by Lili Zander
The Draekons, who have every reason to hate the scientists, have provided me shelter. Vulrux—whose first mate I killed—treated my wounds and nursed me back to health. Arax, who should have condemned me to death, had offered mercy.
I have seen them transform into the beast. I have flown on their backs. They did not throw me off, nor did they burn me to a crisp.
The Draekons are far more civilized than the scientists have ever been. They are the better people.
I own my role in this. My wrong-doing. My prejudices. I feel sick to my stomach when I remember the things I’ve done. I acted as if the Draekons were lesser creatures. I was wrong.
What do you intend to do about it? Do you intend to stand by and watch them be wiped out when the Zoraken come to fetch you home?
I can’t bond with Lenox. Nobody asked me about my opinion in the matter. My father arranged the betrothal, and I was supposed to be thrilled. After all, who wouldn’t be pleased about being the High Empress of Zoraht?
Me. All I ever wanted to do was be a scientist. All I ever wanted to do was hide in my lab and work. That choice has been taken away from me.
Then there are the whispers about the High Emperor. About his cruel, controlling streak. His vicious temper. The fact that he likes his women marked. His bed companion, Ru’vi ab Crosu, Spymaster of the High Empire, might enjoy such painful sport, but I do not.
The pill works in the blink of an eye.
I push that thought out of my mind. I’ve been walking west for three days now, along the bank of a small river. There’s no hope, really. None at all. Not anymore. When Thrax was assembling the Cloakship, I’d dared to think that there might be a way out. But then I’d been kidnapped. Separated from the others.
Then Dariux started to search for me.
I know this Draekon. He was one of the Spymaster’s assistants. He’s fiercely ambitious, and he’s clever. I wouldn’t put it past him to hand me over to Lenox himself in exchange for passage out of here.
Out of fear, I’d stayed hidden, but I’ve miscalculated badly. The Draekons have fled into hiding. They could be anywhere on this planet, and I have no way of finding them on foot. Even if the cloakship was complete, I have no way of knowing.
I’m all alone.
4
Harper
A few hours later, I rouse to Dennox’s hand on my arm.
“What time is it?” I didn’t mean to fall asleep, but once the food settled in my belly, I couldn’t keep from drifting off.
“Almost dusk. You’ve been napping for a few hours.
“Oh no,” I groan, rubbing my eyes. “That means I’ll be up all night, and I’ll keep you guys up too.”
He just strokes the hair back from my face, his expression unconcerned. “Arax wants us to have dinner together. Would you like to go?”
There’s a thought in the back of my mind that is significant, but in my sleepy, pregnancy-brain state, I can’t hold on to it. “I have nothing to wear.”
“Sweet one,” he says, taking my hand in his. “You know Zunix has a syn. We can easily make you new clothes. Just say the word.”
Dennox is being so reasonable. I’m absolutely positive he thinks I’m nuts, but he’s always patient. Always loving.
“But…” I bite my lip, and my voice trails off. It seems so petty to be concerned about my wardrobe when my daughter has to navigate two diverse sets of DNA just to exist.
But that’s just it. Whatever life is growing inside me, there’s no guarantee that the evolution gods will smile on the Draekon-human cross, and allow our daughter to survive. It’s my most secret fear, the one I’m too afraid to voice out loud. Not even to Dennox and Vulrux.
So I worry about my figure. My thick ankles. Someone once made me the wrong sort of fries, and I lost it. Yesterday, I disintegrated into a weepy puddle because I haven’t mastered crocheting and May had to undo my work. And last week, my mates came home and found me crying—literally—over spilled milk.
“What is it? Do you not wish to go?”
“It’s not that. I’m so big,” I wail.
“Sweet one,” Dennox murmurs helplessly as I sob. A second later I’m in the air, lifted as easily as a pillow in his strong arms. I cling to his broad shoulders, marveling at the muscles flexing under me. Vulrux is no slouch, but few Draekons match Dennox for his size and powerful physique. He was a soldier before the exile, and hard living honed him into a warrior. In his arms, I almost feel petite. Which never happened back on Earth, even when I dated other swim athletes.
“You are not big, Harper.” He looks down at me, his eyes tender. “You are beautiful and round with our child.”
“Really?” I sniffle. God, I never used to cry... ever. I can count on my hands the number of times I cried when I was a teen. Good thing my mates handle it better than I do—otherwise, they would’ve abandoned me long ago.
They’re so good to me. The thought makes me weepy all over again.
“Yes, my love,” Dennox says, nuzzling my ear. “You are the perfect size for me.” He sits down on a great chair in our new living room with me on his lap, holding me close. His lips find my temple, the hinge of my jaw, the tender spot behind my ear. Little whispering kisses, soft and delicate. So unexpected for such a big guy.
And now I’m horny. My body appears to cycle between three settings. Weepy, horny, and hungry.
I turn in Dennox’s lap, cupping his face in my hands and pulling him close for a kiss. It gets hot and heavy fast, his thick cock pressing against my needy slit. Shifting, I draw aside my loose skirt and ease him into me. He rocks inside me with careful thrusts, his large hands wrapped around my hips to steady me.
Eyes closed, focused on the sensation of my mate’s thick cock, I barely hear the door open and close.
“You were supposed to be getting her ready for dinner,” Vulrux says.
Dennox just grunts.
Grasping the large soldier’s arms, I lift my hips up and slide back down, sighing as his cock hits a deeper place inside me. “Screw dinner,” I mutter. “I have nothing to wear.”
There’s a note of laughter in Vulrux’s voice. “I see,” he says. “And Dennox needed to comfort you with his cock.”
Damn right.
A hand at my back and Vulrux eases my hair aside to place a kiss on my neck. “You are too big a temptation, Harper.”
“Emphasis on big,” I grumble.
Vulrux’s lips seal against my skin, sucking hard enough to leave a mark. I feel the ache right in my nipples. I arch my body, rolling my hips to ride Dennox faster. Vulrux nibbles at my neck, his hands skimming up and down my back. His teeth nip a tender spot, and my inner muscles clench. Dennox groans.
My guys know just what to do to make me feel sexy. Pregnancy hasn’t dulled our sex life at all. I’m ready to go at the drop of a hat, and they’re always willing. But so gentle.
“Feel free to join in,” I invite Vulrux, canting my ass up and down.
“I’d love to. But for now…” His hand snakes around and cups my breast. “I want to see you come on Dennox’s cock.”
My pussy squeezes around Dennox, making him speed his thrusts. Vulrux pinches my swollen nipples, his mouth working at the tender junction of neck and shoulder. When Dennox bucks and slams into me one last time, Vulrux’s clever fingers slide between my folds and find my clit, setting me off with a single touch.
I come down, panting, my head spinning with pleasure. Dennox steadies me until Vulrux returns with a cloth to clean me. He lifts me and carries me to the bed. I lay there as both of them fuss around me, arranging pillows and propping me just the way I like.
I pull Vulrux close for a kiss. “Forget dinner,” I say against his lips. “Let me rest, and I’ll be ready for round two.”
He chuckles. “That’s a tempting offer, diya. Dinner can definitely wait.”
5
Olivia
Almost all of us show up to dinner. On everyone’s face, I see worry.
I get it. My life has be
en topsy-turvy ever since we crashed onto the prison planet, but that’s not true for the Draekons. For sixty or sixty-five years, depending on which set of exiles we’re talking about, the men lived in peace and quiet. Their lives might have been harsh, but they were safe. Spaceships weren’t dropping out of the sky, soldiers weren’t marching on the ground, prepared to kill anyone that got in the way.
Arax quickly fills everyone in on the situation. “Liorax spotted the soldiers in the plains where the argangana herds graze,” he says. “We must avoid those hunting grounds for the time being. Also, the Zoraken are almost certain to have equipment that can monitor our communications. At least until we figure out a plan of action, we must not use the communicator.” He looks around the room, his eyes falling on every single person. “Is that clear?”
I’m half-expecting someone to bitch about the communication blackout, but no-one does. One thing about these Draekons—they don’t spend a lot of time whining. It’s pretty damn refreshing.
And… scratch that. One person is voicing his protest. No surprise, it’s Haldax. “There’s only three of them,” he says. “We could overpower them.”
I give Gunnix a sidelong look. The man is the sole surviving soldier of another ill-considered attempt to land on the prison planet. I quite like him. He’s Lowborn, and he’s pragmatic. We treat him far better than the Zoraken would, so he’s on our side.
Of course, not everyone will change allegiances quite so readily, which Haldax would know if he got his head out of his ass. We can’t bring them inside the Cliffs; we’re just setting ourselves up for discovery.
“It’s too risky,” Arax says flatly. “Our best option right now is leaving them alone. There are other hunting grounds. Let’s use them.”
“Where were you all day?” I ask Zunix when we’re back in our apartment. “I thought you’d be fishing, but I didn’t see you near the river.”
“I was with Thrax,” he replies. “We were assembling the cloakship.”
I jerk my head up. “You’re not a technician.”
His lips twitch. “Ah, but I have the ThoughtVault. Thrax managed to get it working again, you know. We were able to make a fair bit of progress on the Cloakship. I think we’ll be done with it in a month.”
My mouth falls open. “A month? That soon?”
He nods. “Not that the ship alone will do us much good,” he says. “It only holds four people, and in any case, we can’t go anywhere now. The Navy is searching for Raiht’vi. There’s no way to escape, not while they’re on high alert.”
“But after?”
Lio gives me a serious look. “Do you want to go back home, Olivia? To return to your planet?”
“Hell, no,” I reply promptly. “I’m pretty sure that the government will take an exceedingly dim view of fire-breathing dragons, and I’m not going anywhere without you.”
“Do you want to leave here?” he probes.
“Maybe.” I hesitate and then jump ahead. “I want children, eventually, but I’m not in a hurry to get pregnant. I’d like to travel, to explore the galaxy first.”
“Then that’s what we’ll do,” Zunix replies.
“Really? You’re not jonesing to knock me up?”
Both their expressions turn confused, and I realize the translator is tripping up on the slang. “You don’t want to get me pregnant right away?”
“I want you happy, Olivia,” Liorax answers. “And yes, if I’m being perfectly honest, I want to have you to myself for a bit before we start a family.”
This is such a surreal conversation to be happening. Especially at such a tense time. We’re in hiding, holed up inside a mountain. The Draekons are formidable warriors, but the High Empire has thousands of soldiers, and there’s just forty-five of us. The odds are distinctly not in our favor.
Lio senses the change in my mood. He quirks an eyebrow at Zunix. “Here’s what I’m wondering. Did Dariux actually give the ThoughtVault back to you?”
Zunix chuckles. “We made a deal,” he says. “When all this is over, when we no longer have to worry about Zorahn ships landing on the prison planet, I’m going to help him look for this lost city of his. In return, he lets me use the ThoughtVault whenever I want.”
When this is all over…
I jolt myself out of it. “You would have looked for the lost city anyway,” I point out. “Dariux isn’t a fool. He would have known that.”
Maybe Felicity’s right. Dariux is secretly a nice guy, and he’s feeling bad about the whole holding-Arax-and-Nyx-ransom clusterfuck.
Zunix grins. “It’s Dariux. Nothing he does is ever straightforward. He probably has one main reason, one side play, and one contingency plan, just in case.”
I laugh. “Yup, that sounds about right.”
“What about you, Olivia? Did you have a nice time with your human friends?”
“It was somewhat cut short,” I reply. “I told Viola about the soldiers that Lio had seen, and then she wanted to rush off and talk to Arax and Nyx. Oh, and she wants to throw Harper a baby shower.”
Both men look confused, so I explain the concept. “I need to borrow your syn,” I tell Zunix. “I’ve got to get Harper a gift, and I’m hopeless with my hands.”
“Is that so?” Lio’s tone turns silky. “I happen to disagree. I think you’re very, very good with your hands.”
Aww. An unsolicited compliment? I should give Lio a thank-you blowjob. And while I’m at it, I can’t leave Zunix out, can I? After all, I do need his syn to make Harper a gift.
6
Harper
Harper:
I’m falling asleep, snuggled between Vulrux and Dennox, when something magical happens. I feel her. Our daughter.
“Ooooh,” I gasp, putting my hand on my rounded belly. I’ve felt flutters before, and tiny kicks and pops that feel like hiccups, but never anything this intense. My belly moves and distends right under my eyes.
“She’s moving.” I touch the curve of my stomach and pretend I’m touching her. Stroking her tiny little cheek.
“That’s good,” Vulrux says. Dr. Perfect Bedside Manner.
She kicks again, and I wince. That’s good? It’s not his stomach that’s being pummeled by a very energetic baby, is it?
I grab his hand and place it on my bump. “Feel it.”
There’s a pause, and then my belly bubbles up under his palm. He sucks in a breath, and I feel a little smug. “Imagine a dolphin doing flips inside you,” I say, not caring whether the translator can explain the word ‘dolphin.’ “I hope she doesn’t do it all night.”
“Does it hurt?” Dennox crouches close, alarm on his face.
“No,” I smile. “It’s just… ooh,” I push up on my arms as she moves again. “I need to lie back... give her more space.”
Vulrux grabs a pillow and props it behind me, as Dennox helps me lay down flat. The two of them lay their hands on my belly and blink in wonder as life flickers under their palms.
“That’s her,” I say dreamily, all my worries forgotten for the moment as we all smile at each other. “Your daughter.”
7
Viola
Viola:
I drop by at Harper’s apartment right after breakfast. She’s sitting up in bed, frowning at a row of stitching. Oh God, that damn crochet blanket. “If you’re going to cry about your lack of crafting skills, I’m going to leave.”
She groans. “May told you, didn’t she? Poor thing. I started bawling, and she looked hunted.”
“Hmm.” I perch on the bed next to her. “I’m not saying she’s avoiding you, but she’s also offered to finish that damn blanket for you.” I give my friend a sidelong look. “Is it the hormones, or is it something else?”
She takes a deep breath. “I’m terrified,” she whispers. “What if something happens to my baby? What if her lungs don’t develop? Or she’s born at the four-month mark, but she’s a super-preemie?”
“Harper,” I soothe her. “Everything’s fine. Vulrux has been us
ing Dariux’s med-kit to monitor your pregnancy, hasn’t he? Is he concerned?”
“No.” She winces. “What if she’s a weird mix of Draekon and human, Vi? What if I don’t love her? It’s not like I can tell Vulrux and Dennox this, can I? I mean, they were treated like monsters and thrown out of their own planet. How would it look if I’m petrified that my baby’s going to be hideous?”
I could tell her that she’s worrying for no reason. Harper’s gorgeous, and her mates are pretty damn easy on the eyes. Not as gorgeous as my mates, obviously, but Dennox and Vulrux are certainly not a hardship to look at. This baby hit the genetic lottery.
But I just let her talk it out. She just needs to voice her fears. I can relate.
“You think I’m being crazy, don’t you?”
“No,” I reply at once. “It’s normal to be worried.” I wince inwardly as she mangles a row of the blanket. As Ryanna would say, bless her heart. Harper’s terrible at crocheting. “Did Vulrux tell you about the soldiers?”
She nods. “This morning. He said that Arax isn’t too concerned.”
“He’s not. But people can’t use the communicator anymore. I’m sure not everyone’s thrilled about the situation.”
“Yeah, I wouldn’t know.” She frowns at the blanket. “I don’t understand how May’s stitching is so neat,” she complains. “Mine is always such a mess. Neither Vulrux nor Dennox has used the communicator.”
“May’s been crocheting since she was a teenager. You started last week.” I sigh. “Arax and Nyx haven’t used it either. I feel so bad for them, you know? If Arax talks to someone and his brother finds out, then shit will hit the fan. And Nyx just flat out doesn’t have anyone. It’s heartbreaking.”
“They have you,” she points out.
Hopefully, it’s enough.
I’m still feeling kinda sad when I get back to our apartment. To my surprise, both of my mates are there, talking to Thrax, who’s one of Ryanna’s mates. “Come sit down,” Arax says to me. “Thrax was just telling me the Cloakship will be ready soon.”
