CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CAPTAIN INEQ SHUN
She had betrayed me. He had betrayed me. I was now alone, and I could trust no one. There I was trying to work my ass off to get his lover back and her best friend back, and they were going behind my back and fucking.
The thought of it drove me insane. The amount of distraction that it took amounted to me waking up and going straight to deal with my responsibilities as a captain and not stopping until I was about to drop. Then I would return home and sleep and do it all over again. I could not have any free time; I would kill Commander Vrerkin if I did. I was not over this yet; I did not know if I would ever be over it.
But what shocked me was Alexandra. I did not see it coming from her. I could never trust her. It was the end for us, I would have to find a new human mate, but I would give myself a year at least to do so. I did not trust human females at the moment.
Now I could concentrate on the Aeriwanas. We were getting closer to figuring out what Commander Harkin was up to. I knew the king was on the verge of sending us to Tiok to deal with him once and for all. It was possible that it would turn into the biggest battle that the village of Pacu had ever seen. I hoped for it. A good battle was just what I needed. I was feeling restless again; it was time for a dangerous mission. It was the only thing that would calm my blood. I needed to calm the dragon inside of me.
On one night of my routine of going to do my work early and coming, home late only to sleep, I found a surprise waiting for me in my hut. I opened the door ready to crash on the bed.
“What are you doing here? I said I did not want to see you,” I said feeling my anger return to me.
“Ineq, please. This has gone on long enough,” Alexandra said as she sat on my bed. Seeing her sitting there brought an urge to me, and ache. My body wanted her. My heart wanted her. But my head was making me turn her away.
“This will go on forever. I don't want anyone's sloppy seconds, especially not the commander’s. Now get out of here,” I said to her. As soon as I said it, I regretted it. It was a harsh thing to say, but in my anger, it felt good. Her face turned into a frown and tears rolled down her cheeks. She stood up and began to walk toward the door.
“I understand. I understand you are not one to give a second chance. You are not emotional and only think of mating as a responsibility to keep your race alive. Fine, that is fine. I just thought you should know; I am pregnant.” Then she walked out the door.
I stood there frozen. It was not what I was expecting to hear from her. It briefly brought happiness to me. If things were perfect, it would be exactly what I wanted; I wanted Alexandra to give me offspring. But I also wanted us to be together and in love. She was right in what she said about me: I only thought of mating as a way to keep the race alive and thought of it as a responsibility, but that had changed after I met her. After I was with her, I experienced deep feelings for her and craved her love, but she betrayed me.
Then it hit me: who was the father? She had been with myself and the commander. I stomped out the door after her. She was crossing the bridge. I caught up with her.
“Is that true?”
“Yes, I have been to see Jrarka.”
“And is it mine?” I asked.
She cried. “How am I supposed to know that? It is impossible to know. I am so confused.”
“Come inside my hut. I will get you some water. You should not be out here in distress, not in your condition.” I said, suddenly feeling the need to take care of her. If she were carrying my offspring, then I needed to be responsible for her.
“Okay,” she said.
I watched her walk into my hut. I followed her and closed the door behind me. She looked so fragile. I restrained the urge to scoop her up in my arms and lay her on my bed. I wanted to take care of her. I wanted to give her nutrition and drink and make sure she got enough rest. I had to remind myself that she betrayed me.
I poured a tall glass of water and put some fruit on a tray. I carried it to her where she sat at the table.
“Thank you. I am hungrier than ever these last few days,” she said taking and eating some fruit.
“It is because you have a dragon growing inside of you,” I said sitting at the table.
“We must find out who the father is. The sooner you know, the better,” I said, not wanting to tell her the reason for that. It was because I did not want to grow attached to the idea of thinking I was the father, then turning out not to be. The sooner I knew, the better for myself.
“How?”
“I see you did not tell Jrarka that you were questioning,” I said.
“No, I did not. Lisa was with me, and I did not want to start rumors. I got the news that I was pregnant and then left.”
“I understand that. But had you told him you were questioning, he would have told you there is a test to tell. I will go with you first thing in the morning. He will be able to tell us immediately if it is mine or if it is…” I could not complete the sentence. She looked at me with shock, waiting for me to erupt into anger. I swallowed hard. I stood up and poured myself a large drink of Hiwa.
“That is great news that Jrarka can do such a test. I will be relieved to know,” she said.
I looked at her sitting there eating the red fruit. She looked stunning. Then it hit me. What if the child was not mine? What if it was the commander's? Then she would be his forever. I would never ever be with her again. She would marry the commander and have his offspring and the time we shared together would be a distant memory that would keep me in anger for the rest of my life.
But now, this one night, we were ignorant. We did not know if she carried the commander's child. So I could take her. Tonight she was mine. Tonight she was carrying my child and I was going to indulge in the ignorance. I chugged the Hiwa. Then I poured myself another and drank it down. I was ready to go.
I stomped over to her.
“Alexandra, tonight you are mine. In the morning, you might find out that you carry the offspring of the commander, and because of that you will no longer be mine; you will be his. Tonight I am going to make love to you like it is the last time I will ever be able to touch you.”
She gasped. “But I do not want the commander. I do not want to be his even if I carry his offspring. I want to be yours,” she stood up and placed her hands on my chest. Feeling her hands against me set my skin on fire.
“You won't have a choice. That is the Draqua way, and the king will see that it is done. You will belong to the commander no matter what.”
“But—”
“No, that is the way of it. But tonight, you are mine. I will take you,” I said pulling her to me and placing a hard kiss on her mouth. She moaned and put her hands behind my neck, pulling herself up to me. I picked her up by the hips and brought her to my height. Then she stopped kissing me.
“If this is to be our last time together, then I have one favor to ask,” she said.
“Anything,” I said breathlessly.
“I want the dragon to make love to me. Will you shift?” She was embarrassed to ask.
“I can do that,” I grinned. I put her down on my bed. I stepped away from her and shifted into Dragon form. She bit her lower lip as she watched me. She wanted the dragon, and the dragon she was going to get.