Draekon Pirate
Page 1
Draekon Pirate: A SciFi Dragon Shifter Romance
Rebel Force
Lili Zander
Lee Savino
Contents
Draekon Pirate
Are you all caught up with the Draekons?
1. Diana
2. Mirak
3. Diana
4. Diana
5. Mirak
6. Diana
7. Mirak
8. Diana
9. Mirak
10. Diana
11. Mirak
12. Diana
13. Diana
14. Diana
15. Mirak
16. Diana
17. Mirak
18. Diana
19. Mirak
20. Diana
21. Mirak
22. Diana
23. Mirak
24. Diana
25. Mirak
26. Diana
27. Mirak
28. Diana
29. Mirak
30. Diana
31. Mirak
32. Diana
33. Diana
34. Diana
35. Mirak
36. Diana
37. Mirak
38. Diana
39. Mirak
Epilogue
Epilogue
A Preview of Draekon Mate
About the Authors
Books by Lili Zander
Books by Lee Savino
Copyright © 2020 by Tara Crescent, Lili Zander, Lee Savino.
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Many thanks to Miranda for her sharp eyes.
Cover Design by Kasmit Covers
Draekon Pirate
I thought human women were fragile and helpless.
Then I met Diana.
A pirate.
Who knifed me the first time we met.
Who makes it clear that she doesn’t need to be rescued.
My mate.
When we’re not fighting each other, we flirt.
I call her spitfire.
She promises to burn me.
Diana’s warm. Passionate. Daring. I would happily lose myself in her fire.
But she's involved herself in a dangerous undertaking. She’s feeding covert intelligence to the Rebellion. And she’s drawn the attention of my mass-murdering psychopath brother.
To protect her, I need to pretend that Diana doesn’t matter to me. I need to walk away.
But I’m Draekon. And Diana is my mate. Leaving is never an option.
Are you all caught up with the Draekons?
Don’t miss any of the books.
DRAGONS IN EXILE
Draekon Mate - Viola’s story
Draekon Fire - Harper’s story
Draekon Heart - Ryanna’s story
Draekon Abduction - Olivia’s story
Draekon Destiny - Felicity’s story
Daughter of Draekons - Harper’s birth story
Draekon Fever - Sofia’s story
Draekon Rogue - Bryce’s story
Draekon Holiday - A holiday story
REBEL FORCE
Draekon Warrior - Alice & Kadir
Draekon Conquerer - Lani & Ruhan
Draekon Pirate - Diana & Mirak
Draekon Warlord - Naomi & Fifth - coming soon!
The Must Love Draekons newsletter is your source for all things Draekon. Subscribe today and receive a free copy of Draekon Rescue, a special Draekon story not available for sale.
1
Diana
Have you seen the movie Hanna? That was my childhood. My father was paranoid, reclusive, and deeply suspicious of the authorities. He raised me in his image. For the first fifteen years of my life, I lived in a cabin in the middle of nowhere. We had no heat, no electricity, no running water, and above all, no money. We ate what we hunted. If the traps were empty, we went without. I was homeschooled, if you could call it that. I was taught to read and write, but that was about the extent of my education.
When I was fifteen, CPS intervened, and my aunt, my mother’s sister, got custody of me. As far as parental figures were concerned, she wasn’t much of an improvement. She was a scammer, a con artist, a grifter, whatever you want to call it. She wrote bad checks, she conned old ladies of their life savings, she stole from the church collection plate, it goes on and on.
Let’s just say that when the Zorahn scientists abducted us, I was uniquely capable of fighting back. All I needed to do was bide my time, wait for the perfect moment, and then act.
Then I got lucky. We were attacked by pirates. I was brought aboard their frigate, the Mahala. And, through a strange sequence of events, I’m now the Second-in-Command. Only Theldre ab Beni, the ship’s Captain, outranks me.
Speaking of the devil, Thel limps onto the bridge. The captain has an autoimmune disease that has grown resistant to the drugs he’s been taking. His motor skills are deteriorating rapidly. It’s frightening to watch, and it must be even more terrifying to live through it. Not that I’d know; Thel believes in being stoic.
Everyone on the bridge snaps to attention. “Captain,” they salute in unison. Thel waves them back into their seats and turns to me, activating his cone of silence. “I need to talk to you about two things.”
“We’re not doing Neiptiun KZP-71?” Neiptiun KZP-71 is supposedly a colony ship, housing refugees fleeing the dying planet of Hetov. In reality, it’s where the Docarro Corporation stashes most of its ill-gotten money.
Docarro is evil. Truly evil. They destabilize planets, and when people are forced to flee, they charge them a king’s ransom for passage off-world. And then, they sell their migrants into indentured servitude.
Nobody knows the full extent of their criminal operations. Yet. But one of Thel’s informants told him that the news is going to break early next week, and I’ve learned in my six months here that they’re never wrong. Thel’s been the captain of the Mahala for more than twenty years, and in that time, he’s built a truly impressive spy network.
Docarro is a Zorahn company. When the news breaks, the High Empire will lower the boom on them. They’ll arrest its leadership, dissolve the corporation, and freeze its assets. They’ll even rescue the migrants and offer them a home within the empire. The Zorahn Empire has many flaws—insane obsession with blood purity, letting their scientists kidnap humans and torture them, so on and so forth—but they can’t turn a blind eye to this. It’s not good PR.
We have a narrow window of opportunity to rob Docarro, and I intend to take it. Unless the Captain has different ideas, of course.
“We’re definitely doing Neiptiun,” Thel replies. “That’s not why I’m here. I got another message.”
He hands me a screen. I glance down. Blood Heart’s mysterious new leader is on the move again. He’s heard that there’s an underground lab in Kerenis, and he’s headed there.
“The genocide proceeds on schedule,” Thel says soberly.
I straighten my spine. “Not if I can help it. I’m sending word to the Rebellion again.”
He doesn’t like it. “Diana, this is a dangerous game you’re playing. The Rebellion tried to plant a spy in Blood Heart. Nala Darniq is dead; the Blood Heart leader killed her. That was just five days ago. If this madman finds out
about you…”
I grimace inwardly. The way they planted that poor woman, they practically signed her death sentence; they were that inept. The Rebellion desperately needs a competent spy network. “I’ve taken precautions. Nobody knows who I am, not even Tarish.”
“It’s still an unnecessary risk.”
I will defer to my mentor about almost everything, but this is the hill I’ll die on. I hold up my hand. “Thel, I’m going to tell you a story. When my father was a child, his parents were rounded up in Warsaw, loaded on a train, and sent to the death camp of Treblinka. They drove the train into a station. They’d disguised the gas chambers as mass showers. The Nazis made the men, women, and children strip, they herded them into the gas chambers, and they murdered them all. Every single one of them.” How does one explain the Holocaust to an alien? “Three million Polish Jews died in less than ten years. This is my family history. I will not be a spectator to this genocide. The risk is worth it.”
He gives me a long look. All ten black-in-black Ekton eyes stare at me. “I hope you’re right, Diana. The second thing—”
Warning klaxons blare before he can finish his sentence. I rush to a display. A ship has materialized out of nowhere, and it’s trying to lock onto the Mahala. No, scratch that, it’s not trying. It’s succeeded.
“What the hell?” We’re pirates, damn it. We board ships. We don’t allow other people to board ours. “How are they able to do that?”
Our engines die.
Parani is the ship’s navigator on duty. Her fingers fly over her terminal. “We’re locked out,” she growls. “Our electronics aren’t responding. Someone’s hacked into them.”
I look at Thel, waiting for him to take charge. He gives me an infinitesimal shake of his head. I can almost hear his voice. You’re the second-in-command, Diana. I trust you to handle this.
Now’s not the best time for one of Thel’s lessons, but here we are. “Fix it,” I tell Parani. “Now.”
“They’re jamming my signals,” she murmurs and then catches a look at my face. “I’ll override it.”
“Thank you, Parani,” Thel says, crossing the bridge to lay an encouraging hand on her shoulder. “You can do it. I have complete confidence in you.”
Damn it. Should have done that. There’s a reason the crew respects me but loves Thel, and with one gesture, Thel’s demonstrated why.
The flight deck doors slide open. The rogue cloakship zooms inside, as if it belongs on the Mahala.
Engines dead. Tech not responding. We’re being invaded.
It’s ironic. We’re pirates. We invade ships all the time. But the shoe is on the other foot now. I feel helpless, and I don’t like it. Lisa and Parani are at their screens, expressions of strained concentration on their faces. I clench my hands into fists. “Guards,” I snarl. “Corridor C. The intruders think they can waltz onto our ship. Let’s give them an Ekton welcome.”
“No need.” A man’s face fills every screen on the bridge. He’s pretty damn good-looking, not that I have time to notice things like that. Hazel eyes, straight nose, dark hair, a dark beard shadowing his jaw. His biceps are as big as tree trunks, and tattoos cover his forearms. “I come in peace.” A smile curves his lips but doesn’t reach his eyes. “Well, that’s not strictly true; my cloakship is packed with incendiaries, and if anyone tries to harm me, I will blow the Mahala to smithereens.” His expression hardens, and a shiver runs through me at the look of cold determination on his face. “I have a message for Captain Theldre ab Beni. Surrender the human women on your ship, and I will let you live.”
There’s perfect silence on the deck, and then Thel starts to laugh. “Isn’t this exciting?” he says, turning to me, his eyes sparkling with glee. “Diana, this man is here to rescue you.”
This man, whoever he is, has made us look like inept fools. No, not us. Me. This was my bridge watch, and the leader always takes responsibility. The handsome stranger has made me look incompetent in front of my pirate crew, and I’m ready to strangle him. “I’m one of the human women,” I bite out. “I’m here of my own volition.”
“As am I,” Lisa says.
“I don’t believe you,” Hot-Dark-and-Stupid says, his eyes narrowed.
Oh, for fuck’s sake. “We’re on the bridge,” I snap. “If you want, come down here and judge for yourself.”
Less than a minute later, the stranger strides in as if he owns the place. If I thought he was imposing on the screen, he’s a thousand times more intimidating in person. He’s taller than Thel. Bigger. He’s Zorahn, I think, unless there’s another humanoid species out here that I don’t know about.
He’s also unarmed.
The instant the six people on the bridge digest that fact, every weapon in the room locks onto him. They’re a half-second too late. My knife is already out of its sheath, whipping through the air, headed for the stranger’s throat. Hack into our electronics, shut us down, and then board us by force? Not on my watch. Not without consequences.
The knife is a gift from Thel, who bought it in the Ciras Exchange. I’ve owned it for almost five months. It’s not an ornamental knife; it’s utilitarian, through and through. Plain handle. Eight-inch diarmod blade. I’ve practiced for hours with it. You can blindfold me and set me next to a table with fifty other weapons, and I will pick mine up every single time. I know it by touch, by feel, by balance.
I don’t miss with that blade.
The stranger plucks the knife out of thin air, an inch from his throat. “Now, now,” he says, looking at the weapon with mild interest. “That’s not very smart, spitfire. My ship is filled with explosives, remember?” He flips the knife in the air and then catches it. “Nice balance.”
Spitfire? “I wasn’t trying to kill you,” I tell him grimly. “Not before you talked.”
He smiles again, and this time he seems genuinely amused. “You’re going to torture me, spitfire?”
I picture throwing a thousand blades at him, one after another. It’s a remarkably satisfying image. “You have no idea what I’m capable of.” It’s a good thing I have a great poker face because I’m lying through my teeth. I have no stomach for torture.
“If you say so.” His gaze rakes over me, slow and thorough, and then he transfers his attention to Lisa. “You seem less murderous than your friend.” His eyes sweep around the room. “In less than two minutes, I can incapacitate everyone on this deck. Speak freely; you have nothing to fear from me or anyone else.”
You seem less murderous than your friend? Asshole.
Lisa lifts her chin in the air. “So far,” she says. “You’ve shut down our engines and invaded our ship. I have no idea who you are. You could be a bounty hunter. You could be a clinically insane Zorahn scientist. I don’t even know your name. You’ll forgive me if, when you tell me I have nothing to fear from you, I don’t take you at face value.”
I smirk. Good for Lisa. She might get queasy at the sight of blood, but she’s an astrophysicist, smart and competent, and she’s the exact opposite of meek.
The stranger’s eyebrow creeps up, and then he laughs. “Valid points,” he concedes. “I’m Fourth. I’ve been sent by the humans in the Rebellion to track down the women kidnapped from the Sevril V, and to bring them into safety.”
“We’re safe here,” I inject acidly. “Especially when idiots aren’t hacking into our electronics.”
Fourth surveys me expressionlessly. “You don’t want to be rescued.”
Somebody give our cat-quick friend a cookie. “No, we don’t want to be rescued. The Mahala is our home.”
“Interesting.” He turns to Thel. “May the sands scour the shame from my flesh,” he says in flawless Ektona. “I impugned your honor by implying you were lying about the humans. You have my apologies.”
Thank you, translator. I’d be lost without you. Ektona is hard to understand and even harder to speak. But it appears that the stranger not only speaks it, but he also knows the ritual apology phrases. Curiouser and curiouser.
Thel looks impressed. “May a healing rain soothe the sting and bring you peace,” he replies. “Diana and Lisa are part of my family. I cannot fault you your concern for their well-being.”
People finally stop pointing their guns at the gorgeous rescuer. He gives me one last, lingering glance. “I’ve programmed my details into your comm,” he says. “If you want help, if you want off this ship, if you need anything at all, alert me, and I will come to your aid.”
When pigs fly. “You still have my knife.”
At that, he grins, and the smile reaches his eyes for the very first time. “Yes, I do, spitfire,” he purrs. “And I’m going to keep it. If you want it back, call me.”
There’s perfect silence on the bridge as he leaves. The cloakship takes off from the flight deck, and still, nobody says anything. I don’t know why the others keep quiet, but I’m in shock. It’s not until our engines power back to life that the spell breaks. “Figure out how he hacked into our electronics,” I tell Parani. “Make sure it doesn’t happen again. Get Soren involved, if you need to.”