Twin Dragons: Dragon Lords of Valdier Book 7 by S. E. Smith

partially concealed by the Pactor. He was breathing
heavily and sweat broke out on his brow as he fought for control.
It was as if he was in a narrow tunnel with only one way to go.
    He shook his head as he heard Carmen calling
to him sharply as if from a long distance. Shock and disbelief
flowed through him as he reluctantly turned to look at her. He
couldn’t speak at the moment. His dragon was too close to the
surface and his throat felt thick and frozen. He gave Carmen a
quick, sharp nod to let her know he heard her. He had to get out of
the repair bay before he totally lost control.
    “Well, I guess his dragon likes Pactors,”
Carmen’s voice echoed behind him as he pivoted and strode
desperately out of the room.
    Cree closed his eyes as he leaned back
against the wall in the empty corridor and breathed deeply. He
bowed his head and drew in several more deep breaths as he forced
his body and dragon to come to terms with what had just happened.
His eyes popped open as the realization that he had just found his
true mate washed through him at the same time as a wave of dismay
flooded him.
    My true mate is a human boy? He
thought in disbelief.
    *.*.*
    Melina watched as the huge warrior walked
out the door. She didn’t realize she was holding her breath until
the doors shut behind him. She had known the moment he entered. It
felt just like the time she had grabbed the electric fence back
home when she didn’t realize it was still turned on.
    She had ducked when she saw his head turn
toward her and Hobbler. The guy was huge! He had darker skin like
the other males, a deep golden tan and the biggest set of muscles
on his arms that she had ever seen.
    His hair was long, black and pulled back
from his face so that she could see his high cheekbones and the
faint mark that ran around his right eye before ending at the
corner. His left hand had played with the long knife at his waist
as he looked around, making him even more intimidating.
    She had ducked back down and tried to stay
hidden so he wouldn’t know she was there as she continued to watch
him. She would have been fine if the door hadn’t suddenly opened
and a golden creature in the shape of a huge dog trotted in. She
had been totally distracted by the floppy-eared shape. When it
tripped over its enormous ears, she couldn’t suppress the giggle
that escaped. It had looked so darn cute!
    Of course, it had given her away when it ran
over to her. Her fingers stroked the smooth, silky surface of the
symbiot. She had seen a few of them before, but this was the first
time she had been this close to one. She sank down as her shaking
legs gave way.
    “You aren’t scary at all, are you?” She
whispered. “Not like that warrior that was in here.”
    The golden creature rubbed up against
Melina, enjoying the contact as she continued to rub her hands over
its surface. Melina wondered what it was made of, and then decided
some questions were better left unanswered. Instead, she just gave
in to the need to feel the comfort the creature was giving her.
    “He’s gone,” she added as she turned her
face into the smooth surface. “He’s gone, and hopefully, I’ll never
see him again.”
    *.*.*
    Calo ran down the corridor, skirting around
a warrior pushing some equipment. His symbiot just dissolved so it
could flow around the man and machine before it reformed in front
of Calo. The warrior turned to stare at both of them in surprise,
but Calo ignored the male.
    He had felt the shock ricocheting through
Cree, while his dragon and symbiot, both as much a part of Cree as
he was, burst into action. He had been resting when his dragon
roared out that it had found its mate. He had thought he had
dreamed it until he realized he had partially shifted in the middle
of his living quarters.
    He rounded the last corner on the first
level and saw Cree leaning back against the wall, his head hung and
his eyes closed. Cree’s symbiot burst around the corner coming from
the opposite