Page 42 of Captured By the Dragon Warlord (Fated Mates of the Sarkarnii Warlords #2)
S carlett stands next to the pod looking down at the warrior within. I wrap my arms around her tiny frame, unable to imagine what it will be like when she is rounded with our young.
“How’s he doing?” she asks me.
“He is breathing on his own. If we can get him strong enough to shift, he should recover completely,” I murmur into her hair.
Her body relaxes. As much as I would expect my rut to be going wild because of her interest in another warrior, it is not.
Drex is not a threat. Instead the mating mix which fills my veins calms me, fills me with desire and with the need to make sure my sweet mate is comfortable. It makes me purr. Her concern for Drex makes me…content.
Scarlett turns slightly to look up at me, and I place my mouth on hers, turning her to me and cupping her face in my hands.
“I heard about the attack in Darax’s sector,” she says.
The mention of the warlord makes me want to growl, but I hold back.
“All the warlords and their clans are on high alert for the devices. They’re actively looking for them with some tech developed by Dante,” I reply. “The nevver loves a good explosion, so it doesn’t much surprise me he’s found a way of detecting explosives.”
“An occupational hazard?” Scarlett queries, a smile hitching the corner of her mouth.
I might not be able to read her thoughts, but I feel like I know her enough I don’t have to.
“Dante is a hazard, that much is true,” I agree.
“That’s not what I meant.” Scarlett laughs quietly.
“I know what you meant.” I study her beautiful face. I’m pleased to see she still wears my favorite jewel. “But despite Dante, there’s yet to be a decision on how we deal with the threat,” I growl.
It is frustrating in the extreme. Even with Dalox seemingly interested in managing this problem, we have yet to make a cohesive decision on what to do.
And I’m due to shift soon. I can feel the familiar tingle in my limbs which I’ve come to dread. My shifted form means I get to protect my mate directly, but should anything which requires the use of tech arise, I am singularly useless.
Scarlett places her hand on my chest, studying my scales. “Do you need to shift yet?” she asks.
“Not yet.”
“Then I have an idea.” She slides her hand down until she has hold of mine. “We need to map the explosions, see if there is a pattern.”
“There is no pattern.” I shake my head.
“I mean a pattern which corresponds with the movement of one or two Sarkarnii.”
As much as her words chill my blood, I can see what she means, and it is something I have not wanted to address.
I let her lead me out of the clinic and back to our quarters. The Paralnyi has left out food, which I eat swiftly, and Scarlett settles herself in my den.
I can’t help but think what it will be like when she births our young, how they will fill the den with us, how we will be a family.
Family is not something I’ve thought about for a long time.
“I’ve mapped out the explosions and the various places the unexploded bombs have been found. I need to overlay it with movements from the warriors,” she says, holding up the vid-pad.
“Let me.” I take it from her. “We should try outsiders first.”
“Because you’re paranoid?” She chuckles.
“Because they’re easier to eliminate.” I give her a stern look. “Fewer of them.”
There’s no pattern. Any warriors who have entered my sector are few and far between, mostly keeping to the areas around the airlock entrances.
“Clear,” I say, showing her the screen on the pad which shows no warriors visiting the areas where the devices have been found.
“Then we need to look at everyone else.” She eyes me. “Everyone, Dexx, including you, just to make this fair.”
Smoke emits from my nostrils as I contemplate her suggestion.
“I agree.”
I punch the relevant items into the vid-pad, but my claws are growing longer and my hands larger.
“Nev it,” I snarl.
“What is it?” Scarlett takes hold of me.
“I need to shift.” I grit my teeth as the pain flows through me. “I can’t stop it.”
I lift her out of my den as quickly as I can before the shift overtakes me and I am my Sarkarnii once more. I dislike the initial feeling of being shifted, but with Scarlett close by, it eases the discomfort.
“Come,” I rumble. “There is no mining for me.” I curl up in my den, the cup and cushions molding to my form as it was always designed to do. I gently flick the vid-pad towards her.” The simulation might take a nova-hour to run.”
Scarlett slides in between my tail and my body, vid-pad in hand. “What are we going to do if you have no work and this is going to take an hour?” she asks, studying the screen.
“I do not know, my mate,” I purr. “But I’m sure we can think of something to while away the time.”