Page 17 of Chosen By the Dragon Alien

This kiss wasn’t the gentle brush of lips like the last time. He kissed her hungrily, needy. She let out a small moan that rocked him to his toes. Silken arms slid around his neck. Fingers caressed the back of his neck and slid into his hair. Her mouth wasn’t hesitant. It was as if she’d been waiting for him to do exactly this—to break the rules and claim her.

A fusion of hunger and tenderness shattered the last remnants of his control. His mouth moved over hers with unrestrained passion, tasting the sweetness of her, learning the feel and texture of her. It had been so long—so impossibly long—since he’d touched a female, and Fivra made him ache so badly he shook with the power of his need.

Her hands found their way to his chest, gripping the fabric of his shirt as she responded with an ardor that matched his own. “Cyprian,” she breathed, and tipped her head back, offering her neck for him to kiss.

Which he did. His mouth moved over the smooth column of her throat. Her pulse throbbed there, fast and hard. The intensity of the moment threatened to consume him. His senses were awash with the intoxicating scent of her desire, the softness of her skin, and the delicate moans that escaped her throat. It was as if every touch, every caress, was a step toward either a future they were destined to share, or the edge of a cliff neither of them would come back from.

A sharp rapping on the doorframe shattered the moment, sending a jolt of alarm through Cyprian’s veins. He broke the kiss, his chest heaving as he turned his gaze toward the intrusion.Fek, he’d forgotten to close the door behind them. Glivar stood there, his meaty green hand still raised from knocking. The assistant’s gaze looked everywhere except at the sight of Fivra in Cyprian’s arms. He’d gotten an eyeful. The evidence of their intimate moment was clear.

“What is it?” Cyprian growled, his voice a low, dangerous rumble that betrayed his irritation. He couldn’t let Fivra go. There was no point in it now, anyway. Glivar had seen enough.

“Ah, boss,” Glivar stammered. “I have that information you were looking for.”

His mind spun as he carefully unwound himself from Fivra and tucked his wings back. He briefly considered sending Fivraback to her suite, but this concerned her directly. She needed to stay. Whatever Glivar had learned, she deserved to know.

“What have you found out?” Cyprian asked, cutting straight to the chase.

Glivar’s expression was serious as he passed Cyprian a slim datapad. “I’ve got a lead, but it’s vague. I accessed a network, and it seems someone has been monitoring the movements of prisoners being removed from one of the penal colonies. It doesn’t give the location of the colony, but I think you’ll find the information in the report interesting.”

Cyprian took the datapad and began reading the case on file. There it was—the mention of a “Claim of Breach” and four settlement numbers. One of them matched the settlement Fivra claimed to be from, but it was far more than he anticipated. The entry indicated insurrections in the remote penal colony. Uprisings that had led the Axis to withdraw from the region and close their contract with the client who funded the penal colony.

Cyprian leaned closer to the datapad, narrowing his focus as he read. The report was concise. It listed ships deployed, how many were lost, and the cost analysis of retaking the colony versus the time left on the contract. It was decided to abandon the colony. An addendum indicated it was believed the neighboring species on the planet would overtake and slaughter the rest of the inmates. File closed. But one line stood out to him as brightly as the glowing marks on Fivra’s neck.Apprehension and rehabilitation of Zaruxian male unsuccessful. Deleted from the system.

“Fek,” he breathed, letting the weight of the revelation settle over him.

“What does it say?” Fivra asked anxiously.

“Here.” He handed her the datapad absently as his thoughts raced.

She pressed it back to him, shaking her head. “I can’t read. We weren’t allowed.” Her voice held an edge of anxiety. “Please tell me what it says, Cyprian.”

“Very well.” His gaze turned to hers. “But you won’t like it.”

NINE

Fivra

Fivra listened in stunned silence as Cyprian relayed the information from the report. Her heart pounded in her chest, each beat echoing the grim news of her home and her people. The Axis had abandoned her settlement after an uprising, leaving chaos and uncertainty in their wake. The overseer, a figure who had always loomed large in her life, was gone—deleted from the system. And her people, her friends, her family… They were presumed dead, overtaken by the neighboring, beastlike species they had been warned about since childhood.

Her legs shook and threatened to give out, and she lowered herself into a plush chair near his desk. The room spun around her. The reality of the situation threatened to pull her into a dark abyss of despair. “Dead,” she whispered, the word tasting like ash in her mouth. “All of them…gone.”

Cyprian kneeled before her, his silver eyes filled with a mixture of defiance and resolve. “I don’t believe it,” he said flatly.“The Axis can’t tolerate a loss, and admitting that a bunch of inmates overtook their forces would look terrible.”

She shook her head. Her gaze focused on the intricate patterns of the carpet beneath her feet. “I hope you’re right,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “My people were not kind to each other. Maybe we once were, but I don’t see how they could have overcome the Axis’ forces. We had no weapons. No skill at fighting.”

He smirked. “I suspect they had help. Your overseer didn’t side with the Axis, clearly, and losing him must have dealt a blow. Zaruxians can be formidable when we are in dragon form. Perhaps he was protecting…” His eyes lit up. “You said he kept one member of your group?”

“Yes. Turi.” She dropped her gaze. “She was so scared.”

“Maybe she didn’t stay scared,” he said dryly. “Maybe what happened between them is what is happening between us.”

Her gaze flew to him. It was possible. Turi had appealed to the overseer years earlier, but she’d never revealed what she’d done to earn a mark of protection over her family’s farm. “It’s possible.”

Cyprian sent a look to Glivar, who stood quietly, looking extremely awkward. “The fury of a Zaruxian in dragon form would cause enormous damage. And if he had allies, there would be too much for a standard Axis defense fleet to deal with. The cost of maintaining control over the colony got to be too high,” Cyprian explained, his hand gently squeezing hers in a show of support. “The report suggests there was some form of rebellion, an uprising that led to losses. In the end, the Axis made the decision to retreat. If your people are anything like you, they did not take well to learning the truth about the Axis.”

Fivra’s mind raced as she tried to process the information. Her peopleworshippedthe Axis. They were forced to pray to them. Thoughts of her friends flashed through her mind—females she’d grown up with, shared dreams and fears with. They had all been pawns in a game they didn’t even know they were playing. And now, wherever they were, they did not know that the settlements were no longer under Axis rule.

“There’s something else.” Glivar shifted his weight, his eyes darting between her and Cyprian.

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