by Maia Starr
"What's this? Why do you have these?" he asked. His brows furrowed.
"It's a long story. But it was part of my mission for Gladonetics Corporation. We didn't know exactly what the king wanted with Gladonetics Corporation. But this is what Gladonetics wants, the technology in the dragon scales. I was to take them back so that we could study them and try to replicate the material."
"You, Marissa, are stealing from us?"
"Yes. I'm sorry, Jarith. I was taking my job very seriously at the time, and I did not know any of this was going to happen. That is why I am showing you now?"
"You betrayed me. I have had enough betrayal for a lifetime. Now I am getting it from you as well?!" he shouted. He was very angry.
"You betrayed me as well! You let me believe I was on this trip for advancements between the Drackon and Gladonetics. That was not the case, and you knew it."
"That is not the same thing!" he shouted.
"Yes it is!"
"No! Your betrayal would affect an entire society. Not just one human! I cannot trust you. You are going back to Earth!" he shouted as he grabbed the scales and stomped out of the room.
"Wait! Please don't leave," I said after him. But he had already left. I was hurt. I knew that he would not be happy about the corporate espionage that I had pulled, but I had to tell him; I could not keep the secret from him. Now I regretted it.
Now it was no longer my choice whether I would return to Earth. He was sending me back regardless if I wanted to go or not. My heart sank. I felt sick to my stomach. I felt nauseous. I moved to the veranda to get some fresh air. The guard was posted on the wall. He nodded to me. I was going to nod back to him but instead… I threw up.
I couldn't believe how much this was affecting me and making me sick. My stomach was in knots. Then it hit me.
"Shit."
"Lady, are you all right? Shall I get someone for you?" the guard said as he came toward me.
"No, just a little nauseous. I will be fine," I said, moving back inside to the bathroom. I splashed water on my face. When was the last time I had my period? It was on the spaceship, on the journey here. I couldn't believe it. I was pregnant. Jarith was the father. I was pregnant with the child of the king, and he wanted nothing to do with me. I collapsed to the floor in tears at my luck.
A few hours later, I was at the funeral celebrations for the king. It was a mournful parade through the city with the king's body hoisted high in the air. Weredragons flew high above the city in circles following the parade. They would dive and swoop and soar high in the sky doing tricks and spirals. It was unlike anything I had ever seen. I was not at Jarith's side. It was where I wanted to be. I watched him be the regal prince that had turned king in the funeral procession. My heart ached to be near him, and I wished that I had not told him about the scales. Now that I knew I was carrying his child, a weredragon human hybrid.
In the great hall, a large feast was set up and a celebration filled the space. It was a celebration of life for the king. Jarith sat on a platform at a table with his lieutenants on either side of him. I wanted to be sitting next to him. I wanted to tell him that I was with child. But a part of me wanted him to want me simply because he wanted me, not because he had to because I was with child.
If he found out that I was pregnant he would not allow me to go to Earth; he would keep me here, but he would still be angry toward me. I did not want that. But I was not sure if space travel was safe for a pregnant woman. It seemed like it would not be. I felt very sad knowing that I would have to stay on Mooreah and have Jarith hating me.
He looked at me. I did not see hate in his eyes, I saw hurt. I saw betrayal. I had messed up.
Chapter 12
KING JARITH RYKOR
Marissa had betrayed me, and the entire Drackon race. She was here for her own, corporate greed. It made me sick. It made me sick to think I had fallen in love with her and did not know that she had a secret agenda, a mission. How could I ever trust her again? But I wanted to. I wanted to put it all aside. I wanted her to be at my side today at the coronation instead of in the audience where she had been for my father's funeral.
A week had passed and I had not visited her once. The guards that I had placed at her door were for her safety after what happened with my brother. But after she told me what she had done, those guards were now there to keep her from roaming the castle. She could not be trusted.
I made arrangements for her to be sent back to Earth, but that mission would not launch for another week. There was just too much going on in Cerista with the death of my father, the mutiny from my brother, and claiming the throne as the new king.
"We are ready for you, King Rykor," Axon said as he came into my room.
"Thank you; I am ready," I said.
Moments later, I was sitting on the throne as the crown that my father wore was placed on my head.
"I now grant you, Jarith Rykor, King of Mooreah."
The crowd cheered. My eyes focused on one face in the audience: Marissa's. She looked at me with longing. I wanted to go to her. I wanted her to be at my side as my queen, as my father had intended. She looked sad.
The coronation celebration began. A feast was served. Music played. I moved down to the tables and stood right in front of her. She looked at me with surprise.
"Will you dance with me?" I asked her. I was still mad at her, but I could not resist. I missed her scent. I missed touching her. A dance would have to do for now.
"Yes, I would like that," she answered. I took her hand in mine and let her out on the dance floor. It was obvious that everyone was watching whom the king was dancing with. But it was no secret who she was. After the battle, everyone knew about the human female that I had rescued from my brother.
On the floor, I pulled her close to me. She was so small. Her head moved against my chest as she looked up at me. She was delicate and I breathed in deep of her scent.
"I have to tell you something," she whispered to me as she stared up into my eyes. I wanted to kiss her trembling lips, but I had not forgiven her. I didn't know if I could ever forgive her.
"It is no use. Whatever you have to say, you are going back to Earth," I said to her out of anger and spite, even though it was not what I truly wanted.
"I do not think that journey would be safe for me," she said to me.
"I will make sure it is safe. The threat of my brother and his followers has been abolished. You have nothing to fear," I said to her.
"I was not thinking of my safety, but that of the child that I carry. A youngling. It is yours," she said.
Her words shocked me. It was not what I was expecting her to say. A smile came across my face. I was filled with happiness. She smiled at me. Then I remembered her treachery. I grabbed her hand and led her off of the dance floor, through the castle, and up to my quarters.
"Tell me again," I said to her once I had her alone.
"I am pregnant. It has to be yours," she said to me.
"Is this a clever trick? You do not want to go back to Earth. This is your way of staying. Of trying to get me to forgive you," I said as I grabbed her shoulders and stared at her.
The smile faded from her face. I had hurt her once again. "How can you say that to me? I would never lie about such a thing. I am sure there is a way that the Drackon have of finding out the truth on this. Why would I lie about it, knowing that you are able to find out if I am pregnant? That you are able to find out if it is yours? It is only a matter of time before you have those answers for yourself. Why would I lie about it?" she said as she moved away from me and sat down on the bed.
She began to cry. I felt for her. She was in fact on a foreign planet. She was away from her home. She had been through a lot and her life had changed completely. It was my fault. I had brought her here. I had seduced her. Now, she must be frightened to be pregnant with a hybrid child, and I was treating her like shit instead of comforting her.
I sat beside her and put my arms around her, "I am so sorry, Mariss
a. I have treated you wrongly. You must feel very frightened right now. I am here for you."
"Does that mean you are happy? Does that mean you want this child with me?" she asked.
"I do. In fact, when you first told me, I thought of nothing else but pure happiness. So much has come between us. I want it to be good; I want it to be honest."
"That is what I want as well, Jarith. It is the only thing I want. I want to stay here with you and have this child."
"That is not what I want," I said to her.
She looked at me in sorrow and said, "I understand."
"No, you do not understand. What I mean is that I want you to not only stay here and have my child, but I want you to be my wife and to be my queen. Let us be a proper family," I said, planting a kiss on her lips. She kissed me back and wrapped her small hands around my neck, pushing her fingers into my hair, her favorite thing to do.
I was going to have a hybrid child. Marissa did not know what this meant. It was something that many craved; the Drackon held It in high regard.
I pulled away from her and said, "There will be something different about our child if it is a son," I said.
"What is that?" she said with a smile.
"When human females and male Drackon mate, it produces a weredragon that has never been seen on this planet before until we started mating with the humans. It is a weredragon that when it shifts, the scales and wings are not the colors that we are used to. Instead, it is many colors, vibrant blues, greens, yellows, oranges."
"Like a rainbow," she said to me.
"Does a rainbow have many colors?" I asked her, not knowing what she spoke of.
"Yes, it does, and it is beautiful."
"Then yes, and it is beautiful."
Chapter 13
QUEEN MARISSA VOLANDER RYKOR
Months after the entire catastrophe of Traydon, everything had changed for the better. I had regained Jarith's trust. I had become his wife and his queen. I was now living in Cerista on Mooreah. I was very happy.
"I will not be coming back to Gladonetics. As you know, things have changed drastically," I said in a communication link to Archer.
"Yes, we have heard about the assassin of the king and the chaos. But why are you not returning? What about the mission?" he asked.
"The mission is off. I am now queen as I have married Jarith, who was the prince when you met him."
Archer's face dropped and his mouth fell wide open. He was quiet for a long time and then cleared his throat and said, "Your majesty. I apologize. I did not know."
"It is fine, Archer. But you shall know that I will still lead science technology trade with Earth. But not for military use like Gladonetics wanted. Instead, I am going to bring the knowledge that the Drackon has of their natural and toxic-free way of living and building. It will help to clean up Earth. My husband, the king, is willing to share this knowledge and even show the humans how to build it, for he has gained a love for the natural wild of Earth. He wants to help save it. If the Gladonetics corporation wishes to take part and earn that knowledge, then I will oversee every aspect of it. It is to be free and cheap knowledge, and not for extreme profit. Please take that information to the board and I will check in with you in a couple of weeks. Good day," I said as I cut off the link. Archer's face was in confusion the entire time. I would let him think about that for a while. I laughed knowing that the board would be very confused by the turn of events.
I walked over to the bassinet and picked up my son, "Prince Sion Rykor," I said aloud as I picked him up.
"He will be a very fierce warrior, and a just ruler," my husband said as he moved over to us and hugged the both of us.
"Yes, he will bring joy to many people. Starting with us," I said to him. He kissed me on the forehead and then kissed our son. It was perfect. It was everything that I had not hoped for when I set out on this journey, yet now it was everything that I could possibly want in the entire world.
THE END (Flip the next page to read Book #2 “Terik-Drackon Mates!)
BONUS BOOK: Terik (Drackon Mates)
By Maia Starr
Chapter 1
DR. ADRIANA ADAMS
Crash! I fell hard against the wall, as I was thrown about the Drackon spaceship known as the Beti.
“Strap yourself in, Adriana!” Mordikye, the weredragon warrior, shouted at me in anger.
“Don’t hurt him! Please! I beg you!” I shouted as I held onto the walls, trying to make my way over to Mordikye to plead with him not to fire on Terik’s ship.
“Strap her in!” Mordikye shouted to one of his crew warriors.
“Yes, Captain!” the warrior replied as he grabbed me forcibly by my arms and lifted me off the ground. I landed with a thud into the seat as the weredragon warrior loomed over me and buckled me in. Tears were flowing out of my eyes, making my vision blurry, as I stared out the windshield of the spacecraft. In front of our ship was another smaller but faster ship maneuvering wildly from side to side in evasive action.
“Get ready! Fire!” Mordikye shouted.
“No! No!” I shouted, as I unbuckled my belt and slid out of my seat onto the ground. I had to stop him.
I never thought I would be in this position. How did I go from treasure hunting geologist to being in a firefight in deep space between two weredragon aliens? I guess it all started with the Montana expedition…
...I had been digging for gems deep in the Montana ridges with my geology partner Richard Sanders for months now. We had an RV set up at the base of the mountains where we lived and had our lab. Every other week a few University students would come work with us and they would set up tents. At that moment Richard and I had been working alone for a few weeks and not expecting any company, so it was a surprise when Xander Black rolled up in an off-road jeep that day.
Richard and I were outside washing off our latest finds. “Adriana, do you ever get a little tired of this?”
“Of what, Richard?” I asked him as I scrubbed a beautiful white and purple geode that was sparkling in the sunlight. I was excited for my find.
“Of this… rocks. Just plain old rocks,” he said. I looked at him in surprise. “How can you say that? I love this. I love my work. It’s not just rocks and you know that. It’s the science of it. I love it and everyday is exciting for me. We never know what we’re going to find.”
“Yes we do. I mean, in general we do. All of the rocks on this planet have been found and classified. We are just looking for what has already been found. Don’t you wish we could find something new?” Richard asked.
“Yes of course. Are you talking about going spelunking? There might be some rocks that have not been found in caves,” I said to him, wondering where this was all coming from. Richard had a large passion for geology, just as I did. We had met in college and soon after became friends with benefits simply based off our love of geology. Now we were partners sharing a grant to dig in this area, and of course we still had that friends with benefits relationship, but nothing serious. So it was a shock to hear him talk like this.
“No, that’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about rocks not from Earth.”
“Like meteors? I’m confused, Richard. Are you getting burnt out and want to change professions? What’s going on with you?” I said, putting down my geode and walking over to him. I put my arms around his neck, getting up on my tiptoes to reach him. He was very tall with blonde hair and blue eyes. He had a perfect physique and reminded me of a Ken doll. He was very rugged and outdoorsy, which I liked a lot.
He put his hands on my arms and rubbed them up and down. His hands were large and at the moment very dirty. “No, I’m not burnt out. I love it. It’s just that the feeling of discovery is gone for me. What can we really discover now that all rocks have been discovered? Plus the pay is shit.”
“Pay? You’ve never cared about money before; otherwise, you wouldn’t have chosen a career that you have to beg for grant money just to have a crap salary,” I said wonderin
g what the real culprit here was.
Richard looked at his watch and then looked at the road in the distance. “Right on time.”
“What? Who is that?” I said, looking in that direction, as Richard pulled my arms from his neck and walked toward our parked cars to wait for the jeep to pull up.
“It’s a new friend. His name is Xander Black and I think you’re going to like him. He has something to show us,” Richard said.
“What is it? Richard, what is going on here?” I asked walking after him.
“It’s out of this world,” he said as he turned and put his hand around my waist and pulled me toward him. He planted a firm kiss on my lips and then grinned. He was excited. I hadn’t seen him this excited in a long time. Then he pulled away from me just as the door opened to the jeep.
