Dragon King's Alien Queen

Chapter 11

He nodded, not phased in the least by her tone. “Yes. The more times I mark you, the faster the change will happen. And considering how good it felt, yes, I am going to do it again and again and again.” He leaned forward in his seat. Fire was blazing in his eyes as his horny dragon came to the surface again. “You can’t tell me you didn’t enjoy that just as much as I did. And once you have your dragon, you will mark me and the mating will be complete. After that, we will begin your training for becoming queen.”

She couldn’t deny that she had enjoyed it but he was so smug about it that she wanted to take him down a few notches. Somehow, she didn’t think his royal ass would appreciate being beat up by a girl. Especially one as small as she was. Crossing her arms across her chest, she continued to glare at him. A hundred different ways that she could kill him ran through her mind. All of which were absolutely doable. Okay. It was safe to say she was feeling a little bloodthirsty.

“And getting this dragon? I’m assuming it’s not a simple procedure.”

He lifted a shoulder, unconcerned. “It differs between species. We have never had your kind here, so we don’t know what exactly will happen. You look close to our species, so it should be safe. If we weren't compatible, there would be no mate bond. For other species there was pain, but we will be there with you to help with that. My dragon and I cannot take it all but we can shoulder some of it. At most, it should only take a few hours.”

Kiera grit her teeth in irritation. Of course, he wouldn’t think twice about it. He wasn’t the one having to do any of the changing. Physically, emotionally, or mentally. He was doing a lot of assuming that this wouldn’t kill her. The fact that he and his dragon didn’t know if it would but had started the process anyway, frankly, turned her stomach. All he seemed to care about was getting what he wanted. What she had to go through in order for him to achieve that didn’t matter to him.

“Is it reversible? Can we stop it?” His blasé attitude and no concern for her well-being made the decision easy for her. She couldn’t trust him. Deep down, she had already known she couldn’t. Kiera had just been hoping that she was wrong.

He looked like she had just shot him. “No. Why would you want to stop it?”

Was he serious? Did he really not see any of the complications? How the h.ell was he king if he couldn’t see all the possible issues that could crop up from this situation? Maybe being king here was all about brute strength. He kept mentioning how he and his brothers were the strongest dragons. But that was part of the problem. She didn’t know anything about him. He didn’t seem to want to know anything about her. He just wanted to mold her into his perfect queen.

Kiera had had enough. It was really difficult to get her so mad that she blew up. But once she was there, it was like a volcano blowing its top. She always prided herself on being able to keep her lid on. His total disregard popped her lid and she exploded in spectacular fashion.

“Are you kidding me?” she spat angrily. "You are a king. Think with your brain and not your d.ick. There are so many ways this could go horribly wrong. Let’s take a minute and completely ignore the fact that we haven’t even known each other for more than maybe two hours yet." She laughed derisively. “Let’s completely ignore the fact that, so far, I don’t even like you. Much less want to spend the rest of my life with you. As king, you have a responsibility to your people. I can’t be your queen. If it even means the same thing here. I don’t know anything about your people, this planet or your customs. You don’t know anything about me, my species, what I want or even what I need to survive. I could be a demented psychopath, and you would just hand over your kingdom to me? And how do you know that something about my genetic makeup couldn’t harm you? How do you know that my genetic makeup isn’t stronger than yours? My blood could kill your dragon, but you didn’t think about that. How do you know that my species could even survive the procedure? You may have just sentenced me to death, and you didn’t think twice about it. What happens to my crew if something happens to me? What about your people? If I survive, they are not going to follow someone that is a species they have never seen before.”

By this point she had worked herself up so much that she never noticed that he had slowly stood up and was stalking towards her. Her brain just wouldn’t shut down. Scenario after scenario ran through her mind and none of them ended up good, much less with anyone ending up being happy. One of those scenarios even consisted of her and her crew disappearing into the mountains. All it would take is a word from her and they would follow her. They were all survivalists at their core. They could make it work. Given enough time, they would make sure they could never be found.

Her pacing came to a sudden stop when she hit a wall. What the h.ell? Looking up, she met glittering purple dragon eyes full of fury.

Glacian did his best to stay calm, but the more she talked, the more infuriated he was. His dragon wasn’t helping. He was clawing Glacian’s insides, determined that nothing was going to keep him from getting his mate. Glacian agreed wholeheartedly. He had wanted his mate for as long as he could remember. Now he had found her. But with every word that came out of her captivating mouth, she was pulling further and further away from them. The mate bond was supposed to bring them closer, but she was fighting it. Hard.

He was king. He was trained to handle high stress situations. He was the one supposed to stay clear-headed no matter the situation. The key was to stay calm and think his way through it. Closing his eyes, he willed his dragon to calm down. Their mate wasn’t going anywhere. When he looked at her again, he was calmer. Only slightly, but calmer.

He used his best ‘I’m king and I know what’s best’ tone. "Kiera. I know there are going to be a lot of changes and new things to get accustomed to. Change can be scary. You aren’t going to be doing this alone. You will learn our ways and…”

“Exactly,” she interrupted. “I’m changing. I have to adjust. What are you doing? Nothing. In the time that we have been together you haven’t once tried to get to know me. All you’ve done is demand that I not even speak my own language. Did it ever occur to you that although we are mates, my DNA may not be compatible with yours? What happens if my body fights the change so much it kills me? How would you feel if you were the one changing? What if my DNA is stronger than yours and instead of me changing, you lose your dragon?”

He opened his mouth to refute that but snapped it shut. It wasn’t possible. Of all the mates that were different species, it had never happened. Doesn’t mean that it couldn’t, he supposed. Losing his dragon would be like losing a limb. He was positive that she would survive the change. But he still didn’t understand. She would not be losing anything but gaining. Why would she fight that?

His brows furrowed as he looked at her in confusion. “You will not be losing anything. You will be gaining a powerful dragon. No alien mate has ever died from the change.”

He was wrong. She would be losing something. Herself. Everything that she had scraped and bled for to shape herself into the competent strong woman she was.

She shook her head. He was so callous with her life. She knew that she couldn’t trust him with it. Maybe it was time that she and her crew did what they were best at. Surviving. A small part of her was screaming at her to not go through with it. She knew that part was the new connection she had formed with him. But a larger part of her was determined to stay true to herself. She knew what he wanted from her. To be everything for him, give everything to his people, give up who and what she was, to be everything that he wanted and needed. That wasn’t her. A long time ago she had given everything of herself to a cause she had thought was worthy. And it had broken her. Now? Now she was commanding and sassy, self-sufficient, self-assured, confident. She had literally picked herself up, bleeding and bruised, and came back stronger than ever. The thing she loved most was being out in the wild with her crew. Using her skills and knowledge. She was a tomboy that loved pants, camping, and sports. This perfect mate he wanted to mold her into just didn't exist. He didn’t want her. He wanted the idea of her.

Looking down at the tips of her boots, she nodded to herself as she made her decision. She had to stay true to herself. Anything else wasn’t an option. And he wasn’t the type to compromise. “I think you should go,” she said quietly. As far as she was concerned, there was nothing left to say. He was never going to see things her way. Wasn’t even going to try to meet her halfway. Whether it was his dragon or him, he wasn't going to change his stance.

Glacian looked at her. His automatic response was to protest. No one dismissed him. They needed to work this out. Talk their way through it. She needed to realize that his way was best. No one other than his parents and brothers had ever dared to stand up to him. His dragon was incensed that she would show him so much disrespect as to disagree with him. Glacian quickly took a tight hold on his dragon. Scaring their mate would get them the opposite of what they wanted. She had to come to them willingly. She would eventually have to acknowledge that there was no escaping this. But maybe giving her some space to think about it would do more than arguing with her.

“We will meet in a little over thirty clicks. All of you will get a tour of the grounds and the market and then we will talk. The cleansing room is there.” He pointed toward the door to her right. “There are clean clothes in the wardrobe. I will be back shortly to escort you to the meeting.”

She nodded, refusing to look at him. When he got to the door, he turned to look at her again. She was so beautiful. He didn’t like leaving her but knew he had to. Thinking back to before, he couldn’t help but ask. “What was the hand gesture the others gave you before they went into their rooms?”

Kiera visibly stiffened. She was hoping Glacian and Rokk hadn’t been paying attention to the small signal. They would have to be more careful. She shrugged, trying to play it off as nothing. Her crew had come up with their own language. The simplest gestures could have the most important meanings.

“It is just a code we came up with for when we are in unfamiliar territory.” She looked into the cold fireplace contemplating the course she was about to take.

“What did it mean?” It couldn't have been much. It was a simple gesture.

Kiera looked back up at him with a serious look. She supposed it wouldn’t hurt to tell him. It was the only code he would ever see them make. She’d make sure of it.

“In short? Burn it down. If one of us disappears or is taken, we will burn the world down to find them.” It was a code they had only ever used once before.

Glacian couldn’t contain the shock that coursed through him. She had said it so seriously and so calmly. He knew she was telling the truth. “Do you really think you would be able to?”

Her gaze stayed steady. “In more ways than one.”