Chapter Five
Ariella
There was an uneasy silence that followed the fight I had just witnessed. Everyone seemed to disappear so quickly afterward, I felt like I didn’t even have time enough to decipher what had just happened.
One moment the dragons were on the brink of war with one another, and the next I was on the floor, and the madness had stopped.
“Are you alright?” the Weredragon asked me. He set his hands on my shoulders and searched my eyes kindly.
“I’m fine,” I replied quietly. I could tell my body was in shock because as much as I tried to search my body for signs that I had just been bruised, I felt nothing. “I’m sorry I caused that,” I repeated to the dragon I’d heard called Targeg in an uncharacteristically small voice.
“You didn’t cause anything,” he said with a roll of his eyes.
There was a regal look to him that I found comforting. Something about him felt royal or inherently protective, and at that moment, I took complete solace in it.
“Brenem’s wild. Give him a reason to fight, and he’ll run with it. Come to think of it, give him no reason to fight, and he’ll run with that, too.” He gave pause and looked at me once more before letting out a tired breath. “I feel bad for his mate, that’s for certain.”
I looked over at Harper attending quickly to her new mate and looking at me as though I were public enemy number one. She and I had been friends during our training at the spaceport. Now I was on the other side of her new life. The way she looked at me told me from that moment on, everything was going to be different.
My mate finally approached me and took me out of Targeg’s hands, though he didn’t seem like he quite knew what to do with me.
“Are you alright?” he asked uncomfortably as he looked me over.
I opened my mouth to respond, but my voice became lost as I looked at his shoulder. My eyes traced his wound and watched him shifting his shoulder back with difficulty. I reached out for his wound, but he flinched back instinctively. I frowned and looked up at him with annoyance as I said, “You need to get to the med station.”
He looked to Targeg and then to me, breathing loudly through his nose as though relenting unwillingly to my request.
“She should get checked out, too,” Targeg suggested.
Caridan seemed to consider this, and without another word, he escorted me to the med bay of the ship. He rushed me down the narrow hallways and didn’t say another word.
Targeg followed slowly behind, along with Ikar. The halls were stark white; a bright contrast to the dark space and endless stars visible from outside the vast windows. In fact, the white walls made it feel earlier in the day than it actually was.
I was told that it would take over nine weeks to arrive at Udora. At some point, we were warned, we would be put into cryo so that our bodies wouldn’t be affected by the speed we would take on. Udora wasn’t exactly close in relation to Earth. All of the women had been put under intense physical training to be able to navigate space without too much interruption.
This was fine by me, as I enjoyed the view from space and didn’t mind the cold too much either.
We arrived at the Med Bay, and I wasn’t at all surprised to see we were the only ones there. The red dragon hadn’t exactly seemed humble enough to let someone else, let alone a human doctor, assist with his wounds.
Caridan approached the bed and blood trickled down in spots on the white paper sheets beneath him. The doctor’s name was Patricia Knowles. She was in her late 50’s. It was a formality to have her on the assembly line for the choosing, really, as no one suspected that she would become a mate. She was quickly taken to work in the Med-Bay as soon as we boarded the ship.
Patricia immediately turned her attention to Caridan, inspecting his wounds closely and sounding audibly concerned with her sighs and ‘Oh Dear’s’ as she took a prod to his skin.
A nurse brought me to the station close to where he was and searched my body with a portable scanner to ensure I had no broken bones or a concussion. As it turned out, despite the unearthly headache I was experiencing, I was fine.
Patricia looked back at the nurse who was with me to ensure my scan came out all clear. Once she was given a thumbs up, Patricia then devoted her undivided attention back to Caridan.
I watched as she peeled back the scales flaking off the alien’s shoulder and didn’t even flinch. She spoke to Caridan and then to Targeg, but I remained out of the loop as to the severity of my mate’s injuries.
The term still felt so strange. ‘My mate.' Even in my mind, the concept seemed foreign. I looked over at him through my curls and watched as they cleaned the bite and stitched him back up.
All medical professionals trained at Riddell were shown how to deal with Weredragon skin. Their make-up was different than ours. Their skin was so thick it took specially formulated stitches to keep it closed.
Targeg made polite conversation with me as we watched. I thought he was sweet and handsome and suddenly wondered why I had to be stuck with the anti-social sociopath, instead.
The way Caridan looked at me made me uneasy. I’d heard Weredragons were amazing mates: passionate and just jealous enough to make you feel protected. Were’s mated for life and showed fierce possession of you. I had experienced just the opposite, I thought. When Caridan’s eyes searched mine, it was as though he was unsure what to do with me.
One of the nurses came up to me and asked if I was his mate. I reluctantly stood and admitted that she had found the right woman. “That’s me,” I said.
“Take him back to your room and give him these every three hours.”
With that, the pretty redhead handed me a round disc of yellow pills and sent me on my way. I had no idea where his room was.
I reluctantly stood and followed her the short distance to Caridan. He and Targeg had all but huddled in the corner of the Med Bay, and I stood in the curtained off section near them, unsure if I should approach.
I spun the disc of pills in my hand and awkwardly made my way to the pair.
The Med Bay was set up beautifully, with an abundance of supplies and beds to accommodate whatever troubles may happen aboard. The small rooms were separated by pull-apart curtains. I made my way through the makeshift rooms and stopped in a narrow, curtain-lined hallway as I heard my mate now talking candidly with an incredulous Targeg.
I shifted behind the drapes to make myself scarce so the pair couldn’t hear me and shamelessly listened in.
“Can I have a minute of your time to ask you what the hell you think you’re doing?” Targeg said almost comically through gritted teeth.
“Trying to avoid a ship being torn apart by an enraged sociopath, I thought,” Caridan said with a huff, pushing away from his friend.
“Yeah, that wasn’t really what I was referring to. You think I care if you want to kick Brenem’s ass? What I care about is what you think you’re doing with that poor girl.”
“That poor girl?” my mate sneered. “She didn’t even want to be chosen!”
I didn’t know it was possible to whisper aggressively, but somehow Caridan had it mastered.
“Good,” Targeg responded, his eyes widening as he approached with an almost comical, incredulous stare. “Because she wasn’t! You can’t choose, in case you’ve forgotten.”
My stomach flipped for just a moment, and I backed away from the curtain, now especially careful not to make too much noise. What was that supposed to mean? He wasn’t able to choose?
Caridan crossed his arms and finally sat back down; his eyes slowly following Targeg as the alien paced back and forth. He clenched his jaw a moment before saying, “Ikar is our Koth, and he gave no reprimand.”
“Yeah, he isn’t letting it happen because he likes you, Caridan. He’s letting it happen because he wants to have you killed in the most judicial way possible. He doesn’t even have to get his hands dirty.”
“He said it's fine so long as I don’t mate with her.”
“And you can do that?” Targeg frowned at and rubbed his hands against the yellow scales that had flared up from the fight.
Caridan shrugged, and I felt another pang of hot, white tension rise up in my stomach. Apparently, I was stuck in limbo with a dragon who may or may not even have been my mate.
His friend scratched his chin and continued to fidget restlessly as though he weren’t sure what to do with his own skin before looking back. He shrugged helplessly and stared off for a moment before repeating with a scoff, “So she didn’t want to be chosen, huh?”
“Apparently not.” Caridan shrugged. “Earth women.”
Targeg let out a small chuckle and stiffened as I finally approached the pair.
“I don’t mean to interrupt,” I said quietly. I shrugged then looked to Targeg and smiled sheepishly. “Well, I guess I do. But, the nurse said I am supposed to take Caridan to his room for the night. She said I am supposed to watch over you, you know, just for tonight.”
To my surprise, Caridan gave a devilish grin to his friend and stood, landing his oversized hand on the small of my back to guide me. I nodded my goodbye to Targeg and awkwardly followed the purple dragon’s lead.
We walked the length of the ship and took an elevator down to the third deck below. Caridan unlocked his room with a tap card and clutched his bandaged shoulder as he pushed the door open. I followed him into the small suite and took a quick look around. There was a small restroom, two dressers, and one oversized bed, which he quickly lay down on.
I pulled a chair up beside him and watched as he carefully adjusted his wings beneath his back.
“Eventful day, huh?” he finally said.
I looked down at his beautiful tan skin and purple scutes and the way his sharp jawline sunk into his face. It gave me a better understanding of what he must have looked like in full form.
“Uh-huh,” I said absentmindedly. “That a usual thing between you two?”
“Let’s say it’s not the first time we’ve drawn blood.”
“How very neighborly,” I joked. “I didn’t mean to egg him on. I’m sorry.”
“Well…” he trailed off into nothing.
He wasn’t very good at this, I thought. Targeg was right by my side asking if I was alright. Caridan, it seemed, couldn’t be bothered. He didn’t even seem to accept my apology. Yet, something suddenly made me curious about the man.
Knowing he couldn’t have me the way he wanted made me want to know more about him. Why couldn’t he participate in the choosing? What was it about me that made him break the rules? Although I didn’t know the answers to any of these questions, the possibilities of the answers made me feel somehow special to him – even though he hadn’t expressed the least bit of interest in me.
Typical woman, my sister would say. When I found out he couldn’t have me, that’s the moment I started to want him.
I stood from my chair and turned off all the lights in the room, save for a blue glow stone by the side of the bed. I decided that little rock would serve as our nightlight for the moment. It radiated a beautiful glow that made the room feel softer somehow.
I climbed across the mattress and lay down next to him, a sudden overwhelming magic now occupying the small space between us.
“So,” I began, racking my brain for a way to broach the subject. “You chose me.”
“I think that much is clear,” he said, not making eye contact.
“But you weren’t supposed to?” The words spilled forth from my mouth without any tact or grace. I groaned inwardly. I really wasn’t charming, ugh.
His eyes shot open then, and he turned his head to regard me with a sly smirk. His eyes flicked back and forth from mine in quick succession as though he were deciding whether or not he should lie to me.
“I’m not supposed to mate with you,” he said plainly.
I felt my stomach fall again as his words came out. Something in his tone unsettled me to no end. ‘Then why choose me?’ I wanted to ask in anger. Remembering the fight I had just witnessed between Caridan and the red dragon, I instead asked sweetly, “How come?”
I wasn’t sure whether to be offended, thinking that the Were’s didn’t think I was good enough to carry on their race, or if there was an even worse explanation forthcoming.
“It’s a punishment,” he raised his brows, clearly unenthused at the need for explanation. “Perhaps you’ve heard of it?”
“Never been punished a day in my life,” I quipped with a tired grin. Then the room went deathly silent again. I wondered what would become of us once we reached Udora. Would he have to give me up? I shook my mind of the thoughts and said, “Quick, tell me three things about yourself.”
Caridan stayed still and didn’t acknowledge that I had even spoken. Determined to get his attention, I offered playfully, “I’m 22. Now you go.”
His brows drew together, and he looked at me with an almost bored disbelief. Finally, he sighed his relent. “I’ve been around for four centuries.”
“Wow…” I exhaled. The sentiment was almost too strange to comprehend. I knew Weredragons had a long lifespan, but I hadn’t expected to be with one quite so… old. “You must think I’m a baby,” I laughed.
He looked pointedly at my breasts and chuckled. “Not quite.”
“Okay…” I paused. “Tell me something else. Why do you breathe fire?”
“I don’t know. I always could.”
“That’s rare, from what I understand?”
He gave a halfhearted shrug. The look on his face was an arrogant expression of dismissal. It made me feel like I should stop talking, and so I did. My silence didn’t go unnoticed, to my surprise, and eventually, he surmised, “It’s very rare, yes. All dragons used to be able to shoot fire, but over the last 500 years, something changed. It’s the only reason I was allowed to live.”
“I see. You received a punishment instead?”
“Right.”
I nodded curiously and stared back up at the white ceiling above us, the blue light from the glow stone seeming to dance around the room. “Does your Koth hope the scientists we bring back will be able to solve the mystery?”
He breathed. “I don’t know what they want.”
“So really,” I rolled onto my side and propped by head up onto my hand to look at the shifter, “shouldn’t they be encouraging you to mate with a bunch of humans if you can still breathe fire? Then they could study our human biology to see which mate produced a fire-breather and what about their DNA made it successful.”
“Well, it’s not really my decision.”
I wanted to frown. I wanted to express my frustration with him and yell: ‘I never said it was your decision!’ Instead, I calmly said: “Whose is it then?”
“Right now? Ikars.” The white dragon, I reminded myself. Caridan continued, “Soon it will be the Koth’s. Why do you care so much?”
“Well, I guess, because maybe you care about it. And we are mates and all.”
“Ah,” he said with a roguish grin. “And you want to bond now, is that it?”
“Not really,” I shrugged with a put-on indifference, making sure to show him my most flirtatious eyes as I glanced his way. “Just doing my part for the mission is all. Frankly, if we humans want fire, all we have to do is light a match. Easy peasy.”
The comment, though said with little enthusiasm, elicited a loud, hearty laugh from my betrothed. It was a sexy laugh that filled my whole body with a strange sensation. Suddenly, I wasn’t sure if I wanted him or if I just wanted him to want me. After all, he didn’t seem very upset at the idea of not mating.
I bit my lip and suddenly decided to play a little game with him. “So… you plan on following orders on this one?”
He raised an unsure brow. “You didn’t want to be chosen anyway, remember?” he reminded me. “This way you get to come back and study us under my protection. I’m surprised you have a problem with that.”
“I never said I did,” I responded in my best attempt at a sultry voice.
We laid in silence for a few moments longer, studying one another until I made my way onto all fours. He breathed audibly in a way that made my whole body flush with heat.
“So…” I whispered, making eye contact with him. I crawled across his hard body, feeling his muscles underneath my hands as I perched on top of him, our midsections dangerously close. “You wouldn’t break the rules even if I really wanted you to?”
“You don’t,” he said in a confident, bemused fashion. “And no, I wouldn’t.”
“Because you follow the rules,” I teased while removing his shirt. He let me; looking up in my direction with wonder.
“Right…” he trailed off.
I grabbed his hands and let them search my waist and breasts, exploring me gently. The purple veins beneath his scales were now glowing against his skin as he let out a breath of excitement. I could see his eyes glazing over with passion and feared my tease was becoming something more for both of us.
I leaned down towards his face, my breath ghosting against his cheeks as my mouth found its way to his ear. I could feel his length harden beneath me as I ground against him. “Good,” I said quickly and hopped off of him.
“Good,” he repeated hastily, sexual frustration overwhelming his tone as he looked up at me.
“I should–” I stumbled over my own words. “I should go to my room,” I said with a sudden blush as his erection remained the highlight of my sightline.
I looked at it and then to him, offering a giggle as I made my way towards the door.
“Ari.” It was the first time Caridan said my name.
“Yes?” I smiled.
“This is your room.”