her with the drink order and assured her that her meal would be out in a few minutes.
She sipped at her tea and then surrendered to what her body was demanding. She curled her right arm up against her body and draped it across her breasts, hanging onto her left side while she sipped her tea. It looked odd, but it was comfortable and kept her muscles from tightening up again.
She looked up at the stars and smiled. All her life in space and she had never travelled beyond the confines of the station.
She heard the men laughing and chatting with each other as they paused and placed their meal orders. She glanced over at them, and the captain wasn’t with them.
The crew came over to the table next to hers, and as they pulled out their chairs, they bowed and said, “Ma’am.”
She chuckled. She was younger than all of them, but she felt immeasurably older. “Where did he go?”
The men looked at each other, and one said, “He had to take a meeting.”
She smiled, and one of the men asked, “Ma’am, do you work at the entertainment center?”
She chuckled. “Only when things go wrong.”
They looked at each other, and one of them said, “Then, where did you meet Captain Yr-el?”
Styra shrugged, and she was frank. “I met him in his scenario. Things went wrong.”
Chapter Four
Yr-el glared at the other drake. “Mbrak, what the hell did you do?”
Mbrak smiled slightly. “What do you mean?”
He walked toward the full drake with menace. “You could have healed the damage to Styra easily.”
“No, only if I took her as mate. She and I are not compatible, so I simply made sure she had the maximum amount of medical care at our disposal.”
Yr-el growled. “What do you mean, not compatible?”
Mbrak sighed. “I mean that five generations ago, I fathered a child with a human, and it became her ancestor. It was when I was young and stupid, but she is my offspring, a few generations removed.”
“Why didn’t you get her a mate who could help her before this?” Yr-el was slightly less enraged at the obvious years of pain that his female had been through.
Mbrak snorted. “I have been trying. Do you know how hard it is to find a drake descendant with enough energy to heal someone with as much damage as she has? Half her organs are missing for the love of the first egg!”
“So, you lured me here?”
Mbrak grinned with bared teeth. “I did. Oh, there is still a personnel exchange for your empire, I just made sure that they were a little late and you were already here.”
“What if I had a mate already?”
Mbrak snorted. “I did my homework. Don’t be so outraged. I did what was necessary for my blood kin. Some of the others here are in the same situation, but they are in good health.”
Yr-el paused. “You have other descendants here?”
“Certainly. Five of them. They run the entertainment center for me, and they all start on companion missions, so sex isn’t a mystery to them.” Mbrak shrugged. “I have mates on the way for two of them.”
“You are using your station to matchmake for your descendants?” Yr-el was stunned.
“Of course. What else would I use it for?” Mbrak chuckled. “Your father would be amused. His mate was floating alone in a stasis pod in the middle of his sector. He literally snagged her out of space and took her home with him. He had no idea that she was compatible until they were together for the first time. His dragon knew, but Harmoth had no idea.”
Yr-el snorted. “Yes, I know.”
“Well, what did your dragon say about Styra?”
Yr-el shuddered. “He is in favour of her.”
Mbrak was smug. “So, you return to the depths of the spa, and I will return to my command center. If she will accept you, take her. If she lets you heal her, I wish you nothing but centuries of enjoyment.”
“You think she will not?”
“I think that she has lived a long time in pain. Sometimes the thought of freedom is more frightening than a life in agony.”
Yr-el nodded and turned before he turned back. “What happened to the raiders?”
“Ah, they were hard to digest, but their ship made lovely sparkles as I fired it into a sun.”
Yr-el nodded. “Good. One less task.”
Mbrak nodded, and they parted ways.
Yr-el returned to the spa, and he used his senses to track Styra through the building. He found her easily, having a meal and chatting easily with