PROJECT: CAYRO

Dr. H. M. Zaraki:

September 7, 2025

09:12 MHT

S.A.F. Autumn

Marshal Islands Archipelago

Pacific Ocean

This infernal AI that Jacob Bracton had created seemed hell-bent on pressing every last nerve I had. If it didn’t stop its incessant needling, I would find a way to destroy it, regardless of the consequences.

“Dr. Zaraki, would you like to explain why Star was placed into the program, or should I?” the smug digital voice asked again, interrupting my internal tirade. I glared at the AI, my patience fraying, and grumbled, “I will explain it.”

This was a subject I had dreaded. Discussing the true nature of what I was, what Star was destined to become, was something I had never intended to do like this. They weren’t ready for the truth about the world we lived in, let alone the truth about me. But the AI had left me no choice. Secrets I had kept from Star, even from my closest friend Jacob, were now dangerously close to unraveling. I had planned to tell her someday, when she was stronger, when she had come to terms with her own identity. But now, time had betrayed me.

She wasn’t supposed to manifest these abilities. I had meticulously studied the grafting procedures, painstakingly tested them on my own DNA, and ensured that the modifications would subdue the dormant Draconian traits that had nearly killed her. Yet, from what the AI described, it made no sense. DNA doesn’t simply assimilate other DNA and merge it into its programming. I must have missed something—something critical.

“Doctor, are you going to just sit there, or are you actually going to explain why Star was placed in the program?” The AI interrupted my thoughts again, its tone dripping with artificial impatience.

I closed my eyes, trying to summon the composure I would need to tell Star what she never should have had to hear. “Yes, give me a moment,” I replied tersely, standing up and walking toward the cybernetics lab door. I needed a physical barrier, some sense of security, even if it was just a door. I activated the interior locks, listening as the pneumatic hiss of the massive deadbolts slid into place. The sound of the locks engaging was like the tolling of a bell, a signal that there was no turning back. I paused there, at the door, gathering the pieces of myself that had splintered at the thought of revealing this secret.

When I returned to my seat, I stared into the camera, feeling the weight of the moment bearing down on me. The words I was about to say would change everything for Star, and there was no way to soften the blow. I closed my eyes and allowed them to shift to their natural state, a secret I had kept hidden for far too long. When I opened them, I knew what Star would see—bright, glowing amethyst eyes that betrayed my true nature.

A sharp gasp cut through the silence. Star’s hands flew to her mouth, her wide eyes reflecting a mixture of shock and fear.

“I am not human,” I began, my voice as flat and unyielding as the truth itself. “I am a Draconian, or in simpler terms, dragon folk. A humanoid dragon capable of shapeshifting to blend in with humans. But make no mistake, I am not a dragon. My DNA is not dragon-based. We are something else entirely, a race that doesn’t belong here, and as far as I know, I am the only one of my kind on Earth.” I let the weight of my words settle over them. “This is where you get your eyes, your ability to shift forms. And I suspect you will develop other abilities in time, abilities unique to our kind.”

Silence settled over the room like a heavy fog. Stephan and Katrina remained stoic, already privy to my secret. But Cayro—poor Cayro looked as though his world had been turned upside down, his face pale and stricken. Star… my Star… continued to stare, her mind likely reeling from the shock.

No one spoke, so I pressed on, the burden of my words growing heavier with each sentence.

“Twenty-three years ago, I met your mother through an old friend of mine,” I began, the words heavy as lead on my tongue. “A year later, I told her who and what I was. To my astonishment, she accepted me, and shortly after that, we were married. It wasn’t until three years later that we discovered she was pregnant with you, Star. When you were born, you were so small, so fragile, that we weren’t sure if you would survive. But when you opened your eyes, they were the brightest amethyst I had ever seen. You were our Star in the night sky, our hope, our future. For the next three years, you grew stronger, but around your fourth birthday—shortly after your mother’s death—you became ill. Your body began to attack itself.”

I paused, the memory still raw despite the years. “More specifically, your Draconian DNA began to attack your human DNA, as if your Draconian side was trying to consume the human half. I tried everything I knew to stop it, but nothing worked. Nothing… until Jacob Bracton, your father Cayro, and one of my dearest friends, approached me with an idea. That idea was to graft lycanthrope DNA over human DNA.”

I let the words hang in the air for a moment, watching as the truth began to settle in. “Unlike the myths, lycanthropy isn’t a virus or curse spread through a bite. Lycanthropes are an entirely different race of beings that have been on Earth for a few thousand years. You have two sitting across from you right now. I’ll let them explain that in more detail later.”

I saw the shock register in their eyes—this was far more than they had ever imagined.

“Jacob and I spent countless days and nights trying to figure out how to safely graft lycanthrope DNA onto human DNA without causing irreparable damage to the host. Once we succeeded, I used that knowledge to develop a way to graft the lycanthrope DNA over specific parts of your Draconian DNA to stop your body from tearing itself apart. We managed to successfully graft your DNA and Cayro’s before the government—specifically the military—pulled the plug on the project. Within days, you began to improve, becoming healthier. Over time, you grew into the vibrant young girl we see today. We monitored you closely, ensuring that your body accepted the graft. But you never had Fields Disease. I told you that lie to explain why you were constantly in and out of the medical bay.”

I watched the realization dawn on their faces, the confusion, the betrayal, and then the anger.

“So, what you told me was a lie?” Star finally asked, breaking the oppressive silence.

“Yes,” I replied, my voice soft but steady.

“Why?” she demanded, her voice laced with anger.

“Because you weren’t ready for the truth,” I replied calmly, though inside I felt anything but calm. The look she gave me was pure rage, her body trembling with barely contained fury.

“Then what is happening to me?” she growled, her voice taking on a deeper, more primal tone.

“From what I gather from the AI, the DNA graft, in a sense, failed. Your Draconian DNA essentially absorbed the lycanthrope DNA and merged it with itself. My best guess is that your Draconian DNA used the lycanthrope DNA as a bridge to work with your human DNA since the two aren’t that different,” I explained, struggling to keep my voice even.

“That is more or less correct, Doctor,” the AI interjected. “I can offer a better explanation, however. Humans by nature are relatively weak. While Draconians—or at least the Draconian DNA within you and Star—are extremely powerful. Due to the power imbalance within Star, the Draconian DNA was pushing Star to become fully Draconian while the human side was fighting back and losing. The lycanthrope DNA acted as a medium, allowing the two halves to coexist and act as a power balancer.” The AI elaborated without hesitation, as if reading from a script it had rehearsed a thousand times.

“One more question, Father,” Star interrupted, her voice tight with emotion.

“Sure, sweetheart,” I replied, trying to keep my tone gentle, though I sensed the storm that was brewing.

“If I was so damned important to you, then why did you abandon me on the Autumn with the crew instead of raising me yourself?” she growled, her words cutting through me like a blade.

Her question caught me off guard, forcing me to gather my thoughts. I had anticipated many questions, but not this one. I chewed on her words, searching for an answer that would make sense to her, but I knew there was no answer that would satisfy her.

“I can’t give you an answer that would satisfy you, Star. But, I did it out of your best interest—to protect you and give you a safe place to grow up.” The words felt hollow even as I spoke them, and I knew she could hear it too.

Her response was immediate and fierce. She shot up from her seat, fury radiating off her in waves. Without another word, she stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her with such force that it cracked the thick oak wood the door was made of. The room fell into a stunned silence, the tension palpable.

I half-expected Cayro to chase after her, to try to comfort her. But instead, he turned and looked at me, his expression unreadable. There was no blame in his eyes, no anger, just a calm that unnerved me. Perhaps he understood better than I thought.

Cayro hesitated, his hand on the door, before turning back to face me. “Uh, Dr. Zaraki, I have a question,” he asked, his voice tinged with uncertainty.

“Yes, Cayro?” I replied, maintaining a calm, measured tone despite the turmoil inside me.

“Why is it that Star’s Draconian abilities became active after her augmentation instead of her Lycanthrope abilities?” he asked, clearly puzzled.

Before I could form an answer, the AI interjected, its digital voice cutting through the tension. “I can answer that.”

I narrowed my eyes at the screen, silently daring the infernal program to make a mistake.

“Upon activating all of your implants, an activation hormone is released into your body that triggers the dormant Lycanthrope DNA. In Star’s case, her Lycanthrope DNA was absorbed into her Draconian DNA and did exactly what the Doctor intended—it suppressed her Draconian DNA. However, her Draconian side used the Lycanthrope DNA to strengthen her body, effectively integrating the Lycanthrope abilities as she grew. In exchange, her Draconian DNA went dormant. When her augmentation was completed, the activation hormone awakened her Draconian DNA instead, since her Lycanthrope DNA was already active,” the AI explained in its annoyingly efficient manner.

Cayro nodded, absorbing the information. “Thank you, Scuzball,” he said, before turning back towards the door.

“One more thing, Cayro,” I called out before he could leave.

“Yes, sir?” He turned, his expression now guarded.

“If you hurt my daughter in any way, I will kill you myself—if she doesn’t kill you first,” I stated flatly, my voice as cold as the steel of a blade. Then, for emphasis, I shifted into my true form, letting him see the full extent of what he was dealing with. I watched with satisfaction as the color drained from his face, his bravado faltering. I grinned, flashing my sharp teeth, the predator in me reveling in his discomfort. He gave a quick nod, turned, and left the room with all the haste of a man fleeing a ticking time bomb.

As the door closed behind him, I shifted my gaze to Stephan and Katrina, who were still seated, their expressions a mix of concern and professionalism.

“Anything else?” I asked, my voice still edged with the growl of my Draconian form.

Katrina was the first to speak, her tone steady and composed. “Actually, yes, I have some additional information about Star’s situation, sir.”

“What would that be?” I snapped, the tension in me still simmering.

“It can wait if you’re not in the mood to continue,” she replied, her patience a stark contrast to my irritation.

I sighed, feeling the weight of everything pressing down on me. “My apologies, Katrina. This… thing has irritated me,” I said, gesturing at the AI, which sat smugly on the screen.

“Yes, it seems to have done just that, sir. But what I wanted to discuss is this: Star has demonstrated the capability to perform magic. She teleported from her bed to the middle of the room and blasted all of us to the ground,” Katrina explained quickly, her words landing like a series of bombshells.

I froze, my mind racing to process what she had just said. “Are you sure?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

“Yes,” both Katrina and Stephan confirmed in unison.

This was far beyond anything I had anticipated. It meant that Star’s magic had reawakened—a development that could spell disaster if she couldn’t control it.

“Doctor, my concern is that there is no one here capable of teaching her how to properly use her magic. The only person I know who wields magic like hers is you,” Katrina pointed out, her voice tinged with worry.

I sighed, the weight of this new responsibility settling on my shoulders. “I will have to figure out how to get home and soon. If her magic is anything like mine, we will be in serious trouble if she doesn’t learn how to properly use it.”

“There is one more thing, sir,” Stephan interjected.

“What’s that?” I asked, trying to mask my impatience.

“Star and Cayro are bonded mates,” he replied, his tone flat, yet the words carried immense weight.

“They are what?” I asked, though I heard him perfectly well. I needed to be sure I had understood.

“They are a bonded mate pair. In werewolf terms, husband and wife. And not just your average chosen bonded mate pairing. Cayro is demonstrating alpha tendencies while Star is demonstrating luna tendencies. That would be the female version of an alpha in werewolf terms. The key difference between a fated bond and a chosen bond is that the fated bond is sealed with a bite mark on the shoulders just below the neck, leaving a scar. Chosen bonded pairings can bite and leave marks, but those marks heal within hours. Fated bond mates also take on each other’s scent, which means their scents become indistinguishable from one another,” Stephan explained, laying out the implications clearly.

I sat there, the full scope of what he had said washing over me like a tidal wave. This was far more than I had anticipated—more than any of us had. My daughter wasn’t just developing new abilities; she was now bound to another in a way that went beyond the physical, beyond the emotional, tying their very souls together.

The weight of it all bore down on me, and for the first time in a very long time, I felt uncertain about the future.

I could feel my eye start to twitch as I stared down Stephan and Katrina on the monitor. The question Katrina asked hung in the air like a noose, tightening with each passing second. Of course, Stephan knew whose DNA was used, and he didn’t want me to spill the truth. Not now, not ever.

“I am not at liberty to say, Katrina. If that person chooses to share that information, they will share it when they are ready,” I replied, my voice carefully controlled.

Katrina wasn’t buying it. She leaned back, crossing her arms with a look that could peel paint. “Well, sir, the reason why I asked is because the mate bond Star and Cayro have is a royal mate bond. Meaning that only the royal bloodlines of a species can have these kinds of bonds. To be frank, there is only one royal bloodline for the Lycans, sir. Which means you used a royal’s DNA for your project, and the last time a royal wolf has been seen was hundreds of years ago,” she said, her tone as sharp as a blade.

I let a smug smile play on my lips, hiding the turmoil that threatened to break through. “Hmm, and how do you know that I am not a royal of my bloodline, Katrina?” I asked coolly. “Star could have very well been fated to Cayro through my bloodline.”

Her eyes narrowed at me, but she held her ground. “That very well may be a possibility, sir, being that you are the only one of your kind. However, I suspect that your little project has some unforeseen side effects that no one saw coming,” she countered.

“Well, what do you think we should do about it?” I inquired, the challenge evident in my tone.

“At this point, sir, there is nothing we can do. For one, they are adults. Two, once the bond is formed, there is no stopping it. By werewolf law and customs, they are legally married. We can’t do anything about it. The flip side of all of this is that they are now in line to ascend to the throne to rule over all the werewolves as long as there are no challengers from the royal bloodline. If they take on that role, it will cause mass chaos amongst the established packs. They will not accept hybrids as their rulers,” she explained bluntly.

I forced myself to stay calm, to not react too quickly. “I highly doubt we will have to worry about them taking the throne, Katrina. As for the mate bond, they aren’t werewolves, and they currently fall under human laws and customs. Until things change, that is how I will view it,” I replied in a flat tone, though the truth was far more complicated. Star’s mother had been my fated mate, and her death had nearly destroyed me. The bond wasn’t something to be taken lightly, and I knew that better than anyone.

Katrina’s voice softened just slightly as she added, “Understood, sir, but bear in mind, they will be nearly inseparable and will fight to protect one another even if it means death.”

“I am aware of how a fated bond works. For now, I am shelving this for a later date. There is not much we can do to fix the situation. Monitor them and keep me apprised of any updates. I need time to think this information over. Keep Star and Cayro there. They will be safer at the company than in Virginia,” I ordered before ending the call.

I sat there for a moment, my hands covering my face as I tried to process everything. The sheer magnitude of what had just unfolded left me feeling drained and irritated beyond belief. Bringing my daughter into this world—my world—was the last thing I wanted to do. I had worked tirelessly to keep her safe, to shield her from the horrors and secrets that defined my existence. And now, all of that was unraveling.

Rising from my chair, I shut down the computer and headed for the door, shifting back into my human form. When I opened the door, I found Andrew leaning against the wall, waiting for me.

“What’s up?” I asked, forcing a chipper tone that I didn’t feel.

“I take it that wasn’t a social call you had?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Nope, it was business-related,” I replied, rolling my eyes to emphasize just how annoying the call had been.

“Well, I came to find you to inform you that the infernal AI accessed the ship’s medical database and completely downloaded Star’s medical records,” he said, cutting straight to the point.

“Huh,” I huffed in response. That explained how the AI had managed to gather all of Star’s medical information so quickly.

“I’m starting to regret ever having that damned AI created,” I grumbled as we walked side by side towards the bridge, the weight of everything still pressing down on me.