Chapter 11

Preparing the Way

Viv knew what her decision would be. Her dragon was excited about entering a new world with their new mate. She talked about it nonstop. Was she like that as a teenager? She couldn't remember, but she hoped she wasn't.

We will be able to fly anytime we want because everyone there knows that we are dragons. We will swim in the oceans, and there will be forests, large forests, that we can see. It will be so good, so wonderful that you would not be able to believe it.

I am glad that you are happy, and I hope that things will be as good as you think they will be.

They will be. They are already working on the palace. The mining has already begun, and farming communities are still in place. It would not be as rough and primitive as you fear.

Will the food be as good as it is here? Will it be as comfortable? It is better if I expect the worst, and it is not than if I expect it to be like this and it is not.

Fine, be a killjoy, but you will not stop me from being excited and happy.

That is not what I am trying to do. I am just trying to temper your expectations so that you are not terribly disappointed if things are not as wonderful as expected.

No worry about me. I may drag him, but I can live in an empty cave and eat the animals I kill and the fish I manage to catch. I just want to fly free. No worries. If you don't like it just stay in dragon form.

Great! Her dragon would be happy, and she would be miserable. Viv returned to work because they were here to work until they were ready to leave. It was good that all her things had already been moved here and that she had not unpacked most of them. Not that she had a lot, and she had sold all the furniture because she didn't think moving it would be a good idea. It wasn't like she had any family heirlooms except one that had belonged to her grandma. She was afraid to wear it because she thought she might lose it, so it sat in a special box that was hard to open.

She hadn't thought about it for many years, but now that she did, she realized the necklace had a dragon on it. It was so old that she could not even imagine where or when it had come from. There was writing on it that she could also not understand. She had told her it had been in the family for many generations and that she should take good care of it when it passed to her. Viv had done that as best as she could, and it was still safe in her care.

"What are you thinking about?" Carler asked.

"You'll think it's weird."

"Maybe? But tell me anyway."

"I was thinking about a family heirloom I've had since my grandma died. It has a dragon on it, and it is very old," Viv admitted.

"Can I see it? You've made me curious about it."

"It's upstairs in my suite, packed in a box."

"We have a little time right now. We could look at it, and then go to lunch," Carler offered.

"Okay, if you really want to see it."

He escorted her to the elevator, and they went up to her floor and then to her apartment. They entered, and she moved away to the box holding it. She supposed it would be called a medallion because it was large and heavy. She rummaged around in the box until she found it and then took it to him.

"We have boxes like this under Draconis from a time long ago. Is this something common in your world?"

"No, I've never seen a box like this, nor have I ever seen a medallion like this," she replied, pulling the medallion with the attached chain out of the box.

Carler's response was surprising. He looked shocked, and then a look of awe appeared. "I believe I know now where the dragons came from. This is the emblem from one of the lost lines of the royal family."

"That's good to know. My dragon asked where the blood came from, and I could not tell her."

"This looks a lot like your dragon, except it is a male, and it is red instead of purple," Carler pointed out.

"I'd not noticed, but you are right. This must be some long-lost ancestor I never knew of before. Will I be able to find out more about them now?"

"There is some information on that line. The Emperor at the time was heartbroken when they were never able to reach them after they left the planet. It wasn't an exploration mission; they were just going to one of the other planets to take charge. The planet was in rebellion, and everyone thought they had taken down the ship and killed everyone aboard. Since there was no proof, they felt like that crime had never been brought to justice. It seems that something very different happened. Correcting that wrong information will be a good thing. "I wish we could find where they were laid to rest so they could be moved to where royalty rests."

"They made a home here, and I am sure they were part of the rulers of my planet. Whether this was where they were intended to be or not, they made the best of it since many here seem to have dragon blood." Viv observed.

Was this a mystery solved, or would it create even more mysteries? She was sure that she had heard that Space Flight had come a long way since the days when that ship must have landed on this planet. So how or why did it happen? Just more questions, even though one was solved. That was probably where the stories of dragons had come from. Eventually, after they bred for hundreds of years with the local inhabitants, their ability to shift must have been compromised. Their history was no longer passed down. No one knew. But there had truly been dragons.

Carler had told her that the dragon blood needed to be present, or nothing could be done to help somebody shift to a dragon. Mates back then would have been able to ride their mates into the skies but would not have been able to shift themselves. Viv was sure they would track her family tree to see what else they could shake out. Those who had already changed would also have relatives they would try to lure into a mating.

She wasn't sure how she felt about that. She guessed there was not much to say about it if they had the right to make a choice. If they were forced, that would be different. She had seen no signs that they would force anyone into anything.

"Can I take a picture of it to send to the Emperor?" Carler asked. "He will want to get some historians working on this to find out who was on the ship."

"I suppose. I knew it was valuable partly because it is so old and unusual. I had no idea it would change the history of this planet and yours."

She handed it to him, and he laid it down on the desk and took several pictures. He went over to his computer, and she assumed that he had some way to send the pictures to his Emperor—his Emperor and now hers—a far distant relative that she had no idea what to think of.

"Do you want it kept somewhere safer? I can give you access to an individual safe, or we could even go up to the ship that will be taking us away at the end of the week, and you can put it in one of the safes they have on board."

"Do you believe that now that its presence is known, someone will try to take it?" Viv asked.

"It's possible. That medallion is said to have mysterious powers. No one explained exactly what they were, but they made it sound powerful and unmatchable. Whether it has any of these powers or not, there will always be some people that believe that it does that will do anything to get it."

"Everything has changed in my life so much. I never thought about the medallion much because it's so heavy it was impractical to wear. Now suddenly, it's important because of my new life. Otherwise, I might not have ever known exactly what it was. That begs whether it's best to know or live in ignorance."

"You tried to seek answers too much to say you wouldn't want to know." Carler accused.

"That's true. Sometimes not knowing can be fatal."

"Let's go to lunch, and I'll carry it in my pocket since my pocket is larger than yours. Just leave your purse here like you usually do."

"Makes sense. Let's go," Viv agreed.

They headed out for a lovely lunch, almost like a celebration. It was a steak meal with several choices of sides and, in the end, an incredible dessert. All told, they were gone about an hour before they went back. When they stepped into the room, Viv was shocked. The items inside her purse were strung all over the room, and everything on top of the desks was tossed off carelessly. All the drawers were empty, and the items inside added to the floor's mess. It seemed her mate had been right, and they needed extra precautions for the medallion.

"Maybe you should start wearing it?" Carler asked. "Now that you are a dragon, the fact that it's heavy won't bother you anymore."

"What if they try to kill me for it?"

"It is said to give those wearing it protection."

"Are you willing to risk my life to find out if that's true?" She asked peevishly.

"The only thing that's going to stop them from coming after you now is if they get it some other way."

She knew he was right, but she was still pissed off. What a mess! Getting her room cleaned up would take a while, so they started immediately. It wasn't like they had to prepare to fly to another Galaxy by the end of the week. Maybe they needed to remove some of the stuff and pack it away for Kareth and Landra. They would understand, and the box would just be moved somewhere easy enough for them to return.

"I agree with you."

"What?"

"You said that out loud," Carler observed.

She hadn't intended to. This had just upset her terribly. Her personal space had been violated, and now they needed to figure out who had done it. They needed to be punished because this just wasn't right. Her dragon sighed and was also aggravated and wanted to play with someone. That wouldn't happen because she was sure her dragon would kill them.

"Let's get this cleaned up, and then we will put your prize somewhere where it will be harder to find. After that, we'll quit early and enjoy some time in our room."

Our mate wants to fuck us. Her dragon purred.

I believe you are right. That might just make me feel better.

It was weird talking to her dragon, but she did enjoy having the company at times. Right now, was one of those times. They had cleaned up the mess, and then they were flashed up to the ship, where actions were taken to ensure the medallion would be safe.

"Now that we've taken care of business, it is time for some pleasure," Carler observed.

They were in his room now because she had moved everything out of the room she had been in and now stayed with him. There was no point in having two rooms, which was easier for everyone. There were even two bedrooms in case she got mad at him, but that hadn't happened yet. The male was just too handsome, and he had learned a little bit of compromise. Even a little went a long way.

He pulled her into his arms and gave her one of his famous kisses that made her melt. It gave her a glimpse of what was coming later. "You are mine. Say it!"

"I am yours." Her dragon was thrilled.

Carler moved her to the bed, and they fell over on top of it, a heap of need and a pile of moving legs and arms. Had he not caught himself on his arms, he would have landed fully on her, and she wouldn't have been able to breathe. Not that the incredible desire she felt for him wasn't causing her issues because her breath was coming so fast.

His need was as strong as hers, and he ripped her shirt and her bra off her with his incredible strength. "I will run out of clothing if you keep doing that," Viv observed.

"Then you'll just be naked all the time, and I like that better anyway," Carler replied.

"Sometimes a person needs something to wear. Especially when they're going to be around other people. If we are ruling a planet, I must do my part."

He sighed deeply. "You have a point. I'll try to be more careful next time."

Carler continued to kiss her as his hands moved up to her breasts. That's when his mouth moved down, and he sucked her nipple into his mouth, then moved and gave the same treatment to the other one. "So beautiful."

He continued kissing and licking until he got to her belly button, which he lavished. Carler didn't stop there, and he moved between her thighs. Breathing in deeply, he enjoyed the smell of her desire and intended to give her everything she needed. Sliding in a finger, he began. He finger fucked her, adding a finger until, finally, there were four. He licked her clit, circling it and enjoying the way she squirmed. He began pounding into her with his fingers and licking harder and harder until she exploded. That's when he slid up and drove his cock hard into her. Goddess, it felt so good. Nothing would ever feel as good as when he was with his mate.

Now, he began to pound into her hard and fast. Her legs wrapped around him, trying to pull him closer. Carler just moved faster until he was in a frenzy. A human could not have tolerated it as hard and fast as he was moving, and a female dragon had no problem. She was moaning and crying out with pleasure, wanting more and more. So that was what he gave her until they finally exploded together. It was beautiful, and nothing could ever feel like this.