The waiter came back and set her chai latte on her table. She drank the spicy, creamy drink and looked up at the pale blue sky. Somewhere in space there was a man waiting for her. A man who was perfect for her in every way. Without her, he would die. With her, he would have a family, a child, a bride, and the rule of a planet called Galaton.
Who was she to disregard the hand of fate? All at once, Ella knew exactly what she needed to do. She was going to go to Galaton to meet and marry her dragon prince.
3
Shay Vishak, the Water Prince of Galaton, watched massive sea creatures swim over the roof of the glass dome above. He stood on his private balcony, in the highest tower of the Coral Palace. The expanse of the Coral City spread out below him. Tall reeds fluttered in the wind generated by the tides.
The water dragons could survive under water, just like the sea creatures who swam in the depths below the shifting tides of the planet. But while in their humanoid form, they preferred to live in buildings and breathe air.
As far as Shay was concerned, the water lands were the most beautiful on Galaton. As he surveyed his kingdom, his holocom pinged with a message. He slid his finger over the wrist of his skintight Draconian uniform and brought up the message.
It was from the Draconian mating lottery. They’d found his bride.
Draconia had recently allowed Galaton to enter the lottery after thirty years of keeping them out of it. Galaton and Draconia were trading partners, but the relations between them lately had not been that good. Galaton had waited patiently to be invited into the lottery. All the while, the dragons of Galaton became more and more aggressive due to the lack of females.
There was massive social unrest among the dragons of the water lands, and Shay had to fight them every day in the fighting pits below the Coral Palace. It was not something he enjoyed, but it was a role he had spent his entire life training to play.
Shay was the greatest warrior of the water lands, and as far as he was concerned, the greatest warrior on Galaton. The other princes may disagree with that assessment, but he didn't really care. They could think what they wanted.
It wasn't that Shay didn't have respect for the other princes of Galaton, but they simply weren't water dragons. And everyone knew water dragons were the best.
He brought up the message from the Draconian mating lottery, and his eyes widened with amazement. His mate, Ella Turner, was a thirty-year-old woman from Earth with bright brown eyes and long brown hair. He had never seen such devastating beauty in all his life. Like all Draconians, he was privy to the industry of holo-movies featuring nude human women.
Many of his own dragons enjoyed watching these holo-films, and Shay himself had seen more than a few himself. In all of his time viewing beautiful human women on holographic films, he'd never seen beauty to match that of his mate, Ella Turner.
He went on to read her profile on the Draconian mating lottery website. She was a schoolteacher who instructed young humans at what they called an elementary school. What a lovely profession for his bride.
He longed to send her a message. But Shay knew that he could not contact her. He could already feel the rumblings of his inner dragon taking hold. Just in the few moments he had viewed her image, his mating thrall had taken hold. His inner dragon would not rest until he had Ella in his arms and claimed her with his cock and fangs. But it could not be for a long time yet.
The dragon princes of Galaton had devised a plan to bring their brides to the planet while maintaining rule of their thrones. It required them to each send samples of their seed in a tiny transport vessel that was capable of traveling faster than the speed of light.
Those transport vessels could travel faster than any ship capable of supporting human or dragon life. The samples had already arrived on Earth. When identified, the brides would be impregnated before leaving the planet.
The impregnation started the mating bond between dragon and bride, allowing him to stave off the thrall until she arrived. Unfortunately, having his bride carry his heir in her womb would not stop the thrall completely. The only way for him to ensure his continued sanity was to avoid contact with her at all costs.
Shay growled and closed out the screen showing images of his bride. His inner dragon roared and screamed inside his mind. He knew he needed to do something to blow off steam.
The Fire Prince’s bride had already arrived and things were going well for them in the Fire Lands. But Shay's journey to his own mate had just begun.
He turned away from his balcony and walked through his chambers. The furnishings of the water lands incorporated the aesthetic of the deep sea. There were spiraling coral arches of pink and blue. Silky curtains of kelp green covered the broad windows. The carpet below his feet was like the waving grasses that covered the ocean floor. He walked through his chambers and down the hallway to the elevator that took him to the tunnel, leading to the water outside.
At the bottom floor of the Coral Palace, he stepped into an exit hatch that allowed him to go directly into the deep ocean. In the hatch, with the doors secured behind him, he flicked the spot on his neck that caused his uniform to retract, leaving him completely nude.
His blue-green skin shimmered in the pale light of the luminescent algae lamps above. In an instant, Prince Shay shifted into his massive water dragon form. His blue-green scales shimmered, and the exit hatch opened up to the watery world outside.
His dragon's mind was reeling with the knowledge of his mate, but Shay kept it at bay. What he needed now was a good swim in the deep salt ocean of Galaton. He drove into the water, relishing the feel of the liquid against the scales.
Water dragons could breathe through special gills in their necks, and Shay was no different. He dove and spiraled on the currents. It was like flying but more graceful. One of the reasons water dragons were clearly the best. As he dove and swam through the thick ocean water, past the massive deep sea life, who dwarfed even a dragon the size of the prince.
His dragon was soothed by the vigorous exercise and the thought of his coming princess was almost completely washed from his mind.
Almost.
4
Ella headed back to the consulate, almost at a run. She knew what she had to do. It was as if the purpose of her life had finally revealed itself to her. She knew who she was for the first time. She was the bride of Shay Vishak, the Water Prince of Galaton. It didn't make any sense, and it was completely irrational, but Ella didn't care.
For the first time in her life, she felt as if there was a real purpose and a true goal for her to achieve. When she arrived under the dome of the Draconian Consulate she was breathless and smiling.
“Have you arrived at your decision?” Secretary Kim asked.
“I have,” Ella said confidently. “I am going to my prince. I am going to Galaton.”
“Very good. I knew you would come to the correct conclusion.”
“Can I speak to him now?”
“I'm afraid that will not be possible.”
“When can I speak to him?”
Ella knew what she needed to do, but she also wanted to speak to her prince more than anything she'd ever wanted in her life. She could feel the need for him pulsing inside her chest. Nothing had ever been so strong or so definite.
He was her life and she only wanted to be with him. She didn't know why or how and none of it made sense, but Ella didn't care. She had spent her whole life doing things that made sense and what had that gotten her? She loved her job and her students, but she still felt empty and alone almost all of the time.
Finally, she was going to do something that didn't make any sense, and she was proud of it. She couldn't help the deep need inside her to speak to Shay.
“You will speak to him when the time is right, I am sure. It is at his discretion when that takes place. He risks madness every time he looks at your picture, let alone speaks to you. I understand that it is difficult for you, and I am sure that it is difficult for prince Shay as well. In the end,
I am sure it will be worth it for both of you.”
“What do I do now?” she asked. She knew she needed to call the school and let them know. She was going to profoundly miss her students and her school, but she knew she was doing the right thing. There was an understanding of what it meant to be matched to a Draconian, so she knew the school would understand.
“Now, you will depart Earth for the bride ship Mercury Rising. Then you will be inseminated with your prince’s seed. ”
“And it's really going to take a year to make it to Galaton?” she asked.
“Yes. There will be a brief stopover at Draconia to deliver the other brides who have been matched with dragons from our home world. Then the Mercury Rising will continue on to Galaton.”
“I'm going to go through the wormhole to the Draconian star system, right?”
“That is correct. Now, we should begin the preparations.”
“Can you contact my school and let them know I was matched? I just can’t do it. I’m all muddled and can’t face saying goodbye.”
“Not a problem. Right this way.”
The secretary escorted her through the Draconian Consulate and flicked his finger across a control panel that opened a sliding door into another room. There were banks of computers against one wall and holographic screens against another. Secretary Kim went to the holographic screens and began to input information. An empty wall slid open, revealing the inside of a space pod. There were rows of seats, empty and waiting for passengers.
Secretary Kim instructed Ella to take a seat in one of the chairs and helped her strap on her harness. When she was safely secured, he went to the control panel at the helm of the space pod and input the necessary information that would take her into space and to the bride ship Mercury Rising.
When he was finished, he turned to her and smiled. Placing his hand on his heart, he bowed slightly and looked up at her with a respectful expression on his face.
“Congratulations, Ella Turner. And thank you from the people of Draconia and Galaton for your commitment to the continuation of our race.”
The secretary stepped out of the space pod and the doors slid shut. Ella was left alone in the dim light of the pod as the engines rumbled to life below her. She gasped as the pod accelerated upward unimaginably fast, moving through the roof of the consulate and through the clear blue sky of Earth.
She watched everything outside the window of her space pod as her ship moved faster and faster toward her destination. As her pod sped toward the upper atmosphere, she braced herself for the fiery impact. The sight of streaming lights blazing around her as she broke through the stratosphere filled her heart with terror.
Ella had never been into space before and this was a completely new experience. She watched in shock and awe as she broke through the barrier between Earth and space. On the other side, her pod came out into the broad expanse of space. The black void was sprinkled with the twinkling lights of distant stars. The sun rose up behind the blue-green sphere of her home. She saw in the distance the Draconian armada that constantly orbited the Earth.
Her pod sped through the voids toward a little ship that she knew was the bride ship Mercury Rising. Soon, her pod docked in the bride ship and the exit door slid open.
She was immediately greeted by a seven-foot-tall Draconian in a white coat, indicating he was a medic. The medic put his hand to his heart and bowed.
“I am medic Zeke,” he said, raising to his full height again.
He stepped into the pod and helped her pull off her harness.
“Welcome to the bride ship Mercury Rising,” the medic said.
“Thank you,” Ella said. “When will I receive my mate’s seed?” she asked.
“We will start the insemination process immediately. Please follow me.”
Ella followed the medic down a wide, well-lit hallway through the bride ship. She saw other human girls passing by on their way to their own rooms.
They finally came to a door that slid open, revealing the apartment inside. Ella stepped through the entrance and took in the room that would be her home for the next year. It was like a luxuriously furnished apartment that one would find on Earth. The furnishings were a mixture of human extravagance and Draconian logic.
There was a small kitchen with the food replicator. A living room with stark white furniture made out of Draconian memory foam, which Ella happen to know was extremely comfortable.
It had both curving and squared angles that created a modern aesthetic. The couch itself faced a bank of windows that looked out onto space. Through double doors at the far end of the room was a bedroom with a king-sized bed, made out of the same material as the couch. The medic took her on a tour of the apartment.
The thing that excited her the most was the walk-in closet full of an assortment of the latest fashions. There were trendy fashions from Earth made of bright multicolored fabrics, and the latest gowns from Draconia that the female dragon shifters were more inclined to favor. There were shoes and handbags and accessories as well. Ella couldn't believe her luck.
She was giddy with excitement about all of the possibilities of her new wardrobe. But then she remembered she wouldn't be able to model them for her prince, and her heart sank.
But she would soon have his seed implanted inside her womb. She couldn't wait for that to happen.
“How do I get inseminated?” she asked.
“You will go into the bathroom and further instructions will be given to you by the shipboard AI. Your holocom has already been integrated with the ship system. If you need anything, just use your wrist holocom to call me, and I will come assist you.”
“Thank you,” Ella said, feeling a little nervous and excited at the same time.
She had never felt this way before. Her entire life had been a stream of events strung together by what was most appropriate at the time. Now she was doing something totally insane, and she couldn't be any happier.
As the medic left her apartment, she walked into the bathroom. It was like a normal human bathroom one would find on Earth, but it also contained a Draconian bathtub. The tub itself was circular and stood seven feet above the floor.
These tubs had become popular on Earth in the last thirty years since the Draconians had come to her planet but Ella had never owned one. She walked in front of the mirror and looked at her reflection. Her dark hair hung around her soft shoulders, and she could see the look of conflicting excitement and dread in her eyes.
“Welcome aboard the bride ship Mercury Rising,” the AI said. “Ella Turner, you are mated with Prince Shay of Galaton. We will begin the insemination process now. First you must wash yourself. Please remove all of your clothing and climb into the tub.”
Eager to get started, Ella stripped out of her clothes and dropped them on the ground. She walked up the circular stairs that led around the bathtub and came to the top, where she dipped her toe into the water. It was the perfect temperature.
She sank slowly into the water bit by bit until her entire body was submerged. The tub was deep; far too deep for her to stand up in. She swam over to a ledge facing the mirror with the AI screen, and rested her arms over the cool stone. Images of her mate filled the screen in front of her.
She saw pictures of Shay all around. There was a picture of his dragon with his blue-green scales shimmering under the deep waters of Galaton as he swam. The image of the dragon was as startling as it was mystifying. He was the most beautiful being she had ever seen. She wanted to know everything about what it was like to live in the water lands of Galaton.
She saw images of Shay in his human form as well. His blue-green tinted skin was taut over his rippling muscled body. She saw him in a video emerging from the deep waters of the ocean. Beads of the salt water dripped down his muscled chest and over the astounding bulge inside his swim trunks. She bit her lip, wishing that the images showed what was underneath. There was an image of him fighting in the fighting pits of Galaton. His laser sword was drawn, his fanged tee
th bared and his moss-green eyes shining like the luminescent algae that illuminated the underwater Coral Palace that was his home.
“Please find the provided vials of lotion on the ledge of the tub,” the AI instructed her.
She grabbed an amber bottle and squirted the white liquid into her palm.
“Wash your entire body, including your hair and sexual organs with the provided lotion,” the AI instructed her.
Ella did as she was told and dipped down into the water to wet her hair. She washed with a lotion that smelled vaguely of exotic spices and deep masculine musk.
“The provided lotion contains genetic material from your mate, synthesized from his seed,” the AI informed her.
Ella was already beginning to feel the effects of having Shay’s seed, even the synthetic form, contact her skin.
“While you apply the lotion to your body, please observe your mate on the screen.”
The combination of watching Shay on the screen and rubbing the lotion into her skin definitely had an effect on her overall state of mind. It was as if the whole world disappeared and all that was left was her and Shay. Even if they were many millions of miles apart, she felt more connected to him than she had ever felt to anyone in her entire life.
As she dipped the lotion between her legs to wash her privates, she felt a surge of desire so strong it almost knocked her off the ledge. Her pussy contracted under her hand as her entire body tensed in sharp pleasure. Her head throbbed and she gasped, still looking into Shay’s green eyes. When her body finally relaxed, she took a deep breath and rinsed the soap from her skin.
Ella climbed out of the water and stood under a forced air blow dryer that quickly removed all of the moisture from her skin. She went to stand in front of the mirror again and several more bottles of lotion emerged from the counter.