Niccele gave her first daughter a startled look realizing she was right. “That’s true, but how could Kirall have discovered a Minor on such a primitive planet?”
“Maybe she wasn’t on the planet. Maybe she was on the Inferno all along,” Nixie goaded, enjoying how angry Maaike was becoming. “With Kirall.”
“Impossible!” Maaike exclaimed. “There were no females on the Inferno.”
“And how would you know that?” Nixie asked raising an eyebrow at the female she didn’t want in her family.
“Because I...”
“You what?” Nixie demanded angrily. “Have you been tracking my brother?!!”
“Of course not!” Maaike instantly denied, her gaze quickly going to Niccele. “But Kirall left to help defeat the Varana on Terceira. There’s no way he would have allowed a female Dragoon anywhere near there.”
"This is also true," Niccele agreed. "So we will have to wait until Kirall explains. Maaike, you will stay the night, of course. It is too late for you to be flying home alone. Now I must go speak with my mate."
"Thank you, Lady Niccele." Maaike shot Nixie a satisfied look as Niccele walked away.
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
Kirall pulled Autumn back, so she was cradled between his thighs and arms, his chest taking her weight as he moved her hair to one side.
“Relax, my Autumn,” he murmured, gently kissing her neck. He had hoped the warmth of the water enveloping them would ease the coldness of his family's reception. It was one of the things on the Inferno she had told him she missed. Long soaks in a vessel filled with steaming water.
He hadn’t understood the desire as a Dragoon's body temperature ran hotter than that of other beings. But then he realized that by shielding her Dragon from the pain the human drugs caused, she had denied herself its inherent warmth, and her body craved the heat.
When she said nothing, he tipped her face up to his, and the sadness in her eyes nearly broke his heart.
“They were just surprised, my love.”
“That I wasn’t tall with overflowing boobs like Maaike? Or that I wasn’t Maaike?" She'd caught the look that had passed between Maaike and Kirall's mother, and it told her just who his mother would have preferred to have mated to her firstborn.
“Maaike was never going to be my mate, Autumn. No matter what she and my mother hoped.”
“You’ve gone to her when you were in Heat.”
“Yes,” he admitted quietly, “and I’ve helped ease hers, but I haven’t been the only one to do so.”
“What do you mean? Why would she turn to another if she could have you?”
Her instant defense of him, even in these circumstances, warmed Kirall's heart. His Autumn was a truly amazing female. "Because she had already gone through several Heats before I reached my first one."
“She’s older than you? Like two or three hundred years older?”
“Yes, my love.”
“Hmm, she didn’t look that much older than me.”
“She is. Compared to her, you are but a young’un.”
“But I can do so much more than a young’un,” she teased, turning to grip his shoulders for balance as she straddled his hips. “And I’ve got you.”
“You do, my love,” he readily agreed, silver beginning to fill his eyes, his cock hardening. "To do with what you wish."
"Really?" she asked, letting herself enjoy the silky feel of the hair that now hung loosely around his shoulders. It still amazed her how the color changed from his original black to her red before it reached his now silver laminae. It also surprised her how his family hadn't noticed the changes that were so obvious to her, and she'd only known him a short time.
“Where should I start?” she wondered. Fisting his hair, she pulled his head down to capture his lips for a hard kiss, letting herself fall forward, her softer body giving way to the hardness of his.
Kirall growled his approval at her starting point. Wrapping an arm around her waist, he held her firmly against him while the other one gripped the back of her head increasing the pressure of the kiss while their tongues dueled.
Kur, he loved it when his little Autumn got all dominant and demanding, showing him just how much she wanted him. And he knew just what she wanted. Lifting his hips, he began moving them up and down, so his now rock-hard cock slid along the silky folds guarding her Lair making sure to graze her perfect clit in the way he knew drove her crazy.
“Kirall!” she gasped, ripping her mouth from his.
“Yes, my little Aud-um?” he questioned nipping at her lips.
“You know what!” she growled back, trying to lift her hips so she could lure his cock into her Lair.
But Kirall refused to let her. While he loved that she now felt confident enough to demand what she wanted from him whenever she wanted it, there were still times when she doubted that any of this was real. Especially when she was stressed. Those doubts were thanks to the drugs she'd been given on Earth to try and convince her the Varana weren't real.
It might take him a lifetime to convince her that he was real, that their love was real, that if she woke up alone, it didn't mean it had all been a dream. But he vowed to Kur that he would do it. After all, he had thousands of years to do just that.
“Tell me. Tell your mate, who is real and holding you in his arms, what you want,” he demanded.
Autumn's eyes widened at his words and realized her mate understood her better than anyone ever had. She tried to hide her insecurities and doubts from him, but apparently, she hadn't done a very good job of it.
“I want you,” she whispered. “Inside me, filling me with your heat, your strength, and your love. I need it.”
“Then you shall have it,” he growled. Shifting his grip, he lifted her so the head of his cock was at her entrance and he thrust.
“Yes!” Autumn cried out, her head falling back as pleasure filled her. This was what she needed. What she would always need. Kirall. "God, Kirall, that feels so good."
"Just good?" he demanded, silver filling his eyes. "That will never do." With that, he devoured one of her nipples as he drove deeper, harder, and faster into her, ignoring how the water splashed over the edge of the tub.
"More, Kirall. More!" Autumn groaned, her claws extending to dig into his biceps.
"Yes, give me your sounds, Autumn. Let me hear how much I please you."
"You do. Kur, you do!" she cried out as he hit that spot deep inside her that only he could. Again and again and again.
Kirall knew he wasn't going to last much longer, not the way his balls were drawing up tight as his Autumn clamped down around him. "Come for me, Autumn," he ordered and with one final deep thrust growled, "Now!"
"Kirall!" she screamed out her pleasure as her body obeyed him and together they found paradise.
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
"What are we to do, Kiran?" Niccele asked letting her mate pull her down into his lap. She’d known where to find him... in his study. It was deep in the heart of their home and had only one entrance and a private balcony. It was where he would come to get away from the noise and confusion of their offspring when they had been young. Or when something was weighing on his mind. Right now she knew it was the latter.
"That is what I am trying to figure out, my love. It is not like Kirall to act rashly, especially when it comes to taking an Other as a mate."
"She’s not an Other. She’s a Minor," Niccele corrected.
"What?" Kiran looked at her in shock.
"I didn't realize it either. Not until Nixie pointed out she had white laminae.”
"A Minor...” he said thoughtfully. “Well that's something, I suppose, but Kirall seemed adamant that they had completed the Mating Ceremony. For her to still have white laminae..."
"Then he must be mistaken. That means there is still a chance..."
"Stop, Niccele!” And while his tone was sharp, his touch remained gentle. “I know you and Macawi hoped that a mating would occur between Kirall and Maai
ke, but it was never going to happen. Not after the number of Heats they've been through together."
"We didn't immediately recognize each other either," she started to argue.
"Because we hadn’t touched,” he reminded her. “Kirall and Maaike most certainly have. Once we did...”
Niccele sighed heavily knowing he was right. "I know. I just so hoped..."
“I know, my love, but Maaike was not meant to be Kirall’s mate.”
“But that doesn’t mean this... Autumn is.”
"I'll admit it is troubling that her laminae haven't changed, but a male knows his mate, my love. Perhaps that is why he came straight here to us for our help and guidance."
"I suppose he would have been more forthcoming had we reacted better to his announcement," she reluctantly agreed.
"And if Maaike hadn't been there," he told her gently.
"Autumn..."
"Reacted exactly how you would have if a female I once shared a Heat with suddenly offered to again."
"I would eviscerate her," Niccele growled, her eyes beginning to turn golden, her face starting to elongate.
"Calm, my love,” he told her chuckling. His Niccele was still as fierce as when he’d first met her. “You know I would never accept."
"That does not matter," she argued, but the gold faded from her eyes.
"As I'm sure it didn't to Kirall's Autumn."
That had her posing her original question. "So what are we to do?"
"Have evening meal, get to know her, and find out what is really going on."
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
A knock on the outer door had Autumn looking to Kirall. They had finally dragged themselves out of the tub, sated and relaxed, but the knock had them both tensing again.
“Who is it?” Kirall demanded.
“Nixie,” came the reply. “I’ve brought some gowns for Autumn to wear.”
Kirall looked at his mate, her amazing body hidden only by the towel she'd wrapped around herself and realized it was something he should have thought of. On the ship, he hadn't had access to the clothing their females traditionally wore. Only the nightgown that Talfrin had been kind enough to provide. Once they had landed, he hadn't taken the time, wanting to get her away from prying eyes as quickly as possible. She couldn't attend evening meal in a nightgown.
“Come in," he ordered.
“Kirall,” Autumn whispered even as the door opened. “Your hair.”
Kirall immediately raised a hand to his unrestrained hair. How could he have forgotten? But before he could escape into the bathroom, Nixie was in the room.
"I had to dig through some old trunks, but I finally found several of my gowns from before my first shift." Nixie smiled as she moved across the room toward them. "I'm hoping they will fit. I know they are going to be too long but..." She trailed off, her eyes widening as she got her first look at Kirall's new hair color.
“Nixie,” Kirall began.
"What in the name of Kur happened to you?" she whispered, then gold began to fill her eyes, and she took a threatening step toward Autumn. "What did you do to my brother?!!”
Autumn's eyes widened, but she refused to take a step back even though Nixie was a good six inches taller than her. She and her Dragon had both had enough of backing down and hiding. "I made him my mate," she growled feeling the tingle that always preceded her claws extending.
"Impossible!" Nixie snarled back, unaware of the danger she was in. "A Minor doesn't make a Prime its mate."
"I'm not a Minor," Autumn hissed through clenched teeth.
"Of course you are. You have white laminae."
"No. I. Don't," Autumn said each word distinctly.
"Nixie," Kirall moved so he stood slightly in front of his mate. He had no doubt Autumn could handle his sister, especially if she partially shifted, but it was his job to always protect his mate. Whether she needed it or not. "Look closer, Nixie. Autumn's laminae are not white."
"Really." Nixie gave him an exasperated look, but she did as he asked. "What other color do you expect me to see? I know Mom and Dad weren't exactly thrilled but..." Her gaze widened as a stream of light suddenly glinted off Autumn's laminae, and for a moment, she could have sworn she saw... "Silver?"
"Yes," Kirall told her quietly.
"But... but that's impossible," Nixie mumbled stumbling back until a chair stopped her retreat and she sank into it. Her gaze was still fixed on Autumn whose laminae appeared white again. "It would make her..."
"A Supreme," he finished for her quietly.
"But..."
Kirall put an arm around Autumn pulling her into his side. "Nixie. My Autumn, my mate, is one of Razeth's. She is a Red Supreme."
"That's... that's..." she stammered.
"At least she stopped saying but," Autumn commented leaning into Kirall, an arm going around his waist.
"Autumn..." Kirall frowned down at her.
"What?" she asked looking up at him. "After the way your family's treated me today, can't I have a little fun with at least one of them?"
"I know it did not go as I had hoped, but their attitudes will change."
"Really? When? When they find out I'm a Supreme?” she questioned jerking away from him. “How is that acceptance, Kirall?"
"Autumn..."
"She's right, Kirall, and I'm not any better." Autumn's gaze shot to Nixie whose eyes were now filled with regret. "My coming here had nothing to do with Autumn or her being your mate. Frankly, I didn't believe it was true any more than our parents do. No, it had to do with me wanting to thumb my snout at Maaike. And I couldn't do that if your mate showed up to dinner in a nightgown."
"Well, at least you're honest," Autumn told her grudgingly.
"I try to be which is why I'm going to say this. Supreme or not, Maaike is never going to believe that you are Kirall's mate."
"She'll have to," Kirall growled moving to pull Autumn back into his arms.
"Really? Why?" Nixie challenged back, not the least bit intimidated by him. Prime or Supreme, Kirall was still her brother, and she would treat him as she always had. "Razeth was gone thousands of years. Before even the oldest among us was even born. Supremes only live in myth and legend now, and even in those, none were ever described to be as small and fragile-looking as your Autumn. Even in their Other form. They were supposed to be larger, stronger, and more powerful than even a Black Prime. Able to do things no other Dragoon could."
"That's true, but those stories are always about adult males. Never about their females or young because they guarded them so fiercely. By our standards, my Autumn is still very young." When Autumn didn't soften in his arms as she always did, he leaned down to nip at her lips. "It will be alright, my love."
"What do you mean by our standards," Nixie questioned, her gaze narrowing suspiciously as it traveled over Autumn. "The standard for an adult is the same for all Dragoons."
"On Mondu, yes. But on Earth, it is much younger."
"Really, so just how old are you?" Nixie demanded.
"I'm twenty-two," Autumn told her.
"What?!!" Nixie gasped stumbling back to drop into the chair again. "But... but..."
"And there she goes again," Autumn said rolling her eyes.
"Now you understand the other reason I came directly here.” Kirall ignored Autumn’s comment to look at his sister.
"I do," Nixie whispered.
"What?" Autumn frowned looking from Kirall to Nixie, taking in how pale the other female had become. "What does my age have to do with anything?"
"Autumn, I told you how a Dragoon is not considered an adult until their first Heat."
"At around one hundred. Yes."
"To mate someone before that age..." he trailed off.
"Is not allowed," Nixie finished for him. "Ever."
"Well on Earth you are considered an adult when you turn eighteen. So I don't see what the big deal is," Autumn told her.
"If you truly are a Supreme then the laws apply to you... and to my br
other," Nixie told her, worry filling her gaze.
Autumn began to get a sick feeling in her stomach and asked. "So what happens when someone breaks this law?"
"Nixie..." Kirall tried to stop his sister.
"They are executed," Nixie told her ignoring the warning in her brother's voice.
"What?!!" Autumn rounded on Kirall who was still glaring at his sister. "Why didn't you tell me that?!!"
"Because you nearly died!" Kirall's arms tightened, refusing to release her when she tried to pull away. "You needed time to recover and come to terms with all the changes occurring in your life. There was no reason to worry you about this until after I discussed it with my father. As an Elder, he knows the law better than anyone."
"No reason to worry me?” she questioned in disbelief. “I needed time to recover? Let me remind you, Mister I am a Black Prime.” She jabbed a finger into his chest. “I have survived on my own since I was ten and no one, mate or not, has the right to keep something like this from me. I may not be five hundred frickin' years old, but I've survived a hell of a lot more than any of you ever will!"
"I know that, Autumn," Kirall told her just as quietly, "but as your mate, it is my duty and honor to protect you. You are new to our world, and I wanted you to experience it without having to worry about this... situation. And I am not five hundred years old.”
"Situation? You call your possible execution a situation?" she growled.
Nixie would have been impressed by how one as small as Autumn fearlessly stood up to her much larger brother, especially now that he was a Supreme, but she was too stunned. When she’d entered the room, Autumn had been facing her, a towel wrapped around her body from under her arms to her knees. Now she had turned to confront Kirall and Nixie got the first look at the scars that crisscrossed Autumn’s shoulder blades before disappearing beneath the towel.
“What in the name of Kur happened to you?!!” Autumn and Kirall’s gazes swung to Nixie, her horrified whisper ending their growing disagreement.
“Varana,” Autumn told her, turning so her damaged back was to Kirall.
“But...” Nixie’s eyes widened in shock.
“The Varana attacked Autumn and her family on Earth, Nixie,” Kirall told his sister, wrapping his arms protectively around Autumn. “Autumn was the only one who survived. She was ten.”