“We’ve received word that the redrya have been secretly gathering in what we believe to be a rebel group. There have been several reports of suspicious behavior in the redrya districts on the outskirts of town. How should we proceed, My King? Should we eliminate them?” Dorian, head of intelligence, asked. 

King Bodric reclined back in his throne at the head of the long stretched glass table. His interest remained on his fingernails, ever the picture of nonchalance. He hadn’t even bothered to look up during the council meeting. A long brown finger brushed a silver strand of hair back behind his ear. 

“Don’t bother. They’re hardly a threat,” the King yawned. His yellow eyes dull with boredom. 

“But your Majesty, they have been stealing our intelligence. Even Lord Pelryn’s fated pair was caught sneaking into his office to gather intel.”

Pelryn’s eyes narrowed. His morá tinted a light pink along his cheek. 

The King’s gaze flickered up and a devilish grin broke along his lips. 

“If you insist that they are a problem. Perhaps we can torture it out of the little redrya. I’m sure Pelryn won’t object,” the King mused, a silver brow tilting upward. 

Pelryn growled, fangs piercing his bottom lip and morá shining a bright furious red. 

Kincaid frowned. 

“Enough, Pelryn. No harm will come to your pair. I’m sure he’s already been punished enough,” Kincaid sighed. Then he turned to Dorian, “Right now, our priority remains the Tarlikk. If the redrya continue with their pointless rebellion, we will take care of it. But until then, we will focus on what’s important.”

King Bodric grinned wider, his reptilian gaze fixed on his brother. “Ever the peacekeeper. Pretty ironic, General,” he purred. 

Kincaid ignored him, refusing to be baited with such a poor attempt. Instead, he focused his gaze on the rest of the council.

“It’s been two hundred and forty-six moons since we’ve gotten here and we haven’t gotten any closer to ending the spread of the Tarlikk. Give it another few rotations and it’ll be right at our doorstep,” Kincaid said to the group. “We have to act soon or all of this would have been for naught.”

The tension in the room thickened uncomfortably between the twelve males seated at the table. 

“Have we made progress in reaching the source?” Kincaid asked. 

Dorian shook his head. “It’s melted through all of our ships. We’ve already lost fourteen crews and that was with our latest development. We don’t have anything stronger.”

Kincaid hissed at the loss. 

“What about breeding? Have we made progress with that,” Erenni, another councilman asked, swiftly changing the subject.

Dorian sighed in relief, happy to report a success. 

“We have been making steady progress with breeding houses and pairings. Seventy percent of breedable redrya have been inputted into the system.” 

“Excellent,” King Bodric purred, leaning forward in his seat. “And I hear one of our very own is in the process of claiming their fated pair. Right, General?” 

All eyes flickered to Kincaid. 

“I have found my mate, yes,” Kincaid said stiffly, uncomfortable with revealing that information. 

“And when can we expect their...extraction?”

“I will retrieve him tomorrow. He’ll be entering his Rut the day after.”

King Bodric clapped, “Wonderful!” 

His false excitement made the hairs on Kincaid’s neck raise. 

“I am so very excited to meet your new lover.”

Kincaid’s stomach dropped. 

Excited?

He was anything but.

*  

Reid yawned as he trudged along the sidewalk, heading to work. Curse Gres for scheduling him for the morning shift so last minute. He even closed last night too! But he wouldn’t complain. In a way, Gres was doing him a favor. He had to save up as much as he could since he lost his mother’s medicine and had to buy more before she ran out, which would be very soon. 

When he realized his error, he even risked going back to retrace his steps but he found no trace of his mother’s medicine, nor his suppressants. No doubt the Naerian had stolen them. For what purpose? Reid didn’t know. They weren’t traceable back to him. He hoped the suppressants weren’t traceable to Dania either. 

Reid sighed.

His Rut was coming soon and he had no way of combating the effects. He would be powerless against it. He didn’t want to take off from work, but it seemed he had to. 

Gres would probably be surprised. He had to know Reid was suppressing his Rut, seeing as he hadn’t taken a week off like the other redrya did once a month. But the Naerian didn’t care, as long as he had workers. Yet another reason why Reid stuck with him despite the horrible treatment. 

He’d have to take on a couple more double shifts to make up for the shifts lost. He couldn’t afford to slack. His life and his mother’s life depended on him. 

Reid turned the corner, heading for the back entrance of the station when he noticed a figure standing by the door. Impossibly tall and covered in an expensive black cloak. Had to be Naerian. No way a human would be dressed like that. 

And somehow the figure seemed familiar. 

Reid froze a few yards away, cautious. Every hair raised on his arms and the back of his neck, warning him away from the stranger, but they were blocking the only employee entrance. And there was no way to access the locker room from the front. He had no choice but to go in this way. 

But he was afraid. Afraid of this strange figure that seemed to be waiting for someone. 

Reid took a deep breath before rushing forward, hoping to slip by the stranger without a problem. But of course there was always a problem when it came to Naerians. The male grabbed his arm, halting his mad dash inside. Reid’s stomach twisted.

He didn’t need to look up to know. He could tell by their intoxicating scent. It was the same male he bumped into before. 

Damn it, he should’ve known they were going to find him. 

“Excuse me, sfiad, I need to get to work,” Reid murmured quietly, trying to slip out of the Naerian’s grasp but they only held him tighter. Reid’s heart was beating so fast, he could hear his pulse blaring in his eardrums. 

“Reid Hudson,” the Naerian spoke in his thick accent and it nearly sent Reid into a Rut right then and there. 

Reid released a shuddering breath before daring to raise his gaze. 

Big mistake. 

The male was gorgeous. Unlike any being Reid had ever laid eyes on before. Though his face had a shadow cast over it from the large hood he wore, Reid could still see those glowing yellow eyes, elegantly slanted with slitted pupils. His nose was straight and long while his full lips–with a pronounced cupid’s bow–curved seductively despite the lack of expression. His morá were beautiful swirls and curves pointed in the center of his forehead, branching out above the brow, curling around his temples before disappearing into his hairline. They pulsated bright neon colors full of oranges, purples, blues, reds, and so many more. Black hair slipped forward from his hood as he tilted his head to get a better look at Reid. 

His Rut hit him like a punch in the gut. And to his absolute horror, Reid’s skin began to glow, just as it had before. Slowly the spots appeared on his hands, making their way up his arms. It looked as if the stars were blossoming beneath his skin. He gaped at the marks horrified. 

The Naerian’s nose twitched before he dug into his pocket and pulled out a small pill. Before Reid could process what happened, the Naerian shoved the pill in his mouth, then pinched a nerve on his neck that forced him to swallow. 

It was uncomfortable, taking the pill dry, but Reid recognized what it was as soon as it touched his tongue. 

A suppressant. 

But why?

Like the edge of a wave pulling back into the ocean, the Rut receded and his skin dimmed until Reid could think clearly once again. 

“Why…” Reid couldn’t create a complete sentence in his shock. 

He stumbled back from the taller male, not daring to take his eyes off of him. Now that he got a good look, it was clear that this Naerian was not just some low rank nobody. He had a commanding presence about him. 

“Who are you?” Reid demanded, not bothering with formalities. 

The Naerian cocked his head to the side. 

“You will know soon enough,” he said simply. Even with the suppressant, that deep baritone did things to him, made his stomach quiver. 

Reid shifted a step back. The Naerian’s predatory eyes followed the movement with alien-like accuracy. It made the hair on Reid’s neck stand at attention.

“What do you want with me?” 

“You will come with me,” he said. 

“I can’t, I have to work,” Reid said, shifting back again. 

The Naerian stared at him for a moment. Contemplating. 
            “Then I will wait until you are done.”

“But-” 

In the blink of an eye, the Naerian was gone. 

Reid’s chest was heaving, sweat beading at his temples. The shock of what had transpired was still ruminating in his head, but Reid didn’t have enough time to process. He was minutes from being late. He glanced at his vylink one last time before he yanked the door open and disappeared inside. 

He greeted the few others who were there already and quickly got set up in his terminal. The shift went by fairly quickly, despite him not wanting it to, but that’s the way life went. He took his time as he cleaned his station, and dreaded having to go outside. 

Would the Dragon really have waited for him? Was he going to drag him away? Would he even get a chance to say goodbye to his mom? And if he wasn’t there to take care of her, he needed to arrange for someone to take his place. There were so many things he had to get in order, but no time to do it. He should have prepared better for this. His denial kept him from making smart decisions. 

When there was nothing left to do, he said his goodbyes to his coworkers, took a deep breath, and headed outside. His eyes darted from side to side, scanning the alleyway for any sign of the Dragon. There was no one to be found. 

Reid let out a small breath of relief. The entire walk home he stayed on alert, searching every nook and cranny as if the male were going to jump out at him. He only relaxed when his house came into view. 

He shuffled up the stairs and hurried to unlock the door. 

“Mom?” he called out. 

“Reid, come here!” she responded. 

Curious, he slipped out of his jacket and shoes and put on his slippers. He made his way into the living room and his stomach dropped. 

His mother was sitting on her bed, while the Naerian male he had been avoiding sat on the small couch opposite her. They both looked up at his approach. 

Reid’s mother jumped up, her grin nearly splitting her face. She was practically floating as she swept over to him, not caring that her gown was slipping off her bony shoulders. 

“I just knew he was going to be beautiful! I always told you that your mate would be,” his mother sang happily. Reid looked horrified. 

“Mother--” Reid started, his eyes never leaving the male on the couch who was oddly quiet throughout the conversation.

“Sit, sit! Let me make you some tea,” she said, pushing him toward the couch where she forced him down next to the Naerian, who still hadn’t removed his hood. Reid bristled at the close proximity. He made to jump away but the Naerian was quick, slamming a large hand on Reid’s thigh keeping him firmly in place. 

Reid gulped audibly while his mother hummed in the kitchen. 

It had been so long since she made him tea, despite the situation, he was strangely happy that he’d be able to taste it. One last time.

“You’re going to take me away?” Reid asked, though he already knew the answer. The Naerian didn’t respond. “There are things I have to do first, that I have to take care of. I can’t just go--”

“It will be dealt with,” the Naerian said sharply. 

“No, you don’t understand--”

But Reid’s mother was back and brought her son a steaming cup of tea with a smile on her face. Reid accepted the cup and gave her a weak smile in return. 

She sat back on her bed across from them. 

“I am so glad you chose my son to be your mate, Emkii,” his mother swooned. 

“‘Twas fate,” the Naerian answered simply. His mother giggled.

“I am certain Reid will give you healthy offspring.”

Reid choked, “Mother!”

The Naerian squeezed Reid’s thigh tightly, in warning. Reid quieted, gulping down his tea, despite the heat in order to keep himself from having an outburst. 

The conversation that ensued was very one-sided. The Naerian didn’t say much as Reid’s mother went on and on about Reid and her hopes for his future. She sounded like many of the Naerian worshippers who not only accepted their fate but welcomed it. 

It made Reid nauseous. All the while, he sipped his tea, until there was nothing left. 

When Reid could no longer take it, he told his mother firmly. 

“I can’t go.”

“Reid--”

“Mother, no,” then he turned to the Naerian. “I am sorry, but I cannot allow you to take me. There are things I must do.”

“You do not have a choice in the matter, you are coming with me.”

Rage flooded Reid’s veins and he made a move to stand but staggered, his body not following his orders. The Naerian caught him and in the process, his hood slid back revealing pointed ears and silky black hair. He was even more beautiful in the light. 

Reid felt his limbs grow heavy and numb. The Naerian laid him gently on the couch while his mother stood and approached him. 

“You’ll be happy with him, you’ll see,” his mother cooed to her son. 

Her face was the last he saw as his world turned to black.