Viola Grace

At home, she changed clothes, loving the feel of jeans and a t-shirt, ran through a few chores and was thinking about trying to sleep when her phone went off.

"Sama? What is it?"

"They just came in. You have about half an hour."

"On my way."

With no time to waste, she sprinted down the path and made a beeline for the commissary. The family was indeed there having a meal and with no decorum at all, Roxy skidded to the side of their table.

"Greetings, I am Roxanne Nelson, Inventory Master of this station and I realize it is rude, but I need to ask a question."

Taken aback, the father spoke, "I am Retingar, this is my mate, Ashla, and our daughter, Minara. What is the question that you would ask?"

She nodded her head to each as the introduction was given. "What is the significance of the song in the night?"

The three Drai blinked at her and the male raised his wings slightly in surprise. "Where did you hear of the song?"

"It doesn't matter. What is it?"

Minara grimaced. "The song of an ancient Drai calling to his mate. That is why we are here. There is a dragon sleeping on this world and he is about to wake. When he wakes, he will start the song and I will go to him."

"So, if you hear the song, he is calling you?" She was having trouble dodging the crux of her problem.

"That is the history. I have not heard it yet and we have been here for some weeks." Minara shrugged.

"Thank you for the answer. I am sorry to have disrupted your meal." She started to turn and leave, but then had to ask, "What if he is waking, but he is calling someone else?"

Minara blinked, so her father filled in, "Then we will simply leave. There is none who should stand between a dragon and his true mate. It would be an insult that might cost a life."

"Ah. Well. Good luck then."

She was almost to the door when Ashla called out, "How long has it been going on then?" Her tone was amused. She had heard what Roxy had not been saying.

Roxy turned her head and said over her shoulder. "A month."

"Then I would go in search of him soon, or he will come to you. If that is the situation, then the entire base may be in jeopardy. The shifters were said to be patient only to a limit before they take their mate hunt into their own hands." She was chuckling.

Roxy hazarded a quick look at the table where they sat. Retingar was shocked, Ashla amused and Minara relieved. She gave them a quick nod and left the commissary.

She sprinted to her house and closed her eyes the instant that she lay down. She was fully clothed. If she needed to follow his song to find him and shut him up, she would do it.

She desperately needed a good night's sleep.

The women were startled into laughter and a soft dialogue was begun. Alara peeked over to the men’s side of the room and jumped when she noticed the brilliant blue and gold eyes staring at her from under dark brows and deeply red skin.

While her mind shrieked at the beloved familiarity of his features, she tried to keep her face straight. His burnt colouration was a stark contrast to her shades of green and the images in her mind of exactly how extreme that comparison could be started a blush that she hid from him by turning her head.

“Why are you blushing?” One of her new companions whispered it in her ear. Well, it seemed to be a whisper, but the woman who spoke was across the table. It was her talent, speaking at a distance, a handy power that the Dalphaic government was trying to find a use for.

Alara gestured to the distance between them and quirked an eyebrow.

Chuckling, Dori came around the table and positioned herself next to Alara.

“I have seen him before. He wasn’t wearing quite so much.” Her words caused a flaring blush in Dori’s cheeks as she caught the meaning.

“Oh, I see.”

“I wish I didn’t, but I did.” Alara winked and Dori returned to her place. She didn’t really regret the knowledge, but it made for a cute quip.

A sudden whisper in her ear brought her upright in a hurry. “He’s coming this way.”

A flurry of straightening her hair brought giggles from the ladies at the table as she turned to smile with bland curiosity at the man who lived in her dreams every night.

“Are you Alara J’tak?” His voice was abrupt and not at all what she would expect from a lover. She mentally slapped herself. He didn’t know that they would be lovers.

“Yes. And you are?”

He drew himself to his full and impressive height. He was magnificent, his horns gleaming in the open panels of sunlight coming through the ceiling. “General Brodin of the Sector Guard Base Teklan. I am here to rescue you.”

Alara heard and felt the women at her table swoon, but she knew how this was supposed to end. She got to her feet and looked up at him with an expectant look. “How are you going to do that with your limbs encased in restrictors?”

He leaned down until they were almost nose-to-nose. His gaze warmed and his voice took on a distinctly sensual tone. “You’ve seen the future, you tell me.”