Page 57 of Fated to the Dragon Warlord

Kerra is to be protected at all costs and that includes from my warlord brethren.

My warrior dips his head and returns to the ship. I motion the others to follow me. They spread out in a practiced formation, some ahead, some behind as we make our way through the grass forest.

“Here,” Kerra says suddenly. “There’s a trail, isn’t there?”

She’s stepped slightly away from me, and sure enough, there’s a trampling of the ground, and the tall grass strands are twisted and shredded in places at the base.

I take a scanner from one of my warriors and use it over the area. It shows more signs of the Madar, this time with Kerra’s friends.

“They came through here, with the hoo-mans.” I look up at Kerra from the screen. “Well done, little mate.” I hand the scanner back to my warrior. “Follow it, see if you can’t find where they came down and if there’s any evidence of how they avoided our sensors.”

He nods, taps his fist on his chest, and studies the scanner before carefully making his way back along the trail.

Kerra walks ahead of me, slowly, carefully looking from side to side until, with a cry of triumph, she points at a small metal object buried in the ground before reaching out for it.

I stop her just before she touches it, lifting her body off the ground and into my arms.

“Darax?!” she fires at me, her sweet breath hot in my face.

“That is not something you want to touch, little mate.” I put her back on her feet next to me, arm still around her waist as I motion to my science officer again.

He circles the thing, using a small scanner which whines unpleasantly.

“Lord Darax.” He looks at me, his face grim. “This place has been seeded.”

I growl loudly.

“Seeded. What does that mean?” Kerra asks.

“Get everyone back,” I call out. “It means this entire place is a trap, and any information it might have held is going to be destroyed, unless we can defuse them,” I rasp. “Dalat?”

He scans the ground around us.

“I should be able to do it, Lord Darax.” He studies his scanner. “But I recommend you and your mate get out of the area.”

“Kerra will go. I will stay,” I respond.

“I appreciate the offer, my Lord.” Dalat dips his head respectfully. “But there is a point where bravery becomes foolhardy, especially where a rutting male is concerned.”

I want to snarl at him for even thinking about Kerra. In fact I want to rip his head off for mentioning my rut. Not that the rest of my crew haven’t noticed. The mere presence of a female sent ripples through the sector. All those in my proximity know I’m in the process of claiming her and that any wrong move will be seen as a reason for me to kill without compunction.

It is the way of rutting males. We’re best left alone until our claim is made or we are left gasping, unable to move or speak, in a pool of our own blood, after an unsuccessful mating and envenomation by our female. Older warriors, such as Dalat, will have seen such a thing many times. Our younger warriors, not so much.

It means my gaze returns to her, the tingling in the area on my shoulder under my scales where she bit me sending my rut soaring. My veins filled with the mating mix. The need to destroy. The need to protect.

Nev the rut! I can’t nevving think straight!

“Take your female and return to the ship, Lord,” Dalat says quietly, making himself as small and unthreatening as possible. “I will resolve the seeding issue as your loyal warrior, and you will keep your mate safe.”

His words are enough to restrain my Sarkarnii. I had wanted to rip his head off. Now I merely want to remove a limb.

“Safe,” I snarl through fangs I can’t control.

Kerra slips her hand into mine.

“I’d rather not be destroyed, Darax,” she says quietly. “And I’d rather you weren’t either.” She gives me a gentle tug and my feet start to move.

She is my female. My mate, my heartsfire, and my light. I would follow her to the ends of the universe. Or cut my head off and hand it to her on a platter.

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