Dragon King's Alien Queen

Chapter 5

Kiera stared at the crazy alien man dumbfounded. She was pretty sure ‘What the h.ell?’ was written all over her face. Mate? That wasn’t possible. Her mind automatically began making a list in her head of just why that wasn’t possible. They were two different species. She was human and humans didn’t have mates. She knew nothing about him and he definitely knew absolutely nothing about her. He didn’t even know what she was. Hell, they literally just crash landed on the planet barely an hour ago.

Undeniably sure that he was wrong, she made sure to let him know. “You don’t know anything about me. We aren’t even the same species.” Straightening herself back up, she brushed the sand from her knees. It just wasn’t possible. Humans didn’t have mates. Long ago, so long that it was ancient legend, there were stories of soul mates. Stories that only the oldest of their population knew of them. Could her reaction just be something to do with the communication device syncing with her brain? Was it possible that the device had somehow found knowledge of that in her mind when it had synced with her?

“Same species or not, you are my mate. Our kind have mated with many different species.” He seemed to come to a decision. “Bring the others. You will live with me in my castle. We will find them suitable accommodations.”

That instantly got her back up. It rang too close to a previous nightmare she refused to think about. “I stay with my crew or we stay here,” she said definitively. Squaring her shoulders, she prepared to do whatever it took to protect the others and herself. But mainly the others. They may be on a strange new planet with dragon people and had no idea of their culture, but she would fight to the death for her crew. They were the only family she had. The training they had undergone ensured they would be prepared should they encounter hostiles on any new planet they found. It seems they may have found one.

“No. I have decided. You will stay with me as my mate should. The others will be found housing as we have done with other survivors. You will understand more after we have shown you more of our world.” He turned toward the other man as though about to issue more orders. Looking back to her when he realized that she hadn’t followed his orders, he gestured behind her. “Call your crew over. They require the communication drive.” He hesitated on the word ‘crew’ as though it was a new word to him.

She thought of crossing her arms over her chest but thought better of it. She needed her arms loose in case she needed to attack. Or defend herself. Glaring at him, she very calmly asked, “What is my name?”

He just looked at her quizzically. This so-called king didn’t even see the point in knowing her name. He expected her to mate with him, do Lord only knew what else with him, and he didn’t even care who she was. She was just another possession to him. Something for him to own. It did hold true to the legends of dragons from ancient history.

“Exactly. I’ll be staying with my crew.” She debated on not calling them in but the communication device would be handy if they needed to make a quick exit. Which was beginning to look like more and more of a possibility. Surviving would be that much more difficult if she was the only one who could understand the people around them. Without taking her eyes from him, she yelled over her shoulder in French. “Come on out, guys. Stay alert. They have a communication device that you need. It is debatable whether we will be staying with them or not.”

Taking their cue from her, the four others in the bushes slowly came out carrying the life packs. Grabbing hers from Greg, she put it on her back so that if they needed to make a quick escape, it would already be in place.

She kept her eyes on Glacian. No matter how attractive he was, his ‘holier than thou’ attitude had grated on her nerves. He may be a king here, but he would not be her king. She had dealt with too many of his kind back at headquarters. Men who thought they knew better just because they were male or held a higher rank. He was king, which made him even worse. Everyone would obey him simply because of who he was. That didn’t give him the right to claim her as if she were nothing but a thing. Been there, done that. The men at headquarters had tried that and failed. She was not reliving that.

“Rokk has enough devices for all of your crew. In my presence you will only speak Drakian. I won’t have you speaking something I don’t understand.” His tone said he expected instant obedience. The poor baby really thought they would obey him. It was almost cute.

She lifted an eyebrow at him. “That’s a little heavy handed, don’t you think? Just because you think we are mates doesn’t mean that you get to control me. If that’s the way it is going to be, then being mates means something completely different here than it does where I come from. You may be a king here, but you are not my owner. Or my keeper.” She wasn’t about to tell him they didn’t have mates. They had to be careful with what information they gave these people. From what little she had seen, they couldn’t be trusted.

Eyeing her speculatively, he nodded. “We will discuss it later. For now, make sure your crew have the drives on so we can communicate.” He handed her the small box.

Kiera turned her back on him dismissively. The insane alien really thought she didn’t know what he was up to? He thought that if he could order her people around it would better control her. Fat lot of good that was going to do him. Giving her crew her full attention, she continued to speak in French. “These little devices will make it so you can speak and understand their language. They still won’t be able to understand ours. From what I can tell it’s one sided.” She handed each of them a device. “When you put them on, it’s going to get hot against your skin but it will pass.”

“Are you sure?” Bao asked. “You seemed to be in more pain than just a burn.” Following her lead, she continued to speak in French.

Kiera shook her head. “That was something else. He thinks we are mates. I don’t see how it is possible. Something happened but he’s a little too high handed for me. He says that there is some form of mate connection. There is something drawing me toward him. It’s subtle. But, honestly, there is no way I could be a mate to him. I don’t think I could ever even like him.”

Mikhail put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed lightly. His solid comfort at her side was reassuring. “You know we have your back, right?”

Fabrizio placed his hand on her other shoulder. “I’ll have your front,” he said with a straight face. He grinned when they all grinned at his inuendo. “I’m not hearing a ‘no’,” he sang playfully. “Come on. I’ll make sure you enjoy it.”

“I’m not saying ‘yes’,” Kiera sang back playfully. It was one of the things she loved the most about Fab. He could cut through any tension, no matter how thick.

They all turned when a growl came from behind them. They knew they were not in any danger. Greg and Bao had been closely watching the two large men behind them even as they talked quietly.

Glacian stalked closer until he stood close behind them with a menacing snarl on his face. “Tell the males to take their hands off you. You are mine. They have no right to be touching you.” He looked like he was barely holding himself back from attacking them.

Kiera had had enough of his overhanded, autocratic attitude. Handing the box to Bao, she slowly turned to him, taking the one step that put them chest to chest. Or face to chest. The man was huge.

“Listen here, dragon boy. I don’t care who the h.ell you think you are to me, but you will not, under any circumstances, dictate how I act with or around my family. Do I make myself clear?” The hard edge to her voice and the murder in her eyes told him she was not budging on this. It would be wise of him to back off.

“No one speaks to me this way. I am King,” he sneered down at her.

“Well, obviously someone needs to. You are not my keeper or my mate and I am not a damn dog. If my family or crew decide to give or show support, we will do it. And there’s not a d.amn thing you can do about it. I don’t know what family units are like here, but we are not changing our ways just because they are not familiar or the same as yours. You had best start understanding that now.” She refused to break eye contact. She meant business and he needed to know that now. They had worked too hard and been through too much not to stick together no matter the circumstances.

Glacian was utterly stunned as the female turned her back on him again and returned to her group. What was a 'd.amn dog'? No one had ever stood their ground against him before. Everyone just did what they were told whether they agreed with what he wanted or not. He really didn’t know whether to punish her for the insubordination, turn her over his knee or kiss her senseless. He was leaning more toward the latter. When she stood up to him it got his adrenaline pumping. He was almost enjoying it.

“Mate sassy,” his inner dragon said grinning.

“You know, Sire, the last time I saw a female stand up to a king, it was your mother standing up to your father. I believe she won that argument if memory serves me right.” Rokk nudged him with his shoulder.

“I believe you are right, Rokk. But this is an argument she will not win. She is mine, whether she wants to admit it or not. They will all realize that soon enough.” Glacian clapped Rokk on the back with a grin. “Now, we need to figure out where to put them. I want them close so I can have access to my mate and make sure they are safe until our people get accustomed to them.”