Lance

Before escorting the girl into my library, a place where I received guests, Mandy got my cloak and dimmed the lights so I could sit in my dark space and observe the girl instead of her observing me as if I were a caged animal in a zoo. Nentres joined me on the couch in front of the bookshelf that took up the entire wall. Two chairs with a small table between them sat across from us. Mandy opened the door for the girl.

The girl wrapped her hands around her body and shivered, but her lips weren’t blue anymore, so she’d live.

“Have a seat,” I said.

She paused at the sound of my voice and looked around. The library stretched for about fifty feet, with many places to sit on. I found it irritating that the girl didn’t look for a place to sit when I’d clearly commanded her to do so. Her wide gaze swept over the books on the shelves and paused at the large collection of dollar bills and coins, our old currency, displayed behind fire- and bullet-proof glass on Nentres’s left. “Wow,” she whispered.

“Wow yourself,” Nentres said.

I suppressed a groan.

The human intruder—I’d sniffed her out and hadn’t detected any Cy parts on her—wore a fine yellow cotton knit sweater and jeans. “Sit,” I said, a little more firmly. She must be under twenty, thus unfit for her first implant. Her long brown hair appeared healthy, her nails trimmed and painted pale pink, and the boots she wore must’ve cost a fortune. This human girl lived well in the habitat, so what could possibly have driven her to leave the comfort of her home?

“Ms.…” I said and left the rest hanging.

“Selena Salazar.” She sat on an old chair, her curious brown eyes as wide as a doe’s and everywhere at once. Ms. Soon to be Cyborg didn’t mention the fact I’d accidentally pissed on her, nor did she complain about her current state. A desperate human, I supposed.

“Can I get you tea to warm you up?” Nentres asked.

I snapped my head his way, wishing we could communicate mentally in human form so I could tell him to fuck off. I hated guests. Even the ones I liked.

“I’m fine, thank you.”

“A blanket?” he offered.

“She’s fine,” I said, a little more forceful than necessary. Why hadn’t I thought of the blanket? The human sat up straight, her eyes on the floor. Nentres walked to the mini bar, a simple tray with drinks, and poured himself a whiskey over three cubes of ice. He lifted an eyebrow at me. I nodded his way, indicating I wanted one, then I watched him put three ice cubes in my glass as well when he damn well knew I drank my whiskey dry. Nentres retired to his seat, a big smile on his face.

Some days I wondered why I bothered with him at all. He handed me my drink, and I put it on the table on my end. “Ms. Salazar,” I said. “What can I do for you?”

She looked down at the hands in her lap. “I’m looking for…asylum. I need shelter.”

“From?” And why?

She took a deep breath, clearly uncomfortable. “I’m to marry someone. See, I’m one of the last Salazars in the world, and his family has agreed to take on our last name if I marry him. My dad wants to continue our legacy. He’s kind of obsessed with it since we’re the last two Salazars, a proud family originally from Mexico City.”

She also seemed proud of that. By the way her chin tipped up, I could tell the Salazar name meant something to her as well. There was strength in this human girl. I respected that. “I presume you do not wish to marry the…human?”

“He’s a cyborg. Level four already. He’s fifteen years older than me.”

“An old man,” Nentres said.

Now I just wanted to slap him. I was thirty-two to his twenty-nine, and I presumed the cyborg in question was a few years older than I. “What happens if you refuse the marriage?” I asked.

“We get cast out. The society stops buying our products. Our business crumbles, and we’re left with nothing. Not to mention the Salazars die out. I know you don’t take cyborgs to your island. I’m still human, so I’m seeking help now.”

“I see. You want protection. But you’re willing to leave your father to deal with the aftermath.”

“I’m hoping you’ll accept my proposal, which won’t leave either of us penniless. Yes, my dad would need to make some adjustments, but he wouldn’t become homeless.”

I leaned my elbows on my knees, thinking she couldn’t possibly offer me anything I needed. She hadn’t a clue about what I needed. She came from a wealthy family and was an only child, probably used to getting what she wanted. She didn’t want to marry an older man even if it meant saving her family. Many women I knew had done just that. Times were hard. Besides, I had this horrible gut feeling, the instinct that came with my beast, that if I kept this girl, my life would never be the same.

Apart from the water element I couldn’t control, the problem Ms. Salazar couldn’t help me solve anyhow, I liked my life. Sure, I could use a thing or two here and there, but nothing worth causing trouble with two powerful cyborg families. I couldn’t afford enemies, not at this time. My home housed a wolf pack nobody knew about, enormous reserve storage for the upcoming winter, and some humans, most of them convicts. We even had nine children in the castle. Drawing attention here would be stupid, not to mention reckless. People depended on me. “The answer is no.”

“But you didn’t hear my proposal.”

“Don’t need to.” I chugged the watered-down whiskey and set the glass back on the table.

Her eyes filled with tears. She looked away.

“Excellent. I was on pins and needles here,” Nentres said, his Southern drawl exaggerated, intent on getting Ms. Salazar to drop her panties. “Now that he’s refused, it’s my turn. Tell me, sugar, what can I do for you? I’m twenty-nine, by the way. Not old. And I didn’t urinate on your head. That was him.” He pointed a finger at me.

I snapped my head his way. “What the fuck are you doing?”

He shrugged. “I think we should hear her out.”

“Why?”

“Because, brother dearest, this is Selena Salazar of Salazar and Co.” He lifted his whiskey glass and tapped it. “The S-Class fine whiskey manufacturer.”

I leaned back and crossed my arms over my chest, now even more determined to send her home. A high-profile problem was not my problem, and Ms. Salazar had a high profile, which was a problem. Nentres couldn’t afford enemy cyborgs either. He’d amassed plenty down south, probably why he’d come here for a while. Still, he wanted to hear her out, and I didn’t want to make her cry. “Let’s hear it.”

Ms. Salazar glanced up and smiled. “We have several lines of products. My mom left me her share, and I would sign over my whiskey line to you. The S Class.”

Nentres whistled. “They distribute all over the country. One real competitor, but not many others. Worth a fortune.”

“We have a fortune already,” I reminded him. Dragons hoarded valuables unlike any other creature on this planet. I had more jewels in my basement than I knew what to do with. “Money’s not everything in this day and age.” The Cy, as well-meaning as they were, inadvertently threatened the survival of the human race. A human without implants over twenty was a rare sight, and rumors of cyborg women not being fertile were spreading. The human race neared extinction. Nevertheless, humans kept taking Cy parts, thinking they’d survive by becoming cyborgs, which would protect them from the hard climate. We, the dragon brotherhood and the wolves collectively called Creatures of Earth, calculated that in order to survive, humans needed to birth three kids per two parents. Right now, the world was nowhere near three kids per two parents, and this, along with humans turning into cyborgs, couldn’t sustain human life.

If the four of us gained power over the elements, we could wield those elements to our advantage. Living conditions would improve, and humans wouldn’t need habitats. They wouldn’t need to depend on the Cy race and their implants to survive. They would have wood for fire, clean air, and fertile ground. And women. There would be more women as pretty as this little soon-to-be-cyborg. “I’m sorry, Ms. Salazar, but I can’t help you.”

She sat there, probably in shock, her brown eyes wide and wet.

I looked away, picked up a small bell next to my glass, and jiggled it. Mandy peeked inside. “You called, my lord?”

“Take Ms. Salazar upstairs to wash and warm up. She may stay here the night and leave in the morning.”

“No, I’m fine,” Ms. Salazar said. “I won’t be staying.”

“Of course you will,” I said.

“No. I’m going back. If someone could take me to my car, I’ll be off.” She stood. “Thank you for your time, Mister…?”

“Lancelot.”

“That’s an old name.”

“For an old guy,” Nentres said. “For the record, had his dragon not pissed on you, I’d have proposed an offer.”

She wrung her hands. “What kind of offer?”

“One a smart woman wouldn’t refuse.”

“Perhaps I would accept.”

I knew where this was going. Nentres would make her his concubine and take her money. He’d use her situation to his benefit. Nentres stood and advanced on her until their bodies were inches apart. My gums swelled, my teeth started to grow, and my head felt like it would explode. My whole body itched as if I would turn into a dragon inside my library. My beast was trying to communicate with me. I wore my beast over my skin. We were close, but he’d never forced himself on my body like this before.

I opened my mouth to say something, and my voice came out bottom-of-the-well deep and eerie. “Mine,” I said. That wasn’t my voice, not a sound I could make, and I didn’t understand why my beast had spoken when it had never spoken before. But I said it because the word echoed in the room, repeating itself over and over again until it got lost in a whisper. Nentres stepped back and looked around.

“That was weird,” Ms. Sanchez said.

I locked gazes with Nentres. This time, he appeared serious. Clearly, he knew my beast had spoken, and he knew we should probably do something about it. He nodded at me and sat back down. Mandy stood at the door, looking around the room, then she cleared her throat. “Dinner is almost ready,” she said. “Shall I set up for three?”

Decisions, decisions. “Yes.”

Mandy closed the door behind her, a small smile playing on her face.

And there I was with my little soon-to-be-cyborg girl. And she was little. Maybe five one. Her lips were plush and soft, her nose small and tipped up, her brown eyes expressive and intelligent. I wanted to touch the birthmark on her cheek. Instead, I perused her body, noticing how her nipples responded to the cold and how her jeans hugged her ample hips. I rounded her and approached her from behind, not willing to show her my face even though my hood covered most of it. I sniffed. She smelled of me and fear. I nearly hummed in pleasure. “You are very pretty,” I told her.

“Thank you.”

“Aww,” Nentres said. “This is the most awkward romantic encounter I’ve ever witnessed. I foresee a lot of fumbling. Lance, you are a dud with women. I wonder if you even know what to do with them in bed.”

“Mind your own business,” I snapped.

“Let me ask you something, sugar,” he said. “Are you a virgin?”

“You don’t have to answer that,” I told her. Of course she was virgin. Pfft.

“Humor me?” he added.

“I am a virgin,” she said.

Nentres whimpered. He actually whimpered like a little girl.

I slid him a look. “Just come out and say it.”

“You must have been struck with a dumbass stick. How much evidence do you need, hm? You pissed on the girl. If a dragon pisses on a woman, you ought to at least ask yourself why the fuck he would do that. I’m asking it. I have yet to meet a woman who made me want to mark her in such…such a primal way. But I want to meet that girl.”

“It was an accident,” I said. “I’m sorry about that,” I told her.

She shrugged. “It happens. I guess.”

Nentres threw his hands in the air. “If that doesn’t count as marking territory, then nothing does.”

“Like I said, it was an accident.” I picked up a blanket and put it over her shoulders, then retreated, but not before she exhaled in relief. I inhaled her breath. My dick started growing, and a tent pitched between my legs. I wanted her on her knees and sucking me, watching me with those big, pretty eyes, and I wanted her batting her long eyelashes as my dick bounced off her tongue. “Mandy will escort you upstairs. I’ll see you at dinner.”

“Does that mean I’m staying?” She watched me like a hawk, stood there vulnerable and exposed. She’d braved the night; she’d braved meeting a dragon for the first time in her life. I respected that about her.

“It means we’ll share dinner before I make my decision. Off you go.”

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, I hadn’t come up with a solution for my little problem. Next to me, Nentres sipped his watered-down whiskey, giving me time to think, but I knew he had plenty to say. I lowered my hood and leaned back. Nentres didn’t blink at my appearance.

During one of our rescue missions, I’d gotten trapped in a burning barn with horses. Because I couldn’t leave those damn animals behind, I’d fought my way out of the barn so they could escape. The fire had scorched the right side of my body and left me scarred for life.

To heal me, my beast had covered my human skin with his indigo scales. With his presence so close to my human side, I’d inherited his freaky eyes as well. Still, I welcomed it. People used to pity me, and now they feared me. I didn’t look like a man; I looked like a monster. Fine by me.

“Are you done sulking?” Nentres asked with a smirk and tucked his dirty blond hair behind his ear.

“No.”

“You’re great at it.”

“Eat me.”

“I heard the word mine,” he reminded me. “The entire castle must’ve heard it. Get your fucking head out of your ass, Lance. Take her virginity and her money and…” He sighed. “Why aren’t maidens banging on my doors? I’m a dragon. I’m supposed to deflower all the virgins, hoard all the jewels, burn all the habitats, inherit all the booze.” He tapped his chest. “Can I ask her to marry me?”

I rolled my eyes. “Can you at least have dinner with her first?”

“Is it required? We could skip dinner.”

I couldn’t listen to his shit anymore. He was fucking with me anyhow. “Let’s eat before we do anything irrational.”