Present Day:

---

“The last rule I’m going to share is the Unbreakable Rule,” Pearl St. Claire stated in a firm tone. She released a sigh and raised an eyebrow at the scarred warrior sitting in one of the two chairs in the room. He was staring at the board she was pointing to with a mutinous expression. “What is it now, Brogan?”

“I told you when you started. I don’t follow anyone’s rules but my own,” Brogan stated, folding his arms.

“And look where that got you! All I can say is you’d better learn if you want to get out of this room - alive,” Pearl snapped in a sharper tone than she originally intended before adding the last word under her breath.

“Pearl,” Asim cautioned in a low voice from where he was sitting on a bench by the door.

Pearl slowly counted to thirty. She’d already bypassed ten and twenty. Why she was chosen for this exasperating task was beyond her. The only thing she could think of was that she had survived raising Riley and Tina without any casualties.

Surely, I can manage a few lessons in humility for the two men sitting in front of me, she thought.

Unfortunately, she felt like she was starting all over again – only this time during the toddler stage. Being over sixty, she’d thought she was finished dealing with stubborn, defiant, and downright ornery kids. Back on Earth, she’d been a surrogate grandmother to the kids in the neighborhood. During that time, she had seen and heard a lot. She was well aware that she was the kind of grandmother every kid wanted to have – and the one every parent wished they could hide in the closet.

She didn’t dress like a grandmother – she preferred leather and boots to dresses and pearls. She didn’t go to church; instead, she owned a bar. She never carried a wooden spoon, but hell if she didn’t still have a shotgun loaded with rock salt. Her platinum-white hair was cut short and she stayed in shape by doing Yoga, Zumba, and Weekend Warrior trainings with her newly adopted great-grandson.

Jabir, Mandra and Ariel’s son, had captured her heart as quickly as her own great-grandsons, Roam and Leo, had. Unfortunately, Roam and Leo lived on the Sarafin home world while she lived on Valdier. Living on another planet wasn’t much more of a problem than living across town – well, except for having to use a spaceship to visit. Still, Pearl was able to talk with the two boys regularly and they loved visiting her here.

At the moment, she would rather be with the cuddly little dragonling and his menagerie of unusual pets or her great-grandsons. It sure as hell beat resisting the urge to find a baseball bat and knock some sense into two well-seasoned warriors who had an elephant’s hair up their asses.

As it was, there were currently only the four of them – her, Asim, and the twin dragon warriors – in the barn’s tack room. Her classroom was not much larger than a ten by ten shed back home. There was just enough room for the table and two chairs that Asim had brought in earlier this morning, plus the bench he was sitting on by the door. Harnesses for the Pactors, leashes for the smaller animals, and maintenance tools hung neatly on two of the four walls. The floor was clean and the room smelled of the sweet warm grass that was used as hay for the animals in the outer stalls.

Pearl shot a heated glare at her amused mate when he smothered a chuckle. Asim raised an eyebrow in response and tried to look innocent. With a shake of her head, she slowly turned back to the twin dragons.

She rested one hand on her hip and tapped her fingers against her side. She was really going to have a private talk with Asim later. She needed to remind him that her personality was not conducive to being a teacher.

Pearl studiously observed her two pupils. She had quickly distinguished the difference between the identical twin dragons known as Barrack and Brogan. Barrack had more patience and control than his brother, Brogan – by about the width of a human hair.

After hours of trying to explain human culture to the brothers, Pearl decided her patience was fast disintegrating to their level, almost nonexistent. While Brogan had questioned or argued every single rule she had tried to explain, Barrack had just released long, drawn-out sighs of impatience.

Raising her chin, Pearl returned Brogan’s steely gaze. Time was fast running out for the two men. She was about to open a can of whoop-ass on them if they didn’t get their heads out of their asses. She pointed a determined finger at Barrack.

“What is Rule number one?” she snapped.

“Use your brain – that’s why we have one,” Barrack replied with an uncertain tone in his voice.

Pearl would have felt more confident in Barrack’s answer if he hadn’t looked doubtful and raised his hand to scratch at his temple. She gave Barrack a firm nod of agreement. Of course, Brogan snorted. She shot the scarred warrior a sharp, reproving look. The fingers of her left hand twitched. Pearl drew in a deep breath. She would not resort to violence!

“Yes, use your brain. You can’t use your brain, Brogan, if your head isn’t attached to your damn shoulders,” she stated.

“Fine, but what has this got to do with our mate? The Curizan takes us to your world, Jaguin and Sara show us where our mate is, and we claim her. Why do we need to learn these… rules?” Brogan demanded with a wave of his hand.

“Because Aikaterina is giving you a second chance at life,” a voice dryly replied from the doorway.

Pearl turned to see two tall, lean warriors and a slender, blonde woman standing in the entrance to the tack room. She recognized one of the men and the woman as Jaguin and Sara. For a private meeting, the room was quickly filling up.

“Hi Pearl. Thank you for doing this,” Sara said with a sympathetic smile.

“Hi, Sara. I wish I could say teaching these two boneheads was a pleasure, but….” Pearl gave Sara a wink to show she was teasing. “Hi Jaguin, I see you brought a friend. Are you part of this mission, too?” Pearl asked.

Pearl turned her attention to the tall man with the scar running down one side of his face. He positively exuded an air of power and danger. It was a good thing he was obviously a friend because she sure as hell wouldn’t want him as an enemy.

“This is Adalard Ha’darra, the captain of our transport to Earth,” Jaguin replied.

“Better known as Curizan trash,” Brogan added with a heavy dose of disdain.

Pearl had had enough of the twins’ attitudes – especially Brogan’s. He had a smart retort to just about everything she’d said and an expression of condescension on his face that reminded her of the college-educated Preppies who came into the White Pearl Bar she’d owned back on Earth. He continued to be a pain-in-the-ass from the second he stepped into the classroom. Her patience was on empty.

Pearl decided that some people just needed to learn the hard way and Brogan was one of those people. She slipped her hand into the pocket of her black pleather jacket. She wrapped her fingers around a small but very handy device that she had confiscated from one of her granddaughters. In the background, Pearl heard Asim’s loud curse, Jaguin’s warning, and Sara’s smothered gasp as she stepped forward, pressed the Taser firmly against the dragon warrior’s chest, and pushed the button.

“Rule number nine: always stay alert and don’t let your guard down,” she stated. “That means for everyone,” she added with a nod of gratification when he grimaced and hit the floor with a resounding thud.

The grunted curses coming from the two men on the floor finally began to fade. Relaxing back against the wall by the door, Asim patiently waited for the men to recover. Studying the sculpture, he blew off some of the loose scrapings from the small creature he was carving before he lowered the knife and the wood figurine to his lap.

Brogan was the first one to sit up – if you could call scooting back against the wall and propping himself up ‘sitting’. Barrack continued to lie on the floor, rubbing his chest. Barrack would have fared much better than his brother if he hadn’t growled at Pearl. The second he did, she’d shocked his ass and put him on the floor next to Brogan.

Asim warily studied both men to see if they had calmed down. He had to admit it had been hard not to laugh when Pearl asked if Brogan understood the rule of learning to shut up before it was too late. While the two men lay twitching on the floor, Pearl calmly turned to Sara to ask if she would care for a cup of hot tea and a piece of the freshly baked cake that Ariel brought over the night before.

Pride mixed with exasperation. He probably should have warned Pearl about the possible consequences of enraging Twin Dragon warriors – especially those who already had a history of maiming and killing anyone who got in their way.

“What was that?” Barrack asked in a strained voice.

“That was my mate being nice,” Asim stated.

“That… was being nice?” Brogan repeated in disbelief. “What happens when she isn’t being nice?”

“You don’t want to know,” Asim assured him with a lopsided grin.

“Why did she react so strongly to Brogan’s comment? Is she part Curizan?” Barrack asked, confused.

“Strongly?! She almost killed us! I swear I can still smell my flesh burning,” Brogan retorted.

Asim couldn’t contain the chuckle that escaped him. He shook his head. He knew exactly what Brogan was talking about. After all, he had been in the same position as the two men on more than one occasion when he finally pushed Pearl too far.

“No, she is fully human,” he replied. “She was asked to help you. If you don’t listen, expect the consequences,” Asim said.

“Are all humans like this? If they are, we need more information about them,” Barrack demanded.

“Finally! Some information that will be more useful than a bunch of rules,” Brogan retorted under his breath.

“Well, I know enough never to underestimate the powers of a human – be they man or woman. I can’t tell you about the others, only those who I have met. You will learn more about them on your journey,” he replied.

“Tell us about those you’ve met then,” Barrack insisted.

Asim thought about where to begin and decided that telling his story might help the two warriors. A lot had changed over the centuries and Pearl was a good example of what they could expect, he reasoned. He had heard of the original Twin Dragons. The stories he remembered said they died.

Asim had been shocked when Zoran Reykill, King of the Valdier and ruler of all Dragon Lords, had contacted him requesting Pearl and he help with an urgent matter. The next day, Jaguin and Sara appeared with the legendary and highly volatile warriors who were alive and well. The only thing Jaguin and Sara said was the men needed to be instructed in the ways of the humans, and that a very special person whom they had insisted remain a mystery – much to Asim’s annoyance – had requested that Pearl be the one to help the twins understand.

Zoran had been a little more forthcoming. He said the Goddess Aikaterina had appeared to both Sara and Jaguin. Worried about Sara after her traumatic experience back on Earth with a group of human men, Zoran had suggested approaching Pearl – after all, he reasoned, Pearl had no problems handling Vox and Viper.

Zoran had felt that Pearl was the only one who could get the twins ready to court their human mate in a timely manner – and teach them a little humility at the same time. Asim didn’t know if using that shocking device would count as listening, but it definitely got the men’s attention. He just needed to remember to find the damn thing and hide it again – this time in a place where Pearl wasn’t likely to find it.

“The story I will tell you will seem incredulous, perhaps no more unbelievable than your – second chance – but this species is unlike any that we have encountered before. When Jaguin and Sara told Lord Zoran about your second chance, he decided it was important for you to understand what you will face,” Asim explained.

“Surely it cannot be that difficult?” Brogan asked, wiggling his fingers.

“Shut up, Brogan. My chest hurts enough thanks to your comments. I would prefer to keep my head and my nervous system in working order from now on, brother,” Barrack retorted.

Asim released a sigh as he remembered his own struggles with the loneliness and despair when he thought he would never find a true mate. He turned the wooden figurine over in his hands, trying to think of what he could tell the men that would help them understand the difference between a Valdier mate and a human one.

The wooden bird in his hand was a creature alien to their world. It was large, flightless, and smart. In a way, his history with the emus reminded him of the humans he had met. Oh, he didn’t think of humans as flightless birds – just that it was easy to misunderstand them, like it had been when he found Jabir’s hidden cache of eggs. It was better to have the knowledge before you went into battle – every good warrior knew that.

“Over the last couple of years, my life has become very interesting, more fulfilling than I could ever have hoped – and definitely a lot more complicated. Like you, my dragon felt the emptiness of not having a true mate, but it was my symbiot who grieved the most. It was only my promise to our former king and my sworn duties to Lord Mandra, Lady Ariel, and their young son, Jabir, which gave me the strength to carry on. I never expected to be given the gift of finding my true mate. When I saw Pearl….” Asim shook his head and chuckled. “Shocked would be a mild description of my feelings. To find my mate after so many years… it was a revelation like nothing I could have imagined.”

“What do you mean? Your dragon and symbiot would know. The female would immediately recognize what was happening. What could be so surprising?” Barrack asked.

Asim raised an eyebrow. “You assume that Pearl is like a Valdier female, but she is not. Her species do not connect the same way we do. Our dragons and our symbiots recognize our mate even before we do, but we understand what is happening. Humans do not have that same connection. They must be courted,” he explained.

Barrack sat up with a confused expression on his face and asked, “Courted? Why should they be forced to go before the council? Are they sentenced to be with another?” he asked.

“No, no. Courted is a term I learned from Lady Ariel. It means you must put your mate first and bring her gifts and spend time with her so that she will accept you and fall in love with you,” Asim said.

“Of course, we will put our mate first!” Brogan exclaimed. “As for the rest, once she sees us, she will grow to care for us. How can she resist?” Brogan asked with a skeptical glare.

“Our symbiots will protect her – even from us if necessary,” Barrack added, glancing at his brother with a stern expression. “She will not need to fear us. We have learned from our experience before.”

Asim shook his head. “You two have a lot to learn about your true mate’s species. They are fragile, delicate creatures with a steely will beyond anything you have ever encountered,” he replied in exasperation.

“Pearl certainly seems to be,” Brogan replied, rubbing his chest. “What is that?” Brogan asked, nodding to the figurine Asim held in his hand.

Asim glanced down and grinned. “This is part of my tale, but first I need to tell you about how I met Pearl,” he said, reaching out and handing the odd-looking bird to Barrack. “My story begins just a couple of years ago during a very bizarre Earth ritual called Easter….”