“Oh Shay,” she whimpered, throwing her arms around his neck. “Waiting for you, waiting to talk to you, waiting to see you and feel you, touch you and taste you, it has been torture for me too. All I could think about was how much I needed you. You are everything to me as well, my prince.”
They held each other as Ella drifted off to sleep. In that moment she was more content and more complete than she had ever been in her entire existence. She had finally found her other half. Her mate. Her Dragon Lord.
Chapter 7
Shay left Ella in their bedroom, sleeping under a thick blanket. He shut off the light, allowing her to rest peacefully in bed.
The trip back to Galaton would be a treacherous one. The Mulgor were still two weeks away, but he felt it was time to start preparing his ship and his crew for battle. They had been lucky to slip by the Mulgor the first time, but Shay feared they would not be so lucky this time. The ship’s cloaking shields had malfunctioned in the last warp jump, and the crew were still busy at work repairing them.
As a warrior, it was difficult for Shay to run and hide when he knew that it was Galaton that would have to eventually defeat the Mulgor in their trade routes. Draconia had refused to send military force against the Mulgor, and if Galaton wanted to bring additional brides for their dragons then they would need to make the routes safe for everyone.
The dragons back on Galaton had already begun amassing an army. Shay wanted to fight like the dragon that he was, and rid their trade routes from the dark force of the Mulgor. He went to the cockpit and sat in the pilot's chair beside his copilot. They were about to make their first jump into warp speed since bringing Ella onboard.
On the journey to the bride ship, the next solar system in the route had been empty. There were only a few useless planets orbiting a dying sun. He slid his hand over the holographic control panel, powering the warp drive to full. Then he hit the button to blast them off.
When they slowed to normal speed after the jump, Shay saw a squadron of Mulgor fighter jets. The mothership was nowhere to be found, but that didn't mean that these fighter jets weren’t a threat.
“We're going to see some action,” he said, flicking his holocom to call Ella. “Strap yourself in, my darling. This may be bumpy.”
He didn't want anything to happen to his bride or his heir now growing inside her belly, but everything in him knew that as a warrior and as a prince he had to address this threat face on. He couldn't turn tail and run even if he’d wanted to. The warp drive needed twenty-four hours to power back up before they could make another jump.
His copilot switched over to manual control for Shay, and the prince gripped the wheel, charging directly toward the oncoming jets.
He flicked his thumb over the holo-button on top of the wheel, causing his laser beams to shoot out from the front of his ship, hitting the first oncoming fighter jet.
It exploded right in front of them and Shay propelled his ship at a ninety-degree angle upward, leaving the exploding fighter jet behind him. Three more ships came at him from every direction. He used his superior dragon senses and swirled around in a spiral as he dove. He shot at the first fighter jets, and darted out of the way just as the second fighter jets flew into the exploding debris. The copilot fired as Shay dove the Black Spear to the right at amazing velocity, leaving both fighter jets to explode in his wake.
He thrust the ship vertically, propelling through space directly towards the last fighter jet. He and his copilot shot at it but it darted away. This fighter jet pilot was more skilled than the last three had been. But Shay knew it was no match for the Water Prince of Galaton.
He angled upward and circled back around, coming down in a ninety-degree angle while spinning. He shot at the fighter jet, and this time it could not escape the blitzkrieg of laser fire. The fourth ship exploded in front of him.
He had disposed of all four fighter jets in the area, but Shay knew that they would not be the last. The Mulgor now had his location and these jets would have sent word to the mothership. He had to be on alert until his warp drive could power up again and take them into the next solar system. Shay flicked over his holocom to call Ella.
“You can go back to bed, my darling,” he said.
“What happened?” she gasped. He heard the sound of her unlatching her harness. “I was scared half to death.”
“The Mulgor have found us, but we have disposed of the jets in this solar system. It is safe to go back to sleep. I will join you soon.”
Shay remained in the cockpit for quite some time, patrolling the system with telescopic technology, looking for additional Mulgor. When he was satisfied, he decided he could finally go.
He told his pilot to take over. Shay rose from his chair, wanting to spend at least a few moments in bed with his bride. He walked down the hallway of his ship, slipped through the door, and climbed back under the blankets naked with his darling Ella. She let out a soft moan, but her eyes did not open. He wrapped her in his arms and pulled her against his chest, gently stroking her hair.
He did not wish to wake her, but everything in him wanted to taste her flesh and lick the slick moisture of her sex again.
Just at the thought of it, his cock grew stiff with need and his inner dragon roared to claim the woman sleeping in bed beside him. He could not stomach the idea of waking her after the scare of the attack.
Instead, he reached under the blankets and began to slowly stroke himself with his big fist. She stirred in his arms but her eyes did not open. Shay's hand stroked faster and faster, the smell of her earlier arousal still heavy in the air. He would never be able to get enough of this woman.
Each drop of his synthesized seed had brought her body closer to being able to accept his huge shaft. Without the genetic alteration to her DNA, a human woman would never be able to take a Draconian’s phallus into her tight little pussy.
His seed, fresh and abundant from his cock, was the only way to make the transition take place. Each time he rubbed it on her flesh, she grew closer and more ready to accept him.
Just thinking of sinking his cock inside her wet, warm core made him grow rigid and ready to release. He pressed his eyes closed and came. His seed spilled against her round stomach and he groaned. Holding her in his arms, he rubbed the hot seed over her round belly and dipped it between her legs, rubbing it over her slick sex, still wet from his mouth.
Spent, Shay lay on the pillow and closed his eyes. He needed a few hours’ sleep to ensure he was ready if the Mulgor attacked again. Soon he was breathing heavily into the sweet smell of Ella’s hair.
Shay woke to the sound of sirens blaring and shot from his bed. Ella screamed and covered her mouth, her eyes wide with fear.
He leaned in and kissed her forehead, hating to see her distraught for even one second.
“It's the Mulgor,” he said. “They’re in the system.”
“What are we going to do?” she demanded.
The fear in her voice was palpable and it filled the room. All Shay wanted with every fiber of his being was to keep her safe.
“Stay here and strap yourself in. I'm going to take care of this, my beloved. I will not let you down,” he kissed her once again and hurried out of their bedroom, flicking the spot on his neck that made his uniform extend and cover his naked flesh. He left their chamber and hurried to the cockpit where his copilot was already trying to outmaneuver a new squadron of Mulgor fighter jets.
As he sat behind the wheel, he saw the mothership materialize at the edge of the system. He spat out the most profane Draconian swearword at the sight of it. There was no way that the Galatonian military could arrive in time to help them. He would have to take care of this threat himself.
Luckily, they only had a few minutes before the warp drive was ready to jump again. They could warp into the next solar system, leaving the jets and the mothership behind.
“How are we on those cloaking shields?” he shouted to the technical crew.
“We still have a whole se
ctor to repair,” the technician said.
Shay growled.
A fleet of at least twenty fighter jets swarmed toward the Black Spear. Even for a pilot of Shay’s skill and strength in battle, twenty was a lot. Not to mention the mothership.
He opened his senses, taking in all of the jets in the three-dimensional map on his holo-screen. He shot into overdrive, flipping his ship vertically as he dove through the fray. He took out the first ship with his laser fire and it exploded right in front of him. He shot upward, as the other ships charged toward him. Several ships smashed into each other but the rest of them continued to give chase.
Shay was not a dragon who ran, but he knew he would never be able to defeat this force on his own. He would take out as many of them as he could before his warp drive came online.
“Warp drive online in five minutes,” his copilot said.
“Very good,” Shay said. The copilot was firing the other guns at the Mulgor fighter jets while Shay maneuvered expertly through the swarm. His agile ship and his expert skill allowed him to outmaneuver the ship and trick them into smashing into each other more than once. It was a trick that he had learned in his many battles in air, on land and underwater. It made him a formidable foe even against two dozen Mulgor fighters.
His ship screamed through space toward the mothership. Everything in him wanted to send out the biggest missile to breach the mothership hull. He thought he might for a split second before he changed his trajectory. He smashed his fist on the big red button that let fly his biggest missile.
The missile shot through space, hurtling toward the mothership. The mothership was still letting out masses of fighter jets. The Mulgor were stupid and cowardly; they didn't expect Shay to attack. The missile hit the hull directly, exploding.
Fire erupted in the Mulgor mothership and the fighter jets turned back to home.
Shay just laughed and licked his lips. That was what they got for messing with the Water Prince of Galaton. They’d threatened his mate. They’d threatened his planet. They would pay.
“Warp drive online in thirty seconds,” his copilot said.
“Countdown,” Shay said. “Five, four, three, two, one.”
Shay pushed his finger up the holographic screen, activating the warp drive. His body was slammed against his chair as the ship accelerated with mind-boggling speed, shooting through the wrinkle in space and propelling out into the next solar system.
His ship emerged in a solar system with a healthy young star and several orbiting rocky planets.
There were no Mulgor in the system, but Shay knew that wouldn't last very long. The Mulgor would know about the mothership by now. This wouldn’t be the last battle he’d have to fight.
Chapter 8
Over the next several days, Shay used the warp drive every twenty-four hours to jump the ship into the next solar system. Ella had been rocked to the core during the last battle, but Shay assured her that the Mulgor mothership was badly damaged and would be unable to follow them at the same speed they were running.
She had been strapped into her chair in the bedroom when the last battle had taken place but even still, it had left her dazed and confused. Over the days it took to travel back to Galaton, Ella and Shay were able to get to know each other for the first time.
Being together with him filled her heart with gladness in a way she had never imagined possible in her previous life. She loved her students and she loved being a teacher but spending time with her prince fulfilled a need in her that she hadn't even fully recognized before. It was as if all of the stars aligned inside her heart and she would never be lonely again.
They spent as much time as possible alone in their chambers, working together on the mating ritual. Her body was still not prepared to take his in the natural way between a man and a woman.
Even though she was pregnant with his son her human body had not yet adjusted to him. Ella wanted him inside her more than anything she had ever wanted before, but Shay was reluctant to do what needed to be done to bring them to their final complete connection to each other.
After five days of warp drive jumps, from solar system to solar system, Ella and Shay were sitting together in their chamber looking out the window at an asteroid belt between two gas giant planets.
They had just jumped and had to allow the warp drive to power up again before their next jump. Ella leaned over to Shay and put her hand on his thigh, letting him know that she wanted to be with him right then and there.
“When can we be together?” she said, looking up at him.
We can see how things are progressing,” he said with a sly smile. “But I don't want to hurt the baby. As much as I need you, as much as my dragon roars to claim you, I cannot bring myself to do it. I fear that my body would harm the child. If that happened, I would never forgive myself.
“It won't hurt the baby for us to be together,” Ella said.
She had been doing as much research as possible on the mating ritual, and she was convinced that if he claimed her, all would be well. Her body would adjust and she would be able to have a natural childbirth instead of surgery.
A Draconian baby was quite large compared to a human one. Human female bodies needed to have the genetic transition that happened during claiming, otherwise her body would not allow such a large child to come through it naturally. The other brides of Galaton had obstetrics births, but Ella was determined to give birth naturally and to produce the milk her baby needed from her own breasts.
“You are being so stubborn, my prince,” she giggled, running her hand up his chest.
She saw the bulge between his legs that grew at her touch. She knew that she had him right where she wanted him.
“You make a convincing argument,” he growled.
He flicked the spot on his neck that made his uniform retract. Suddenly, his gorgeous nude body was there before her eyes, and she marveled at the sight of his magnificent manhood.
She would never be able to get enough of him, and the sight of him would always fill her with a sense of absolute awe. He was as hard as a steel rod, his erection reaching up past his navel.
Ella gripped it with her tiny hand, her fingers barely wrapping around his girth. He was larger than her entire forearm and half again as thick. She began to stroke him up and down his amazing shaft and watched his eyes flutter shut in his head lean back against the couch.
“My bride,” he growled in a low voice.
Ella loved the way he looked when she touched him like this. It made her want to do it as often as he would allow. She continued stroking him up and down using both her hands to grip his thick cock.
Just touching him like this made her gush moisture and made her quiver with anticipation. She wanted to taste him on her lips and feel the head of his cock throbbing against her mouth.
She leaned down, still holding him in her hands. Her lips parted and she took him in as deep as she could manage. Licking and sucking at the head of his cock, she continued to stroke him with ever increasing intensity.
Shay sucked a sharp breath through his clenched teeth and Ella moaned with arousal. She tasted the drops of precum that beaded out of the head of his cock. The flavor drove her mad with excitement and she felt she would lose her mind if he made her wait a second longer.
She felt his cock stiffening against her mouth and she knew he was about to burst. Her eyes rolled back in her head as she continued to stroke and suck and lick at him. In that moment, she was happier than ever that she had taken the chance to leave her planet to go find her mate.
Just as she was thinking about her good fortune, Shay groaned and his seed shot deep in her throat. She drank it down, wanting to consume every last drop. Shay pushed her back and pulled her skirt up around her waist.
He sank to his knees on the floor in front of her. She wasn't wearing any panties as had become her custom since Shay had arrived to rescue her. He spread her legs wide and dove between them, greedily lapping up all of the juices that flowed b
etween her legs.
She was so aroused from the taste of his cum that by the time he shoved two thick fingers inside her, she was ready to explode. She ran her fingers through his hair and screamed with release. But he didn't stop fucking her with his fingers. As he thrust inside her again and again, he looked up into her eyes and pulled her dress down away from her breasts, exposing her swollen globes and tight nipples.
“My princess is almost ready to take my cock,” he growled. “Very soon, beloved. Very soon.”
“Oh, Shay,” she groaned. “I want you now.”
She orgasmed again, her mind ablaze with desire for her mate. She was in the kind of transcendent madness that only true lovers felt for each other. After they were sated, they sat together on the couch and watched a video on the holo-screen that covered the bank of windows in front of the couch.
It was one of Ella's favorite movies from Earth that she'd brought with her on her wrist holocom storage. Shay didn't really understand many of the subtleties of human language or culture, even though Galaton had been watching human media for the last thirty years.
She still had to explain some of the details to him. When he didn't understand this or that, it made her giggle and find him even cuter than she had before. Being together with Shay like this in such a normal human way made her feel as if she hadn't really lost anything by leaving Earth behind. She could still have all of the things she’d had before through her memories and her stored media.
Even on Galaton, and over the vast journey, it was possible to communicate with Earth. Location in the galaxy in relation to other celestial bodies made a difference in how well the communication would transfer through space, but it wasn't impossible.