General of Draconis (Winged Beast Book 3) Read online

“We’ve been dating a while and you never even hinted that was a possibility. You only spoke of someday far in the future when you were old and retired.”

  “I guess it’s all been said and done. Do you wish to take a shower and clean up?” He asked, but his voice and his look was cold.

  “No, I’ll just dress and you can take me back.”

  She went back in the room and found her clothes. Dressing fast, she couldn’t help, but wish things were different. It would be a long time before she could remember him without pain, if she ever could. When she got back to the kitchen, he was already dressed. He must have clothes elsewhere in the house. Garulto looked angry more than anything. Maybe she should have just told him when he came to pick her up. It didn’t matter anymore, now it was done.

  He went to the door opening it so she could get in. Dori sat down and he closed the door. Their relationship was now shattered. It was obvious there would be nothing between them, not even friendship. She had hoped he would take it better, especially since she would have to tell him about the baby later. The trip home was quiet and awkward as hell. As soon as he stopped, she hopped out and ran to the house. Enough was enough.

  She peeked out of the window once she was inside and he sat there a moment before he pulled away. His work was probably calling him. Was that a bitchy thing to say? Probably, but losing him hurt even if it was the right decision. Dori went to her room and decided to take a quick shower in the bathroom next door. Once she was done, she dressed in her PJs and went to bed. Morning would be here soon enough.

  Morning came and it was time to work on her plan. She went to Betty’s and fixed breakfast so she could talk to Martz. The young man was a nice guy. Even if he didn’t agree with her plan, she would still think so. He entered the room as soon as breakfast was done. He seemed to have some kind of food radar.

  “Good morning Dori. What did you fix today?” Martz asked as he took a deep breath and moaned.

  “Steak and eggs with loaded hash browns.”

  “Some new things for me.” He admitted.

  “Have a seat and I’ll fix you a plate. I’d like to ask you about something anyway.” Now the poor man looked guarded.

  She fixed his plate than her own and got them each a drink before she sat next to him. “I want to know about the things that grow in the woods.” He immediately relaxed. What had he thought she wanted to know about?

  “Ladies can’t go out in the woods.”

  “Not true. We can’t go out in the woods alone. I know there are berries you’ve been picking and I want to go with you and have you show me those and some of the other things like the domed plants that are edible.”

  “What would Niku say?” Martz asked.

  “He would appreciate you not forcing me to go alone.”

  Martz gave me a searching look. “It’s like that is it?”

  “It is.”

  “Why are you so determined to do this?”

  “I like you. From what I know about you, you are independent and want to do your share. Right?”

  “That’s true.”

  “So do I. I raised four girls alone after my mate died and here I am dependent on others for everything. I want to find a way to be on my own and back in control of my life. I love my girls and the mates they’ve found, I just can’t live like this.”

  “What will they do without you to help?”

  “I do little right now. I feel like an extra unneeded helper. There has to be more I can do. Right now I just want to explore some possibilities.”

  “Okay. There’s been no more attacks and the rogues have mostly disbanded. If we happen on one or two, I think I can protect you until we either get away or help comes. Dragon hearing is very good.”

  That made sense. She had wondered how Niku and the others had found Cretia. It was in the evening when they were all at home and all of them lived within a few miles of that awful spot. Dori could scream down the house if threatened. Everyone for miles around would come running.

  “Thank you Martz.” They stopped talking and finished eating. She’d made food for Betty and her family as well and left it in the warmer.

  “I’m done if you want to go now? I had planned to get Betty’s berries early this morning.” He grabbed a handful of bags and handed a few to her.

  Dori quickly washed their plates and put the pan on to soak. She’d get it later. Following him, she felt a sense of excitement about what her future might hold. Her personal life might have gone to hell, but maybe she could develop a way to support herself and her baby. What if it was a boy? She’d always wondered what raising a boy would be like.

  Martz walked fast, but she kept up with no trouble. There’d been a light rain in the early morning hours just before dawn and the woods had come alive. She saw flowers, mushrooms, and other exotic looking plants everywhere she looked. Her guide came to a stop.

  “Look at these. The brown ones are edible, the yellow ones are not.”

  He continued to go through several kinds of mushrooms and she gathered a bagful. The bags closed up and they had a strap so she could carry them on across her shoulder. Martz pointed out some roots, but said they rarely paid much for them. They found some berries and they picked them until they each had a bag.

  “See these flowers? They are a rare herb that doesn’t grow well away from the woods. They sell for a high price. I bet Betty would pay well for them to use at the castle.” Dori picked half of them. “Why didn’t you take them all?”

  “I left some behind to reseed.” Martz nodded his understanding. “These nuts will sell well. I plan to pick a bag for Betty and a bag to sell. If I make enough money, I hope to go to Earth to find a mate.”

  “You will make some lucky lady a good mate.”

  ‘Why did you never take another mate?”

  “When my girls were little, I had to work hard to provide for them and see to their needs. Nothing was as important. When we came here, I got involved with a good man, but it didn’t work out. We were looking for different things.”

  “Does he know you carry his dragonlet?”

  “No. I plan to tell him, but not so soon after we broke up.”

  “You’ll have to tell him soon since you’re as far along as your daughters, and you’ll show soon.”

  “How can you tell?”

  ‘Different dragons have different gifts. My nose can always tell things like that. It tells me when produce is ripe too. It’s a handy gift for a nurturer.”

  They finished filling the bags with nuts and headed back to Betty’s home. They’d not been gone two hours yet and Niku and Betty were both up with an excited Selia bouncing around the kitchen.

  “Thank you for cooking breakfast, Mom.” Betty said and Niku and Selia echoed her thanks.

  “You’re welcome. I want to show you something, Betty.” Dori pulled out the flowers and Betty gushed over them.

  “The castle healer will pay you for those. Where did you find them?”

  “Nearby, but these are all that can be picked. How much are they worth?”

  “For a whole sack? Five gold dragons, I would guess. These are rare and help so much with seriously injured patients. What else do you have?”

  “Just nuts, shrooms, and some berries. Martz has a bag of berries for you.”

  “He does? Martz, did you bring me more berries?” Betty asked.

  “Yes, I was hoping for another piece of your pie.”

  “Two bags? You’ll get another pie for yourself.” Betty promised.

  Martz practically glowed at the offer and his stomach growled. How could he possibly be hungry after that big breakfast? Maybe he was just hungry for berry pie? Martz set his bags down on the table and waited to see what would happen.

  “What do you want to do now?” Niku asked.

  “We could go to the castle with these herbs and let Martz and Mom sell their stuff. When we get back, I can bake pies.”

  In moments it was decided. They all loaded up in Niku’s minibus a
nd rode to town. Niku dropped the two of them then proceeded to the castle with his small family. They would meet back up after Betty sold the herbs to the castle healer.

  They went in the food store first. The girl at the counter seemed to like Martz. She was cute and bubbly, but a bit young. He showed her the nuts and he got a gold dragon for each bag. Dori got the same for the nuts, but the shrooms were twice that. She asked about the berries, but even though they didn’t have any, they weren’t willing to pay much for them.

  “Pies will sell better.” Martz advised her so she kept her berries and decided to bake pies.

  When the dust settled and Betty returned, she had a total of ten gold dragons. A small fortune according to Martz. It was a start. He cautioned her that every trip wouldn’t yield such good results. The average person made a gold dragon for a full day’s work. It was the exotic nature of some of the items that had made them so valuable. Most days, only the roots which were pretty common could be found. They were bought for a brown dragon. That was the lowest coin there was.

  Dori wouldn’t let that dampen her happiness. She’d had one day and it had been a good one. What she needed to do was find some help. Maybe some teenagers looking for work and she needed to buy a minibus like Niku’s. Betty and she began to make pies. She gave Betty one for the use of the supplies and the kitchen.

  “Mom, you don’t have to do that.” Betty said.

  “I know, but I plan to make money off these so it’s only fair.”

  “Fine. Niku won’t complain about having an extra pie.” Betty said with a chuckle.

  Niku came up behind Betty hugging her gently. “What are you females doing?”

  “Baking pies.” Betty stated.

  “Niku, how much does a minibus like yours cost?” Dori asked.

  “A great deal of money.”

  “How about an older one?”

  “The castle replaces a few each year and sells them for a thousand gold dragons. There are none for sale now, but there should be some soon.”

  She had ten and she needed a thousand. That was going to take some hard work. First she needed the minibus. It would give her the ability to get around easier. Once she had that and established some kind of business, then she would work on her own house. Hopefully the baby wouldn’t already be here.

  “Are you working tomorrow Martz?” Dori asked.

  “I work some every day, but today and tomorrow are half days.”

  “Can we go in the morning again?” Dori wondered.

  “If you are over here, I will go with you.” Martz agreed.

  Dori smiled. When the pies were done, she separated one out for Betty and left the others on a shelf in the corner. She wouldn’t be able to take them to town until tomorrow. They would probably have to walk. She headed back to Bree’s house where she helped fix supper.

  Chapter 2

  Lovesick

  Garulto was angry. Probably angrier at himself than anyone else. Maybe if he’d communicated better with Dori she would have been placated with all that he was doing to try to get a change of jobs. Not that a promotion would ease his responsibilities, but he wouldn’t be on call all the time. He’d have a life and time to share with his mate.

  He’d even checked on the possibility of demotion, but there was nothing available. All he’d gotten out of his king when he’d met with him last was a chance that something might be available. Maybe he should have considered the offer on the meteor. It wouldn’t help though. It would be demanding and was a better job for an unmated male that had no responsibilities. The male he had been before Dori and now would be again if she refused to come back to him.

  That thought made him angry at Dori. She hadn’t communicated well either. She should have given him a chance to satisfy her needs. He’d satisfied her physical ones and he was certain, given time, he could make her the happiest mate on Draconis. That female had cared about him. Now they would both be miserable. All he could wonder was why? Why had she done it this way and why had she given him no chance to make her happy.

  At least his work kept him busy. If it didn’t, he would sit around and be unhappy all day long. There was more, he’d been planning on buying the farm the cottage sat on. Maybe he should have shared that with her. Would it have made any difference? He’d decided he would buy it anyway. It was best to be overloaded with work so he had no time whatsoever to think. When he had time to think, the pain hit him hard.

  He finished up his paperwork and left. It was unusual for him but he had good people and they would take up the slack. If anything serious happened he had his com with him at all times. He drove to the farm because he needed to buy while prices were down. They’d been up for a while because of successful matings with three Earth females, but when no more arrived, prices dropped again.

  The thought of mating another left a bitter taste in his mouth. Dori was his fated one, he’d known the second he saw her. She was everything he’d ever wanted in a woman except she didn’t want him. He would wait a while and try again. Hopefully she would miss him and come around to his way of thinking. It was just impossible that as much as he wanted her, she wouldn’t want him at all.

  He would make his life one that would suit her better and she would come back to him. Anything else was unthinkable. With renewed determination, he set about working out his plan. The first thing he did was meet the owner of the farm. It wasn’t huge, but it had what humans called five hundred acres. It was big enough to support the owner’s family and a couple workers.

  The current owner already had a couple workers who did all the work because he wasn’t suited to farm work. That was why he was selling, that and his wife wanted to live in town. Females had a lot of influence, he was beginning to understand that. Once the deal was done, he went back to work. There was nothing to be done now until the current owner vacated the property accept for hiring someone to fix the cottage. Both the current workers lived off property but one of them would like to live in the cottage.

  Garulto liked the idea of someone living there so they could keep an eye on things. He would talk to Niku about hiring some of the affordable convict labor. Some of the rogues had begged not to go to the mining meteor because they had families that wanted to visit them. Niku was sympathetic, for some reason, and granted there request. He’d put a civilian in charge of finding them work and the person got five percent of their wages in return. An equitable deal as far as Garulto was concerned.

  It had been a week since he’d bought his farm and nearly two weeks since Dori had left him. The cottage was well in hand, it would be completed in another week. The current owner had found a place in town his mate was pleased with and begun the process of moving out. He had promoted the worker that would be living in the cottage to the job of manager. A job he was already doing but not being paid for. His pay stayed the same for now, in exchange, he got a place to live with all utilities paid. It was the equivalent of doubling his pay. He was a happy male. With that accomplished, he had little to do as far as his farm was concerned. He would pour his energy into his job.

  Another week passed and he got an invitation from Niku. He’d had those invitations before he’d met Dori, but he still hoped it was because she’d wanted him there. Three weeks and he felt emotionally drained, cold, and lonely. Did she miss him too? He would find out soon. The meal was tonight and he dressed with care.

  Now that he was on his way, he second guessed everything. He’d brought a bottle of wine, should he have brought something else? Would his clothes appeal to Dori or would something else have been better? At least the trip was short since he was going crazy with all the questions. He wasn’t used to all these doubts. Normally, he was a confident male. Knocking on the door, he wondered who would answer.

  It was Niku. “Hello, Garulto. Welcome to my home. Come in.”

  “Thank you for the invitation.” He said as he followed Niku into the common area where the males were sitting. Dori was nowhere to be seen.

  “I’v
e been meaning to talk to you about the program you have where you are putting captured rogues to work.” Garulto mentioned.

  “What did you want to know?” Niku asked.

  “How is the program working out?”

  “So far it has done better than our expectations.”

  “Are there still workers available for jobs?”

  “Yes. We have work we can use them for if they have no jobs available, but citizens needing workers comes first. Do you know someone who is interested?”

  “Yes, I have need of a team to work my farm.”

  “Just talk to Dori. She’s in charge of the program.”

  “You allow her to work with these dangerous males?”

  “The ones deemed dangerous are sent to the mines. Dori only schedules and deals with the ones determined to be safe.”

  “How can a rogue be safe?” Garulto wondered.

  “Some of these guys were pulled into this because they were gullible. They couldn’t find their way into a life that worked for them and they were told it was the system messing with them. The new way would fix all their problems and make life good for everyone.”

  “So she’s working with the stupid ones?”

  “The naïve ones. Many of them are young and she’s taken some of them under her wing. Martz works with her whenever he has spare time. He’s trying to make enough money to attract a mate.” Niku explained.

  “Martz? That name sounds familiar.”

  “He was the young brother of their leader.”

  “And the leader? Where did he go?”

  “He’s at the mines for now because of his role in the uprising.”

  “Isn’t the term uprising giving them too much credit?”

  “Didn’t you find a whole group of people trying to recruit your students?”

  Garulto flushed. “That’s true.” The conversation stalled temporarily until Niku got it back on track. The other males just listened and didn’t contribute anything.

  “How many workers did you need?”

  “I need skilled workers. I have a cottage to repair, but I need it done as quickly as possible since my manager is ready to move in.”