by Stasia Black
Cheers erupt all over the crowd and I watch on in growing horror. It is just as Juliet feared. The Queen would lead them to destroy the humans and take their earth for ourselves. I would not have believed it of my people.
But then again, I am young. I was not around for the old wars. Mine was a time of everyone flocking together for a single purpose—to pool our resources, to escape a dying planet, to build ships that would be our salvation.
This bloodlust is not a side of the Draci I have ever witnessed before. But just because I have not seen it does not mean it is not very, very real.
Especially among those in this room. The highest castes. The oldest families.
“Bring out the ceremonial blades!” the Queen cries.
The ceremonial blades are executioner’s blades. Draci are hard to kill but one sure way to get the job done is to chop off our heads. It takes a special type of Draci-fired metal—of which the ceremonial blades are made.
The Queen has never sounded more gleeful than when she continues, “Then we will go for the cunt he implanted his cursed seed in.”
I roar and fight but there are simply too many holding me in place.
Naturally it is the Queen’s son and my long-time nemesis, First, who approaches carrying the ceremonial blades.
I imagine he will take as much joy as his mother when he executes me.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Juliet
“Let me out!” I yank at the bars of my cage. “Let me out, you fucking bastards!”
The room has all but emptied of people. There is only that same technician left, still working away at his console in the corner, completely ignoring me no matter how much I shout.
On top of everything else, I have the backache from hell. I don’t know if I tweaked it somehow or if it’s another freaky side effect from pregnancy—don’t pregnant women say their backs hurt?
But it’s the last thing I can care about right now. They dragged Shak away. They accused him of killing his own father. They’ll kill him. I know they will. And I won’t to be able to do anything to stop it.
“Let me—” But I break off in a scream.
I’m knocked breathless from the intense pain in my back along my shoulder blades and I bend over in my cage, crying and panting. I try to stretch but Jesus, that only makes it worse. What the hell is going on?
Tears squeeze out of my eyes at the pain. I try to reach around to my shoulder blades but more pain cripples me.
What the fuck? Seriously? As if the day weren’t already the worst of my life. Shak just got hauled off for murder, the baby and I are in worse danger than ever, and to top it all off, the universe decided to give me the backache from hell.
I double over again as a fresh round of pain rips through me.
And when my vision finally clears and I look up only to find two of those fucking guards who hauled Shak away are back.
The technician in the corner finally looks up.
“I have a message from the Queen,” the guard tells the technician. “Kill it.” He nods my direction.
The technician nods as if this is something he does every day. The guards leave as quickly as they came.
“Get near me and I’ll rip your head off,” I screech. This fucker really does not want to try me today.
But he just keeps walking calmly to a cabinet and pulling out a little gun looking contraption that has a syringe tip.
No. No! This bastard can think again if he thinks he’s going to stick me with that.
I’ve been so afraid. I wanted to run and pretend like this all wasn’t happening.
But as the technician approaches with death in that syringe, I suddenly have perfect clarity.
I have been given a second chance. I’ve been given the gift of another innocent life to protect. Whether I fight for them or not is up to what I choose to do in the next few seconds.
And right there and then I decide.
He is not going to fucking kill me or this baby.
A roar wells up from deep inside me and I grab the door to my cage. I scream in fury and it comes out as a roar.
And then the lock on the cage snaps just like it did when Shak first tore it off.
I allow only a moment of surprise at my own strength. Then I leap out of the cage and tackle the technician. I snap his forearm in two, making him scream and drop his syringe-gun.
I kick it away, and just in time. Because the next second I’m doubling over in pain, falling to my knees.
I tear at Shak’s shirt, finally ripping it over my head. And then I scream, clutching my stomach and praying that whatever is happening to me isn’t hurting the baby. Please, let this not mean that I’m miscarrying.
Baby. Baby, I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry it took me this long to want you. I force myself to my feet and then to the examination table where they first scanned me. The little hand scanner is still right there and I grab it. There’s a large button on the side so I point it at my stomach and press the button.
The scanner emits a regular whoosh whoosh whoosh noise. A heartbeat. The baby is okay.
I laugh in relief. And that’s when I notice that the pain is subsiding.
But something feels weird.
What…?
I turn around, stretching my back muscles.
And that’s when large, iridescent golden wings unfurl behind me.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Shak
The cold of the blades on my neck are a finality I have never known before. Here is my death. Ignoble and unjust. As was my father’s before me, no doubt.
Forgive me, Juliet. I was born nothing and nothing I will die. The Queen will win.
I was always too weak to fight against her.
I close my eyes to accept the inevitable.
But a sudden commotion has them snapping back open. What—? My mouth drops and my eyes widen. Juliet, she is— But how?
I sit frozen, as astounded as everyone else in the hall as my mate swoops over the gathered throng, flying on golden wings. Wings that are as full and broad as any Draci.
Juliet is bare breasted and magnificent as she flies straight to the throne. The flaps of her wings make the Thraxian banners behind the throne wave and thwap as if in mid-storm.
“Release my mate,” Juliet demands in a voice deeper and stronger than I have ever heard it. “I demand a fair trial. I’m Draci now and I assume it is my right.”
She’s wrong. Draci do not have trials or a law system anything like the humans do, but I take advantage of the distraction Juliet has provided. She is magnificent. And worth fighting for, even to the death if I must. For her, I can be strong.
I finally manage to spit out the gag in my mouth and I do not waste any time. “I did not kill the King,” I bellow. “The Queen did.”
Shocked gasps erupt all over the room.
“Kill that fool,” the Queen yells. “He spreads lies and must die for his crimes.”
But to my shock, my half-brother lowers the blades from my throat ever so slightly. Allowing me to speak.
“What would I have to gain by lying?” I call out. “I do not seek the throne. It is the Queen who lies to you. Look.” I throw a hand out towards Juliet. “Our two races are compatible. Do you not see the proof before your own eyes?”
“Seize him!” The Queen cries. “Seize them both.”
But the guards, so quick to grab me earlier, now hesitate.
I continue before they change their mind. “I have never wanted my father’s throne. It will pass to First as it was always meant to.”
I see my half-brother’s eyes widen but I ignore him and continue. “Father gave my mate and I his blessing. Which is why the Queen killed him. She would have things stay the same. She would have all of your great lines die with you. She would have our entire race die rather than adapt and survive as Draci have always done before.”
I look around the room, making eye contact with individuals. “When our sun died, did we lie down and die wit
h it? No! We fought. We took to the stars in hope of a better future. I ask for the same leap of faith now.”
I take a step forward, pressing back into the blades that First still holds. “Kill me if you will, but do not turn away from our only chance for a future.”
“He lies!” the Queen shrieks, standing up from her throne. “I have been your Queen for almost three hundred years! I have seen you through a treacherous journey through the stars and brought you to a good new home. Do not believe the words of a usurping bastard—”
“Then believe me,” says First, stepping back and lowering his blades. “The Queen killed my father, the King. I witnessed it with my own eyes.”
The hall erupts and the King’s guard leap forward as one to pull the Queen down off her throne.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Juliet
“I still can’t believe your brother did that for us.” I stroke my fingers through the light tuft of golden hair on Shak’s forearm.
We’re laying out by the crystal blue infinity pool of the estate that the Draci purchased for us on the edge of Sacramento. It’s a perfect summer day, hot but not too hot, white clouds in the blue sky, and the man I love on the chaise lounge beside me.
Shak just shakes his head and pulls me into his side. “He did not do it for us. He loved our father and the Queen has been cold and manipulative his entire life.”
“Well, no matter why he did it, it was the right thing to do.” I shake my head. “I don’t get why they exiled him for it.”
Shak leans back and I sink comfortably against him. It’s been strange, adjusting to a life with wings on my back. But I’ve settled in to my new reality far more quickly than I would have imagined. When I’m not using them, they fold like flattened origami. And apart from the pain of when they broke through, they don’t hurt at all. If I wear a bulky enough sweater or multiple layers, I can go out in public and no one knows.
They were the last of the transformation. It’s been a couple of months now and there haven’t been any other patches of scales coming through or other surprises. Just my ever-increasing belly.
Shak is silent a long moment before he finally says, “To betray one’s family is unforgivable.”
That doesn’t make any sense. “But they made you their king and you were saying the same thing!”
So yeah. That happened.
Shak is now the King of the Draci.
And I’m…the de facto Queen. No, I can’t wrap my head around it. I don’t think it’s actually official anyway until I give birth and prove their little ‘experiment’ will really, all-the-way work. But every scan says little baby Thrax is growing like crazy. Draci pregnancies are far shorter than human ones, so the Draci doctor’s best guess is that I might have around two more months.
“She betrayed me first, though,” Shak says. “In such cases it is allowed, to defend oneself.”
“I’ll never understand Draci politics.” I shake my head.
“You will, in time.” He smiles at me and rubs a hand over my belly.
“Oh!” I exclaim. “Hold still. He’s moving.” Little baby Thrax definitely loves to make his presence known. Giselle and Ana barely take their hands off my belly whenever they visit.
The biggest grin breaks across Shak’s face when he feels the baby kick.
God, I love this man. To think that I almost lost him. That we almost lost everything.
I shudder in spite of the warm day.
“Are you cold, beloved of my heart?” Shak asks.
“No.” I squeeze my arms tighter around him. “Just feeling grateful for everything we have.”
He nods.
“So, Ezo’s almost ready?”
Shak nods again. “He is in his last round of treatments and all he can talk about is earth. He can’t decide which he is more excited to try first: flirting with human females or pizza.”
I crack up. “See, Draci guys and human ones aren’t so different after all.”
Shak lets out a low growl. “They are all fools.”
In an instant, Shak has flipped us so that I’m on my back on the wide, cushioned chaise lounge. He hovers over me, bright golden eyes sparkling.
“Oh really?” I ask.
“There is only one priority. Finding and then making love to one’s mate as often as possible.”
I giggle, already feeling the hardness of his double cocks pressing against my sex.
Unfortunately, he’s also pressing against my enormous belly.
“Sorry, babe,” I wheeze. “This position doesn’t work anymore.”
He immediately springs off of me. “Of course. Forgive me.”
I hold out a hand so he can help me up. He clasps it and I drag myself into a sitting position, then I arch an eyebrow at my handsome mate.
Oh yeah, did I forget to mention that? We also got married. I figured with the baby on the way and, you know, binding two entire races together, plus the whole loving each other like crazy thing, getting hitched just made sense.
Shak growls low in his throat as I continue twisting, finally crawling onto my hands and knees. I’m wearing a summer dress and it’s easy to flip it up and expose my ass. I haven’t bothered with panties in a while now, seeing as how they kept getting ruined with Shak ripping them off all the time.
His hands lovingly caress my hips and ass.
My insides immediately go molten. I’m thankful that the changes to my body stopped with the wings and plates of golden-sheened armor because I’m really happy to still have human bits, especially where it counts.
I’m pretty sure Shak’s happy about that, too.
I have a surprise for him today and I giggle when I hear his confused, “Juliet, what is this?”
“Tug on the strings and see.” I bite my lip to keep from saying more. I don’t want to spoil the surprise.
I can feel the pressure inside when he begins to tug on the tassels of the training plug I put up my backside this morning. I’ve been working up to the largest size for weeks now.
The thing I didn’t know about pregnancy? It makes you horny as fuck. And there’s something I’ve been wanting to try for a while now.
He pulls and it doesn’t budge.
“You have to yank it harder,” I tell him, a little breathless already at the pressure.
I hear a loud expulsion of breath as he begins to tug harder. Finally the plug begins to come out. It’s big and long, so it takes a while. I had to shop around to find one that was anywhere close to Shak’s girth.
“Juliet.” There is shocked wonder in his voice, “what is this you have done?”
I look over my shoulder at him, a little anxious now to see how he’s taking it. Does he think it’s dirty or wrong to put something up there?
He examines the plug in his hands, still a little wet from the lube I generously poured on it before inserting.
Finally he meets my eyes, excited but confused.
“I want to take all of you,” I whisper. “Both of your cocks. In each of my holes at the same time.”
His eyes go so wide they threaten to pop out of his head. “I did not…imagine such a thing was…possible.”
He might not have imagined it was possible but he looks very excited by the idea.
“Oh it’s possible, baby. And you’re about to experience it firsthand.” I hand him a small bottle of lube. “Just make sure to put plenty of that on Number One—” We’ve had to develop a shorthand to talk about his unique situation down there. Number One is the top and Number Two is the bottom cock, “—and then I want you to fuck me.”
He breathes out hard and then his hands are at his pants, shoving them down and freeing his double erections.
God, they’re glorious to look at. Big and hard and beautiful and— Oh. Both my holes clench. I need to be filled. I need to be fucked.
“Baby, I need it.” I bite my lip. “You know how I need it.”
“Yes, I know how you need it.” Shak’s eyes are glowing golden as he s
tares down at my backside. The next second, he has popped the top of the lube and is generously coating Number One.
Then I feel him against my ass, at my most forbidden place.
Oh fuck he’s big. Maybe I didn’t think this through all the way— Oof! My eyes fly wide open as his ridged head pops through my tight ring of muscles.
I breathe out, hissing air through my teeth. Damn, there was no way I would’ve been able to take that if I hadn’t been preparing for him.
He must already be leaking pre-cum, too, because I can already feel him. It’s so fucking addictive—being so deeply connected to another person like this. We’ve only been together for three short months but I can’t imagine sex any other way now.
I feel his shocked delight when he inches forward and the head of his other cock touches my pussy. Usually when he fucks me, it’s incredibly pleasurable, but I can always feel this tiny thread of want in him. Not quite dissatisfaction. But I know it’s because we always go one at a time, the other cock always waiting its turn to cum.
But both of them being stimulated like this at the same time?
It’s blowing Shak’s fucking mind.
And simultaneously, mine too, because we’re so connected.
Then there’s my own sensation. Because with every inch he pushes forward, oh God, I’ve never been so filled before in my entire life.
I grab onto Shak’s hand braced flat on the lounger beside my shoulder. We are connected everywhere and still I want more.
The pleasure. Oh God, the pleasure.
It zings down from my tummy, sparkles like fireworks in my cunt, while at the same time I feel it lighting up Shak’s two cocks. His thrusts grow more and more fervent every time his ridged heads gain friction, pushing in and out. It bites like lightning jolting up and down his spine. And then back to my pussy. It’s an unending circle of the most eye-popping pleasure.
