Hoss, wishing he were anywhere but here, gravely watched the three Fates sisters, rising from the Angarth Citadel’s bubbling baptismal pool. Their white robes illuminated the citadel, brighter than the Zalara’s two suns. They were spirits, but powerful enough to strike down the most powerful dragon.

Besides Queen Cosima and his best friend’s new human mate, Hera, they were the last females on Zalara. Three months ago, the Kamtrinians had annihilated all their women, and to survive, they needed Earth women.

But he refused to mate.

King Greum and Queen Cosima bowed slightly to the Fates. The king and queen were complete opposites. The king had dark hair and dressed in black, while the queen was blonde, and dressed in white. The bond between them was strong–something that Hoss knew would never be his.

“Greetings,” Greum said.

Rillo, the smallest but the strongest Fate, stepped in front of her two sisters. She stretched out her arms. “Another human mate has been chosen, giving us hope that our race will survive.”

Hoss winced at her loud voice that sent his nerves on edge. He hoped to hell they weren’t going to call his name. There were at least four hundred men crowded in the church–all eager to have their name read. They all believed the myth that mating was for eternity–an unbreakable bond.

He knew differently.

The myth was a lie.

He clenched and unclenched his fists, trying to relax. Odds were against his name being called. He gave Rillo a hard stare, trying to will her to call anyone’s name but his.

“The human mates will all be murdered!” Queen Cosima screamed and covered her ears before falling onto her knees on the altar.

“Cosima!” Greum wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

Sunlight came through the stained glass window of two intertwining dragons. Suddenly, the light dimmed as if a blanket of dread had doused both suns.

Rillo and her two sisters cried out and put their hands over their chest, as if something had pierced their hearts.

Hoss sucked in his breath. Without the humans, they’d all die.

Rillo touched Cosmia’s bent golden head. “You’ve had a vision, child. Speak now before it is gone. I fear time is of the essence.”

Cosmia moaned, “Blood. There was so much red. So vicious. So senseless.”

The baptismal pool hissed and steamed, then slowly turned red.

Hoss slowly pulled out his eruptor. He was the chief security officer of the spaceship Orion, and his job was to protect his people from evil. He scanned the church, looking for anything that could have turned the sacred pool red.

Greum took her hand. “Please tell us.”

She lifted her head. “Greum, it’s the Kamtrinians.”

“What will they do?” Rillo asked. “Speak quickly.”

“Their plan”–Cosima gasped–“is to slaughter each designated mate one-by-one on Earth, hoping to end our race.”

Greum’s cheek twitched. “How?”

“They plan to use a mercenary to invade Earth. I can see the intruder. It’s a Mistonian. He’s here on Zalara.”

The crowd gasped in horror.

Greum asked, “Why?”

Cosima gripped his hand. “He needs a humanoid form to carry out his mission.”

Unable to keep silent, Hoss stepped out of the pew and knelt on one knee. “Your majesties, one Mistonian could easily wipe out the women of Earth. Humans have no weapons strong enough to defeat the Mistonian. Allow me and my team to hunt down the intruder.”

And hopefully escape his name from being called.

“No.” Yethi, one of the Fates and keeper of the Mate Stones, shook her head, her red hair coming lose from her bun. “The ceremony must be completed.”

Topaz, the captain of the Orion, joined Hoss. “We don’t have time for this. Our race depends on keeping the Earth women safe.”

“But this mating ceremony is different.” Yethi’s face was pale, as if she were still in pain. “Without this one, Captain, you and your crew can’t possibly defeat the Mistonian.”

Rillo clasped her sister’s arm. “Yethi, how do you know this?”

“The Mate Stone revealed it to me.” She slowly opened her hand, revealing a red ruby stone.

Hoss clasped the captain’s arm. “We must leave now before the blasted Mistonian reaches Earth.”

Topaz nodded. “Let’s move.”

“No!” Yethi held up her hand. She looked at Topaz. “This Mistonian is different. It’s a mutant, who feeds on fear. The mutant plans to possess one of Topaz’s crew, then force him to steal a ship to invade Earth.”

Hoss and the captain’s eyes locked. “Impossible,” they muttered at the same time.

Every crew member on board the Orion was loyal to the captain and the Confederation. As if to prove Yethi wrong, the twenty crewmen of the Orion hurried up to the altar and stood at attention behind the captain who looked behind him. Pride flickered in his eyes.

Cosmia shook her head. “It’s already here.”

“Fan out.” Topaz gestured with his eruptor. “Set your weapons to kill.”

“Listen to me.” Yethi hurried over to the captain. “The mates will all die unless the ceremony is finished.”

“There are at least four hundred men in here who are not a member of the Orion. Complete the ceremony if you must,” Hoss grumbled.

Yehti gave him a curious look. “Are you so sure the stone hasn’t chosen someone on board the Orion?”

Hoss’s stomach tightened. “Well, it’s sure as hell isn’t me.”

Yehti’s eyes twinkled and she laughed. “You’re wrong, Anonghos.”

“Hoss. Everyone calls me Hoss. Only my grandmother called me by my full name.”

“I’m well aware of this–Anonghos. You have been chosen, and you are the key to our survival as well as your mate.”

Someone snorted behind Hoss.

Another muttered, “We’re doomed.”

Sweat glistened over Hoss. Men turned their gaze away from him or sighed in defeat. Others whispered to each other, but he knew what they were saying––failure, player, weakling…

Or at least he used to be a player before the damn Kamtrinians murdered all their women.

The captain whirled around. “Silence. All of you. Hoss won’t fail us.”

The whispering and grumbling ceased. No one wanted to take on the captain of the Orion.

But he was wrong. Hoss would fail. He was his father’s son.

He braced his shoulders and in his sternest voice, he said, “I was never loyal to any of our women when they were alive. Why would you think I could be loyal to an alien?”

Yehti touched his arm. “I know of your past, Security Officer. The guilt, the horror, the betrayal.”

Hoss jerked his arm away. “That’s enough, Fate.”

“You will need to come to terms with your past. Your mate will be key in healing you.”

He stiffened. “I don’t need to be healed. I just need women to warm my bed. One will never do.” He wasn’t his father.

“No, you’re wrong. You have been chosen Anonghos,” she said. “Without you, we will not succeed. The Mating Stones are never wrong.”

Hoss shook his head. “You have the wrong guy.”

“Wrong. Like you, your mate is a security officer and will hunt the Mistonian down. Without your help, she will die a horrible death.”

He narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean?”

“Give me your hand.”

Hoss kept his arms to his sides.

The captain nudged him. “Hoss, stick out your hand. That’s an order.”

Hoss glared, and for the first time, planned to disobey a direct command.

“I suggest you take it,” Greum growled. He’d cradled Cosima against his shoulder. His eyes burned gold.

Disobeying Topaz was one thing, but spurning the king meant certain death. Hoss reluctantly held out his hand. “I’ll not fall in love with her.”

Yethi slowly raised her eyebrow. “Are you so sure, Security Officer?”

“Yes. Love is fleeting.” He towered over the Fate, not caring if she struck him down.

“You don’t like women?”

“No, I enjoy women.”

“You just don’t trust them.”

He refused to turn away from her perceptive gaze, but clamped his jaw tight. He’d no intention of reliving his sad, pathetic childhood to her.

“You will find, Security Officer, that without trusting your mate, the Mistonian will slip through your fingers.”

“You’re wrong.”

“I will be there when those words come back to haunt you.” She covered his hand with hers, nestling the Mating Stone between them. “And you discover true love.”

He snorted. “Then you’re going to be waiting a long, long time, Fate.”

Warmth and tingles raced up Hoss’s arm, shutting off another retort. A vision formed in his mind of a blonde woman with a curvy body. She had a holster with a gun over one shoulder, and she had a smirk that teased at his heart. She entered what looked like a dark alley way. A man twice her size jumped out of the shadows and put his hand over her mouth. In a split second, she flipped him over her shoulder. He landed hard on his back. She grabbed his wrist and rolled him onto his gut. She sat on his buttocks and grabbed his wrists. Before the man knew what was happening, she had clasped on handcuffs––very impressive.

He shook his head. No, he wouldn’t let her get under his skin. He clutched the stone tight in his hand, forcing himself not to throw it across the room, but instead slipped the dreaded red stone in his pocket. He refused to be weak like his father and allow a woman to break his pride. He’d mate but leave her flat.

Yethi gave him a knowing look that he’d fall under his mate’s spell and never let her go. He gritted his teeth. She was sadly mistaken.

“Your majesty.” The captain bowed slightly. “Do we have your leave?”

“Yes.” Greum nodded.

“Be careful, Captain. All of you.” Cosima looked at each of them. “This Mistonian is cunning. I fear he possesses hidden powers. I can’t see them. He’s very clever.”

Greum motioned. “Damon, come forth.”

“Yes, your majesty,” a tall blond man answered. He was Hoss’s best friend, and the queen’s personal guard. He quickly escorted his red-headed mate, Hera, to the altar to stand next to the queen.

Greum slowly released Cosima’s arm. “Damon will protect you while I guard the entrance.”

When he walked away, Cosima gasped and swayed. He turned around, but Hera immediately clasped her arm. “I’ve got her.” She shooed her other hand. “Go guard the entrance.”

The captain led all of them outside to the landing. “We need to split up and find this thing, but be careful, it wants to possess one of us. We’ll go in pairs so if one’s attacked, the other can destroy it. Set your eruptors to kill. I don’t want this thing on board my ship.”

As they quickly divided into pairs, Greum transformed into a black dragon, forcing them to back away. His body covered the stairs, and he wrapped his tail around himself. His enormous wings sprung out to almost the length of the building. No one could possibly enter the doorway into the citadel. He was the deadliest of all of them. Even a Mistonian would have difficulty defeating Greum. His fire could turn the gaseous cloud to water.

But according to Cosima, this thing had no intention of going after the king.

Hoss was glad to be out of the citadel and ready to do his job again. Unfortunately, he was paired with Daidhl, the Orion’s navigator. He was an excellent navigator, but a poor fighter. He didn’t possess the cunning or the strength of the other Bravian and Dominan dragons, but then again, he was a smaller dragon and of the Inquistains, which were more scientists and explorers rather than warriors. He wasn’t sure what he could do up against a Mistonian bent on destroying all of their would-be mates.

“Transform,” the captain ordered.

They quickly changed into their dragon forms. Daidhl was a skinny red dragon, that like his human form, always looked underfed. Similar to Greum, Hoss was a black dragon, but he had a green streak from his head down to his tail. He’d always been proud of it, since the streak used to make him stand out and attract women. He was twice as big as Daidhl, but right now, they were partners.

Without a moment’s hesitation, they flew into the air and headed toward the space port where the Orion was docked and under repairs. Clouds rippled around them and the glisten of moisture clung to Hoss’s body, but he didn’t detect anything out of the ordinary. A Mistonian would have tried to suck the energy out of him.

He and Daidhl landed near the station, then transformed back into human form. Usually men would have been working, but all the men had been called to the Citadel to learn if they were the next ones to be chosen for a mate. Out of all of the Zalarains still alive, why did the blasted Mating Stone choose him?

Never mind. He had a job to do.

Daidhl took out his transrecorder. “I’m not getting any unusual readings.”

“It’s a Mistonian, Daidhl. It has the ability to change its form and hide from our scanners. Come on, we need to investigate the Orion and make sure it’s not lurking in there.”

Daidhl stuffed the transrecorder back into his belt. “I’m well-aware of the Mistonian’s abilities, Hoss. I was merely reporting my findings.”

The Orion’s hatch door was open and the stairs down, so the workers and mechanics could work on repairs. Hoss slipped in front of Daidhl, not trusting that the Inquistain would fire if the bastard attacked. Inquistains always wanted to study first, then fire. Since this Mistonian possessed other abilities, he suspected Daidhl wouldn’t want to kill it right away, since Daidhl was a bleeding-heart over any newly discovered species.

Not the smartest thing to do––some of them would want to eat him for a tasty snack.

Cosmia said this thing had hidden powers. The Mistonian must be very powerful if the queen couldn’t detect its abilities.

He glanced over his shoulder. “Stay close.”

Daidhl glared. “I’m not helpless, Hoss.”

Hoss turned away. He’d obviously pricked the little dragon’s pride. The captain should have had him stay behind with Damon and protect the women and the other Zalarians.

They slowly made their way onto the ship. The walls and the floor sparkled. The captain would be pleased.

He sniffed, but couldn’t detect anything except disinfectant, which was powerful enough to kill any bacteria and wipe away grime and rust. Something the Inquistains had invented, which he grudgingly admitted was useful.

They walked down the hallway and headed toward the medical wing. Something dinged in sickbay, as if the Orion were trying to warn them there was an intruder on board.

Tryker, the surgeon on board the ship, had a medical board that would have gone off instantly if an alien or Zalarian walked by it. Hoss’s senses were on alert. Someone was in sickbay when it should be deserted.

“Do you smell something sour?” Daidhl wrinkled his nose.

“Shhh.” But Daidhl was right. He detected a foul odor.

They slowly made their way toward sickbay, neither of them making a sound. The door slid open to a spotless medical room with neatly made beds, clean counters, and supplies put neatly in containers, but no gaseous cloud.

Hoss entered first. A struggled moan made him whirl around to look behind him.

Daidhl was shoved up against a wall. Purple mist poured down his mouth. His body shook uncontrollably. The sickbay’s door slammed instantly shut. It all happened so fast that Hoss hadn’t had time to fire.

“Daidhl!” Hoss slammed his fist on the door, but it wouldn’t open. He instantly transformed into a dragon and used his full strength to open the door.

Daidhl held his eruptor. “Good-bye, Hoss.”

His voice was meaner, bolder, cockier. His once golden eyes were now an eerie purple.

Hoss swung his tail, but Daidhl fired. Freezing cold engulfed Hoss, chilling his breath, crystallizing his scales, and congealing his blood. Bitter frostbite seized him. If he hadn’t been a dragon, he’d be dead, but he wasn’t out of the woods yet. The freeze ray was working its way to his already slowing heart.

Daidhl smiled. “Just to let you know, Zalarian, your precious Orion is disabled along with the other ships. I’ll soon be on Earth, and the first mate I plan to kill is yours. I’ll leave you with an image on what I plan to do.”

He blew a puff of smoke into Hoss’s face. An image formed in his mind. A woman had her throat slit and her body cut open, her guts draped over her side. He couldn’t see her face, but she had blond hair like the woman that the Fate had shown him earlier. Anger and horror and frost flooded through Hoss. He struggled in vain to escape the freeze ray, which continued to consume his body.

Laughing, Daidhl saluted him, then fled.

Hoss drew on every ounce of energy, trying to bring up the fire inside him. How the blazes did this bastard know who the mates were? It had to be one of his hidden powers.

Hoss concentrated on breathing, fueling the fire inside him. His blood stirred. Frost melted off his scales, and water pooled onto the floor. He managed to move his tail, then his wings. The remaining ice crashed around him. He wouldn’t be able to fly, his wings were still too brittle.

He transformed back into a humanoid form and shivered uncontrollably. His telicator beeped. He pulled it out of his belt with stiff fingers.

“Hoss, this is the captain. There’s a ship, leaving Zalara. What’s happening? I’ve been trying to reach you.”

“Captain, it’s Daidhl. He’s possessed. Froze me, nearly killing me. He’s disabled the Orion. I’m not sure about the Excalibur.”

“Wait for us. We’re only five minutes away.”

“He’s getting away.”

“That’s an order,” the captain growled.

At least fifty men were hunting for Daidhl, but they’d never get here before he escaped. For the second time, Hoss disobeyed an order and limped toward the docking bay of the Excalibur. Luckily, the bastard had forgotten about it, or most likely hadn’t time to sabotage the ship.

He opened the Excalibur doors with his stiff fingers and managed to navigate it out of the Orion. Yethi had said it was his fate to solve this. Hoss’s mate was the one in danger. He might not want to fall in love with her, but she didn’t deserve to die a horrible death.

As soon as he cleared the Orion’s dock, he scanned for Daidhl’s ship.

The communication computer signaled. He sighed. The captain wouldn’t take no for an answer.

“Captain,” he mumbled.

“I gave you an order.”

“I know. I’ll contact you when I reach Earth.”

Before he could answer, Hoss cut off communication. He tracked Daidhl’s course to Earth and recognized the coordinates as being the same one Damon had used to retrieve his mate.

In less than four hours, Daidhl had landed in a field, but hadn’t come outside yet. As far as Hoss could tell, they were outside the city limits. There were no trees or houses, only grassy weeds. Hoss landed close by.

The door to Daidhl’s ship opened, and he stepped outside.

Hoss quickly turned on the cloaking device that hid the Excalibur and rushed outside to face Daidhl.

“Hello, Hoss.” He flashed him a smile and his purple eyes glowed. “Did you have a nice trip?”

Hoss aimed his eruptor. “My name is Anonghos. Only my friends call me Hoss.”

“Ah and here I thought we were going to be friends.”

“Don’t make me shoot. You need to return to Zalara.”

Daidhl laughed. “I don’t think so. The Kamtrinians are paying me handsomely for each kill.”

“The Kamtrinians aren’t known for their trustfulness.”

“That’s what you’d like me to believe, Zalarian. Catch me if you can.”

Before Hoss could fire, Daidhl vanished. Hoss turned around in a circle.

“Daidhl, where are you?”

A fist plowed into Hoss’s chin and sent him flying onto his back.

“Your mates will die horribly. Good-bye, Security Officer.”

Footsteps ran away from Hoss. He aimed his eruptor, but there was no one there. He sniffed and inhaled a sour smell, but it was fleeting.

He whipped out his telicator. “Captain, do you read me?”

“Topaz, here. What’s wrong?”

“I just discovered one of the Mistonian’s abilities.”

“Which is?”

“He can turn Daidhl invisible. I think he also smells like sour blilk.” Blilk was a sweet cream produced by the gentle borks. Hoss liked to stir blilk in his tea, but once it soured, its odor was enough to make him gag.

“Be careful, Hoss. He could kill you at any time.”

“He could have, Captain, but he didn’t. I think he has something worse planned.”

“The Orion won’t be repaired for at least a week. Unfortunately, we won’t be able to assist you.”

His voice was grim as if he thought Hoss wasn’t going to survive.

“I know. I’ll watch my back.”

“You better. Cosima said the Mistonian had hidden powers. Invisibility might not be the only one.”

Hoss’s stomach tightened, and he scanned his surroundings looking for anything moving on its own.

“I’ll report to you soon.”

He shut off his telicator. The hairs on the back of his neck stood straight up as a sinking feeling settled in his stomach: that might be the last time he spoke to the captain.