Shay Vishak, the Water Prince of Galaton, watched massive sea creatures swim over the roof of the glass dome above. He stood on his private balcony, in the highest tower of the Coral Palace. The expanse of the Coral City spread out below him. Tall reeds fluttered in the wind generated by the tides.

The water dragons could survive under water, just like the sea creatures who swam in the depths below the shifting tides of the planet. But while in their humanoid form, they preferred to live in buildings and breathe air.

As far as Shay was concerned, the water lands were the most beautiful on Galaton. As he surveyed his kingdom, his holocom pinged with a message. He slid his finger over the wrist of his skintight Draconian uniform and brought up the message.

It was from the Draconian mating lottery. They’d found his bride.

Draconia had recently allowed Galaton to enter the lottery after thirty years of keeping them out of it. Galaton and Draconia were trading partners, but the relations between them lately had not been that good. Galaton had waited patiently to be invited into the lottery. All the while, the dragons of Galaton became more and more aggressive due to the lack of females.

There was massive social unrest among the dragons of the water lands, and Shay had to fight them every day in the fighting pits below the Coral Palace. It was not something he enjoyed, but it was a role he had spent his entire life training to play.

Shay was the greatest warrior of the water lands, and as far as he was concerned, the greatest warrior on Galaton. The other princes may disagree with that assessment, but he didn't really care. They could think what they wanted.

It wasn't that Shay didn't have respect for the other princes of Galaton, but they simply weren't water dragons. And everyone knew water dragons were the best.

He brought up the message from the Draconian mating lottery, and his eyes widened with amazement. His mate, Ella Turner, was a thirty-year-old woman from Earth with bright brown eyes and long brown hair. He had never seen such devastating beauty in all his life. Like all Draconians, he was privy to the industry of holo-movies featuring nude human women.

Many of his own dragons enjoyed watching these holo-films, and Shay himself had seen more than a few himself. In all of his time viewing beautiful human women on holographic films, he'd never seen beauty to match that of his mate, Ella Turner.

He went on to read her profile on the Draconian mating lottery website. She was a schoolteacher who instructed young humans at what they called an elementary school. What a lovely profession for his bride.

He longed to send her a message. But Shay knew that he could not contact her. He could already feel the rumblings of his inner dragon taking hold. Just in the few moments he had viewed her image, his mating thrall had taken hold. His inner dragon would not rest until he had Ella in his arms and claimed her with his cock and fangs. But it could not be for a long time yet.

The dragon princes of Galaton had devised a plan to bring their brides to the planet while maintaining rule of their thrones. It required them to each send samples of their seed in a tiny transport vessel that was capable of traveling faster than the speed of light.

Those transport vessels could travel faster than any ship capable of supporting human or dragon life. The samples had already arrived on Earth. When identified, the brides would be impregnated before leaving the planet.

The impregnation started the mating bond between dragon and bride, allowing him to stave off the thrall until she arrived. Unfortunately, having his bride carry his heir in her womb would not stop the thrall completely. The only way for him to ensure his continued sanity was to avoid contact with her at all costs.

Shay growled and closed out the screen showing images of his bride. His inner dragon roared and screamed inside his mind. He knew he needed to do something to blow off steam.

The Fire Prince’s bride had already arrived and things were going well for them in the Fire Lands. But Shay's journey to his own mate had just begun.

He turned away from his balcony and walked through his chambers. The furnishings of the water lands incorporated the aesthetic of the deep sea. There were spiraling coral arches of pink and blue. Silky curtains of kelp green covered the broad windows. The carpet below his feet was like the waving grasses that covered the ocean floor. He walked through his chambers and down the hallway to the elevator that took him to the tunnel, leading to the water outside.

At the bottom floor of the Coral Palace, he stepped into an exit hatch that allowed him to go directly into the deep ocean. In the hatch, with the doors secured behind him, he flicked the spot on his neck that caused his uniform to retract, leaving him completely nude.

His blue-green skin shimmered in the pale light of the luminescent algae lamps above. In an instant, Prince Shay shifted into his massive water dragon form. His blue-green scales shimmered, and the exit hatch opened up to the watery world outside.

His dragon's mind was reeling with the knowledge of his mate, but Shay kept it at bay. What he needed now was a good swim in the deep salt ocean of Galaton. He drove into the water, relishing the feel of the liquid against the scales.

Water dragons could breathe through special gills in their necks, and Shay was no different. He dove and spiraled on the currents. It was like flying but more graceful. One of the reasons water dragons were clearly the best. As he dove and swam through the thick ocean water, past the massive deep sea life, who dwarfed even a dragon the size of the prince.

His dragon was soothed by the vigorous exercise and the thought of his coming princess was almost completely washed from his mind.

Almost.