Chapter 1
The Mines
Victoria fell into her chair, weary but triumphant.
The last six months brought many changes, and settling on the new planet proved to be a tough task.
She’d just gotten the third mine running ahead of schedule by working tirelessly.
Oret was her only solace, though she’d never admit it.
He often left her gifts and special lunches.
She'd lost a lot of weight because she worked so hard.
If it wasn't for him, she would have probably lost even more.
Someone told him her favorite candy, and he had managed to find some.
It couldn't have been easy, especially since there was nothing coming from Earth anymore.
He'd found someone to make it for him, and the taste had been perfect.
Chocolate and coconut were two of her weaknesses– in any form.
Chocolate could be found, but as far as she knew, no one had found or grown coconut on any of the planets in the new empire or the human planets nearby.
Her admirer found someone to make her chocolate-covered coconut treats.
If he kept this up, she might regain the weight she’d lost. She needed an assistant to share management duties.
Her third candidate in six months was about to be reassigned.
While the job was tough, she gradually gave her assistants responsibility, but none had yet managed to do much.
Oret could handle any task she gave him, but he was busy working for Fenwick and Sara.
If they mated—not that she was considering it—would he work for her or resent having a woman as a boss?
When she first took over, some miners said she had brass balls, making her more like a man.
She didn’t mind as long as the job got done.
Hard workers earned rewards; slackers were removed.
There was one of the miners she thought would do a good job, but she needed him where he was.
He was training someone to cover for him when he took a vacation or needed a day off.
The guy was doing everything correctly. If he performed well enough, then she would promote Gary to the position of her number two.
Gary had a wife and four children, and he needed the extra money, even though they were doing alright with what he was doing now.
His wife was a nurse and was working to become a healer.
Because of her position, they had secured one of the first houses built.
Their position allowed them to add two rooms, making a comfortable home.
One became a shared office, but Victoria suspected it would soon become a nursery.
When that happened, they’d need another room and likely move, since houses were close for safety.
There was still much unknown about the planet’s dangers after six months.
Victoria knew she had to get back to work, but exhaustion slowed her—until an alarm sounded and miners fled the shaft. What now? She jumped up and hurried over.
“Don't go in there,” Gary advised. “I swear, there's a dragon, and it's not a friendly one. We woke it from a long sleep, and it wasn't pleased.”
She responded, “All right. Why don't we send everyone to start work on the fourth mine while we decide how to handle things here?”
“It's lunchtime. Why don't we let the guys take a little longer than usual before they get started on what will probably be a hard project?” He suggested.
“Sounds like a plan. Just don't take too long. I'll focus on resolving this issue while you take charge at the fourth mine,” she instructed.
There was not much she could do except find Oret and see if he had any experience with dragons. If he did not, she would have to contact the chief and see what he suggested. Eventually, someone would have to go down the shaft. They would have to have a friendly meeting with an unfriendly dragon.
“A dragon, you say? A young one or an old one?” Oret asked.
“No one got close enough to see. He was old enough to breathe fire, but it doesn't sound like it was strong,” Victoria admitted.
“My guess would be that he is young. Radvar needs to know about this. There are dragons on his planet. They may be able to help. What did you do about your mine?” He asked.
“My miners are taking a long lunch and then going to the fourth mine,” she said.
“Exactly what I would have done. That way, this incident will not cost you any time. This is a good time for you to take off a little bit. You've lost a lot of weight. I am concerned about you,” Oret suggested.
What could she say? He was right; she had lost weight that she hadn't needed to lose. Taking a break? She couldn't imagine doing that with all the work in front of her.
“You won't even give it a thought? What if we drop everything right now and go gathering? I can get lunch packed for us in five minutes, and we're off. I can see you're tempted.”
How did he always know? He was right. She was tempted to just let her second take over and go on a walkabout to the area she wasn't nearly as familiar with as she wanted to be.
It sounded like pure fun, but it was dangerous.
They would be gathering, which meant they might find something that would help the colony.
That was why she was tempted. While it was easier than her usual work, it was still work in a way.
“This will be good for you. Sometimes getting away from what you usually do will help you see solutions that you haven't thought of before.” Oret added as he took her hand and led her to the kitchen.
The meal he had them prepare contained food that she usually wouldn't consider eating, but she needed to gain some weight back, so she said nothing.
Victoria would have to think about this later because she was letting him make all the decisions, and that was never good with a man.
That wasn't good with a man who was an alpha and a Majuri warrior.
It was hard not to think about how much easier her job would be if he were working it with her.
Things were getting better for her daughter, Sara, and her mate Fenwick.
At that point. They would be able to release him so that he could assist her.
That was something they were unlikely to do unless she mated Oret.
It seemed even the simplest things were difficult since her mate had died.
They've been together a long time, and yet it never seemed long enough.
She tried not to be sad and only thought of the good times, of which there had been many.
Daniel would have wanted her to move on because they'd had the discussion one time. She'd been the one who had been sick, and they couldn't figure out what it was, and she just seemed to get worse. She could still remember the discussion as if it were yesterday.
“If something happens to me and I'm gone, I want you to find someone good and continue your life. When you think of me, I only want happy thoughts.”
“I'm not sure I could ever be with anyone else. I would want the same for you if something were to happen to me, because I could never see you being alone for years. It wouldn't be good for you, and I would want you to be happy even if you were happy without me,” Daniel had said.
Had he meant it? At that time, she was the only one at risk of dying.
She believed he had meant it even if, at the time, it had been unlikely.
He was the kind of man who said what he meant and meant what he said.
God, she missed him and was sure she always would.
Was it why she had not had a relationship after he died?
It probably was. She had to rethink things and decide whether to let Oret into her life.
Perhaps that would be easier than it had been in the past, since this was a new world and seemed like a new life.
She'd explained to Oret that she wasn't young, and it was unlikely that there would be any children, and it wasn't fair to take that possibility away from him.
That hadn't slowed him down, but it didn't mean that at some point later in life he might not care.
Victoria knew that it wasn't impossible because she was still able to have children, it was just unlikely.
At this point, she wasn't even sure if she'd want to get pregnant again at her age.
While she was in good physical condition, she wasn't in the same shape she had been even when she'd had her last child.
That had already been harder on her, and now it was hard to imagine how difficult it would be.
“Stop!” Oret whispered.
She paused immediately, wondering what he had heard.
They had just made it outside the area around the camp that was usually guarded.
That was when she heard a growl and looked around.
It was some kind of small mammal that she had not seen around here before.
The closest thing she could compare it to was a dog, and that was what it sounded like.
That creature was injured and probably warning them off so that they would not kill it.
Oret stepped closer and gave it something from his pocket.
Whatever it was, the creature hastily gulped it down.
“Like that, do you? Here I have some more. Maybe we should take you home. You look like you could use some help,” Oret observed.
She might be crazy, but it seemed the little creature understood, and it did nod its head in agreement.
Oret moved closer slowly and then bent down to pick it up, and he carried it back the way they had come.
They passed a guard who stopped and asked what was going on, and he explained to them that this was his new friend and that he would be staying with him in his tent.
As soon as they arrived, he made a bed for his new friend, and when he settled down, he promptly went to sleep.