Page 56 of Galaxy Circus Act One

“Well, why is he objecting? You’re the boss; you can do what you want.” His face pales even more when William’s annoyance practically leaks through the communicator.

“I’m not sure that everyone got that memo,” I reply wryly.

“Josa, if Lila says Link is taking the night off, then he’s taking the damn night off.” His voice projects loudly enough for everyone to hear him.

“Of course, sir. I was just worried about what to do if we had an emergency.”

“Well, you just call him if you do. Damn man works too freaking hard anyway,” he grumbles mostly to himself.

“Have a good night, Lila. We’ll see you in the morning for power training again.” William hangs up, and we leave Josa quietly fuming.

Link holds my hand all the way back to my room as we ask each other typical first date type questions: family, favorite foods, those kinds of things. I’m dying to ask him more, so much more, but I think those are more like second date questions. I’m also dying to repay the favor from before. My mouth practically waters at the thought of having this man at my mercy, but I have a feeling it might be the other way around. He seems to take pleasure very seriously.

We’re still laughing when we get to my room. I push open the door, but I freeze at what I find, my heart sinking to my stomach. Dylan has his arms wrapped around Caspian, and their mouths are fused together.

A sob escapes before I can stop it, and Link’s arm immediately wraps around my shoulder as Caspian pushes Dylan away.

“You heard her fucking coming. You planned that, you cunt,” he growls in a voice I haven't heard before. It’s not just angry. This is full-on fury. He turns to me.

“I swear, Lila, that was all him. We’d simply been talking, but we could hear the two of you coming down the hallway. Just as you pushed open the door, he lunged at me.” Caspian steps toward me and pulls me out of Link’s arms. “I swear I would never do something like that to you.”

“Did you tell her about us?” Dylan sneers, flopping down on the nearby couch and gesturing between him and Caspian. “Did you tell her we were a thing?”

Hurt stabs at my heart. I’m not stupid; I know that he would have had lovers before me, but I would have thought he would have told me that Dylan was one of them.

Caspian sneers right back at him, the tiniest hint of black creeping into the edges of his iris. “Please, once or twice when I was horny. It was a mutually beneficial arrangement, and you knew it could never become anything. You knew my beast wouldn't allow it to be something real, and it hasn't happened for a while now.”

“But I love you!” Dylan yells, bolting up from the couch, and both Link and Caspian snort.

“You sure proved that love by having sexual relations with most people on the ship. Only a few of us said no, and you obsessed about the ones who denied you. I can’t even begin to tell you how many times he’s propositioned me. It’s like it was a challenge that he just had to win. Like that Earth game... What’s it called? Pokemon! He had to catch them all.” There’s no snark in Link’s words, just honesty, and that’s what makes me believe him. It doesn’t sound like he’s trying to hurt Dylan. He’s sharing his experience as objectively as possible.

Whoa, this just got all soap opera-like. Hello, Jerry Springer. Ready to give me a spot on your show now? I’ll take surprise alien egg babies and raise you a slutty dragon with boundary issues! I could sign a multi-episode contract with all the shit that’s going on.

“I can’t believe you mated her.” He looks me up and down in disgust. Gone is the kind, friendly guy that I had been getting to know, replaced with this vicious, jealous twat. “She’s nothing, barely even a Skarrian. No powers or anything.”

“Skarrian enough to get mating marks, seal that bond, and carry his eggs. How’s that for beingnothing?” I know I’m throwing it in his face, but I’ve about hit my limit. Tonight was supposed to be relaxing, an opportunity for me to get to know my mate and learn more about another potential partner. I did not sign up to be looked down on and insulted.

“You’re pregnant? You let him implant you? You fucking whore!” He lunges for me, but Link and Caspian jump between us, not letting him near me.

“But why?” I cry, wanting to know the answer. “I thought we were friends!”

“Haven't you heard the saying ‘keep your friends close but your enemies closer’?” he screams at me, spittle flying from his mouth.

Holy shit, he’s flipped his sanity switch. He’s breathing smoke through his nose and vibrating.

“Fuck, he’s going to shift,” Caspian yells, and Link lunges, grabbing Dylan's shoulder and pinching. Dylan's eyes roll back into his head, and he collapses before he can manage to go full fire-breathing dragon on us.

The guys let him drop to the ground, none too gently, just as the door to my suite slams open and my grandpas run in, followed by two armed security guards.

John wraps me in his arms as Eric and William check out Dylan's prone figure before looking at Caspian and Link.

“This your doing, Doc?” Eric asks, gesturing to the unconscious dragon shifter.

“Yes, he was out of control and almost shifted. In his current emotional state, he would have destroyed Lila’s room, not to mention I think he would have eaten her.” I’m still a little shocked, so I hear his statement even though the words seem to bounce off of me. I definitely can’t handle thinking about being eaten right now. Or ever, really. I mean, is NOT becoming one with someone’s digestive tract really that much to ask for?

“What just happened?” I still don't understand.

“Dragons can be a little unstable. The need to breed rides them hard, but like Caspian, they need to be compatible with their partners. So it won’t happen until they seal a bond. Though there are others, like Dylan here, who choose promiscuity overpermanency. He may claim to have loved Caspian, but that was the man. The beast he carries inside of him knows that Caspian can’t reproduce with him and would have never sealed the bond.”