, Vi, I tell myself sternly. There’s no point imagining the worst case scenario.
But is that truly the worst-case scenario? These two alien dragon-men intend to mate with me. What happens when they find out there are eight other women on board the Fehrat 1?
Nothing good, I’m prepared to bet.
Here’s what you need to do, Vi. Distract them from searching for the ship. Don’t tell them about the other women
, and at the first chance you get, escape back to the safety of Fehrat 1, and hope like hell that the High Emperor of Zoraht has sent a rescue party.
It’s not much of a plan, but it’s all I’ve got.
It is dark when I wake again. The temperature has cooled with the setting of the sun, and it is no longer stifling hot. I’m still naked. Instinctively, I grope for my top, but it’s nowhere in reach.
I drag myself to a sitting position. I’m as weak as a kitten. My head throbs, and my body feels like it’s been hit with a battering ram. And despite my aches and pains, my nipples are hard, and my insides are slippery. What the heck is wrong with me? I must have hit my head when we crashed, because there’s no other explanation for this level of stupidity.
My movements have roused the two alien men. The dark-haired man, Nyx, is at my side in a second. “Drink, aida,” he says, holding a curved leather sac to my lips. Maybe I’m trying to keep myself from panicking, but in the dim light of the twin moons, I imagine that his eyes are kind.
My throat is parched, and I don’t bother asking if it’s safe. Right now, being poisoned is the least of my worries, so I drink deeply from the vessel.
Arax watches me, his face wary. “Who are you?” he asks me as soon as I put down the water sac. “Where are you from?”
I should answer, I know, but I can’t stop thinking about their cocks. Earlier, right before they’d transformed into dragons, they’d been erect and extremely impressive. Nyx isn’t hard now, but the bulge underneath his loincloth still makes me swallow a gulp.
You’re a fool, Vi. A horny, can’t-stop-staring-at-alien-junk fool.
Nyx notices my gaze, and his lips curve into a cocky smile. The expression is very human and pretty damn irresistible. “You want to feel me between your legs, aida?” he asks. “The beast inside me hungers for you. It snarls, and it howls at me, demanding that Arax and I take you, bond with you and fulfill our destiny.” His eyes rake over my naked body. “Ask me to sink into you and I will,” he says huskily. “All you have to do is ask.”
Whoa there, buddy. Buy me dinner first.
Then again, who am I kidding? My body throbs under Nyx’s gaze. My nipples harden, and my pussy grows heavy, and I want to part my legs and feel his hard length thrust into my body. I might not understand the intensity of my need, but I can’t deny it.
Unlike Nyx, Arax’s expression stays stern. “Answer me,” he demands, his voice cold. “What do you want with us?”
His tone shocks the lust out of me. I scramble to my feet, my fingers searching in the darkness for my space suit. “I don’t want anything from you.”
To my horror, I feel my eyes fill with tears. I’m on an alien planet. So far, I’ve been snarled at by three terrifying beasts, watched the two aliens in front of me transform into dragons, and nearly died when something bit me in the water. My belly rumbles with hunger. My skin feels fragile and paper-thin. My head still throbs in pain. I’m panicking at the idea that these dragons are going to mate with me, and I’m terrified that I’m never going to see Earth again.
Then there’s Harper, Sofia, and Ryanna. The possibility of the three women running into the wild jackal-horse things that almost killed me sends shivers of horror through my body. For my own sanity, I have to assume they made it back to the safety of the ship. “I just want to go home,” I say with a sniff, wiping the tears away with the back of my hand. “That’s all.”
Of course, they don’t understand a word I say.
Though their faces soften with sympathy at the sight of my tears, their expressions are confused. “What did she say?” Nyx asks Arax. “Can you understand her?”
I want to smack myself on the head. I have a translator in my ear, but of course, these aliens do not. I’m about to scream in frustration when I remember that I raided the Zorahn ship before we left. Didn’t I take a couple of translators? Pulling my pants over my legs, I stick my hands in my pockets, and to my utter relief, my fingers close over the three earpieces. “Oh thank heavens,” I whisper, holding them out to the aliens.
They take them from me with narrowed eyes. Exchanging glances with each other, they stick the translators in their ears. If the electric shock bothers them, they show no sign of it.
I shove my hands back in my pockets and cross my fingers. “Can you understand me now?”
8
Nyx
Our mate has a Zorahn translator. Less than a knur ago, I thought Arax was being too suspicious. Now, I’m not so sure. Could this lovely, frail female be a spy for the Zorahn authorities?
Even if she is, that’s no excuse for snapping at her. The creature inside me rages at Arax. She is our mate, it fumes. We should cherish her, not growl at her.
For once, I’m in full agreement with it. “Yes,” I reply, taking care to keep my voice gentle. “We understand you.”
She exhales in relief. “Thank heavens,” she murmurs, her voice sweet and low.
Heaven is similar in concept to Caeron, the translator informs me. The people of Earth believe in two separate Caerons. One for the good, one for the bad.
It’s a strange belief. What’s more important is that she’s from somewhere called Earth, and I’ve never heard of it. They make you learn the names of the discovered worlds in Primary. I’ve memorized the list; this planet that our mate speaks of is not on it.
“My name is Viola Lewis,” she continues, her mouth stretching into a tentative smile. “Hi.”
That smile gives me hope. She’s not backed up against the walls of the cave. She’s not screaming with fear. She doesn’t look terrified.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Arax open his mouth, his expression troubled. The Firstborn thinks that this alien woman is a threat to our existence, and his first instinct is always to protect. Whatever his beast desires, Arax will never ignore his duty.
I’m not Highborn. The scientists exiled us to an uninhabited planet and left us to die. For sixty seasons, we haven’t seen a woman. I don’t care how much of a threat she is.
We have found our mate.
For the first time in a very long time, I feel alive. I am complete.
Before he can continue his line of questioning about the circumstances that lead Viola Lewis to the prison planet, I jump in, giving Arax a quelling glance. The interrogation can wait. “Viola Lewis,” I say out loud, trying the strange words on my tongue. I remember how frightening this world was when we first got here, and there were fourteen of us. Viola Lewis was alone when we found her, with no weapon to defend herself. It’s a miracle that she’s not huddled in a corner, gibbering with terror. “I am Nyx, and this is Arax.”
“Nyx,” she repeats. “Arax. Thank you for rescuing me from the scary dog-jackal things.”
“Dwals.” I smile at her. “They lurk near the water, looking for easy prey.”
She shudders. “They almost found it,” she says. “If you two hadn’t shown up, I’d have been Dwals lunch.”
“Lunch?” I snort in amusement. “You’re too little for that, Viola Lewis. You would have been a tasty snack.”
Her skin turns pink. “Then you licked me,” she says. Another shiver runs through her, but this time, her eyes rake over our bodies, and her scent is one of arousal, not fear.
Arax’s lips curl into a smile. “You were stung by a kilpei plant,” he explains. “We had to soothe the rash that was spreading over your skin.”
“By licking me?”
Arax’s eyes twinkle. “You appeared to enjoy it.”
She flushes again. “And of course, there’s the elephant in the room. You’re dragons.”
“We are Draekon,” Arax corrects her. “Twelve hundred years ago, Zorahn scientists created a warrior race with the ability to morph from man to dragon. They were meant to be the perfect soldier-slaves, but eventually, the scientists lost control. The Draekons rampaged.” He stares into the distance. “In the homeworld, every male is tested yearly. If we are found with the mutation, we are exiled.”
&nbs
p; Arax’s frankness surprises me. For sixty seasons, the Firstborn kept the knowledge he’d learned in the ThoughtVaults secret from us, but he does not hesitate to share information with Viola Lewis.
The beast inside me purrs approvingly. We have no secrets from our mate.
Viola Lewis leans forward, her face glowing in Uzzan’s faint light. “That’s why you were exiled?” she asks, sounding shocked. She chews at her lower lip, looking like she’s waging a battle with herself. “You asked me what I’m doing here. I’m from a planet called Earth. Six months ago, spaceships landed from the sky.”
“Zorahn spaceships?”
She nods. Before she can continue her story, her stomach rumbles with hunger. Remorse fills me, and I curse myself for being a thoughtless fool. I open my pack and pull some kunnr fruit out. I slice it for her with my throwing knife. “Eat, aida.”
“Can I? Will I react to it?"
It’s a new sensation, having a second set of instincts inside me. Somehow I know the fruit will not hurt our mate. “I do not sense danger.”
“All right,” she says with a shrug. “I have to eat sometime. If it causes a reaction, I guess you can perform mouth-to-mouth.” She mutters the last few words, and I do not know what they mean, but the flush on her cheeks is unmistakable.
Ask us, aida. All you have to do is ask for what you want.
She reaches for my offering and takes an experimental nibble. “Tastes like… vanilla pudding,” she says, her face surprised. I don’t know what vanilla pudding is, but she seems to like the fruit, so I cut her another piece, and she eats quickly, licking her fingers to catch all the juice. My cock throbs, aching for her. Take her, the beast rumbles in my chest, insistent, demanding. She is ours.
“Where did I leave off?” she asks. “Until the Zorahn appeared, we thought we were alone in the universe.”