2

"General, I have the reports you requested." 

"Send them to me and I will take a look at them in the morning." 

"Yes, sir." 

Jag waited until the white light on his intercom module died out before releasing a tired sigh and pushed himself out of his seat behind his desk. His body was stiff from the hours of sitting and going over reports or attending conference calls. He had been at it since 6am and it was now closing in on midnight. This had to be the fourth time this week that he had to put in these kinds of hours and he was starting to really miss being on duty with the rest of his unit. He had always preferred patrolling to the administrative side of his role as battalion General and unit commander. 

Just as he lumbered his way towards the bathroom with intentions of a shower, the chime of his front door cut him off making him groan. 

"Who is it?"

"Just a couple of grunts bearing gifts." A familiar voice replied. 

"Speak for yourself." Another voice came in the background.

Jag motioned for the door to open, moving back towards the living area as his two best friends stepped in, looking far less exhausted than Jag felt. 

Jag and Kal had known each other since the day they were born being that they were from the same tribe. While Jag was from a higher ranking family than Kal's, they had remained firm friends, dreaming of the days they could join the military and make their families proud. Kal was certainly the more intellectual one of the two in the sense his strengths were in surveillance and communications while Jag had preferred the more physical aspect of being a soldier. Despite the difference in passions, they worked well together and Kal's keen senses had saved them a number of times when dealing with volatile situations. 

They had met Sid in training and had become good friends. He was from another tribe but had also wanted to make his family proud by serving in the military. He was charming, a troublemaker but an excellent warrior with a natural instinct for tactical responses. He was also one of the very few who could keep up with Jag in training. Unlike Kal and Jag who had darker blue skin, Sid was a much lighter grey-blue denoting his tribe was closer to the coast whereas Kal and Jag were from a tribe that inhabited the jungle-like areas. However, there was where the differences ended. They all shared the golden predator eyes and white speckling that their species had while also either having black or white hair. The Draygonians looked mostly human in feature except that their top and bottom canines were much longer similar to a wolf or lion and their brow was heavier leading into broad straight noses that were almost as sharp as their cheekbones. Kal was the shortest and leanest of the three but even he stood at an impressive 6ft 8in.  

"You look like shit." Kal piped up as he glanced at his friend, raising a sharp white eyebrow judgmentally.

"Thanks." Jag rolled his eyes, sinking back against the couch and resting his head back against the headrest. "If you came here to insult me then you can go." 

"We came here to help you blow off some steam." Sid replied, his voice playful and sly. "You've been locked up in this office all week. You need some fresh air and something fun to do." 

"What kind of fun?" 

"Sid wants to try playing basketball again." Kal rolled his eyes. "And since I won't play with him you have to." 

"Basketball?" Jag frowned. "Wait, that's the one we played last month and the humans slaughtered us."

"The one and the same." Kal chuckled, feline gold eyes flashing with amusement. 

"If we don't practise then how are we going to stand a chance next time?" Sid reasoned. 

"Alright, alright." Jag sighed and pushed himself from his seat. "Hang on, you said you had gifts!" 

"Oh right," Sid shifted awkwardly and pulled a wad of paper from his pocket. "I need you to sign these." 

Jag groaned and took the papers, frowning as he read the report of damage to yet another transporter. That had to be the fourth one Sid had damaged since they had been stationed in New York eighteen earth months ago. Sid was one hell of a soldier but he seemed incapable of not breaking things or driving into things. 

"I'm going to get changed and pretend I didn't see this." Jag grumbled, heading for his bedroom to change. 

Not more than twenty minutes later they were on the basketball court with Kal pretending he was keeping score. Jag knew he should be sleeping since he would likely be up at 6am again to attend to the dozens of communications and reports he still hadn't gotten to. But it had been a while since he had let off any steam and the excuse to spend time with his friends was truly welcome. 

"So the humans are organising a celebration for next Friday." Sid announced when he scored yet again. "Are you going to attend?" 

"Probably not." Jag replied as he stole the ball from Sid and made the shot, a small jolt of triumph running through him when the ball went through the next. 

"Pfft, lame." Kal scoffed from the sidelines. "C'mon Jag, you need to have some fun and besides, you might meet someone."

Jag couldn't help but glower at his friend. Part of the reason Jag had been put on this tour was thanks to his father. The old man wouldn't step down as Alpha of the Sha'la tribe and let Jag take his place until Jag found his female. That ordinarily was a mission to carry out at home on Draygon but since the attack fifty-seven cycles ago, the female population had dwindled and the last recorded birth was five years ago. The Draygonians would be extinct in the next one hundred cycles if they didn't find a solution and that solution had been earth. They had women who were genetically compatible and responded to a male Draygonian's pheromones in the same way a Draygonian female would have. It meant that the Draygonian's had a chance at survival. 

Jag just wasn't sure if he was ready to find his female. 

"His problem is he doesn't want to meet anyone." Sid snorted.  "I do. I'm the last male in my family not to meet their female and it makes for some seriously awkward conversations." 

"No, what makes it awkward is that you don't want to explain to your Nona that you've been sampling the sweets without paying." Kal retorted. 

"Okay I'm done." Jag sighed and passed the basketball to Sid. "I'm going to bed." 

Just as the words left his mouth the air was filled with the sounds of alarms, red lights flashing all around the trio. 

"Attention. A fire had been detected. Please make your way calmly towards the nearest exit. Attention…" the recorded emergency protocol blared all around them. 

"So much for sleep!" Sid smirked, leading the way out of the basketball and towards a fire escape.

Jag was certain the goddesses were against him today. Tiredly he followed his friends and other personnel out of the building and towards the designated checkpoints. At least five hundred Draygonian soldiers were stationed and housed in the New York headquarters along with three hundred human military personnel; however, during the day, the numbers would triple with government officials and more Draygonians coming in from a second base in Brooklyn's Naval Yard. 

Then there were the contractor's quarters that were just outside of the perimeter but still formed part of the base. That was another three hundred or so civilians who were employed to cook, clean, maintain and overall help things function so people like Jag could focus on his job. Unsurprisingly, they had been pulled out of their slumber by the claxons and were sleepily making their way out of the buildings towards the checkpoint. They all looked as impressed as Jag felt about being forced to stand outside while the fire department located the source of the alarm. 

It gave Jag a chance to survey the scene around him while Kal and Sid bickered beside him about nothing Jag was interested in. His golden eyes swept over the dozens of different faces around him. Some were familiar but most weren't. Just as he was about to tell his two friends to shut up, he spotted her.

His whole body froze as he watched the small female following another woman who had pink hair and several piercings. This girl was very different from her companion. For starters, she had light blonde hair that was cut short and looked messy from sleeping. Her big blue eyes were watching everything around her while she shrank behind her friend. She was slender with long legs hidden under baggy pyjama bottoms and soft curves hidden under a grey oversized t-shirt. Despite this though, Jag's keen vision picked up on the way her pert breasts were reacting to the cool spring air and he felt himself on the verge of growling in admiration at the sight. 

He hadn't seen the girl before much to his surprise. Sure, he hardly recognised anyone but Jag was certain he would have noticed this little goddess before. His carnal instinct was making him practically drool at the thought of ripping the clothes from her body and claiming her; however, all those thoughts vanished when he realised that what he had thought here shadows on her face were in fact bruises. 

Had someone hurt her? How had she been injured? 

The thought of someone laying a hand on a female made the Draygonian's blood boil. Females were to be cherished. They were gifts from the goddesses. They were gentle and loving and calmed the beasts known as their males. To hurt one was to spit in the face of the divine. 

"Can I have your attention everyone!" A human male dressed in a firefighter's kit addressed the crowd. "It was a false alarm so you are free to return to your rooms." 

A groan of frustration filled the air but Jag was barely listening, his eyes were still on the small blonde woman standing with the other humans. He had an urge to go over and speak with her but had no idea what he would say. She looked like she would pass out in fear if anyone spoke to her that she didn't know. However, just as the crowd began to disperse and head back in, those beautiful blue eyes were suddenly on him hypnotising him with their beauty. 

Mine. He thought on impulse.

"Jag!" 

The reverie was quickly broken by the sound of Kal calling him. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Kal and Sid waiting for him expectantly. Sighing, he glanced back towards the girl but she was gone and so was her pink haired companion. 

Swallowing down his disappointment, Jag let out a sigh before turning back to his friends and following them back inside.