Azlo

by Maia Starr

  I watched as she peeled back the scales flaking off the alien’s shoulder and didn’t even flinch. She spoke to Caridan and then to Targeg, but I remained out of the loop as to the severity of my mate’s injuries.

  The term still felt so strange. ‘My mate.' Even in my mind, the concept seemed foreign. I looked over at him through my curls and watched as they cleaned the bite and stitched him back up.

  All medical professionals trained at Riddell were shown how to deal with Weredragon skin. Their make-up was different than ours. Their skin was so thick it took specially formulated stitches to keep it closed.

  Targeg made polite conversation with me as we watched. I thought he was sweet and handsome and suddenly wondered why I had to be stuck with the anti-social sociopath, instead.

  The way Caridan looked at me made me uneasy. I’d heard Weredragons were amazing mates: passionate and just jealous enough to make you feel protected. Were’s mated for life and showed fierce possession of you. I had experienced just the opposite, I thought. When Caridan’s eyes searched mine, it was as though he was unsure what to do with me.

  One of the nurses came up to me and asked if I was his mate. I reluctantly stood and admitted that she had found the right woman. “That’s me,” I said.

  “Take him back to your room and give him these every three hours.”

  With that, the pretty redhead handed me a round disc of yellow pills and sent me on my way. I had no idea where his room was.

  I reluctantly stood and followed her the short distance to Caridan. He and Targeg had all but huddled in the corner of the Med Bay, and I stood in the curtained off section near them, unsure if I should approach.

  I spun the disc of pills in my hand and awkwardly made my way to the pair.

  The Med Bay was set up beautifully, with an abundance of supplies and beds to accommodate whatever troubles may happen aboard. The small rooms were separated by pull-apart curtains. I made my way through the makeshift rooms and stopped in a narrow, curtain-lined hallway as I heard my mate now talking candidly with an incredulous Targeg.

  I shifted behind the drapes to make myself scarce so the pair couldn’t hear me and shamelessly listened in.

  “Can I have a minute of your time to ask you what the hell you think you’re doing?” Targeg said almost comically through gritted teeth.

  “Trying to avoid a ship being torn apart by an enraged sociopath, I thought,” Caridan said with a huff, pushing away from his friend.

  “Yeah, that wasn’t really what I was referring to. You think I care if you want to kick Brenem’s ass? What I care about is what you think you’re doing with that poor girl.”

  “That poor girl?” my mate sneered. “She didn’t even want to be chosen!”

  I didn’t know it was possible to whisper aggressively, but somehow Caridan had it mastered.

  “Good,” Targeg responded, his eyes widening as he approached with an almost comical, incredulous stare. “Because she wasn’t! You can’t choose, in case you’ve forgotten.”

  My stomach flipped for just a moment, and I backed away from the curtain, now especially careful not to make too much noise. What was that supposed to mean? He wasn’t able to choose?

  Caridan crossed his arms and finally sat back down; his eyes slowly following Targeg as the alien paced back and forth. He clenched his jaw a moment before saying, “Ikar is our Koth, and he gave no reprimand.”

  “Yeah, he isn’t letting it happen because he likes you, Caridan. He’s letting it happen because he wants to have you killed in the most judicial way possible. He doesn’t even have to get his hands dirty.”

  “He said it's fine so long as I don’t mate with her.”

  “And you can do that?” Targeg frowned at and rubbed his hands against the yellow scales that had flared up from the fight.

  Caridan shrugged, and I felt another pang of hot, white tension rise up in my stomach. Apparently, I was stuck in limbo with a dragon who may or may not even have been my mate.

  His friend scratched his chin and continued to fidget restlessly as though he weren’t sure what to do with his own skin before looking back. He shrugged helplessly and stared off for a moment before repeating with a scoff, “So she didn’t want to be chosen, huh?”

  “Apparently not.” Caridan shrugged. “Earth women.”

  Targeg let out a small chuckle and stiffened as I finally approached the pair.

  “I don’t mean to interrupt,” I said quietly. I shrugged then looked to Targeg and smiled sheepishly. “Well, I guess I do. But, the nurse said I am supposed to take Caridan to his room for the night. She said I am supposed to watch over you, you know, just for tonight.”

  To my surprise, Caridan gave a devilish grin to his friend and stood, landing his oversized hand on the small of my back to guide me. I nodded my goodbye to Targeg and awkwardly followed the purple dragon’s lead.

  We walked the length of the ship and took an elevator down to the third deck below. Caridan unlocked his room with a tap card and clutched his bandaged shoulder as he pushed the door open. I followed him into the small suite and took a quick look around. There was a small restroom, two dressers, and one oversized bed, which he quickly lay down on.

  I pulled a chair up beside him and watched as he carefully adjusted his wings beneath his back.

  “Eventful day, huh?” he finally said.

  I looked down at his beautiful tan skin and purple scutes and the way his sharp jawline sunk into his face. It gave me a better understanding of what he must have looked like in full form.

  “Uh-huh,” I said absentmindedly. “That a usual thing between you two?”

  “Let’s say it’s not the first time we’ve drawn blood.”

  “How very neighborly,” I joked. “I didn’t mean to egg him on. I’m sorry.”

  “Well…” he trailed off into nothing.

  He wasn’t very good at this, I thought. Targeg was right by my side asking if I was alright. Caridan, it seemed, couldn’t be bothered. He didn’t even seem to accept my apology. Yet, something suddenly made me curious about the man.

  Knowing he couldn’t have me the way he wanted made me want to know more about him. Why couldn’t he participate in the choosing? What was it about me that made him break the rules? Although I didn’t know the answers to any of these questions, the possibilities of the answers made me feel somehow special to him – even though he hadn’t expressed the least bit of interest in me.

  Typical woman, my sister would say. When I found out he couldn’t have me, that’s the moment I started to want him.

  I stood from my chair and turned off all the lights in the room, save for a blue glow stone by the side of the bed. I decided that little rock would serve as our nightlight for the moment. It radiated a beautiful glow that made the room feel softer somehow.

  I climbed across the mattress and lay down next to him, a sudden overwhelming magic now occupying the small space between us.

  “So,” I began, racking my brain for a way to broach the subject. “You chose me.”

  “I think that much is clear,” he said, not making eye contact.

  “But you weren’t supposed to?” The words spilled forth from my mouth without any tact or grace. I groaned inwardly. I really wasn’t charming, ugh.

  His eyes shot open then, and he turned his head to regard me with a sly smirk. His eyes flicked back and forth from mine in quick succession as though he were deciding whether or not he should lie to me.

  “I’m not supposed to mate with you,” he said plainly.

  I felt my stomach fall again as his words came out. Something in his tone unsettled me to no end. ‘Then why choose me?’ I wanted to ask in anger. Remembering the fight I had just witnessed between Caridan and the red dragon, I instead asked sweetly, “How come?”

  I wasn’t sure whether to be offended, thinking that the Were’s didn’t think I was good enough to carry on their race, or if there was an even worse explanation forthcoming.

  “It�
�s a punishment,” he raised his brows, clearly unenthused at the need for explanation. “Perhaps you’ve heard of it?”

  “Never been punished a day in my life,” I quipped with a tired grin. Then the room went deathly silent again. I wondered what would become of us once we reached Udora. Would he have to give me up? I shook my mind of the thoughts and said, “Quick, tell me three things about yourself.”

  Caridan stayed still and didn’t acknowledge that I had even spoken. Determined to get his attention, I offered playfully, “I’m 22. Now you go.”

  His brows drew together, and he looked at me with an almost bored disbelief. Finally, he sighed his relent. “I’ve been around for four centuries.”

  “Wow…” I exhaled. The sentiment was almost too strange to comprehend. I knew Weredragons had a long lifespan, but I hadn’t expected to be with one quite so… old. “You must think I’m a baby,” I laughed.

  He looked pointedly at my breasts and chuckled. “Not quite.”

  “Okay…” I paused. “Tell me something else. Why do you breathe fire?”

  “I don’t know. I always could.”

  “That’s rare, from what I understand?”

  He gave a halfhearted shrug. The look on his face was an arrogant expression of dismissal. It made me feel like I should stop talking, and so I did. My silence didn’t go unnoticed, to my surprise, and eventually, he surmised, “It’s very rare, yes. All dragons used to be able to shoot fire, but over the last 500 years, something changed. It’s the only reason I was allowed to live.”

  “I see. You received a punishment instead?”

  “Right.”

  I nodded curiously and stared back up at the white ceiling above us, the blue light from the glow stone seeming to dance around the room. “Does your Koth hope the scientists we bring back will be able to solve the mystery?”

  He breathed. “I don’t know what they want.”

  “So really,” I rolled onto my side and propped by head up onto my hand to look at the shifter, “shouldn’t they be encouraging you to mate with a bunch of humans if you can still breathe fire? Then they could study our human biology to see which mate produced a fire-breather and what about their DNA made it successful.”

  “Well, it’s not really my decision.”

  I wanted to frown. I wanted to express my frustration with him and yell: ‘I never said it was your decision!’ Instead, I calmly said: “Whose is it then?”

  “Right now? Ikars.” The white dragon, I reminded myself. Caridan continued, “Soon it will be the Koth’s. Why do you care so much?”

  “Well, I guess, because maybe you care about it. And we are mates and all.”

  “Ah,” he said with a roguish grin. “And you want to bond now, is that it?”

  “Not really,” I shrugged with a put-on indifference, making sure to show him my most flirtatious eyes as I glanced his way. “Just doing my part for the mission is all. Frankly, if we humans want fire, all we have to do is light a match. Easy peasy.”

  The comment, though said with little enthusiasm, elicited a loud, hearty laugh from my betrothed. It was a sexy laugh that filled my whole body with a strange sensation. Suddenly, I wasn’t sure if I wanted him or if I just wanted him to want me. After all, he didn’t seem very upset at the idea of not mating.

  I bit my lip and suddenly decided to play a little game with him. “So… you plan on following orders on this one?”

  He raised an unsure brow. “You didn’t want to be chosen anyway, remember?” he reminded me. “This way you get to come back and study us under my protection. I’m surprised you have a problem with that.”

  “I never said I did,” I responded in my best attempt at a sultry voice.

  We laid in silence for a few moments longer, studying one another until I made my way onto all fours. He breathed audibly in a way that made my whole body flush with heat.

  “So…” I whispered, making eye contact with him. I crawled across his hard body, feeling his muscles underneath my hands as I perched on top of him, our midsections dangerously close. “You wouldn’t break the rules even if I really wanted you to?”

  “You don’t,” he said in a confident, bemused fashion. “And no, I wouldn’t.”

  “Because you follow the rules,” I teased while removing his shirt. He let me; looking up in my direction with wonder.

  “Right…” he trailed off.

  I grabbed his hands and let them search my waist and breasts, exploring me gently. The purple veins beneath his scales were now glowing against his skin as he let out a breath of excitement. I could see his eyes glazing over with passion and feared my tease was becoming something more for both of us.

  I leaned down towards his face, my breath ghosting against his cheeks as my mouth found its way to his ear. I could feel his length harden beneath me as I ground against him. “Good,” I said quickly and hopped off of him.

  “Good,” he repeated hastily, sexual frustration overwhelming his tone as he looked up at me.

  “I should–” I stumbled over my own words. “I should go to my room,” I said with a sudden blush as his erection remained the highlight of my sightline.

  I looked at it and then to him, offering a giggle as I made my way towards the door.

  “Ari.” It was the first time Caridan said my name.

  “Yes?” I smiled.

  “This is your room.”

  Chapter Six

  Caridan

  The two of us lay next to one another. As the night wore on, we could hear other dragons and their women pairing off to their rooms and mating. Loudly. Not many Weredragons were fans of waiting. Everyone was eager to experience a human female. Some would go all night. It became an obsession for most.

  I was once one of the eager ones ready to explore the hills and valleys of a woman’s body, but that was a lifetime ago.

  I turned to Ari, who lay with her eyes closed beside me. I saw her eyes flicker under the light of the blue glow that filled our bedroom. She was awake too. I could still feel the ghost of her soft breasts underneath my hands; could smell her warm breath as she came close to my face. I knew she didn’t want me. No, she wanted to toy with me.

  In the moment, that had been alright with me. Commonly it was the women who seemed to beg for private passions with a shifter. It was they who fell into a deep trance of passion. The first step towards mating.

  Yet, it seemed as though Ari was bent on having it be the other way around.

  Now she knew how badly I wanted her body. I hated that. We heard a loud moan coming from the room sharing a wall with ours and Ari flinched. I watched her try and drown out the noise from the other rooms and wondered if I should let her suffer the discomfort a while longer.

  I reached over and brushed the long, thick strands of blonde away from her face and traced the outline of her chin with the back of my knuckle. Her blue eyes opened softly and watched tiredly. Then she smiled.

  Maybe I was winning her over after all.

  I leaned into her until our bodies were touching and she giggled as the woman in the next room let out a guttural cry of ecstasy.

  “Somebody sounds like they’re having fun,” she teased me evilly.

  I smirked but said nothing.

  I extended my wing, holding myself somewhere in-between shifting between human and dragon so that my wing would grow larger. I extended it from behind my back and brought it over so that the two of us became cocooned. The thick membrane acted as a soundproof barrier.

  “It’s not perfect, but–”

  “It is perfect,” she interrupted me, biting her lips and reaching down to touch me; to test me.

  I grabbed her hand before she could make contact and shook my head with an amused smile. If I disobeyed the Koth one more time, I knew Ikar would have me killed. I had to follow his counsel… for now.

  “A thank you, then?” she asked in her high pitched, sleepy voice; a compromise. I gave a nod, and she leaned in, catching her sticky lips against mine and
lingering there for just a moment as her lips danced perfectly in unison with mine.

  I felt a warm sensation wash over my body, and I cupped her face with my hands, leaning in to extend the moment. She set her hand on top of mine, and she flicked her tongue against mine with small graces. Finally, she backed away, and we both basked in each other’s breath for a moment longer.

  I swallowed hard and finally managed to whisper, “You’re welcome.”

  After some time she drifted to sleep, and I lay awake to maintain my wing. Seeing her sleep filled me with a strange sense of comfort. She breathed in unison with me unconsciously. I couldn’t help but wonder what had happened between us. When did something change? Was I not the same arrogant shifter she couldn’t stand just hours ago? Had I not chosen her despite her protests? Hadn’t she preferred Targeg’s company over mine?

  Not knowing the answers to these questions made it extremely difficult to fall asleep, but after several hours, I finally closed my eyes and let the night wash over me.

  The next morning was stranger than I had imagined it would have been. To have someone in my bed seemed like something of an anomaly given what the last couple decades had been like for me.

  She rose quickly, and I wondered what her demeanor would be like. Would she be quiet, shy, disgusted? Instead, she gave me a sly grin and slipped off the sheets like water against a rooftop. Her flirtatious candor hadn’t left since the draw of sleep left us.

  I knew the drill from here on out. We were led to the dining floor and given a quick meal, which Ari chatted through relentlessly. I wasn’t sure if I was fascinated by her or if she annoyed me. It was a fine line, as it turned out. Ever since finding out that we were to be mates in name only, she seemed to have a sudden desire to share every single detail about herself that came into her mind. I now knew she liked peaches, disliked the cold, and couldn’t eat first thing in the morning. She did grab an oversized cup of coffee.

  “Enough caffeine for you?”