Freda could barely hear herself think over the sound of Lottie’s screams. She jumped from the couch in the cabin and hurried to look outside at what had caused her sister such panic. Freda gulped and her mouth hung open as her eyes widened at the sight of a spaceship hovering over the lake outside the cabin. Freda hurried out onto the patio to stare at the ship.

“It's the Draxos,” Lottie said, relaxing.

Lottie had become a super fan of the dragon shifters over the last week. She saw them as the saviors of the human race. Freda, on the other hand, was saving her judgment until a later date. She had kept her sister and herself safe in the cabin since the attack, but this was the first time they had been confronted with the reality of what they'd been watching on the news since the bombs were dropped.

“Come back inside,” Freda demanded.

“It's them,” she said. “They've come to make us their brides.”

“Don't be ridiculous, Lottie. Get back in the cabin right now,” Freda yelled over the sound of the hovering engine.

The craft landed in the parking lot outside of the cabin and six huge men emerged. They were dressed in skintight uniforms and had various, strange colors of skin. Most of them black and speckled like the night sky. One of them was red and the other was blue. They were definitely like the Draxos she'd seen on the evening news.

“What do you want from us,” Freda yelled as the aliens approached.

“Do not be alarmed,” the leader said, holding up his big hand. “I am Admiral Sysko D’fray of the Draxos Armada. We have come because we’ve found the signal of a cyborg ship in this area.”

“There's a cyborg here?” Lottie said, her teeth chattering as she clung to Freda's arm.

“We will protect you from the threat,” the leader said.

As skeptical as Freda felt about the entire dragon-shifter-alien-situation, she couldn't help but note how stunning the leader of the aliens was in his skintight uniform. The steely-blue color contrasted with his night-sky skin in the glow of the cabin porch light. She was not unfamiliar with human males, although she didn't get out to date much, but before she could stop herself, her mind concluded that the commander was the most handsome male she'd ever laid eyes on. As soon as she thought it, she grumbled at herself and told her inner romantic to quiet down.

“Can we be in your breeding program?” Lottie blurted out.

“Lottie!” Freda said, gaping at her sister.

The admiral gave Freda a burning look, his square jaw tensed as his gaze dragged over her body from head to toe. She gulped and was about to say something rude when a horrific noise rose up from the lake. An entire cyborg ship emerged from the waters. The dragons saw the ship and flicked their wrists in an instant, becoming completely naked before they jumped into the air in dragon form.

Freda had to steady herself on a post of the porch to keep her knees from buckling. First, she’d seen six, seven-foot-tall, muscled, gorgeous males go completely naked for a split second, and then those same gorgeous males had turned into massive dragons. They shot off toward the ship, blowing water, fire, and ether at the ship. The cyborg craft fired back with red lasers.

“Get inside!” Freda yelled, pushing her sister into the cabin.

They shut the door and dropped to their knees under the front window, glancing up at the fight every few moments. Freda watched in horror as the dragons fought the cyborg ship. One of the dragons darted back to the speeder. The cyborg ship continued to shoot at the dragons. Lottie screamed.

“They're going to kill them!”

Lottie ran outside before Freda could grab her. Freda had no choice but to follow her sister outside, cursing under her breath as she ran into the night air. The dragon’s craft shot lasers at the cyborg ship while the other five dragons attacked it in their dragon form. Freda could see it all under the light of a full moon that reflected in the lake waters. It was the most horrifying and magnificent sight she’d ever witnessed. Freda stood stunned on the shore, watching the dragons fight a spaceship as the wind blew behind her.

One of the dragons burst into a much bigger size, letting off one last puff of ether at the cyborg ship, shattering it to pieces. She started to step backward as the enraged dragon turned its glowing white eyes on her. It flew with furious speed in her direction, and she hurried toward the cabin. The dragon landed before her as she stumbled and fell back onto her ass.

In a split second, the admiral stood completely naked before her, his muscles pumped, his eyes burning, his breath ragged and heaving. She crawled backwards on the gravel.

“What do you want?” she said with horror.

The man swept a finger over a silver circlet on his wrist and his clothing returned to his body. He dropped to his knees before her, reaching out to take her hand gently in his.

“Forgive me, lady,” he said. “I wish only to serve you. Now that I have found you. I never want to lose you again. My mate, my fated, my only one,” the commander intoned.

“What the heck are you talking about?” Freda demanded, scrambling to her feet.

Sysko rose gracefully and looked down at her from his seven-foot height. His star-spangled black face merged with the night sky. His white scales looked like wisps of clouds. She felt a sudden urge to reach out and caress his face and she almost did, but instead snatched her hand back, bringing her fist to her side.

“I am not your mate,” she said defiantly. “I don't even believe you're here to protect our people from the cyborgs. I believe you are in cahoots with them and this was all a big ruse to get your hands on our women!”

Freda was so confused by her reaction to this alien man, she didn’t even have control of her mouth anymore. Sysko crossed his arms over his chest and regarded her seriously.

Rubbing his chin, he said, “I can see why you would think that. But you see, you have activated my thrall. Something only a fated mate can do. I can transfer you the known history of the Draxos so you can read about our mating ritual, the thrall, and how that works for my species. But I will give you the summary version now. For our species to be matched, the female must be present during some type of battle to cause the male to go into his first thrall form. All those conditions were met tonight. This is the first human activated thrall in modern history. I want to thank you, lady, for solving a great mystery for us. Now, we must commence the mating ritual. You will be transformed into a dragon and bear many female hatchlings for House D’fray and the future of my species.”

“Whoa whoa whoa whoa, buddy, slow your roll. Let’s suppose, for a minute, I believe you are what you say you are. That's accepting a lot on faith, to begin with. Also suppose I believe that I'm somehow your fated mate. What is in it for me to let you transform me into a dragon? On the surface, that may sound like a fun thing to do. I mean, I've watched enough geeky movies and played enough role-playing games about dragons. So, it isn’t like that’s something I’ve never fantasized about, but it sounds painful and kinky and I don't even know you,” Freda rambled.

“I will give your sister two million human dollars,” Sysko said.

Freda stood stunned, staring at the man, not sure how to respond.

“Two million dollars is not enough for me to allow myself to be a science experiment.”

“I get two million dollars and my sister gets to marry a Draxos?” Lottie asked enthusiastically.

“That's right.”

Freda glared at Lottie, her arms still crossed tightly over her chest. She'd never been so furious at her sister in her life. How could Lottie possibly want her own sister to be transformed into a dragon when there was no proof that it was safe. It was as if her sister had some kind of death wish for her. Freda thought that was incredibly disloyal of her. Freda knew Lottie had become a Draxos fan girl. When the kid got her heart set on something, it was almost impossible to turn her off it. She and her sister were a lot alike in that way. Freda let out a long groan and rolled her eyes.

“Lottie does not speak for me. She's a minor. And since our parents probably died in the bombing of New York, I am her legal guardian. I’m the one who speaks for her.” Freda blurted out.

Suddenly she realized what she'd said and covered her mouth. She turned to Lottie, whose face began to crumble.

“Oh Lottie, I'm so sorry,” Freda said.

She embraced her sister as they both fell to the ground, Lottie sobbing, and Freda frantic to console her.

“What's happening?” Sysko asked one of his officers.

“They seem to be experiencing grief,” the science officer said. “This crying is a common reaction for human females.”

“I see,” Sysko said. “Is there something I should do?” he asked the science officer.

“You could console them,” the science officer suggested.

Sysko knelt beside Freda and the bawling Lottie and began to pat both of their backs.

“There, there,” he said. “It will all be all right. We will build a monument to your parents on the ashes of the city of New York, taller than any other building that stood before.”

“Would you shut up,” Freda snapped, amazed at the level of pure insensitivity.

She pulled Lottie to her feet and tugged her back into the cabin, quickly slamming the door behind them. The last thing she needed was a socially inept alien telling her that his breeding program was a replacement for their parents.