by Luna Hunter
I stand rooted to the spot, absolutely horrified. This can’t be happening. This is not how this is supposed to play out.
The moment Fenrir tears one net to shreds another one is shot at him, bringing him down to his knees again. He roars, he howls, he shouts, and I stand there, unable to help, unable to move. Frozen.
He’s losing the battle.
“It’s hopeless,” Boris says. “Give up.” He stands next to me, a venomous smirk on his face. “Strange, isn’t it? Such a proud, strong warrior, brought to his knees by something as simple as a net and some electricity. Amazing.”
“You’re a monster,” I say, tears stinging my eyes. “A monster. You will pay for this, one way or another. You will pay.”
“No, I will get paid. There’s a difference.”
“Whose paying you?” I ask, the tears now streaming down my face.
“Humans First, obviously. They’re paying me a pretty penny to deliver these stuffy books, and they might throw in something extra for that feral Falurian of yours. However, you, my love, are the real prize.”
“W-what do you mean?” I say, wiping my tears away and crossing my arms over my chest.
Fenrir is still howling in pain, and every sound he makes cuts right through my bones. It hurts my soul, like sharp nails are being dragged across my very essence.
Boris slides an arm around my shoulder. I back away instantly, but the evil man grabs a tight hold of me.
“I’m talking about that little mutt you have baking in the oven,” he says, placing his other hand on my stomach. “They’ll make me obscenely wealthy if I give them a half-breed like the one you’re carrying.”
“That was a lie,” I grit through my teeth, struggling to free myself from his grasp. “I just said that to lure you here!”
“Perhaps that’s what you thought,” he says, “but I can tell from your eyes that you are carrying, Abigail. Your normally blue peepers shimmer with gold, like a proper Falurian who is about to shift. You carry one of those lizard-spawns inside of you. Take comfort in the fact that you spreading yours legs for that beast will help the human race, as we all absorb their Falurian powers. Shame you won’t live to see it.”
“You don’t speak for humanity,” I spit, my anger rising and rising. Every inch of my skin feels like it’s prickling with heat. “Nor do those fascist friends of yours. Nobody want your genetic meddling.”
“They do, they just don’t know it yet. Who wouldn’t want to be able to live to be hundreds of years old, or to be able to shift into a dragon?
“Like this, you mean?!”
A power I didn’t know I had is unleashed. My entire body is brimming with anger, my heart throbbing with pure hatred for Boris and all he stands for. Every cry from Fenrir adds fuel to my fire, until I feel like a volcano that is about to erupt.
And erupt I do. Like a fiery inferno that swallows all that is in its path.
Every inch of my body feels like its growing. My hands and feet turn to claws, I feel wings growing out of my back, and my skin becomes covered in a layer of golden scales. Everything seems to slow down as all of my senses improve tenfold. I see more clearly than ever before. I can see the fear in Boris’s eyes and I can see the corners of his mouth move into a shocked cry before he even utters a sound.
“Get her!” he cries “Stop her!”
One quick strike is all it takes to fell Boris. I send him flying across the room, and he crashes on the bar with a heavy thud, the woodwork collapsing all around him. The men turn their guns towards me and fire their nets, but they do absolutely nothing to me. I shake them off and take a deep breath, the fire in my belly growing.
It’s all happening so fast, I barely have time to process the fact that I shifted into a golden dragon.
I’ll be shocked and awed later. Right now, I have a mate to save. I breathe fire, dousing the armed men in flames. They run away screaming and waving their arms in a frenzy as flames lick them. I feel a prick from behind, and glance over my shoulder to see another man firing a gun at me. The bullets bounce off my scales, and with a simple swipe of my tail I send the man flying through the window.
The building has caught on fire, and it rapidly spreads across the many wooden beams. Fenrir’s groan captures my attention.
“Fenrir!”
I run towards him, my body shifting back into its human form in the blink of an eye. I wrestle him free out of the nets and wrap my entire body around him.
“For a second I thought I lost you,” I breathe, tears once again filling my eyes, but this times out of joy.
“You… you…” Fenrir says, his chest heaving with every breath.
“I-I seem to have inherited some of your power,” I say, showing him my arm. If I think hard enough, I can make golden scales appear all over.
“You… you are the most beautiful dragon I have ever seen,” he says. He presses his lips against mine, and I kiss him back, letting go of all the anger.
Finally, it’s over. He’s safely back in my arms.
Flames consume the building, the fire rapidly spreading all around us, but Fenrir and I sit there and hold each other tightly. The flames cannot harm us.
This does not apply to Boris. He crawls out from under the wreckage, screaming and cursing, begging for help. Observer Security personal storm into the burning husk of building, their weapons at the ready. The Falurian and Melek men are dressed in sleek, black armor bearing the logo of the Alliance. They first point their weapons at me, but I direct them to our scarred friend.
“He’s the one you want,” I say. “Boris Krupin. There’s your guy.”
They run over and drag him out of the rubble, and beg for us to follow them. I wave them away.
“We’re fine,” I say. “A little fire won’t hurt us.”
The soldiers are forced to flee as the fire rages all around us, ravaging the building. Any moment now I’m sure the fire department will arrive, but I’m content to enjoy this moment alone for just a few seconds longer. The moment we leave we’ll have to report to Vilmar, to the Alliance, and to the clans on Audur everything that has happened.
Before we do any of that, I need a few more precious seconds with my mate.
I interlock my fingers with Fenrir’s. He can’t stop grinning.
“You’re not mad I saved your life, right? Your honor’s not too wounded?”
“A little bit,” he admits with a chuckle. “I have a lifetime to make it up to you.”
“I don’t plan on being abducted by xenophobes anytime soon, though,” I warn him.
“A lifetime is a long time, especially for a Falurian. Never say never!”
I trace the veins on his hand with my fingers. I want to say what’s on my mind, but it’s such a game changer that I don’t know where to start. Maybe I should just jump feet first into the great unknown.
“I’m pregnant.”
The widest smile imaginable spreads across Fenrir’s gorgeous face. He pulls me close and kisses me passionately. I surrender myself to his kiss, to his warmth. Nothing can harm us now. It’s just me and him – well, and a little boy or girl.
I have no idea what’s next for us, but I feel in every bone in my body that everything is going to be okay. No matter what happens and no matter where we are, I will have Fenrir by my side.
EPILOGUE
ABIGAIL
“WAKE UP, gullna,” Karlina’s singing voice says.
I slowly open my eyes to find myself curled up in a Papasan chair in Karlina’s room. “I’m sorry,” I yawn. “Did I doze off again?”
“Don’t worry about it, you’re napping for two now. Look!”
She holds up two gorgeous tunics – one baby blue, the other mauve.
“What do you think?”
“They’re gorgeous!” I say as I reach out to touch the fabric – it’s as soft as silk.
“They’re all yours.”
My mouth falls open. “Karlina, I can’t accept—”
“Nonsense,” she
says decisively. When she frowns, I can tell Fenrir and her are related. They have the same lines in their face, the same wrinkles on the bridge of their noses. “You need these. I tailored them to fit your measurements.”
“Thank you, Karlina” I say. I know better than to argue with one of Fenrir’s kin. Once they’ve made up their minds, they are set. Plus, I’m super grateful for these wonderful clothes. No more baggy overalls for me!
“Anything for the gullna that will bear my nephew child.”
Gullna. That is what the Falurians have all started calling me. The Golden One, it means, according to Fenrir. Word of my transformation into a golden dragon has spread across Audur like a wildfire. Warriors now kneel before me when I pass them in the hallways.
It takes some getting used to. I have these exciting new powers, but I still feel like little old me.
I plant my feet on the ground and stand up with a groan, leaving the comfortable embrace of the Papasan chair. Okay, maybe some things have changed a bit… like the baby in my belly that’s growing like cabbage, as the Falurians say. I’m only a few weeks along, but already I have a sizeable baby bump.
“Careful, dear,” Karlina says, rushing to my side. “By the way, the healer said Nathan is awake and feeling well.”
My eyes pop open. Nathan had slipped into a coma due to his injuries, and I feared he wasn’t going to make it…
I rush out the door and run down the hall as fast as my legs can take me. I could grow wings if I really wanted to, but I don’t want to put any unnecessary stress on my pregnant body. Fenrir doesn’t even want me walking – he prefers me to stay in bed and dote on me all day.
Not that I mind, of course, but Nathan deserves to have me by his side.
“How’s he doing, doctor?” I say as I barge into Janssen’s practice.
“Healer,” Janssen says, sternly.
Some old habits die hard. “Healer,” I correct myself. “Is he alright?”
“Nathan is awake and well. Go ahead and see for yourself.”
I walk into the back of healer Janssen’s practice. I’ve stopped by here every day to check on Nathan, but he’s been unconscious this entire time. I haven’t had a chance to thank him for all he’s done since that moment at the foot of the mountain.
Until now.
Nathan’s characteristic smirk greets me as I walk into the back.
“Howdy.”
I rush to his side and grab his hand, tears welling in my eyes as joy floods my heart. “How are you feeling?!” I ask.
Nathan grins. “Like a million bucks.”
I wipe the tears away with the back of my hand. “I feared that you wouldn’t…”
“Don’t even finish that sentence,” Nathan says. “I told you it would take more than a few punches to get me down. And look at you! Seems like I missed something.”
He’s looking at my baby bump, his eyebrows raised.
“I took your advice to heart,” I say with a laugh.
“So I take it Fenrir is the lucky son of a gun?”
I nod. “He sure is.”
“I’m happy for you. For you both. Now, if you could fill me in on everything else that happened since I’ve been out… did you catch Boris?”
“We did,” I say. “We sure did. Have I got a story to tell you! Settle in, for it’s a wild ride…”
I sit down next to Nathan’s bed and tell him everything, sparring no details. Well… except the ones about out wild, passionate night Fenrir and I shared together, the one that got me pregnant. I gloss over that part quickly.
When I’m done with the riveting tale Nathan is sitting upright, hanging on my every word.
“In the end, Boris and his entire crew have been handed over to the Federation, and are now awaiting trial,” I say. “Except for you.”
Nathan fidgets in his seat. “What about me?”
I can’t resist teasing him a moment longer. “You, Nathan, you… have received a full pardon from the Federation, and are an honorary citizen of Audur.”
His jaw drops. “Are you kidding me? You’re kidding me, right? This is not funny, Abby.”
“I’m not. I explained to the Federation how you had nothing to do with Boris, and how we never would have caught him if it wasn’t for you. The Falurians feel the same way, so you’re welcome to stay on Audur for as long as you wish. You are always welcome here.”
Tears sting the corners of Nathan’s eyes. “I don’t deserve a friend like you,” he says, his bottom lip twitching. “I haven’t had a home in years.”
“You have one here,” Fenrir says. My heart swells at the sound of his low voice. He walks into the room and grabs Nathan’s shoulder. “You have one here, friend.”
“Ah, damn,” Nathan says. “You’re making a grown man cry here.”
I notice a crown is resting on Fenrir’s head. “Is that…”
“Yes,” Fenrir says. “I came here because I was looking for you, Abigail. My father asked me to take his place, to follow in his footsteps. Before I met you, I would have refused. I wouldn’t have been ready for that burden. I wouldn’t know how to lead. However, now that I have found you, my elska, everything has changed. I think we’ll make a fine pair – together. My strength, combined with your compassion and intelligence, will usher in an era of peace and prosperity. Will you take this journey with me?”
My mind is spinning. Already I am faced with the responsibility of raising a baby, a mixed human and Falurian one at that, something I have precariously little experience with, and now Fenrir is asking me to rule? To sit by his side as his Lady?
“Yes,” I say. “Of course! I’ll go anywhere with you!”
It’s an adventure, yes… but with Fenrir by my side, I just know things are going to turn out well.
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ALSO BY LUNA HUNTER
Zoran Warriors
Alien General’s Baby - Jillian’s Story
Alien Warrior’s Baby - Kaitlyn’s Story
Alien Soldier’s Baby - Kelly’s Story
Alien Guardian’s Baby - Isabella’s Story
Galactic Mates
Thabo - Riley’s Story
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Luna Hunter writes steamy and sexy Sci-Fi Romances, with plenty of action!
You can follow her on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/lunahunterauthor
Or contact her directly at:
[email protected]
Table of Contents
Copyright
Newsletter
Also by Luna Hunter
1. Abigail
2. Fenrir
3. Abigail
4. Fenrir
5. Abigail
6. Fenrir
7. Abigail
8. Fenrir
9. Abigail
10. Fenrir
11. Abigail
12. Fenrir
13. Abigail
14. Fenrir
15. Abigail
16. Fenrir
17. Abigail
Epilogue
Also by Luna Hunter
About the Author
