Chapter 7
Changing
She woke up unsure how long she’d slept. Erak wasn’t next to her nor had he been as she’d tossed and turned. The flu? Maybe since she’d had aches and pains unusual for her and a fever that had raged. In her fuzzy memory she remembered Bree making her drink some kind of witches brew. Not that it had tasted bad or that she had anything against witches.
Her hobby was witchcraft even if she’d not pursued it much. It wasn’t like Betty’s pursuit of herbs. Whatever Betty had given her seemed to have helped since she didn’t feel like she was going to die anymore.
“Aw shit! I still feel bad.”
“But you feel better than you did if you can talk.” Bree said.
“Where are you?”
“I’m sitting in a chair right by your bed. I think you need a shower. Your mate will be back anytime.”
“The attack?”
“They left for it hours ago.”
“You don’t know anything?” She asked.
“Not a darn thing and my mate is there too. I hope they beat the hell out of those rogues or whatever the hell they are.”
“Me too. What about the cafeteria?”
“Erak put Lushia in charge.”
“Thank God.”
“No thank Erak. Here, take my hand.”
A hand appeared in front of her and she grabbed it. “Oh, my! That makes me sick.”
“Your change has been rough. Maybe because you’re a queen? I really don’t know.” Bree observed.
“Not fair.”
“Life often isn’t, Sis.”
She sat up looking around and waiting for the dizziness to go away. Feeling a tad better, she rolled so her legs would drop over the side of the bed. “I’m naked.”
“It’s how you went to bed, Sweetie.”
“How long?”
“Nearly a day.” Bree admitted.
“Hungry.”
“If you can manage a shower by yourself, I’ll go order food.”
Nodding, she stopped because it hurt. “Okay.”
Without the slightest sense of modesty, she stood up slowly and headed to the bathroom. She felt better now that she was moving. Heading straight to the shower, she stepped in without a thought and the water was cold as ice though not for long. A small scream came out of her until she smothered it. That wasn’t very queenly.
It was hard to believe she was a queen. Washing up, she hurried because now she was starved to death. Once she was dried and dressed, she hurried out to where Bree waited. The food had been delivered quickly. It looked like medium rare steak. Honestly she thought she could eat it rare, but that was alright.
Once she was at the small table, she began to eat like a dragon. She wiped her plate out in mere minutes and looked for more. Grinning, when she saw Bree present another plate. “You’re the best sister ever.” When the second plate was empty, she felt much better.
“What do you want to do now?” Bree asked.
About that time yells were heard from the lower floors. “Looks like that’s been decided for us. I believe we’re under attack.” They headed to the hallway.
“I think I can fit in this hallway when I change.” Bree mentioned. I wish we knew if you could.”
“My dragon says she can.”
“She’s talking to you already?”
“Unless I’m going crazy she is.” She admitted.
“If we can change in the hallway, we can burn them to toast. With a partial shift, they’ll not be able to hurt a fully shifted dragon.”
“Shouldn’t we go to different hallways?”
“I hate to leave you on your own especially newly shifted.” Bree admitted.
“My dragon says she’s a queen and can handle it.”
“I guess you’re in charge. Just don’t get yourself killed.” They split up going to different hallways and she shifted for the first time.
These hallways were planned so male dragons couldn’t shift, but they hadn’t thought about females. She shifted and it was a close fit, but she could still move. The enemy came around the corner and they were all rogues.
“Looky here what we have. A baby dragon. I’d heard the Earther females could shift. I bet they aren’t tough though.” The male sneered.
You’ll eat those words. She tried to say it, but it only sounded in her mind. Her dragon took over and fire flew down the hall. The smell of burning flesh made her sick, but her dragon wasn’t affected. This wasn’t a pretty way to die. But she knew they were killing her people and they didn’t care. Someone had to stop them and that someone was her and her sister.
Horrific screams came from one hall over. Bree was at work too. She hated this, but it was only self-defense. An hour later, she was dizzy and needed to eat and sleep. There didn’t seem to be any more rogues coming down the hall, but she’d bet there were more of them hiding in rooms or downstairs. Walking to the end of the hall, she looked around.
It was risky, changing to human. Instead, she decided to find Bree. And find her she did. Her sister was caught by a rogue with his arm around her throat. “Come closer and I’ll kill her.” He threatened.
Now she had no choice but to shift to human. “So?”
“What?”
“Did you know she’s adopted? It’s okay. Do what you have to but I’ll have to slow roast you. My mother likes her. You understand, right? I know it’s a nasty way to go, but it’s all I’ve got.”
“You humans are crazy.”
“Yes, yes we are. It seems to work well here.” She admitted. He let Bree go and turned to run away falling down over and over.
“I’m adopted?”
“Hey, it worked. We need to get some weapons and sweep the castle and you need to watch your back. I think my heart stopped beating for a while.”
“You did a good job of acting like you didn’t care.” Bree sniffed.
“That was the only way to keep you alive.”
“Okay, but you owe me something.”
“Fine. But let’s find some weapons and get to work.”
They walked back through the hall where she’d been before. “You made an awful mess. It smells horrible.”
“I’m not cleaning it up. Here, Erak has a collection of mixed weapons.” She grabbed a sword and a gun of some kind.
Bree took a sword and throwing knife. “Let’s go.”
They made a sweep of the rooms on their floor finding them empty even of those people that should be there. They were almost done with the floor below when soldiers rushed in. The males were in uniform but she and Bree were both nervous until they saw Jarel.
“Thank God it’s you!” Tomi said.
“My queen! We caught them fleeing and captured most of them. A blubbering fool said to keep you away from him or you would slow roast him?”
“He tried to kill my sister.”
“I understand. What happened to the others?”
“The other enemies are dead. I don’t know where our guards went.” She admitted.
Jarel began to give orders and soon everyone was gone but him. “How did you do it?”
“The halls are too small for male dragons, but not the smaller female versions.”
“Thank the goddess for that.”
“Bree came up with the plan.”
“It was a good plan and kept you alive until we got back.” Jarel noted. A loud roar, no, two loud roars were heard from outside. “Your mates have made it back.”
Erak would be upset, but they’d had no choice. It was a do or die situation. They waited knowing their mates approached. Romo came around the corner first with Erak on his tail. Each of them caught them in their arms looking for any wounds.
“Dear goddess. I can’t believe I never thought they’d attack the castle.” Erak admitted.
“Bet they don’t again.” Jarel whispered.
“What happened?” Erak demanded.”
“It was good you sent me and a few squads ahead. As we arrived, the rogues were fleeing. Some of them were terrified which made no sense. We’ve not found our guards yet. Never mind. They’ve been found trussed up in the dungeon. They were overwhelmed with large numbers. Once they had the guards tied up, they went after the queen and Bree. It didn’t work well for them.”
“How could they hold off dozens of rogues?” Erak asked.
“Apparently Bree had the idea of them to each take a hallway and shift to dragon. They used their fire to burn dozens of rogues to ashes.” Jarel explained.
“I had the idea to shift, Tomi wanted us to take different hallways. I was a bit worried about a newly changed dragon on her own, but she made a believer out of me.” Bree admitted.
“That is unbelievable. The hallways are sized to prevent shifting.” Romo observed.
“Only for full sized males. Females are smaller and we were lucky that was the case.” She pointed out. “Oh, my God! I need to check on my people in the cafeteria.”
“They are fine. I gave them the day off because only a few guards were left behind.” Erak explained.
“Thank you. It would be hard to take if any of them were harmed.” She admitted.
“We’d best get everyone somewhere safe while we wait for everyone to check in.” Jarel suggested.
“You’re right. Come, Tomi.” Erak urged. Romo and Bree followed with Jarel and some guards behind them.
Everyone’s eyes were wide as they walked through the ash covered hallway. It was upsetting that she and Bree had been forced to kill so many to save themselves. She didn’t understand the rogues and she was sure she never would. Erak opened the throne room door and she led the way inside. A guard took the door from him and he followed her.
Erak put a finger to his lips while Jarel searched for bugs. This time they would be tracked back to where they came from, but regardless of what they found, they would never be back in here. Her mate would be pleased because he hated them around.
“Okay, we are bug free.” Jarel said.
“You and Bree were amazing.” Erak declared. “The two of you took out a fourth of their people. We took out another fourth. Their numbers have to be low. No one seems to know any of these rogues anymore.”
“Maybe you should have a doctor examine their bodies. Maybe they are not from your planet?” Tomi advised.
“How would they do that?” Erak asked.
“I don’t know what they do, but they do it on Earth all the time. We have coroners who examine the dead to make sure they weren’t killed by unnatural causes.” Tomi said. “You need to get some of our TV shows.”
“They show this on TV?” Jarel asked.
“They show a simulation.” Bree explained. She was wiggling out of Romo’s grip. Overprotective, just like Erak.
“I promised Bree a reward for helping me.” Tomi mentioned.
“I would be pleased to get you one. What do you want?” Erak asked.
“I’d like to add to my sword collection.” Bree said.
“I’ll find you something.”
“Thank you.” Bree said.
“We need to get someone to clean the ashes.” She mentioned.
“It might be best to leave them for a while. The enemy seems fearful of them.” Jarel explained.
“I can see why.” Romo agreed.
“It would probably be best. Just for a while.” Erak added.
She sighed heavily. “I suppose you guys know best. So how did the attack go?”
“When we got there we noticed right away the numbers were depleted. The thought that they were at the desert came to mind, but we had them under surveillance and that wasn’t the case.” Erak admitted. “They had sent a large group here, to attack you and the usual castle personnel. It didn’t occur to us right away. When it did, I sent Jarel to check on you.”
“Thank goodness you did.”
“Why? All he caught was fleeing enemy.” Erak said clearly disgusted with himself.
“They needed to be caught. Those that are put away, won’t fight against us again. Every rogue dealt with is one less to battle us.”
“I love the way you say that. You’re right, but I hated you and Bree being in danger.” Erak admitted.
“You need to get used to it if you plan to get larger numbers of females in the military.” She pointed out.
“I wish we didn’t have to.”
“At least they are volunteers. Not all the males had a choice.”
“I know you’re right. It’s just not the way we were raised to believe. Has anyone checked in with you?” He looked at Jarel.
“Several. Almost all the guards were found alive. They must have had a purpose planned for them.” Jarel guessed. “Davy is looking at the tapes. The rebels simply marched on the castle with bigger numbers and attacked. Only a few escaped with their lives.”
“Maybe this will teach them a lesson?” Erak questioned.
“I think the problem is the leaders aren’t risking anything. They are sending in those that have no value to them. On Earth we call them cannon fodder. It teaches them nothing if they don’t care about them.” She explained.
“So we need to get to the head of this monster.” Erak said.
“Exactly, but first you need to find out who that is.”
“They hide well.” Jarel admitted.
“There has to be a way to get to them.” She speculated.
“Right now Davy is tracking the bugs. Maybe we’ll get lucky.” Jarel hoped.
“For now, I believe Bree and Tomi need to eat and rest before they fall down.” Erak observed. He called in an order. “I called in an order for Bree too. You can pick it up in town on your way home.”
“Food. That would be so cool if I can stay awake long enough.” Tomi declared.
“You should go clean up. Once you’ve eaten, you’ll need to sleep.” Erak directed.
As she walked away she heard Jarel say, “Two fire dragons. That is amazing.”
She’d forgotten that not all dragons were fire dragons. Fire dragons could blow the hottest flames. Most dragons had some fire, only a few could only blow smoke. But what she and Bree had done, they incinerated other dragons. Few could get their flames that hot.
Making her way to their bathroom, she was glad to strip off the clothes she’d put on. She never wanted to see them again. Regardless of how necessary what she and Bree had done was, she felt a deep sense of loss. Part of her innocence was gone and would never return. Before this, she’d never even seriously hurt anyone.
There was no one she’d wished more than a bad day on. To kill someone, no, to utterly destroy them, that was nothing she’d even wanted to do. Maybe that was why she’d never wanted to follow in her father’s footsteps. She’d known deep inside how this would feel and it was bad. Very bad.
Once she was clean, dry, and wearing a sleep T-shirt, she lay down to sleep. It came right away. She’d not even thought about the food she’d been promised. Not much later, or so it seemed, Erak was talking to her and shaking her gently. “Tomi, you need to eat, Sweetheart.”
“Go away. I’m tired.” Surely that would do it.
“You must eat. After using fire, food is even more important than rest.”
“No.”
“No?” He asked confused. “Get up or I’ll tickle you.”
“No.” He began to move his hands around her body getting her excited until he hit that spot. It was the one that made her giggle uncontrollably. “Stop!”
Erak stopped for a second without thinking. “Get up and I’ll stop.”
“I’m tired.” She whined.
“And stubborn, but you must wake up.” He tickled her again until she sat up and threw a pillow at him. “There you are. We have a nice meal set up at the table for you.” His mate snorted.
She did however get up and move to the table where she looked at her plate with interest. When she started to eat, it was quick and without reservation. “Who cooked?”
“No place was open so I had to ask your mom to fix you food.”
“No wonder it’s so good. Thank you.” She added grudgingly.
“You’re most welcome my love.”
“Find out anything about these rogues?”
“There were some humans from Earth mixed in. We are investigating, or rather Garulto is, to find out how they got here. He and your mom may be taking a trip to Earth. If the emperor approves it and it looks like he will, Kitty may be coming back with them.”
She squealed. Throwing herself into Erak’s arms, she kissed him. The barbecue sauce from the ribs smeared on his face making her smile. Dragons could be messy eaters even in human form. He reached up to his cheek and wiped it clean.
“I’d love to see my baby sister. You’ll love her, I know you will.”
“There’s no doubt in my mind. All your family are great.”
She leaned back. The food was mostly gone and she was almost full. “Dessert?”
“Of course. Your mom’s famous berry pie.”
“Yes.” She threw a fist in the air. “That’s a sign of victory.”
“Okay.” He said clearly not understanding. “Here’s your pie.” He set a plate with a large piece of pie in front of her.
That’s when she practically inhaled it. Erak’s eyes were wide in disbelief. Her dragon had done a lot and used a bunch of energy. Why wouldn’t guys give a hungry girl a break?
“Will we ever have a chance to go back to Earth?”
“Things come up here and there. If you want to go when that happens then yes.” He agreed.
“Thank you. I would like to go back every once in a while. We can buy a few necessities and maybe even some luxuries.”
“If there’s things you need, regular trips are already being made to Earth. Anything you want can be brought back.” He assured.
“I already knew that. That’s where some of the spices and all of the coffee and chocolate come from.”
“Well, yes. That’s true. Since you’re done eating, we should turn in.” He suggested.
She sighed heavily. “I’m not sure I can sleep now. “
“I can help with that.” Erak smiled.
“I bet you can.”
She got up and walked to the bed with him right behind her. Once they were near the bed, Erak took over. He picked her up and carried her to their bed. Giving her no time to think he stripped her bare in seconds. His face, his nose to be precise, went straight to her center. Now it was damp with need and she knew what he was going to do. This was going to be so amazing. Her dragon rumbled with anticipation.
As his tongue licked her folds, she stared at him in a daze and slid her fingers through his hair. Erak pulled his cock out of his pants and she was sure it was uncomfortable in there. His tongue moved up to her clit as his finger sank into her channel. She could feel she was wet for him. Worrying her little nubbin, he added another finger to stretch her for his thick staff. Added a final finger he then nipped her bundle of nerves sending her over the edge. Right away, he slid up her body pushing his cock into her channel.
His dragon rumbled too now. Without a pause he drove deep inside and began hammering in and out. She felt like she like she was about to take flight. Making love to her mate was the ultimate joy. Arching to meet him she then wrapped her legs around his hips to hang on tight.
They both made little sounds of pleasure as the tension built until she exploded and he followed her. It amazed her that she had fought against this. The two of them were perfect together and it would always be so. Falling to the mattress beside her, Erak was asleep before she was. It would seem he’d had a hard day too. She looked at him as he lay there his face relaxed in sleep. He looked younger and carefree.
That made her realize how hard he took his responsibilities and how much he needed her to help balance his life. Too much work and not enough play, but she would help change all that. She snuggled up close to him and even in his sleep his arm moved around her. He made her feel safe and warm. No one else could have ever given her this.
Soon, she thought, they would have a baby. If she judged by the rest of her family, it wouldn’t be long at all. For now she needed some sleep to prepare for all that lay before them. It wasn’t hard to fall into a deep sleep. Hours later, caught between sleep and waking, she wasn’t sure if she was dreaming or not. The soft touches that made her ache with need seemed so real.
It started with a gentle kiss that took off and explored her mouth. His lips moved down her neck and he licked the spot he had bitten when he cemented their mating. That made her writhe with need.
Not stopping there, he moved on to her full breasts and he suckled each in turn. Tugging one hard into his mouth, he released it once it was sensitive to his touch. Now she was fully awake, aware, and ready for so much more.
He rolled himself on top of her resting his weight on his forearms as he pressed his cockhead to her entrance. She was sopping wet and he gently slid in until he was fully inside. They groaned together. His need overwhelmed him even though he’d considered letting her sleep just a bit longer. Need refused to allow him to wait and he was sure her need was strong too. She urged him to move faster and harder. Her heels pressed against his ass cheeks hard demanding more. Giving in he began to move. The faster he moved, the more she wanted until he was pounding into her and she was screaming in pleasure.
Her release hit making her scream his name. Her tight channel squeezed the seed right out of him and he called out her name in his bliss. Their bodies were slick in sweat and their breath came in gulps. She felt a slight ache between her legs and her throat was sore from her screams. This was the way to feel all the time. Erak rolled off her and they both slipped into a deep restful sleep.
They slept until this horrible buzzing noise intruded. “Dear Goddess. We’ve slept nearly a day.” Erak grouched.
She hopped up and ran for the shower with him right behind her. There was no time for pleasure, but she couldn’t deny she was disappointed. Once they were dressed, they headed to the throne room where Jary sat at his desk.
“My king.” Jary greeted. “We were concerned and the emperor is here. I knew you would want to be woken.”
“You were right. Thank you.” Erak agreed.
That kind of sucked. They were rudely awoken and they had to thank someone for doing it. They sat in the thrones and waited for the emperor to join them. He entered with a smile on his face. “I hear congratulations are in order?”
“They are. Why don’t you join us at the table?” Erak asked and they both moved. She’d read that it was rude to sit on a throne when someone of equal or greater authority was your guest.
“I’ve gotten some information from the king of cats. Leotus says he too has rebels and Dannia has found a place with them. Their issues are the same as some of ours. The biggest, is the mating issue. I’m hoping this plan to get mail order brides will work.”
“It’s been done on Earth in the past and worked well. The main issue is finding women that won’t be angry when they find themselves in another galaxy.”
“How do we avoid it?” He asked.
“By being as honest as you can. Tell them your country is so different from the US, it’s like another world. Let them know that you have closed borders and only brides and approved family members can come and they may never be able to come back.”
“Approved family members?” He questioned.
“Some women may have children or be in charge of young siblings or elder parents. Taking them in those cases where it will work, makes your population more rounded. Yes, you need brides, but you also need more people.”
“That’s true. But we need to be careful about who those people are.” The emperor said.
“I agree. That’s why you run background checks and interviews. It will give you the best chance of getting good people.” She explained.
“How would we even set up such a program?” He wondered. So far Erak had been quiet and only listened. ”You hire experts that do this kind of thing. This will be a long term program since the need for mates won’t end anytime soon.”
“True.”
“Ranger is pretty sharp. I bet if you give him a description of what you want, he will get it done.” She pointed out.
The emperor smiled. “I believe that is true as well. What do you think Erak?”
“Some of Earth’s ways are helpful. I am glad we can take the good and leave the bad behind. Tomi mentioned before that it’s important to set goals when you approach someone to run this program for you. What are our goals?” Erak asked.
“Five hundred mates a month?” The emperor threw it out there.
“You may not get that right away. Some programs build numbers slowly. It takes time to get the word out. There may also be a problem when they try to find your country on a map.”
“That’s no problem. We bought a small country and named it Draconis.” Erak explained.
“Of course you did.”
“It was the smart thing to do.” Erak agreed.
“You’re right. That will help. Now you just need to get it started.”
“I’ll contact Ranger as soon as we outline what we want from the program. He’ll be thrilled.” The emperor chuckled.
She didn’t know what to make of that. Maybe Ranger was already over worked? Erak had called breakfast in and they ate with the emperor before he left. “That was interesting.”
“You’ll get used to it. Queens are often involved in these type of meetings.”
“Now what happens?”
“I’d like to say we spend the day in bed, but we both have too much to do.”
“I know you have a lot to do, but what about me?” She asked.
“Did you forget your cafeteria?”
“Oh, my God! I did forget. I’m such a bad boss.”
“Lushia is running things, but she needs a raise.” Erak suggested.
“Absolutely. I’d best get over there. There’s no telling what is going on.”
Erak looked relieved that she would be busy since he would be. She headed down the hall to her cafeteria. The aroma of cooking foods led her straight there. It was busy, no surprise since it was lunch time for many of those that worked at the castle. When she stepped into the kitchen, she washed her hands and asked Lushia where she was needed.
“We have food cooked for lunch, but we need bread and dessert for supper.” Lushia said.
That was good because baking relaxed her and allowed her to think through things. A chance to relax was a good thing anytime, but with these last few crazy days, she really needed it. Once the oven was filled with bread and sweet rolls, she sat at the table with Lushia drinking coffee and eating a piece of pie.
“Catch me up!” She urged.
“Well the king made us take that day off which we were all grateful for since the rebels attacked. Two more workers were hired when we came in the next day. It’s made all the difference. I don’t feel like it’s enough to up our presence for supper, but it makes things less hectic for the hours we already have.” Lushia explained.
“I’ve thought about having someone here in the evenings with premade food. You know, like sandwiches, pies, and cookies. Things that can be served cold.”
“Like at the butcher shop?”
“Similar, yes. What do you think?”
“You’d get some business, but would it be worth keeping help here?”
“That’s the hundred dollar question.” She admitted. “But they can also cook ahead when they have time.”
“I’d best get back to work.”
“Do you need me?”
“We’re caught up for now.” Lushia said.
“Yeah, and that’s unusual.”
“Extra help makes all the difference.”
It was obvious it did. Life would have been so much easier had she had all this help before. While it was nice not to have to stay for now, this was hers. It was her little identity, something that was only hers. For now, it was enough.
She headed back to see Erak but he was busy. It was something she had to get used to because it would happen often. While he’d promised to find ways to cut back, she was realistic enough to know it would take time. Maybe she could find ways to help him lighten his load.
When she made it back to their rooms, she saw someone had cleaned up. Apparently they had a maid service. She tried to remember how bad things had looked and she was sure it had been rough. Yes, she was one of those that cleaned before the maid came in. Not everything, she just didn’t want to end up as one of those cleaning horror stories maids told other maids.
Maybe she was a bit of a workaholic because with no work to do, she had no idea what to do to keep busy or entertained. On Earth she would watch the TV or a movie. Here they really had nothing like that. In time she would figure everything out. Her life had just gone through a big change, but she would make sure this change was a good one.