Chapter 10
Dragoon, Arizona
Reichardt held his dragonlet in his arms as he walked the pathway leading to the barn. His second in command flew overhead readying to land. It had been a cloudy day so there was no worry that humans might see dragons in the air. He walked through the barn to the back door and stood watching as his second in command, Drake, easily landed and shifted to his human form. The baby gurgled with laughter.
He smiled at his dragonlet. “You love seeing the dragons, don’t you, little one?” The baby gurgled again.
“You’re getting soft my king,” Drake teased as he walked past to enter the back of the barn. They kept clothing stored in the back stalls for those shifting to use.
“I never knew what a miracle it was to have one until now, but I wouldn’t trade a moment of this.”
Drake smiled at that. “I know what you mean. Meeting my mate and adopting little Wyatt has totally changed my life. It makes all the lonely years we’ve lived through worthwhile.”
“Speaking of your mate and son, I’ve noticed you’ve been taking more security rounds while your father-in-law has been visiting. Are you two not getting along?”
Drake growled in frustration as he shrugged his pants on. “That man is infuriating. He keeps telling Emily that if she ever wants to leave this fortress of solitude, he would be more than happy to have her and Wyatt come stay with him.”
Reichardt snorted. “Where will they stay? On the human military base?”
“He’s retiring and thinking of getting a place in Florida. I looked it up. It’s got good weather most of the year and that amusement park is nearby.”
Reichardt watched the worried expression on his friend’s face as he finished getting dressed and walked out of the stall. He placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.
“Emily loves you and would never leave you.
“She loves her father too and wants to build a closer relationship with him. Moving to Florida would do that. If she wants to move...”
“I don’t think you have anything to worry about. Emily isn’t going to leave you and Colonel Peter Campbell wants that relationship just as much as she does. In fact, he’ll be moving closer this way, I think.”
“Why would he do that?” Drake asked, moving to walk toward the front barn entrance.
“Have you not noticed how much time he’s been spending with Markus’s mother, Lania?”
That made Drake stop in his tracks and he turned sideway to look at Reichardt. “Is he harassing her? Markus won’t put up with that and will challenge him to a fight. Peter might be a human warrior but is old and weak in comparison to a dragon warrior. I’ll have to fight in his place.”
“Peter and Lania have an attraction for one another. I believe he may be her true life mate. Her dragon would have repelled him by now if he was not a potential.”
Drake ran a hand through his hair. “If they do mate, Peter would have to move here to be with Lania. She would not agree to leave her people or her grandchild.”
“Exactly,” Reichardt agreed.
“Markus is still going to have a problem with this. He’s been very protective over his sister and mother after they were separated for so long.”
“If Lania claims Peter as her mate, Markus will have no choice but to accept it.”
Drake sighed. “All of that is just a possibility. Reality is that I have to get along with the male regardless. I need something else to think about.”
“Which brings me to why I came to get you. Markus received a call from General Ranier. They found a group of Drakonians on a small planet.”
“That’s great news. More of our people survived than we thought.”
“Yes, but they had to be evacuated.”
“Why?”
“Our old enemy — Ranier calls them the Croads — were entering the star system. He worried that the small group would be too vulnerable left there against them.”
“So he’s transporting them here to Earth?”
