Alien Dreams

Chapter 4

Gray looks at the chronometer to check the time. He should be arriving at his destination at any time now. There had been a silent communication between the shuttle and another ship a couple of minutes ago so he had to be close. Just as he starts to worry about being in the wrong area, or been sent on a wild goose chase, the communicator beeps.

"Lycani shuttle. You are in a restricted area. Identify yourself or you will be shot down."

Gray frowns. "This is Prince Gray Pateri. Who dares to threaten me?"

There is silence for a few seconds. "I'm James your Highness and it wasn't a threat to you personally." James continues giving him landing instructions. "I'll meet you when you've landed and escort you inside." There is another silence and Gray's frown deepens. He did not care for the other man's tone. There was a hint of scorn and disrespect that had been present. He would watch this man closely. Though he had said that his threat was not to him personally, there was a threat there nonetheless.

When his shuttle lands he allows himself a partial change to protect himself from any attack that may come before leaving the safety of the ship. As he steps from the shuttle he takes a deep breath and quickly scans the area, taking note of the guards present and the electrical surveillance. He also studies the man approaching him, looking for any signs of weakness.

"Your Highness." James greets the Prince with a formal bow trying to control his urge to sneer at the other man. He didn't know what had come over him, but he was feeling highly aggressive towards the other man. "Welcome to the home of Princess Tayla Trinarii. If you will follow me." He turns and leads the way to the private entrance to the ship that would take them directly to the deck that the Princess was now occupying. It was more private and more secure than any other area of the ship, with only Tayla, Aubrie, Kiefer, and his quarters there.

Sensing the conflicting emotions running through the other man, Gray follows carefully, keeping at least three feet between them until they enter the lift that would take them into the ship. Then he mentally places a shield around himself.

"Why do you call this place her home? She is not from Earth." Gray asks.

"No she is not, but she does consider Earth a home. She has been here for a long time Your Highness." James explains wanting the Lycani Prince to understand how Tayla felt about the planet before he said anything to upset her. Though he would rather her mate were someone other than the Prince, he would not willingly allow her to be hurt in any way because of lack of knowledge that he could impart. "For the Princess, Earth is just as important to her as her birth home. She would protect it and its people from danger."

Gray nods his understanding. Not many would feel such a connection to another world that was not their own. He felt the same on each planet that he spent any long periods of time on.

"She has made many friends here. Even now several of her guards are watching over the ones that are still in the city. She didn't want the men who had located her to be able to harm any of them."

Gray frowns upon hearing that she did not have all of her guards with her. He could understand her wish to protect those that she has come to care for, but to weaken her own protection to do so was unacceptable to him. He sniffs the air to scent the other man, but does not scent his mate on him.

"How did you and Kiefer know that I am a Prince?"

James looks at him and then away again. He wasn't sure how much he could say about Aubrie without causing problems for her and her family with the Lycani. "Once of the Princess' advisors has knowledge of the Lycani tats, and could tell from the images of you that you were alpha, and therefore a Prince among your people."