He found her standing alone in the dark, body pressed tight against a fallen log. Her widened brown eyes darted around the forest in fear. He stopped across the clearing from her. She didn’t see him even though she looked in his direction several times. Alek took advantage of the moment to study her. Blonde hair fell about her shoulders. The ends were tipped with a dark red. She seemed so fragile and scared. A wave of protectiveness surged within him.
“Hayo? I can hear you breathing,” she whispered. “Please show yourself. I can hear you.”
Alek lifted his hand and opened his fist. The soft glow of the crystal alighted on his face. The woman found him instantly. He expected her to feel the same rush of pleasure he did. Instead, she started to scream.
The woman tripped on vines as she tried to get away from him. Her back slid along the tree trunk. He smelled the moss she disturbed in her haste. She kept her eyes on his and her arms outstretched as if that would keep him from attacking. Her feet worked frantically against the ground, pushing her back up the tree while trying to untangle her shoes from the forest floor.
“Please, no, no, no,” she whimpered. “I don’t belong here. Who are you people? You’re supposed to be humanoids. The uploads said you were shaped like humans.”
Alek tried to answer her, but the sound of his native tongue only seemed to terrify her more. He realized he was still shifted. No wonder she was frightened. He’d been so eager to find her that he hadn’t bothered to change back. His people did not make their shifting abilities too widely known, and they hadn’t revealed them to the researcher who’d originally interviewed his people for the uploads she spoke of.
“I don’t understand.” She pressed harder into the wood. “They didn’t have us upload any native-language data. I only speak the star language.”
With little effort, he allowed his body to mold into a form she would be more comfortable with. Flesh replaced the hard shell of his skin. His fangs retracted, as did his talons. When he’d finished the transformation only his golden eyes remained so that he could see her in the darkened forest.
“I am Lord Aleksej, Younger Duke of Draig,” he said in the universal star language, trying to keep the eagerness from his voice. Like shifting and other secrets of his planet, the Draig did not share their language—not that anyone other than the locals wanted to learn it. “How did you come to be in the forest?”
“What are you, Lord Aleksej, Younger Duke of Draig?” she whispered, still pressing tight into the fallen tree.
“You make call me Alek. I am Draig, a dragon-shifter. Do not let my appearance before frighten you. I mean you no harm.” He took a careful step closer, lifting the crystal toward her. “I was meant to find you.”
“Galaxy Brides sent you to track me,” she said, as if knowing this to be a truth. “You can tell them you didn’t find me. You can tell them I disappeared. I won’t hurt anyone. I just want to go home. Please, you can understand that, can’t you? I don’t want to go to the ceremony. I just want to find a ride home. Please don’t make me go back.”
The woman wasn’t dressed as a bride, but neither was he dressed fully like a groom. He didn’t wear the mask. They shouldn’t be talking, not like this. There were traditions. Though tradition allowed him to find a mate whenever the crystal glowed, he wasn’t supposed to speak to her on the festival night until she made the symbolic gesture of choosing him.
“Please,” she begged.
The Stubborn Lord
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Dragon Lords 6: The Stubborn Lord
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Lords of the Var®: The Savage King
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Dragon Lords 9: The Dragon’s Queen
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Space Lords 1: His Frost Maiden
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Dragon Lords and Lords of the Var® in Modern Day Earth?
Captured by a Dragon-Shifter: Determined Prince
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Michelle loves to travel and try new things, whether it's a paranormal investigation of an old Vaudeville Theatre or climbing Mayan temples in Belize. She believes life is an adventure fueled by copious amounts of coffee.
Newly relocated to the American South, Michelle is involved in various film and documentary projects with her talented director husband. She is mom to a fantastic artist. And she's managed by a dog and cat who make sure she's meeting her deadlines.
For the most part she can be found wearing pajama pants and working in her office. There may or may not be dancing. It’s all part of the creative process.
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His Highness The Duke
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