by Amber Stuart
He sat at his captain’s chair as he watched Draconian jets launch from the command ship. They barreled through space toward the oncoming missile. The heavy missiles were flanked by Mulgor fighters who would not allow the Draconian ships within close enough range to take them out.
“Launch the second fleet,” he commanded, hoping he could out maneuver the Mulgor ships.
Another fleet of fighter jets sped through space, shooting lasers at the Mulgor craft and heavy missiles. Their attacks took out several Mulgor jets, but they still couldn’t attack the big weapons. It drew closer and closer to Earth with each passing second.
“What is the target of that missile?” Vlosh asked.
“It will land on the city of New York in no more than forty-five seconds,” his officer said.
He swore in Draconian.
“All weapons on the missile, now,” he growled.
All of the Draconian jets regrouped and focused on the missile shooting toward Earth.
“Are we within range to shoot?” he asked.
“We are now, sir,” the officer stated.
“Fire away,” Vlosh shouted.
A massive laser beam fired at the missile, barely missing several fighter jets. The missile was pushed off target but did not explode or go off course.
“Fire!” Vlosh growled.
The command ship fired again, pushing the missile further off target.
“Impact in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…”
The missile disappeared into the Earth’s atmosphere and Vlosh’s heart sank.
“Where did it hit?” he asked.
“The missile impacted downtown New York City.”
“Damn it, men. How many casualties?”
“We cannot yet make those calculations, sir.”
Vlosh stood from his chair with a growl and began pacing the bridge. His dragon screamed in his brain, urging him to go back to his bride. He had just allowed millions of innocent humans to be killed because of his distractions. He had to get himself under control.
But that didn’t seem to matter to the beast within. It scraped at his mind viciously until Vlosh could barely stand it anymore. He couldn’t think, couldn’t lead. He was barely a man anymore so much as a crazed animal. He wasn’t any good to anyone like this.
“Don’t wait so long to hail me if something of this nature happens.”
“Sir, your mating impulse…” the first officer said. Vlosh growled down at him. How dare he question a direct order?
“You will hail me. Continue the assault of the mother ship. Do not allow for any time to lapse between attacks.”
“Yes, sir.”
Vlosh stormed off the bridge. The anger raging in his chest was as boundless as it was formless. He wanted to punch something or someone. He had failed as a general and as a man, and the shame of it would kill him if the screams of his dragon did not drive him mad first.
He strode to his apartment, grimacing with rage and regret. When he opened the door, the scent of his bride pushed him over the edge.
“You are ready,” he growled, his voice more dragon than man.
Chapter Sixteen
Indigo sat at the new dining room table, eating a bowl of her favorite cereal she’d found in the new kitchen cabinets. Vlosh entered the room and she knew there was something going on by the look in his eyes. His expression was half crazed and full of lust.
He sniffed the air and stared at her.
“You are ready,” he said, his voice inhuman. Her heart jumped and she was instantly covered in goosebumps.
“Ready, really?” she asked, suddenly afraid of his intensity. She barely recognized him through the power of his animal gaze.
“Stop talking and come here,” he said, pointing to the floor in front of him. He flicked the spot at the side of his neck that made his uniform contract.
Indigo was wearing only a bathrobe after the long shower. She hadn’t bothered to get dressed or change when the man delivered her clothing from her crashed ship.
She sucked a sharp breath. His cock seemed harder and bigger than ever. She slowly stood from her chair and stepped across the room to stand in front of him. He grabbed the lapels of her bathrobe and yanked them open, revealing her nakedness underneath.
“I cannot control him,” he said, his voice was so thick and growling, Indigo felt a wave of panic erupt in her gut. She began to breathe in heavy pants as he pushed off what remained of her clothing.
He put his massive hands on her shoulders and turned her around over the back of the couch that faced the big windows, looking out on space.
Vlosh gripped her hips and rubbed his cock over her slick pussy. She was wet, despite her fear. He was right. She was ready for this. He ran his hand down her spine, pressing her further into the pillows over the couch.
All she could do was rest her body over the edge and hold on. Vlosh pushed the head of his cock against her opening. Impossibly thick, he pressed inside her. Indigo’s eyes shot wide open. The view out the window showed a mass of shooting stars flying by.
Vlosh held tightly to her hips and sank himself inside her with a loud roar. A screaming moan ripped from her throat as his massive phallus filled her beyond anything she could imagine. The walls of her channel stretched around him, enveloping him in their softness, yielding to his hard power.
“Vlosh,” she cried out as he sank to the base of his shaft. His testicles brushed against her swollen clit, exciting her further.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” he growled, gripping the back of her neck as his other hand rubbed up and down her spine.
“It’s okay,” she managed before he stopped speaking and gripped her hips tightly, digging his fingers into her flesh.
He drew back and thrust again, this time even more violently than the last. She groaned with pleasure and pain. He was so big, and she was stretched to the limit. But her body had accommodated his size. The pain was only from the newness of it, not a tearing pain that could hurt her.
Vlosh growled and began to pump in a steady rhythm. Indigo panted with each thrust of his hips. He lifted her off the floor and slammed into her from behind.
Indigo’s breasts brushed against the textured fabric of the couch and Vlosh touched all the pleasure zones inside her body.
When she was used to the feeling of him deep inside her, she relaxed into his frantic thrusting. The pleasure began to build like a gathering storm. He held her still, completely overpowering her in every way, and Indigo released herself to it.
The big man behind her pumped his massive cock into her wet little pussy and the storm of desire raged inside her. The first orgasm hit hard and she screamed when the force of it overtook her. Her entire body seemed to contract.
Vlosh groaned behind her at the feel of her body pulsing around his thick shaft. He growled and pulled her back against his chest. He gripped both of her breasts and sank his teeth into her neck.
She wanted to scream again, but the bite cut off her voice. All she could do was stare, her mouth and eyes wide, at the void of space in front of her.
Vlosh’s teeth bit deep, and she felt blood trickle over her neck and back. His tongue lapped it up as he shot his seed deep into her womb. They stayed there together, merged as one, for long moments. Time stood still as the mating bite took effect.
Indigo could feel the changes in her DNA almost instantly. Something strange and powerful overtook her body and mind. It was as if she became larger than she was before. Her mind grew sharper, with greater clarity, and she could feel the strength of her body increase beyond anything she’d ever experienced.
Finally, he pulled his teeth away but held her body, his cock still buried deep inside her. She could breathe again, and speak.
“Vlosh,” she said, struggling out of his embrace to turn to him. She threw her arms around his middle and held him close as she sat on the back of the couch. “Is it done?” She knew the answer to that question. It was so obv
ious that he had claimed her. She knew it in the depths of her soul.
“Yes, my sweet mate. We are bound together. We are one.” His voice was soft and distant. He kissed the top of her head and held her close, breathing into her hair.
“Has your dragon quieted?” she asked, hopeful that the panic of the mating impulse was behind them.
“He has, my beloved. He has.”
“Good.”
“I am so very tired,” Vlosh said, pulling away. “Let us sleep.”
He took her hand and led her to the bedroom. They climbed under the covers on the impossibly comfortable mattress and held each other close.
Indigo could feel her heart overflowing. She’d wanted so much to give him everything he needed. Finally, he could rest and focus on his mission as the commander of this space navy. There were things at stake that were too important for him to be distracted by her.
For the first time, Indigo felt a sense of calm overtake her. She laid against Vlosh’s chest and slept.
Chapter Seventeen
The hailing signal rang out while Vlosh slept. Claiming his mate in an advanced stage in his mating impulse had taken a lot out of him. When he woke, his dragon was quiet, but the hailing buzz was not.
He groaned and sat up in bed. Vlosh flicked the base of his neck and caused his uniform to cover his body. Using two fingers, he slid them over the inside of his wrist to communicate with the bridge.
“What is it?” he asked groggily, the sight of his first officer’s face on his arm.
“Sir, I have important information to bring to your attention.”
“What is it?” He was in no mood to be bothered over trivialities.
“Sir, there seems to have been a defection of one of our men to the Mulgor.”
“What? Who would do such a thing?”
“He was one of our junior pilots. He went out for the first time during the missile attack. He flew straight for the Mulgor mothership and they took him inside.”
“I want every piece of information on this man immediately,” Vlosh growled.
The idea that one of his men was a traitor grated on his nerves and filled him with beastly rage. The incoming information downloaded to his data banks, and he began to read the files.
The young pilot had been recruited just as the war with the Mulgor began. He’d grown up on a colony on a distant moon where the Draconians mined minerals they needed for their propulsion systems.
The young man came to Draconia to train as a pilot. He’d been on board Vlosh’s fleet since they were sent from Draconia to Earth.
Why would a Draconian ever side with the Mulgor? The Mulgor believed themselves to be a superior race and wanted to wipe Draconians out of the universe. No Draconian would align with them.
Vlosh continued to study the young man’s file when Indigo roused at his side. He smiled down at her, then looked back at the files. He flicked on the files that covered the pilot’s parents’ information.
His father had been born on Draconia and went to the mining moon as a young man. The mother on the other hand, Vlosh could not find any information on her history. She had apparently been born on the moon, but the first colonist had only arrived around the time the young man’s father had. That would make her much younger than the father, by about twenty years.
Even in the last generation, female Draconians were rare. So every single female birth would be meticulously recorded. This one was not.
Could it be possible that the young man’s mother was really a Mulgor spy posing as a Draconian? Because the races had once been one, some Mulgor sometimes had recessive genes that made them look like Draconians in humanoid form. It was very possible that this woman had been one.
This traitor could explain the attacks on Indigo. The thought made his head burn with anger, and he growled deep in his throat.
“What is it?” Indigo asked by his side, taking his arm in her delicate hands.
“I have learned there was a traitor among us. He is probably the one who informed the Mulgor of your existence and got your family killed.”
“What? A Draconian did that?” She pulled away. Vlosh glanced at her and saw a bright tear in the corner of her eye. She sniffed and it slid down her face.
“Half Draconian. I must admit, my beloved human mate, that not all Draconians uphold the values of Draconia. There have been traitors and spies aboard our fleets before.”
“God damn them to hell,” she said, shuddering with stifled sobs.
“All we can do is find a way to defeat the mothership. That should destroy the spy.”
“What else could he have told the Mulgor?” she asked, the tears streaming down her cheeks unabated.
“Any number of things he had access to. But he was a low level pilot. He didn’t have very high clearance.”
“What a d-bag,” she muttered.
“What is a d-bag?” he asked, confused.
“Nothing, it’s just a saying. So, how do we take these bastards out?”
“My engineers are working night and day on that problem. You need not worry about it.” Her expression fell and she turned away.
“I’m not totally useless, you know,” she muttered.
Suddenly, a light exploded in his mind and he drew back to look into her eyes. “How did you know to shoot at the Mulgor laser?”
“It was just my tennis instinct to shoot at it. I had no idea that it would work.”
“Do you think you could do that again?”
“What? Shoot a laser?”
“Yes.”
“Sure. But I’m sure anyone could do it.”
“But not as well as my beautiful bride. You are the only person I know who has taken down a Mulgor vessel in this way. So, if anyone is going to execute my new plan, I believe it should be you.”
“Really?” she said in a surprised voice.
“I also want you to know how much I value you.”
“Aww. I know you do.”
“I will prove it. Let’s try my plan.”
Chapter Eighteen
Indigo followed Vlosh to the command ship, feeling ridiculous for having suggested that Vlosh thought she was useless. Obviously, she wasn’t useless. She was meant to help save their race after all. But having him believe that she could somehow help defeat the Mulgor with her tennis skills was beyond anything she would have expected.
It had just been instinct to hit the laser. Nothing more, nothing less. She hadn’t even been thinking in that moment. As a member of a less advanced race, it was hard for her to believe she had any skills or abilities that the Draconians did not. Perhaps it had just been dumb luck after all, and she would just let Vlosh and the rest of the armada down when she couldn’t pull it off the second time.
She stood behind him as he strode onto the bridge and addressed his officers. Her face burned hot when he explained to his crew what he planned for her to do. She wanted to tell him it was a silly idea. But what did she know? If the general of the Draconian military wanted her to shoot lasers at lasers, who was she to say he was wrong?
Indigo was a brave, strong-willed person. She could handle anything that was thrown at her. The events of the last week had proved that to her beyond a shadow of a doubt. She’d rescued her friend from the college dorm in the middle of an alien invasion, stood up to redneck marauders, survived the dead of her family, and mated with an alien. She could do this if she had to.
“We will use one of the drone ships,” Vlosh explained. “Ensign, please teach my mate how to use the weapon systems aboard the drone before launch.”
“How long do I have to figure out how to do this?” she asked, thinking it would take days to learn how to use the weapons.
“An hour. We need to launch an attack now, while they are distracted with the traitor’s information.”
“An hour? You’ve got to be kidding.”
“How long did it take you to learn how to use the laser gun you u
sed to take down that Mulgor fighter jet?” he asked her, crossing his arms and looking at her with a smirk.
“About fifteen minutes,” she admitted.
“See, my mate is a genius with weapons,” he said proudly.
“I wouldn’t go that far,” she said.
“Don’t disagree with me on the bridge of my own ship!” he said with mock sternness.
“Okay, okay. Show me how this is done, oh mighty leader,” she said, sitting in the chair next to the officer who was supposed to instruct her.
“Good. I know you will face this like you face every challenge,” he said, puffing out his chest. “With a brave, strong heart and a clever mind.”
She snorted, but it made her heart swell to hear him speak of her with such pride. The ensign launched a drone ship from the docking bay and it flew out in front of the command bridge. She could see it through the big window and also through the screen in front of her. The officer flicked a few buttons and suddenly her screen showed the dashboard controls of the drone.
“Use this lever button to shoot the laser weapon array,” he said, showing her how to do it.
“How do I aim?” she asked, feeling totally confused and out of her element. The laser gun had been pretty much like a regular gun. She’d never flown a fighter jet, and she certainly had never used a laser weapon array. He showed her a few buttons to control the aim. She still didn’t get it.
“Could we make this more natural for me somehow?” she asked, hoping there were some alternatives to the confusing aiming system.
“How would it feel more natural for you?”
“Maybe if I felt like I was doing the shooting… Or if it felt like I was hitting with a racket.”
“What is a racket?” the officer said.
“It’s like a stick with a net at the end that you use to hit a ball. I played tennis in college. That was where I got the whole idea to hit the laser in the first place. It was just instinct. This doesn’t feel instinctive at all.”
“I can probably adjust the controls to accommodate that,” the officer said.
