2. Drago

2

DRAGO

D rago tried to keep a lid on his irritation as he contacted the surface of the silvery-red moon and asked for landing coordinates. It frustrated him that Addison couldn't seem to understand the danger she was putting herself in. He didn't trust that fucking ambassador—he was too smooth and soft-spoken. Drago was willing to bet there wasn't an honest bone in his entire oily body. But for some reason, Addison seemed to think he was charming.

Maybe it's because he paid attention to her and gave her compliments which you never do, whispered a voice in the back of his head.

But I can't give her compliments or pay her attention—I can't fucking risk it! he argued with himself. If I do, my Drake will want to Claim her! I can't fucking have that! I can never have her—no matter how much I want her.

He had known from the first minute he met Addison that the diminutive redhead was his Fated Mate—the one woman the Goddess had set aside just for him. And yet, he could never Claim her because of the beast he held prisoner within him.

Drago had what was known among his people as a "Primal Drake"—that is, a Drake that had no words or reasoning skills. Most Drake Kindred could reason with the beast they kept inside themselves and control it to some extent. But to his shame, Drago had no way to communicate or reason with his beast—he could shout at it mentally as much as he wanted to but it refused to listen. It was like they were speaking two different languages. Or more like the Drake inside him simply had no speech at all—the only language it knew was destruction and chaos.

He had found that out the hard way the first and only time he had allowed his Drake to come out, during his Coming of Age ceremony on his home planet. The beast that had erupted from him the moment he loosed control of himself had been wild and chaotic. It had caused enormous amounts of chaos and destruction and there was nothing Drago could do to stop it because it had taken over completely.

Most other Drake Kindred could guide their Drake when it emerged from them—not so with Drago. He had tried to rein his beast in and had failed. Then, to his shame, he had blacked out completely, shortly after his Drake took control. He didn't know until later, when it finally tired itself out and retreated back inside, what had happened or how much destruction it had caused.

It didn't help that the beast inside him was huge—as big as one of the humans' largest airplanes—the kind that carried hundreds of passengers across their oceans. He was told by those who had observed his Drake that it was the largest anyone had ever seen—and the most wild and vicious.

Apparently during his Coming of Age ceremony, other Drakes had attempted to contain it and reason with it but they had failed miserably on both counts. It had burned the closest village to the ground and then it had started a forest fire which wound up consuming huge swaths of the wild lands his people held dear.

As a consequence of his inability to control his Drake, Drago had been exiled from his home world and told never to come back again. He had sworn then, after hugging his tearful mother goodbye—(his father refused to even look at him because of the shame he had brought on their family)—that he would never release his Drake again. And since strong emotions were a path to losing control and releasing the beast within him, he had clamped down on his feelings— hard .

When he met Addison, he knew he ought to keep away from her—the Drake inside him had reacted in a way it never had before. Though it had no words, Drago felt a fierce possessiveness coming from the prison he had built for it inside him. If it had been able to speak at all it would have voiced one word— MINE!

He could feel his other half's hunger to Claim the diminutive, curvy redhead as their mate but he knew how that would go. If he allowed himself to feel for her—to express his longing—the cage he had built inside himself might spring open, releasing the chaos of his Primal Drake. And if the Drake got out, it would cause untold destruction—it might even kill Addison in its eager greed to Claim her!

No, he couldn't risk it, Drago told himself sternly. But he couldn't bear to walk away from the gorgeous little human either. Addison drew him so strongly that though he knew he could never have her, he at least wanted to be by her side, guarding her. And so he had agreed to become her Protector, even though deep down he knew it was dangerous and wrong.

To compensate for the risk, he kept a tight rein on his emotions around her. He didn't allow himself to think about her beauty, enjoy her bubbly personality, imagine a future with her, or wish he could hold her in his arms. He didn't even allow himself to think of her when he jerked off—well, he tried not to, anyway.

It was hard keeping his distance. Everything about her drew him—her quick wit, her long, wavy, flame-colored hair, her big eyes that looked blue when she was sad and green when she was happy, her full Elite figure, and those thick thighs he wished he could feel wrapped around his head as he tasted her sweet pussy and she moaned his name…

Stop it, he told himself sternly. You're fantasizing about her again. You can't do that.

Within himself, he felt his Drake stirring restlessly. A feeling of longing and possession so deep and fierce it nearly took his breath away rushed through him like a wave, threatening to wash away his hard-built defenses and force him to tell Addison how he really felt about her…how he couldn't stand the idea of her with another male, especially one as fake and greasy and untrustworthy as that fucking Lx Sambla.

Drago clenched his jaw and tightened his grip on the steering yoke. At the same time, he tightened his grip on his Drake. He wasn't going to say a word—not one fucking word. And he wasn't going to give in to his longing or his Drake's desire to Claim her. He and Addison were coworkers and that was all they could ever be. He swore to himself he would never, ever touch her.

He had no idea how soon he would be breaking his promise.