Chapter 3

Kalzudaud

Gazing at Caitlyn's heavy-lidded, drowsy expression made my flesh ache and my cock grow even harder beneath my leather kilt. She was gorgeous with her round cheeks and her gently pointed chin; I already adored the little furred arches above her brown eyes.

How had she managed to throw all my careful plans into a complete tailspin the moment I'd laid eyes on her? My chest rumbled deeply with what could almost be considered a satisfied purr. She was still soft and relaxed in my clasp, cocooned inside my wings so that there was nothing to intrude on this private moment.

I could see her mind racing behind her heavy-lidded gaze. She had thought of something and I was certain she would let me know just what it was as soon as she'd recovered from this haze. I should kiss her again just to postpone that. Dipping my head, my mouth brushed against her dainty little nose, my senses flooding with her scent and taste. "No," she barked.

I raised my head and frowned at her defiant face, but inside my chest, my heart thudded wildly with a mixture of pride and endearment. That was just too damn cute, and excellent traits for a mate, too. I couldn't be happier, except for the part where she refused to let me kiss her a second time. "You know my name!" she said accusingly, wriggling her delightfully curvy body in my arms. It made me painfully aware of how sexy she was, how badly I wanted to claim her, right then and there.

"Of course I do," I said to her, swallowing roughly as I shoved away the rising tide of arousal and shifted to the far more important business at hand. "I came specifically to get you, Caitlyn. You are, after all, the one doctor that is working on reversing damage to the bone marrow, are you not?" She narrowed her eyes at me in suspicion, but then nodded.

"My daughter, my heart-daughter. She is dying as we speak. Your cure might be the one thing that could save her." So much for getting my emotions in check; my voice sounded like a rough growl as I uttered those words. I was not sure what I'd do if this female human decided she would not help. She could, and all would be lost.

I should not have worried, the fates would not have paired me with an insensitive female. Caitlyn's eyes went soft and luminous in her face, hinting at unshed tears, though that might be my hopeful imagination. With a toss of her head that was an attempt at looking defiant, she sat down on the edge of the cot and primly crossed her legs. "You want me to heal your niece?" she clarified.

In quick, succinct words, I outlined what had happened three months ago. The assassination of my brother-in-law, the desperate flight to a safe house by my sister and her daughter. Then the horrible crash of their ship that had killed my sister and made me acting king. The horrible injuries that even now kept my hearts-daughter abed, fading away with each passing moment.

Even if Sera did survive by some miracle, she was not out of danger until I had located the traitorous viper that was behind this attempted coup. They had not succeeded yet, so Sera and myself, were in mortal peril until I'd wrung their murderous necks. For now, I was the King in my hearts-daughter's stead, and I would remain so until she was hale, of age, and happily found her own consort to stand by her side and protect her from such dangers.

My human mate's eyes were definitely moist when I described the death of my sister and the illness from which my heart-daughter was struggling to recover. I had gambled by stealing her from Aderia, but I knew right this instant that my gamble had paid off. She was soft and kind. She would heal Sera if she could, and all would be well.

My heart grew firm in my chest with resolve, and after, I would make certain that no one could ever come close to my female the way I had. She would be safe, protected, coddled. I would outfit her with the best lab she could ever desire, and I'd pleasure her so she would never want to leave my bed.

Of course, humans were always unpredictable. They could not sense a mate bond the way most species could, and Caitlyn seemed determined to challenge me. "Fine," she said, crossing her arms over her chest and tilting up her dainty little chin. "I will come with you to heal your niece, but afterward, you take me back to my lab! And you better sponsor my research until I have my results. You're making me lose valuable grant money."

Oh, yes, I'd take her to her lab when this was all over. It just wouldn't be the lab on Aderia. With a smirk stretching across my face and relief flooding my body, I said, "You have a deal." She gave me the most suspicious glare I had ever received, but could clearly not find any fault with my words. I was tempted to snatch her back into my arms so I could seal our agreement with a kiss. The mutinous expression had me turn toward the ship's controls instead.

Caitlyn had slept for most of our journey and we were fast approaching the planet. She might have thought we were still in Aderian airspace; she was wrong. I'd been a little worried when she stayed under as long as she had, but she did not seem to experience any ill effects now from the herbal blend I'd used to knock her out. An old family recipe that I would one day share with Sera, if the fates permitted it.

"Is that your planet?" Caitlyn asked, unable to sit still. She'd popped back up from the cot to hover at my shoulder and gaze at the viewscreens. The planet filled up most of the view now, lush green on one side where the jungles dominated, with a vast gray sea on the other, lined with the aeries and cliffs that our people lived at.

"Yes, that is Daudiras," I agreed with her. Dark lay over the capital, allowing us to see the many lights that brightened it at night, and ribbons snaked away in the directions of other, smaller cities. The jungle was dark, uninhabited, save for one treetop enclave to the west. It was a beautiful, rich planet that drew many tourists as well as offering valuable trade to export. A jewel of the Tarkan empire, my jewel, and hopefully, one day it would be Sera's to rule and guide. And, for the first time since the deaths in my family, I felt the first tingle of love and excitement for my planet again. I wanted to show all the beautiful, good parts to the female sitting next to me. I wanted her to fall in love with Daudiras like I had.

"Oh, it's so beautiful!" Caitlyn sighed, echoing my sentimental thoughts and making my chest sing with pleasure. Yeah, it really was. I turned to look at her, catching sight of the eager expression on her face and the sparkle in her eyes. So was she, a beautiful, clever female with a kind heart. I was lucky to have found her, to discover she was the target of my desperate quest.

An alarm started beeping only seconds before the small spacecraft rocked and trembled. I threw myself on my mate without thinking, certain that the ship was just hit with a missile from down on the planet, or maybe from another ship in orbit with us. It shouldn't have happened, it shouldn't be possible at all, but there was no mistaking it.

When the turbulence subsided, I realized I'd curled my wings and body entirely around the seat Caitlyn was in, cocooning her in all the safety I could offer. When I lifted my head to look at her, I saw that her eyes were huge in her pale face. "Did we just get shot at? I thought this was your planet? Why are they shooting at their interim king?" I did not appreciate the disparagement of my position, but I had bigger things to worry about than a bit of status.

More alarms were shrieking now and reports of the damage were scrolling across the viewscreens on the console. "This should not have happened," I said, a snarl rattling from my chest in anger. "I am flying the right credentials for a simple trade mission. This must be the traitor, coming in for the final blow." And I was going to kill them for this, their name would be smeared for all time as the failure, the betrayer. They were going to wish they were never born by the time I was done with them and their sympathizers.

Caitlyn was quiet as I gripped the piloting controls and forced our ship to head for the planet, our only hope for safety. We had to make a landing, or we'd end up blown to smithereens in space. They weren't going to leave it at just one shot. Shields were failing already, and damage to the controls made the flying hard. One engine was down and when the damage caused a cascade of more failures, sparks rained on us from a panel above our heads. My wing protected my mate, and my tough skin protected me, but I still hissed in frustration.

"Iru, do you read me?" I snarled into my com as I fired the remaining thrusters with all the ship had to slow our rapid descent into the atmosphere. I was getting messages from the main spaceport flight control tower, demanding a response, warning me of my speed, and offering intercept aid. I could not respond to any of that, because the traitor could be waiting for it. I could not trust a single person, except Iru, and now Caitlyn. We were on our own.

"We've been shot at, coming in for an emergency landing. Iru, it's going to be rough but I'll be fine. Focus on Sera! I'll be in time. I swear I'll be in time." My closest friend had not picked up his com, but the message would be there, waiting for him when he had a chance. I hoped that his lack of an answer did not mean he was dead, and that Sera was gone, just that he had to lie low with my heart-daughter to keep her safe.

I felt Caitlyn's hand against my shoulder, saw the determined, grim expression on her face, and knew I had to do everything in my power to keep her from harm. As the ship crashed deep into Daudiras' jungle, I wrapped her safely inside my wings and held her as metal tore and engines exploded around us.