As soon as I get word that my human samples have arrived, I hurry out of the palace. It's deep in the night and darkness grips the coast of Arcadia. The glow of the planet Umbria hangs in the sky as I board my new luxury speeder and hurry to the lab.

When I arrive, Taylon escorts me to the receiving bay, a room adjoining the research databases. I fist my hands so hard my fingernails puncture my palms. I grit my teeth until my jaw hurts, but Taylon vigorously rubs my back.

“This is a big moment for you, Joon, and for us all.”

The minutes tick by and I can barely keep myself from jumping out of my skin. I've run the computer simulations on combinations of human and Draxos genetics so many times in the last several days that I imagine I could do the mathematics in my head at this point.

I anticipate the experiments on physical specimen will be even more eye-opening. To think that these samples could give us what we need to cure the plague after five hundred cycles, fills me with so much agitation that I don't know if I will be able to keep a cool head in a lab.

When the shuttle finally descends from the sky through the dome in the roof of the receiving bay, I let out a strangled moan. It slowly descends on an elevator that brings it to the holding case where the contents are checked for radiation. When the computer beeps the all clear the door slides opened. The shuttle with the human genetic samples pops out in front of us.

I don't know if it's my imagination, or the fact that all my blood is rushing to my pounding heart, but the sample container seems to glow majestically. I want to reach out to take it, but my hands won't move. Taylon lifts the container from the table and we take it to a secure laboratory.

He opens the container and we find a dozen vials full of human genetic material. It is blood and bone marrow from multiple human sources.

“Nine of the samples contain human genetic material with recessive dragonoid genes in them. The other three are samples without the gene,” Taylon says, reading the labels.

“We have our work cut out for us,” I say, pulling a pair of gloves onto my hands.

Taylon finds a flash drive of information and plugs it into the computer.

“This is the readout of all of the samples from Earth,” he says.

We study the samples on a holographic screen that floats three dimensionally above our terminal. After pulling a blood sample with dragonoid genes from the case, I insert a pipette and withdraw a few drops. I squeeze them onto an analysis plate so the computer can identify the components of the sample. Already familiar with the human genome after my previous experiments, the computer feeds back information instantly.

“I see our computers agree on the contents of the substance,” I say.

My original simulations were done on generic human DNA. These samples are specific. Before I start physical experiments, I want to get an idea of what I can expect with the new data. My computers will need time to run the simulations.

I spend the rest of the day with the computers, processing the samples and scanning readouts of my previous data. I want to see if I can find any patterns that will give me clues to the best possible measurement combinations for specific samples.

By the time midday rolls around, I can feel my exhaustion set in. That is exactly the moment I get a message from my lab assistants that Mika is waiting for me outside.

I groan and rub my temples, realizing I still haven't gone on my date with him. I don't want him to feel like I’m neglecting him.

After tidying up my terminal, I throw my lab coat in a wash basket on the way out of the lab. Mika is waiting for me outside, with the clear winter sunshine sparkling in his golden hair.

“I've come to take you home,” he says. “Me and the rest of the guys decided it was time for you to eat and go to bed.”

“You're right, you're right,” I acquiesce.

He puts out his elbow for me to hold, and I take it, realizing I am shaky on my feet.

“No more lab work until you've gotten a good night’s sleep,” he chides.

“Yes, Sir,” I say with a giggle and a hiccup.

We board my speeder and he drives me home. When we arrive, Mika takes me to my room where a morning meal is set out on the table by my window. The snow has been falling steadily all night and has settled in large drifts outside. Mika tells me to sit and eat.

“No black tea for you,” he says, giving me a cup of starfruit juice. “I'm sending you to bed and you're sleeping till tomorrow morning.”

I love that Mika is bossing me around like this. It wouldn't be nearly as cute coming from Donte or Uri.

I eat the warm cereal, fruit, and cheese that Mika ordered for me. When my belly is full, he ushers me off to bed. With a chaste kiss on the forehead, he leaves me with my bedspread tucked under my chin.

I watch him walk away and admire his youthful form. He glances over his shoulder, his golden curls bouncing around his face. He winks and smiles at me.

“Sleep, now,” he commands.

“Okay, okay,” I say, falling back into bed.

I close my eyes, thinking of all the work I have tomorrow. I sleep soundly and wake early the next morning. After washing and dressing in a comfortable pair of nanotech slacks, a fluffy sweater, and a pair of nano ankle boots. I make my way down to the dining hall. The guys are there, chatting amicably over their morning meal.

“Good morning,” Uri says, standing at attention.

Since we made love, his aggression has diminished, and he's become much more manageable around the house. My mates smile and lift their glasses in greeting.

“Good morning,” I say in a sing-song voice.

My heart is filled with love and pride to see their shining eyes and happy faces first thing in the morning. My mind is so preoccupied with my work that I know I am neglecting them. I sit at the head of the table and Quintin brings me a plate and a pitcher of black tea.

I take a long draw of tea, almost emptying the cup.

“I'm going to try to steal you away from the lab for our date today,” Mika says as he sits next to me and pops a piece of gow cheese in his mouth.

“I know I owe you time,” I tell him, resting my palm on his hand. He covers my hand with his and looks into my eyes.

“I can't expect you to neglect such important work to spend time with me.”

“Nonsense, that's exactly what you should expect,” I say, rubbing my temple. I look up and see the other males nodding in agreement.

“We all just want to know who you are going to choose,” Uri says.

“We have been enthralled for weeks now,” Flume groans. “Making love with you has been a buffer but…”

“I know, my darlings, I know. It is time for us to consummate the mating ritual.”

“Have you have you made a decision?” Uri asks.

“That isn’t fair,” Mika snaps angrily, jumping to his feet.

“Mika, please.” I tug on his arm for him to sit back down. “I have made up my mind. But it's not what you think. I've decided to mate with all of you. There isn't one of you that I don't want.”

“But we haven't been together yet,” Mika says to me, confusion on his face.

“I knew I wanted you since I met you, Mika,” I say, patting his hand. “And the rest of you as well. There were some rough patches, but I knew from the day of the tournament that I wanted to be with you all. I want to connect with each of you and feel you inside me. I need that. After I return from the lab today. I will take my time with Mika.”

“And then? Will you be ready for our bites?” Uri asks.

“I don't know about that,” I stutter.

“Don't pressure her, Uri,” Donte says.

“She hasn't even been with more than one of us at the same time,” Flume says.

“We shouldn't pressure her to do all of that at once,” Reese agrees.

“She needs practice,” Donte says in a low tone.

“I don’t want her to fall apart once we start the claiming ritual,” Uri mutters. “It could ruin the whole thing.”

“We have to be careful with her,” Mika pleads.

“It’s time for us to start taking care of her,” Donte says.

“Are you guys hatching something?” I ask, my mind having drifted to the lab.

“We are, my lady,” Donte says. “Since you have announced you want us all, it is our responsibility to now act as your husbands. And so, we will now take charge of the mating ritual. However, we don’t believe you are ready to take our bites yet.”

“What do you propose?” I ask.

“Don't worry about that. We'll discuss it among ourselves and share it with you later,” he says.

I have so many other things to think about that it’s a relief to have them take charge of something. I feel the weight fall off my shoulders and my mind drifts back to my work. I stand from the table and turn to Mika, assuring him that I will be home later and we will spend time together.

“I'm going to give you a pleasant evening,” he says, gripping my hand warmly.

I leave the guys inside and flick off my nanotech outfit as I jump into the air. I shift on the breeze, feeling my dragon body expand in the cool morning. Winter has overtaken Arcadia. I enjoy the feeling of cold on my ice blue scales. The lab is a short flight from my palace, and I land gracefully on the landing pad outside. When I shift again, I flick my wrist com and my nanotech outfit reconstitutes on my body. As I walk into the laboratory, I am greeted by Taylon.

“Joon, you must come look at the readouts,” he says.

I hurry with Taylon through the lab into the computer room. We sit before a holographic dashboard and he shows me what he's talking about. One of my simulations with the blood of a female human has had unexpectedly positive results. It is a 99.999% positive, far better than anything we've seen before.

“I must begin the physical experiment now,” I say, standing from the terminal.

I grab a lab coat and prepare my materials in a secure laboratory. With my goggles and gloves securely on, I begin the experiment.

I drop the human genetic material into a petri dish. The Draxos sample in the dish is from my own blood. I flick on my quantum computer and the particle accelerator beams through the substrate, and I wait patiently for the results.

Even after the particle acceleration, the synthesis will need time to grow. My last experiment like this was a complete failure, resulting in a laboratory fire. But this time I am not met with an explosion.

The positive results are almost anticlimactic, alerting me with the beeping of a small green light on my computer. I swear in Arcadian dialect and pump my fist. This is what I've been waiting for. This is what I have worked my whole life to accomplish.