Releasing the Dragon

by Evangeline Anderson

  “Of course.” Dru nodded and stepped away.

  “Thank you,” Sylvan said as Drugair left the Council room. “And now, I believe we have our scientists—this is Doctor Bron, one of our finest microbiologists…” He nodded as a huge Beast Kindred in a white lab coat stepped up. “And his partner, Doctor Sorin, one of our finest virologists.” He motioned to a Blood Kindred with sleek, silver-blond hair and pale blue eyes.

  “Thank you, Head Councilor Sylvan,” Dr. Sorin said smoothly. “We will do the best we can to address this issue before the Council. Unfortunately, our team is incomplete at the moment.”

  “Incomplete?” Sylvan frowned. “What do you mean? I thought the two of you had worked together for years?”

  “So we have,” Bron’s voice was deep and growling and his golden eyes flashed as he spoke. “But in the past year, we have added another to our team. Dr. Kayla Smith of Earth.”

  “Kayla is a noted xenobiologist and chemist. She has a brilliant mind,” Sorin said. “She was a valuable addition to our team.”

  “Then…why is she not here with you today?” Sylvan frowned.

  Sorin shifted uncomfortably but Bron answered forthrightly enough.

  “Because she was with us when the Xi-46 was released into the air. Both of us.”

  “Then why has she not bonded with one of you?” Councilor Gerrund asked.

  “Did you not hear what my colleague said?” Sorin snapped. “She was with both of us. She touched both our hands at the same moment. And so we both…” he trailed off expressively but Bron went on.

  “We both helped her. But she cannot between us and we are not Twin Kindred. And Beast Kindred do not share,” he growled.

  Sorin’s pale blue eyes flashed. “Nor do Blood Kindred, old friend.”

  The words might have sounded sarcastic but Sylvan saw something pass between the blue eyes and the gold and knew they were meant as a reminder, not a threat or a jibe.

  Sorin was reminding his colleague that the two of them were friends—had been friends long before the human female scientist had entered their lives. This must be an incredibly stressful situation between them—if both of them had helped Dr. Smith with her needing—as seemed to be the case.

  They were not, as Bron had so succinctly pointed out, Twin Kindred who expected to share a mate. In fact, he had never heard of a Beast or a Blood Kindred entering into any kind of three-way relationship with a female before. It simply wasn’t in their nature—a duel to the death to decide the winner was more common in such circumstances. Clearly Bron and Sorin didn’t want to fight—but how could they resolve such a sticky situation otherwise?

  Goddess give them wisdom, Sylvan prayed. He cleared his throat and spoke aloud.

  “Your missing partner notwithstanding, what can you tell us about the make-up of the Xi-46 compound and do you have any possible antidote for it?”

  “Not yet,” Sorin said. “But we have found some interesting things in studying the residue we scraped off the vents in our lab.”

  “Xi-46 has both chemical and biological components.” Bron spoke in his low, harsh voice. “It’s really fascinating—the vector that carries it is a microbe.”

  “But once inside its host, it acts like a virus,” Sorin said, continuing his colleague’s thoughts smoothly. Clearly they were much easier with each other when they were talking about their work than the woman they both cared for, Sylvan thought.

  “It invades the host’s cells and hijacks some of them to make more viruses,” Bron went on. “In this way it replicates itself over and over—but not all at once.”

  “The ‘lust virus’—as we are calling it—can lie dormant for hours or days at a time,” Sorin said. “Just waiting inside the host’s cells. Then it will suddenly replicate itself and spread throughout the body again, causing another attack.”

  “The fact that it can go dormant makes finding an antidote very difficult,” Bron said, frowning.

  “Which is why we want permission to go to Carnal Four where the Lust Blossom grows,” Sorin continued. “Not just Bron and myself but Dr. Smith—Kayla—as well. We need her expertise in chemistry and xenobiology.”

  “And if she has an attack…” Bron cleared his throat. “We must be there to help her.”

  “Which of you will help her, though?” Councilor Gerrund said, plainly mystified by the strange relationship.

  “I will,” both males said at once, then glared at each other.

  Sorin was the first to sigh and put a hand on Bron’s broad, tense shoulder.

  “We will manage the situation when we come to it,” he said simply. “So far, since the first attack, it hasn’t been an issue.”

  “As far as we know,” Bron growled.

  “Excuse me?” Sylvan frowned and raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean, as far as you know?”

  Sorin sighed again.

  “Bron means that Dr. Smith—Kayla—won’t see us now. Since the, uh, incident, she’s locked herself in her quarters and refuses to come out. She hasn’t asked for any further help so we’re hoping she’s all right. But…”

  “But we don’t know for sure,” Bron finished.

  Sylvan frowned. “Will she come with you then, on this proposed mission to Carnal Four?”

  “We hope so because it seems possible her issue is…over,” Sorin remarked.

  “We are hoping that Dr. Smith might be one of the rare, lucky females who had only one attack and then no more,” Bron said. “Some females seem to be more susceptible to the effects of the lust virus and some are less.”

  “But in order to learn more about it and to make an antidote, we must have a fresh sample. It would also be helpful to speak to the natives of Carnal Four and see how they deal with the Lust Blossom and its effects,” Sorin said.

  “I think the idea of an expedition to Carnal Four is an excellent idea,” Sylvan said. He looked at the Council. “Anyone opposed?”

  “Certainly not!” Councilor Gerrund said. “Anything that can be done to fix this crisis should be done—at once!” There were hearty murmurs of assent and approval from all the Councilors seated around the table.

  Sylvan turned back to the two scientists.

  “You have the blessing of the High Council. Please get your ship outfitted and inform Dr. Smith that we have sanctioned your mission. The three of you may leave as soon as possible.”

  “We will let her know at once,” Sorin said.

  “If we can get her to fucking talk to us,” Bron growled under his breath.

  “She will.” Sorin sounded more hopeful than certain, Sylvan thought. “When she knows that the fate of the Mother Ship is at stake, she’ll see past her own feelings and come help. We need her expertise.”

  “From your lips to the Goddess’s ears,” Bron muttered.

  “Thank you, gentlemen,” Sylvan told them. “You are dismissed to start packing.”

  Both scientists nodded and left the Council Chambers. Sylvan watched them go with a worried feeling in his chest. Goddess go with them and help them, he prayed. We need an antidote and we need it soon! We can’t go on this way for much longer!

  Twenty-Six

  Dru couldn’t help feeling shocked. Not only was the Council not going to punish him and strip him of his rank, they were going to let him stay here—stay on Earth—and they had practically given him permission to let his Drake come out again if he wanted to let it. And to his surprise, he found he did.

  Joy suddenly filled Dru and he knew it wasn’t all his own. Much of it came from his other half.

  “I want to fly,” the Drake informed him. “I want to fly with Annie. She is mine too—not only yours.”

  Dru automatically started to object…but then he remembered Annie’s words about how she liked his Drake and how it was cruel to keep such a huge creature confined in a cage. True, it would be going against everything that his people had believed for centuries but there was no need to be bound by the conventions of a planet where he did not even li
ve.

  “You’ll have to ask Annie that,” he told his other half. “But knowing how she loves to try new things, I am pretty certain she will enjoy flying with you.”

  The Drake gave a mental roar which would have disturbed the Council if they weren’t already outside the Council room.

  Annie had followed him out and as soon as the door was closed, she grabbed Dru and hugged him.

  “Oh, I knew they would understand everything once you explained it! See—everything worked out fine. We’re going to live on Earth—maybe move to the mountains. My job is mostly online so I’m not tied down. And then you can let your Drake out as often as you want. It’s perfect!”

  “He’s already saying he wants to take you flying,” Dru informed her dryly. “I told him he would have to ask you.”

  “Flying! On a dragon’s back?” Annie’s brown eyes grew so wide they almost seemed to swallow her adorable freckled face. “Oh my God—yes! Yes, when can we go? Can we go home and do it now?”

  Dru couldn’t help grinning at her enthusiasm.

  “I thought you’d be excited. We just need to wrap up a few slack endings here, as you humans say, and then we can go.”

  “The term is ‘loose ends’,” Annie said, laughing. “And what ends are you talking about, anyway?”

  “I need to go make penance at the Sacred Grove,” Dru said quietly. “The Goddess herself came to chastise me for trying not to Claim you and bond you to me as I should have in the first place. If she had not warned me, I would not have gotten to you in time.”

  “Oh…” Annie bit her lip. “I need to apologize to someone too,” she admitted. “I kind of left Liv hanging when I stowed away in your ship and left the Pairing Puppet to impersonate me. Liv was a good friend to me and I treated her pretty badly.”

  “Let us both make our amends and then meet back at the Docking Bay in two hours,” Dru suggested. “That should give us time to right the wrongs we have done.”

  “And then we’ll go back to Earth and go flying?” Annie asked eagerly. “Will you let your Drake out to play with me? Say you will, Dru!”

  He laughed, loving her eagerness.

  “You know, on my home planet females live in fear of their male’s Drakes. I never expected you to like mine—let alone wish to spend time with him.”

  “He’s part of you,” Annie said simply. “And I love all of you, Dru. Not just the outside—the inside too.”

  At that, he simply couldn’t help himself—he swept her off her feet and kissed her long and lovingly on the mouth. When the kiss broke at last, he looked into her eyes.

  “I spent years…years trying to bury the other side of myself,” he murmured. “Trying to push it down and forget about it. But you…you helped me accept it, Annie. Accept my Drake as part of me—not a bad part but a joyful part.”

  “I know a little something about self-acceptance,” Annie informed him dryly. “Being full-figured and freckled will do that for a girl.”

  “You are beautiful,” Dru murmured, kissing her again. “Your luscious curves and your adorable goddess kisses…I cannot get enough of you.”

  Annie laughed. “If you don’t put me down you’re going to make me start needing you again,” she murmured through the mental link they had now that they were bonded.

  “Anytime you need me, I will help you,” Dru promised, almost speaking through their link. “Just call for me and I will be there.”

  Annie bit her lip, frowning.

  “But…what about the missions you go on?” she asked out loud. “What if you go on one and I…I need you?”

  “I am not going anywhere until we find an antidote to the Xi-46,” Dru assured her firmly. “Which should give us plenty of time for training.”

  “Training?” Annie asked. “Training for what?”

  “For the next time I need a female partner on a mission,” Dru said firmly. “You were right—we do make an excellent team. And leaving you at home is no guarantee you will be safe. I would rather have you with me than leave you back on Earth. I will speak to Commander Sylvan about it later.”

  “Really? I get to come with you?” Annie hugged him again. “Thank you, Dru!”

  “It’s not every female who would want to be included in my work,” Dru remarked, smiling. “Truly the Goddess chose well when she picked us for each other.” He kissed Annie again. “I am going to tell her so and beg her forgiveness for not seeing it in the first place.”

  “And I’ll go see Liv—hopefully she’ll be in the med center,” Annie smiled. “See you in two hours. Oh…unless I have another, uh, needing attack.”

  “Just bespeak me if you do.” Dru gave her a reassuring kiss. “I will always come for you, teeska.”

  “Yes, I know you will.”

  With that, they parted, Dru to go to the Sacred Grove and give thanks to the Goddess and Annie to find her friend.

  “But later,” the Drake rumbled inside Dru’s head, “Later we will go flying.”

  Dru couldn’t hold back a smile.

  “Yes,” he promised his other half. “Yes, later we will go flying.”

  Epilogue

  “I’m so glad to see you again! I was so worried!” Liv grabbed Annie in a hug and then ushered her into the comfortably furnished suite where several other women were sitting. “Come in—I’m glad the med center told you where I was.”

  “Thank you, but I don’t want to intrude,” Annie protested.

  “Oh, you’re not intruding, doll,” a full-figured red-head with auburn hair a shade darker than Annie’s own, motioned her in. “We’re just all sitting around catching up and hoping we don’t have another lust attack for a while.”

  “This is Kat, my best friend,” Liv said, introducing the red-head. “And this is my twin sister, Sophie,” she continued, nodding to a dark-haired woman with green eyes. We’re just resting up, like she said. Um…” She cleared her throat. “Are you and Drugair together now? And is he close in case you, uh, have an attack?”

  “We’re together and he’s aboard the Mother Ship—he just testified before the High Council,” Annie told them proudly.

  “Oh yes, Sylvan told me they were having a meeting today.” Sophie nodded. “He’s my husband, you know.”

  “How did the testimony go?” Liv asked, as she led Annie back to a big, overstuffed couch and picked up a pair of knitting needles. The other women were knitting too, Annie saw—or trying to, anyway. Kat certainly didn’t seem to be having much success with it. The thing she was working on might have been a pot holder…or the start of a scarf…or a very misshapen baby booty—it was impossible to tell.

  “It went great!” Annie grinned enthusiastically. “Dru is going to move down to Earth with me—to give his Drake room to stretch its wings—and we’re going to be together.” She sighed happily. “That’s the main thing.”

  Liv put down her knitting to clap her hands happily.

  “Oh, I knew the two of you would end up together in the end! The Goddess doesn’t make mistakes when she puts people together.”

  “Well, she’s certainly been putting plenty of them together these last few days since this whole mess started,” Kat said dryly. “There’s scarcely a single unmated female left aboard the Mother Ship—they all got bonded once the horny chemicals started blowing from the vents.”

  “They’re calling it ‘The Great Needing’,” Sophie said. “Did you know?”

  Kat snorted. “No, I didn’t but that’s a pretty good name for it all right. I know when it first hit me I was so thirsty I nearly drained poor Deep and Lock dry. And we’ve been screwing like bunnies ever since.”

  “At least you didn’t get the incredible inflating boobs like Sophie and I did!” Sophie exclaimed. “Poor Sylvan has been having to, uh, drain me for days now.”

  “Baird too but he really likes the taste,” Liv remarked. “I think he’s actually going to miss his ‘nectar breaks’ once we finally get an antidote.”

  “What about the girls wh
o had both problems?” Kat asked. “I’ve heard it can switch back and forth.” She looked at Annie. “What about you, doll—which did you get?”

  “Well, I actually ate the Xi-46 in a cake,” Annie told them. “So I had the breasts problems and the, uh, emptiness down below…” She nodded down at her lap and blushed. “But I haven’t had the, uh, thirst for male seed yet.”

  “Not that Kindred seed tastes bad, mind you,” Kat remarked. “In fact, I kind of think my guys taste like melted ice-cream—which is nice. And I’ve heard some girls say their guys have flavors like chocolate or cherry or even banana.”

  “Sounds like a banana split,” Sophie giggled and Liv laughed too.

  “Well, we know where the banana comes in,” she said and winked.

  “Laugh all you want—it’s not funny when your poor guys are dehydrated from giving you so much of what you need,” Kat said sternly. “We all know Kindred don’t need a recovery period during sex and they can come as often as they want but it’s been really hard on Deep and Lock. They’re practically living on protein shakes lately.”

  “And so are you!” Liv exclaimed. “Think of it Kat—you are!”

  She and Sophie began laughing again and Annie joined it. Finally Kat cracked a smile herself.

  “I’ve dropped ten pounds, you know,” she remarked. “It’s better than Atkins and the Keto diet put together.”

  This set them all off again and Annie laughed until tears came to her eyes. But finally, they sobered up.

  “It’s okay for us mated girls, you know,” Liv remarked. “But it’s the unmated girls I feel sorry for. It must have been so embarrassing for them, having to ask males they weren’t mated to, to help them.”

  “There are going to be a lot of uncomfortable looks around the family dinner table when they bring those guys to meet their parents and Mom and Dad ask, ‘So, how did you two meet?’” Kat remarked.

  “And what will they tell their kids?” Sophie shook her head. “I know nothing can happen to us that the Goddess doesn’t will, but sometimes it’s hard to understand why she lets certain things happen.”