Frightening.

It was the only way Tempest could describe what it was that she had just witnessed.

No wonder no one wanted Dron to get into his alpha state. It was like watching a apex predator rip his prey to shreds. The only thing that stopped him was the fact that he was moving so fast to get to the other people out there.

Tempest didn’t know what the problem was, or why there were people watching them get it on outside, but she was scared for them. She hoped that Dron hadn’t killed any of them, but she wasn’t about to hold her breath.

For a brief second she couldn’t find Dron and that’s when the worrying started. From what she could see he was more than capable of taking the men outside, but maybe there were just too many of them. Maybe they tricked him. What if he was hurt?

Tempest took a step in the direction of the last place she saw him. A sharp pain sliced into the bottom of her foot, and she jumped back with a hiss.

"Ow, what the hell?" She hopped on one foot away from the broken glass she had forgotten was on the floor.

"Tempest. What are you doing?" Dron’s deep voice sounded from behind her. She squealed and spun in surprise.

She landed on the floor with a huff. Thank goodness she had enough sense to slip on her underwear and a shirt when she got up from the couch.

"I was looking for you. I guess I didn’t need to look so far." Tempest grumbled.

Dron had come through the front door and he wasn’t alone. The man from the market place was with him.

Tempest looked at Dron for a second, tilting her head at the sexiness of his extra masculine form. How anyone could think there was anything wrong with him was beyond her. It was only a second though. Then it dawned on her that she was looking at him in his birthday suit. He was completely naked and there was someone else in the house with them.

"Dron! Put some clothes on!" She hissed at him and pushed herself up from the floor, making sure to be extra gentle with her foot.

"I agree with the lady. Please put some clothes on. I never understood my people’s predilection with being nude."

Dron grumbled before he walked back over to the couch and grabbed his pants. He slid them on quickly. Dron took a step away from her but stopped short.

"What is that smell?" He growled low.

Tempest instantly burned with embarrassment. She knew that Dron would be able to smell her arousal, but did he really have to make it public knowledge?

"I’m sorry, we were doing something before all this happened. My body reacted... I can’t believe you’re bringing that up..."

Dron shook his head before looking up at her. "Not that, though the smell of your desire is quite distracting at the moment. I’m talking about the other smell."

Tempest was at a loss as to what he was talking about. She didn’t have to wait too long to find out. Within a second, Dron had his face pressed close to her body and was sniffing at her like a dog.

"What do you think you’re doing?" Tempest’s eyes went wide but she stayed still. She looked over Dron’s hunched body to see the man he’d walked in with still standing by the door. She gave him a look that could only be translated as ’help me,’ but all the older man did was shrug and look away as if this was normal behavior.

Dron finally made it down to her ankle, where he stopped for a second before he lifted her injured foot to look at the sole of it.

"You’re hurt! Why didn’t you say!" Dron barked at her, and it was so intense that she actually flinched back.

"When exactly was I going to tell you that I was hurt, while you were ripping off heads or when you were scaring the crap out of me walking in the back?"

She narrowed her eyes at him, and he glared at her. For a second, they just stared at each other like that until she heard the man in the corner clear his throat.

"Oh, I’m sorry. This is deplorable hospitality. Give us a few seconds and we’ll get this cleaned up." Tempest tried to move away from Dron but he didn’t let her walk away; instead, he walked forward until she had no choice but to plop back onto the couch.

"Don’t move." Dron ordered her. He tilted his head as if daring her to go against his word. She knew when to pick her battles, and this wasn’t one of those times.

Dron walked out of the room, leaving Tempest and the merchant alone.

"He really is a man of little words." The man said shuffling the box he was holding to his other side.

Tempest blinked a few times...was that a joke? The man was actually smiling and not a fake forced smile that Mexyn sometimes wore. This was real.

Tempest chuckled lightly at first.

"What was that?" The man quickly asked.

"A laugh...sound to make when you’re happy or joyful." She gave another as an example, and the man followed her.

His was slightly squeaky and rough as if he were a cigarette smoker, but it was his.

Soon the both of them were laughing at nothing. One laughing because the other was laughing.

Dron walked back in the room to find both of them in near hysterics over nothing.

"Do you need the medical facilities?" Dron looked from Tempest toward the merchant and back again.

"No, I’m fine, truly. You’re friend-" She started, but the merchant cut her off.

"Maznik. I’m pleased to meet you, Omega."

"Tempest, please."

"Now that we’ve gotten over that, maybe I can do what needs to be done." Dron grumbled before he dropped to his knees in front of Tempest. A large bowl sloshing the slightly glittering liquid she now knew as life nectar in his hands.

"Dron, really, it’s not that bad. It’s just a little piece of glass; it will heal on its own."

"But while it heals, it will pain you, will it not?" Dron questioned.

Tempest shrugged, "Yeah, but it’s really not that bad."

"Not that bad is more than enough." Dron grabbed her foot gently and scooted even further down until the sole of her foot was near his face. He plucked a small piece of glass out and tossed it over his shoulder to the much larger pile of glass.

What Dron did next nearly made Tempest’s heart explode out of her chest it was so sweet. He softly dunked her foot into the small bath and began to wash it. He focused on her sole, then her toes before finishing off washing the top of her foot. When all that was done, he actually gave her a massage so good it made the toes on her uninjured foot curl.

"There, now it’s all better."

"Thank you, Dron." Tempest whispered and leaned down to caress his face.

"You two really are a sight to see."

Tempest pulled her foot away, suddenly feeling a little too vulnerable for a stranger.

"I guess we are. But it seems like it’s a sight not everyone can appreciate." Dron sighed before he turned and sat on his butt in front of Tempest.

"What do you mean by that?" Tempest questioned grabbing hold of his hair and tilting his head so she could look down in his face.

"I think it’s what the mess outside was about." Dron admitted, and she gasped at the thought.

Those people had come here not just to snoop but because they were angry.

"Yeah, I think you may be right. There have been some grumblings around town. Especially in the military class."

"Why?" Tempest piped in.

"Because not everyone thinks human females are the answer to all of our prayers. In fact, quite a few believe that humans are just going to further our demise. There is fear that in a few generations Ustea will just be another low level planet and our entire way of life will be erradicated."

Tempest’s jaw dropped open. "And they are taking that out on Dron because he’s with me?"

"You’re the start. The open door that will lead to this so to say. They want to get rid of the problem before it becomes too big for them to handle." Maznik sighed and finally put the box that he was holding down on the floor.

"They want to get rid of me?" Tempest asked the question but it wasn’t toward anyone in particular. She didn’t need Maznik to verify what she already knew. She was the outsider in this case. The plague that the people were trying to get rid of.

"It’s all so silly." Maznik scoffed. "There are no other options. If the omegas native to our planet were able to further our line, then we wouldn’t need humans in the first place. It doesn’t matter anyway."

"Why would this not matter? My mate is in danger. How am I to know someone won’t try to sneak in during the night and slit her throat."

Maznik raised an eyebrow at Dron, "As if that would ever happen."

Dron grumbled but didn’t say anything in return.

"You don’t think someone will try to kill me?" Tempest asked, trying to gain some relief from the words.

"Oh, I absolutely think there are some who will try. But Dron’s alpha instincts are by far the best I’ve ever seen, as has anyone else. To get to you, they have to go through him. And...well... you’ve already seen the result of that." Maznik pointed to the broken window.

"So what do we do in the meantime?" Tempest tried as hard as she could not to get anxious. But it was all once again becoming too much.

She never even wanted to come to this planet. Didn’t ask to be forced to marry. And she damn sure wasn’t about to have anyone’s baby while she was here. If only there was a way to explain to the people that this was all a big misunderstanding.

Even as she thought about it, she knew that would be a bad idea. Not only would they probably not believe her, but if she let on to the public that she had no intention of staying here, the so-called royalty would probably do something to convince her to stay.

She was stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Tempest sighed and looked down. Something caught her attention, though. Out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw the small box that Maznik carried in... move.

She focused on the box while Dron and Maznik continued talking about the next steps and how to keep Tempest safe. She could hear the words, but she was completely fixated on the box. Then, once again, the box moved.

"Um!" She nearly shouted, "What exactly is in that box, and why is it moving?" Hundreds of frightening images pulsed through Tempest’s mind.

"Ah... the reason I’m here. Dron maybe you should take the honors of presenting this to your mate." Maznik grabbed the box and quickly walked it over to Dron.

"It’s not that big of a deal, and if you don’t want it in the house, I’m sure I can find another place for it."

"It’s a present?" Tempest asked, her fear dissipating with every second that ticked by.

"It’s just that you seemed drawn to them, and I thought maybe you’d like something...so you wouldn’t feel so alone." Dron continued to hedge as if he were unsure of his decision. "I don’t even know why I thought—" He was beating himself down before he’d even had a chance to show her what it was that he’d gotten her. Tempest hated that he was so hard on himself, but she knew that it would take a long while before he had enough self-confidence to be any different.

"Dron, shh, just show me." She lowered her voice and smiled at him.

He sighed and backed up a little before placing the box in his lap. He reached forward and undid a clasp.

Then, like a missile firing into the air, the fluffiest, cuddliest little animal jumped out and onto Tempest’s lap.

Tempest’s whole body shook, and then she screamed in absolute joy.