Page 15 of Bartender Mate

My dragon stood up and took notice, zeroing in on the door of the weather-worn establishment which stood slightly ajar. A tense confrontation–between what sounded like the blonde-haired witch and her adversary–filtered out toward us.

As one, the Stellar Misfits pulled up to a hasty stop, bristling in battle-readiness. While the scribes may have beaten us to the fun, my fellow Stellar Misfits were more than eager to join the fray and put a face to our Earth-bound nemesis for the first time.

The beast inside my middle wanted to charge inside, too, but he wasn’t thirsty for the blood of our enemies so much as absolutely fixated on reaching that intoxicating presence who was–even now–begging us to draw ever-closer.

I left my bike where it stopped, paying no mind to its placement or security. The human bikes moved differently from the sleds we had brought from Drakonis, balancing its weight on two wheels instead of hovering mid-air as our military grade vehicles did. In truth, I’d already taken a liking to the Earth-bound method of transportation. It felt good between my thighs–natural, even–allowing me to ground my bulk to the land beneath.

The moment I entered the dimly-lit space, however, I was hit between the eyes with the force of it. The commanding presence of the very mate we’d been sent to Earth to find. She was standing right there, center-stage, and owning her place in the cosmos as she defended her territory.

As we’d stepped inside, the woman slipped down from the countertop to brace her feet on the floor next to the railing and glare at the Drakon Hunters MC with pure loathing in her eyes. She moved gingerly, though, in a way that was vaguely worrying. It made my dragon want to cross straight to her side, sweep her up in our arms, and carry her far away from here.

I barely spared a glance for the deadly witches who were standing in a V formation off to the side, posturing behind their leader. The President’s face was now twisted into a sneer of disgust as he faced off with my people.

The pesky war that was brewing between our two factions was of no consequence to me in this moment, though. I only had eyes for my mate. Every fiber of my being was one hundred percent locked onto this delectable Earth woman–a human–who had the fire of revenge in her eyes.

I honestly couldn’t believe my luck.

Could the stars have blessed our mission so quickly?

One single day on the planet, and there she was, a goddess brought to life. Golden skin the color of the deepest sands of Drakonis with thick waves of ebony hair swirled around her shoulders, highlighted with the very purple of our scales. She was made for us.

I stood stock still, hardly daring to breathe, feeling my mates pressing close behind me. Inside our skins, our dragons answered the call of her essence. Pulsating and roaring in silent triumph. Deepening our skin-tone in recognition of finally,finallymeeting our fourth.

Our fated mate.

The sole being in the universe who could complete our mating bond.

Slowly, the woman’s gaze tracked over to take in the newcomers–the Stellar Misfits, our people–who were standing behind the scribes. Then her eyes moved with inexorably slowness and unyielding inevitability to lock onto mine.

The mating mark burned triumphantly on my neck, begging for completion.

Demanding swift action.

As the magic writhed and danced in my soul, my skin and hidden scales throbbed a deeper shade in preparation, confirming what my heart already knew, and announcing our discovery to the room at large. Angry snarls broke out all around us as the Drakon Hunters saw the evidence of our incumbent claim trying to rise on the human’s neck.

In response to the surge of aggression, Tess slapped a hand to her neck, quenching the sudden fire of my skin with a determined shake of her head.

Her movement was like a bucket of iced water thrown over the proceedings, yet I couldn’t tear my eyes from the human’s imperious gaze because I had to catalog every precious moment of this first meeting.

My undivided attention was rewarded with a widening of the eyes, a deepening of the flush on her cheeks, and a quickening of the female’s breath. She licked her lips, uncertainly, as her eyes trailed over my torso, then did the same for the bonded mates at my side. The ‘come hither’ fire in her eyes was stoked to new levels.I jolted, almost dragged forward a step by the significance of that look, as our mate saw us–reallysawus–for the first time. The woman, one who I got the feeling would not be rushed, not even by destiny, took her sweet time assessing each of us in turn.

Sucking those private observations into the depths of her soul.

A strange mixture of shock, bemusement, longing and lust rode ramshod over her features.

And, for one blessed moment, I thought she might cross straight to my side. Throw her arms around me and beg me to do exactly as my dragon demanded–beg me to whisk her away so we could claim our mating bond in peace.

Instead, she shook off the enchantment as her face became a stone facade of determination. She gave me an unfathomable nod, then turned, and sprinted right at one of the Drakon Hunters with a fierce yell.

Leaping onto her target's rigid back, the woman wailed on one who still had blood splattered on his face. Only then did I notice the shape of a man, pummeled into oblivion, at the Drakon Hunter’s feet.

“I’ll kill you myself, Claw. You hear me? You come back here again and I’ll fucking end you for hurting Dan!” my goddess screamed, hitting the startled male beneath her clinging form with clenched fists. The Drakon Hunters burst into laughter all around the grappling duo, as the man–like a bucking bull–tried to throw the human off. “Get out of my bar.”

Her punches didn’t seem to bother the muscled biker, however his cheeks were turning bright red at the sound of his jeering comrades’ taunts. The Drakon Hunter snarled, and backed her into the raised countertop of the serving bar, causing my mate to let out a gust of pain.

My dragon shifted into battle-mode in an instant.

“Get off me, you little bitch,” Claw growled.

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