Page 5 of Risking Her Heart

2

ZAS’TU

They were right. My brothers, all of them. They did not lie and were not telling tales. I left the Order behind out of disillusionment with the new Eye, but I did not believe, in my heart, that the humans could be a true treasure.

Our treasures. A myth, or so the Eye of Tajss subtly, led us to believe it was. The Eye did not ever say it wasn’t real, but it was implied in so many lessons. Only one of the many things that I grew suspicious of.

I had thought about leaving the Order for a long time, but to what end? The jungle was not only vast but deadly. Especially for a Zmaj alone. None of us had any idea that many of those who were banished or presumed dead were actually alive and living out there beyond the walls of our compound.

Once I did believe in the Order. Its noble purpose to restore Tajss to its natural state. I am old enough and my memory clear enough to remember when the Star People ruled Tajss. A time when we Zmaj were glorified slaves. Captured in a society andan economy that made us think we had free will but that was, in truth, only an illusion.

When I joined the Order, it was because the male who was the Eye of Tajss then made sense. That was before. Before the Devastation and before he passed. Under his replacement, the new Eye, things changed. Slowly but surely.

Younger Zmaj came and joined us, from the desert and some from the Jungle. The Eye was corrupting our original intent for a free, restored Tajss. It had been clear to me that for the Eye it was all about power.

I left with the others out of disillusionment but not with hope that they were right. I knew they believed that the humans, these Star People, were our mates returned to us. I had lost my mate and our child before I joined the Order, thereafter, resigning myself to my life alone while awaiting her return.

She always returned. No, I didn’t remember our former lives together, but I knew, even deeper than in my heart, that she was the one. That we would find each other again. Someday, in some distant future, maybe we would remember all our lives, but it didn’t matter. We knew each other when we were together. And I know this. Kat is her.

I should not have been so lazy in learning their tongue. It had seemed pointless.

Regret is a bitter taste in the back of my throat. I want to talk to her, share my thoughts and more, hear hers. Does she feel this? Does she know we are one?

My brothers who have already found their mates say it isn’t always the same for humans. Sometimes they know, sometimes they don’t. Sometimes they reject their fates, but eventually,they come around. The journey has not been the same for any of them. Which is to be expected. Tajss doesn’t make any path straightforward and fate or no fate, nothing is set in stone.

Watching her walk at my side, feeling her resonance in my soul, the truth of that statement has never been clearer. My love, my treasure, was previously as tall as I, with brilliant, gorgeous scales and a smile that lit up the world. Looking at her now, in this new body, is so different.

Small. Tiny even. She barely comes to my chest. Her hair drapes her face, laying on her shoulders, a rich auburn color. Her skin is unprotected but looks so soft, I ache to touch it. She glistens in the sun with a light sheen of moisture that I know the humans call ‘sweat’. It’s the inefficient system their bodies use to regulate heat. I want to taste it. I want, with all that I am, to lick every inch of her.

My brothers, when we’re alone, have talked at length about the human females’ breasts. That they are not only always exposed, but that they are erogenous. Hers do not look as large as some of the humans, Ziva’s are much bigger, but I imagine they will be a nice handful. Looking at her chest my cock stiffens.

I like her ass too. Alien, exotic, no tail, and no wings, but it’s full and round and sways nicely as she walks. There is a scent too, only a hint that I catch in random whiffs. A musky, heavy scent that each time I smell it, my breath catches and my cock throbs. My arms ache to hold her but I have to keep that aside. There are matters of survival to figure out.

But I can’t help but wonder, does she feel the same? She hasn’t pushed me away. I’ve been very forward, holding onto her, pressing to her flesh. I can barely control myself. The scent of her, the feel of her body, but more than anything, this constantpull on my heart towards her. To be close, touching, it doesn’t let up.

Have I been too forward? I could be driving her away.

Hmm. I will have to ask my brothers. Riley will know more. She has been very helpful with all of the pairings of Zmaj. I want to understand how the hearts and souls of our females ended up in these human bodies, but that is a question for later.

I hadn’t given any of this much thought because I thought my brothers were confusing lust and desire for the connection of a treasure. That would be easy enough to understand. We have been without females for an exceedingly long time and no matter what, self-pleasure will never compare to the touch and sensuality of a real female.

I was wrong. This is much more than lust.

She is looking but trying to appear as if she is not. I let her do this out of respect. She is coming to terms with her feelings, and it would be wrong of me to force myself onto her while she does.

The human they call Dan says something rough that sounds like a curse. He’s waiting for the door to the ship to cycle open. He’s angry, which I understand. The machine was vital, and its loss is a major issue. If it were our only problem, I would be relieved, but we have much bigger ones to worry about.

The Order is going to come. My brothers do not believe me, but I feel it is true. Feel it in a way that I cannot deny. It haunts my dreams while also distracting me throughout the day. The humans are not safe.

Glancing at my treasure, I growl. The idea of her being in harm’s way causes the bijass to surge stronger and more insistent thanI am used to having to manage. Fast, sudden, and so prevalent that it is shocking. Her head jerks towards me, eyes widening as a frown forms on her face.

I smile, trying to ease her suspicious look. It doesn’t work. She narrows her eyes and looks away but there is a distance between us that is different. The airlock opens with a whoosh sound as the air inside rushes out. It is cool as it crosses my scales and involuntarily, I shiver.

I follow Dan through the door with my treasure at my side. We wait in silence while one door closes and the other cycles open. I watch her, barely able to take my eyes away. She is incredibly beautiful but it’s not her beauty that holds my attention, it’s more. A pull she has that sucks me in and keeps me.

Dan curses again, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. She watches him, her eyes darting from him to me. Every time her eyes come to me, I smile. When at last the final door opens, I motion for her to go ahead, following in Dan’s footsteps.

She hesitates, her mouth opening and then closing before shrugging and taking the lead. I follow, not missing the beautiful sway of her ass. We pass many humans as we go through the ship passages. It isn’t long, not nearly long enough, before we enter the room that has been serving as a command center for the Zmaj and Human leaders.

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