She turned the ship around in a sharp one-eighty and accelerated in the opposite direction. The pilot came back through the door of the cockpit with an angry scowl on his face.
“What the hell are you doing?” he growled.
“Look for yourself!” Sophia yelled.
“It's the Mulgor!” he cried, slipping into his seat beside her in the cockpit. He tried to take control but Sophia piloted the ship at a breakneck speed toward the asteroid belt.
The Mulgor fighter jets pursued them and the Breaking Dawn took several hits to her hull.
“What are you doing?” the pilot demanded, trying to take control of the ship.
“We have to hide,” Sophia barked.
She sped toward the asteroid belt, bobbing and weaving through the flailing rocks and debris all around them. The Mulgor ships were smashed in the chaotic debris that flew all around inside the asteroid belt. Sophia barely dodged another massive rock; her son’s safety her only thought. It grazed the side of the ship, causing more damage.
Finally, she found what she was looking for, a hollow core in a large asteroid. She flew the ship inside it and found a place to land. The pilot flipped off the external lights and put the ship into repair mode.
“That was good flying,” he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. “Please don’t tell anyone or I’m toast.”
“I had to do it,” she said, crossing her arms.
“I’m not sure I could have maneuvered this ship the way you did, Sophia. Your aim was dead on. You saved us.”
“What will we do now?” she asked.
“We can’t fight them or run away. The bride ships don’t have weapons or warp drive. We’ll put up our cloaking mechanism and signal for help. That is the protocol for the situation. We were assured by Draconia that there were no Mulgor in this sector. We’d heard rumors, but they assured us they weren’t true.”
“I’m going back to my baby. Please let me know as soon as you contact my mate.”
7
The distress call came through loud and clear from the bride ship Breaking Dawn. It was his mate's ship. Sophia was in trouble.
“Prince Elait,” the pilot said over the long distance between Galaton and the ship, “our ship is in trouble. We've been attacked by the Mulgor. We need immediate assistance.”
“We were assured the Mulgor were not in that star system,” Elait growled. “Have you contacted the Draconian military?”
“I have, but they are a light year away from here. They cannot help us.”
“I will come to help you. But first I must ensure that my kingdom will not be overtaken by the unruly males of the Air Lands.”
“Perfectly understandable, Prince Elait. But please, come quickly. We cannot hold out very long. Our ship is damaged, and we've taken refuge inside a hollow asteroid within an asteroid belt. But the Mulgor jets are constantly patrolling the area. Eventually, they will find us. You must make haste or all will be lost.”
“I will leave Galaton by the end of the day.”
“Thank you, Prince.”
“Await my further instructions,” Elait said.
The pilot's face blinked off the screen and Elait sat back in his chair, letting out a rumbling sigh. His mate was in trouble and he was the only one who could save her.
Unfortunately, the males of the Air Lands had grown more violent in the last months. He’d had to fight for his life nearly every day since his son had been born.
The announcement that the Draconians were allowing Galaton to enter the mating lottery had not helped matters at all.
The males of the Air Lands brutally fought to overthrow his power, a power his family had held for a hundreds of thousands of years. It was always the same. As soon as the females began to die out, the males would rise against their leaders, seeking to bring in a new regime.
Every time they had attacked the princes they’d failed, but this time he feared he would lose his ancestral lands. If he had to leave Galaton now, there was no telling what would happen to the Air Lands in the time he was gone.
All he could do was ask the other princes to secure his lands for him, but they were busy enough protecting their own lands. However, they also awaited their brides. The princes had to work together to ensure the safety of the females.
It was essential that the princes were the first to mate, otherwise the overthrowing of their lands would be much easier. An heir for the succession was essential to maintaining the throne. The Earls and Dukes were working together now, trying to overthrow the princes. But Elait would never allow that to happen.
He walked out onto his balcony and looked down from the Crystal Palace over the lands of air. His castle was atop the highest mountain at the far north of the planet. White clouds puffed around the peak.
Elait jumped up into the air, shifting into his blue dragon form as he fell. He dropped down onto the landing pad and jumped onto his speeder. He had to travel to the Temple of the Four elements. As he took off, he called the other princes on his holocom and let them know to meet him there. He had much to ask of them and it was essential that they made haste.
When he set foot on the landing deck of the Temple, he got off his speeder and walked under the tall archway and into the Temple. Inside was a tall arching roof that rose above a brilliantly polished stone table. Elait took his place at the north end of the table. All four princes stood around the stone table looking at each other.
The Fire Prince was the first to speak.
“What is the meaning of this?” he asked.
“I've received a distress call from my mate’s bride ship. They were attacked by the Mulgor in a system not far from Galaton. I must leave now to protect her. But if I leave my lands, the Dukes and Earl will surely overtake my throne. I have come to ask you all for your assistance.”
“Why should we help you?” the Earth Prince asked.
“Your brides will encounter the same dangers. I have so little time to negotiate this. Your cooperation is critical.”
“I offer my help,” said the Water Prince.
“Thank you,” Elait said.
“And I offer my assistance as well,” said the Fire Prince.
The Earth Prince spoke too. “If what you say is true, it is critical that we work together. Once we have our brides and open the mating lottery to the rest of the males, they will surely calm down. Everyone's mind is close to cracking. It is critical that we make this transition as peaceful as possible.”
“Then we are in agreement. The other princes will help the prince who must leave to ensure the safety of his lands and his throne.”
“It is agreed,” they all said at once.
They placed their hands over the stone table, making a mark that was a signature of their agreement. Any prince who broke the bond of agreement would be thrown out of the Princes’ Council. In times like these, their word was bonding. Without it, they were all lost.
Having secured the agreement of the other princes, Elait hurried back to the Air Lands and waited for the troops of his allies to arrive.
The dragons of the Fire Lands were the first. The Fire Prince had sent his strongest admirals to fight in the fighting pits on Elait’s behalf. Soon the earth dragons and the water dragons arrived as well. Elait had a force of sixty of the strongest dragons on Galaton to defend his throne while he was gone.
Satisfied that his lands would be secured in his absence, he readied for travel. He took a transport pod from the base of Galaton and flew into space to board his own ship, the Slipstream. Compared to a bride ship, the Slipstream was a technological marvel. It had a warp drive and weapons that the bride ships were not equipped it with. The bride ships were originally constructed to take brides from Earth to Draconia. His crew prepared for the journey and Elait took a seat in the pilot's chair.
As they maneuvered away from Galaton and accelerated into space, all he could think about was his mate and his child.
As they departed, he opened up his holocom and hail
ed the bride ship Breaking Dawn.
The pilot answered immediately with a dark look on his face.
“We are leaving Galaton now,” Elait said.
“We await your arrival,” the pilot said.
“We might have to push our warp drive to the limit, but we’ll be there in less than a week's time,” Elait said.
“I only hope that we will last that long.”
8
Elait sent updates as his ship made its way from Galaton to their location. Sophia was terrified about what would happen to her and her baby and could think of nothing else. When he finally arrived in their system, the pilot gave him coordinates to their hiding place within the asteroid belt.
The Breaking Dawn had taken heavy damage in the collision with the asteroid belt and fire from the Mulgor. Sophia’s piloting skills had saved them from certain destruction but their ship was beyond repair and barely able to sustain their life support.
Elait’s ship had a much stronger cloaking device that allowed him to sail past the Mulgor undetected. When his ship manifested right outside the windows of the Breaking Dawn, it nearly gave Sophia a heart attack.
But that couldn't compare with the fluttering in her heart at the prospect of meeting her mate for the first time. She hurried to her chambers and fixed her hair and face before picking up Hectosh. Gathering him in her arms, she stood and hurried down the hallway to the entrance of the bride ship.
Elait and his crew came through the entrance hatch and emerged into the hallway of the Breaking Dawn.
Sophia held Hectosh, breathing heavily and barely able to stay on her feet from the intensity of her heartbeat and the excitement in her chest.
When he saw her, their eyes locked. He covered the distance between them in two strides and looked from her to the baby and back again.
Her voice caught in her throat. He was more gorgeous than she could have ever imagined. The holoimages were nothing compared to this man standing before her. The height of him, his broad shoulders, the way he moved. Not to mention his masculine smell. It overpowered her senses and she was instantly light-headed.
For the very first time, they were in the same room, breathing the same air. He reached out to her and touched her shoulder. She looked up at him, her lips parted, her eyes watering with unshed tears of excitement.
In that moment, she knew that she needed him more than anything.
“Prepare your things, we are abandoning the Breaking Dawn.”
The crew of the bride ship hurried into action, packing up their things and readying for abandoning the ship.
Sophia didn't move, she waited for Elait to address her again. Slowly, he turned to look at her, but she still could not make her mouth form the words she so wanted to say. Finally, she spoke.
“This is your son,” she said at a whisper.
She handed the baby to his father and Elait took the child in his arms, clumsily, as if he had never held a baby before. Which of course he had not. A child hadn't been born on Galaton for a hundred years. Elait looked down at Hectosh with wide eyes.
“He is perfect, and strong,” Elait said.
“Like his father,” Sophia said, her voice cracking.
“We must hurry,” he said, reluctantly handing the baby back to her.
She took Hectosh and went to her room, confusion and desperation pounding in her brain. She could feel her desire growing deep in her core. At a time like this she should not be thinking about coupling, but it was all that she could think about.
Her desire for Elait was unbounded. As she threw her things into a bag, visions and her fantasies played across the screen of her mind. Sophia shook the thoughts out of her mind and quickly packed hers and Hectosh’s things. She hurried back to the exit hatch of the Breaking Dawn where the crew were all assembled and ready to depart.
The exit hatch opened and they walked through the tunnel that led to Elait’s ship, the Slipstream. When they boarded, she saw that it was a much more technologically advanced vessel than the bride ship. Once the exit hatch had been sealed, Elait addressed her.
“You will come with me,” he said, his voice tight.
“All right,” she said.
He led her down the hall and brought her to his private chambers. There was already a cradle set up for the baby in a side room off the master bedroom.
“Husband,” she started. “It is so good to finally meet you.”
“I have been holding back for so long. It is painful for me to even look at you. But I must first address the crew. Then, my love, we will be together,” he said.
“I need you,” she said, unable to hold back.
“Soon,” he said. “First, I must fully understand how this happened.”
“I was piloting the ship at the time,” she blurted out. “I am the one who piloted the ship away from the Mulgor attack. It is because of me that we are still alive.” She couldn’t lie to him. Not now. Not ever.
“That's impossible,” he said.
“But it's true.”
“What were you doing piloting the ship?”
“The pilot taught me everything he knew about the vessel. He let me fly from time to time when he needed a break. But one day, a Mulgor mothership appeared in the distance and immediately sent fighter jets out to attack us. I thought fast and piloted away as quickly as possible. We took some damage but I was able to outmaneuver them. I then took refuge here in this asteroid.”
“I will have the pilot’s head for this,” Elait growled.
“No! I did this of my own free will. You can’t blame him. He was overworked for almost a year. The only pilot on the ship. And I pestered him every day. I’ve been a pilot all my life. My skills and attitude may be the only reason we are still alive.”
“You are my bride. I do not want you put in that kind of danger. You will not pilot again,” he said, turning to leave the chambers.
Sophia was hit hard with mixed feelings.
She had come to space for the opportunity to pilot a spaceship. And now her mate was telling her that she could never pilot again. She wouldn't stand for it. But then she looked down at Hectosh and knew that she could not compromise his safety and security.
Her first duty was as his mother. And she would never back down on that. She only wished that her mate could see that she was valuable for more than just her ability to produce young. She had a mind; she had abilities and talents. And she refused to waste them.
She walked over to the crib and put Hectosh down for a nap. With a melancholy weight on her shoulders, she paced the chambers and looked out the windows at the dark walls of the asteroid she'd been staring at for the last week. Things had to get better. They had to. She couldn't spend her life with a man who refused to see her for who she was.
9
Elait left his bride in his bedchamber, his mind reeling and his heart was pounding. He could barely keep himself from showing the obvious signs of arousal. His mating impulse was upon him, more strongly than he had ever felt. He would not be able to hold out much longer.
But first, he had to address his crew and the crew of the Breaking Dawn. Allowing Sophia to pilot the ship had been a mistake and he was going to get to the bottom of this fiasco. He went into the meeting room where the crews were assembled. He stood above the table with his hands on his hips and looked sternly at the pilot of the Breaking Dawn.
“I've heard from my mate that she was piloting the ship when the Mulgor attacked,” he said flatly.
The pilot stiffened and frowned, knowing that he had been found out.
“She saved us,” the man blurted out.
“That's what she claims,” Elait said. “But how could a human woman possibly out-pilot a Draconian?”
“She has fast reflexes and a sharp mind. She has the spontaneity of a human.”
“She is a female. She must be protected.”
“Human women are different from Draconian women,” medic Hanno stated. “They have a different culture. Especially now. Huma
n women rival human men in their abilities.”
Elait mused over this for several moments. It would make sense in a species not in danger of extinction for their women not to be as pampered as Draconian women were.
That would mean that human women would take on other roles besides wife and mother. It made sense, but it still grated at his brain. All he wanted was to protect his mate and his son. And everyone seemed to be attempting to prevent him from doing that. Even her.
“I will decide on the appropriate punishment for your endangerment of my mate,” Elait said.
He turned on his heel and left the meeting room, not wanting to say another word to the pilot who had endangered his bride. He stood outside the door to his chambers, knowing that he would need to take her and claim her before the end of the day.
The Slipstream had to power back up after the excursion of getting past the Mulgor. There was time for what needed to take place.
His inner dragon would not hold back any longer. The door slid open and he walked through, finding the woman sitting alone on a couch facing the darkened windows. She stood and turned to him, her face dark and disappointed. The last thing he’d wanted was to begin their courtship this way. She was angry at him. But it could not be helped. His mate could not put herself in danger again.
“I hope you didn't chew the pilot's head off,” she said, crossing her arms.
“I thought about it. But he currently still has a head,” Elait said flatly.
She snorted and turned away, sitting back down onto the couch. His inner dragon growled inside his mind, telling him he must claim the woman now. He had waited a year to meet her, suppressing his need all that time. It was as if every moment that he had worked to hold back the thrall was now accumulating in a burst of need and insanity.
He had to retain control of himself or he would hurt his bride with the sheer force of his lust. He came around the side of the couch and sat beside her, keeping some space between them for her radiating anger to inhabit.