Amethyst Storms (Primordial Protectors #1)

6. Chapter Five

Chapter Five

Ionus

How in the world did I get myself into this mess?

And by mess I mean trapped in ventless earthly shafts with an omega in heat.

Our omega.

Here we go again…

Take. Impregnate. Mark as ours.

Shut it, growly beast.

Says the growly human.

The savage beast snarled, and a plume of smoke exited as my nostrils flared.

“Everything okay up there?”

Great, now we’ve roused the human.

“Are your scales like armor? Would they cut me if I touched them? Does it hurt you to have them touched?” Alexander rattled off behind me.

“Yes. No, and no.”

Let him touch us.

My dragon was doing an awful lot of purring these last twenty-four hours.

“I think your dragon likes me.”

“He doesn’t control me.”

Liar.

“What I don’t get is why don’t you?”

Dragon 1, stupid human Ionus 0.

What do you know about the human mind?

It would appear far more than you do. Now, let him touch us.

Fine!

“Wouldyouliketotouchmyscales?”

When Alexander didn’t reply, I turned to face him.

“Um, could you repeat that, please?”

Ugh… “Would. You. Like. To. Touch. My. Scales.” The words came out slowly, as though I were teaching them to an infant. Perhaps I was.

“Yes. I. Would. Please.” The smart-ass mimicked me.

Remind me again why we’re doing this?

Wooing.

Make that two smart-asses I had to deal with, only one had scales. What were the odds that my mate would turn my dragon into him?

My arm shifted before his eyes. The normally inaudible sound was nil due to how fast we changed, but in such close quarters and with only a fraction of my body doing so the faint sound of shuffling cards echoed through the canyon walls.

“Whoa,” Alexander trailed a single finger along my scales. “That is so freaking cool.”

I kid you not, my dragon pranced around like a freaking ballerina. It was all I could do to keep him from fully surfacing and scooping Alexander up.

Alexander continued to pet my arm. The act shot straight to my cock, which of course my dragon was ready to pounce on the unsuspecting human and show him what he could do with said appendage.

Down, beast.

He wants us.

Yes, as a pet but not as a bed mate.

Yet…

“Follow me.” I retracted the scales before the beast got the better of me. “There’s something I’d like to show you.”

Farther into the mountainside we trekked. For the most part the path was easy, though there were a couple of times I reached for Alexander’s hand to help him along. Each time we touched I swore I heard his thoughts, though faintly, and felt his warmth all the way to my core. I fully believed he was my mate, but it would take some convincing for Alexander to accept that.

I’d heard stories of rejected mates and how lost one was without the other and how they eventually withered away. Would Alexander do that to me? How could either mate survive without its partner?

The scent of the freshwater spring hit me before the melodic harmony of the waterfall that fed it followed. Many times, I’d find myself here, the vibration lulling my brain to quiet as well as serving to soothe my dragon.

“Is that?” Alexander pointed to the water as it came into view.

“Indeed, it is. Shall we?” I gestured toward the pool and Alexander stripped down to his boxers and waded in, disappearing beneath the dark water.

My turn.

All right, let me strip down before you destroy more clothes. Infernal beast.

I swear he was as giddy as a kid on Christmas morning.

When Alex resurfaced, I stood before him in full beast mode.

“I don’t think I’ll ever get over how beautiful your dragon is. Can you talk to me like this?”

I wondered…

We can only communicate with other dragons in this form and with our mates.

Alexander gasped. “I heard you. But I’m not a…” he paused. “I swear, if you’re lying to me.”

You swear what, mate? What will you do to us?

“Sing ‘Puff, the Magic Dragon’ until I lose my voice, then find it on my phone so I can play it on repeat,” he declared, effectively silencing me.

My dragon slithered into the water. A barrage of waves formed in his wake and Alexander disappeared beneath them. I scooped him up with my tail, flipped over and placed him atop our stomach. Clearly, my dragon was in charge right now. I only hoped he would say and do the right things.

It was hit or miss with him.

You were saying, mate?

“I’ve heard of fated mates,” Alexander sighed, but only after whistling a few bars of the song, like a warning before he settled in as a wave of contentment rushed through me. “But only in myths and tales. Never heard of any in real life.”

Well, now you have.

“Maybe. Still gonna need some hardcore proof of that.” His gentle hands roamed across our belly, eliciting the purrs only Alexander could extract.

“The idea of being a baby factory isn’t on my bucket list. I can’t imagine pushing another human out of me.”

First and foremost, it would be a dragon and secondly, you would lay eggs. A much easier birthing process.

How much is too much to share before the human freaks out and takes off?

We’d just find him again.

Thankfully, Alexander wasn’t privy to the conversations between a man and his beast. Solo channel network and all that.

“That’s interesting. How big are the eggs? They must be smaller than a human baby. Are we talking chicken or ostrich sized?” This particular human’s mind absolutely fascinated me.

Smaller than a human infant but bigger than an ostrich egg.

“Like pterodactyl size?”

Were you obsessed with dinosaurs as a child?

“Ha-ha, yeah and I still am. You’d be amazed what I’ve found on spelunking outings.” Alexander shivered.

Are you cold, little human?

“A bit.”

With my tail, I scooped him up and turned it into a flotation device for him to tread upon. The water was warm and would take the chill right off as I lowered him into it.

“This is nice. Like every fantasy come to life.”

You naughty boy, do tell.

You’re treading on stormy waters, Dragon.

Pfft. My wooing ability is far stronger than yours.

Why do I even speak anymore when my words only come back to haunt me?

“Not much to tell. I’ve never, um, done anything?”

Sorry, mate, I’ll need more than that to decipher your cryptic message.

“Every time I’ve gone into heat I’ve hidden away from others and plunged into ice baths to get through it.”

All I could see was my dragon blinking as the words sank in.

The Goddess has shone brightly upon us, Ionus.

Or they’ve given us a human with no interest in sex, let alone mating.

Pfft.

What is with the pfft?

Pfft.

No wonder I do all the talking for us.

“Are you talking smack with your human counterpart?”

Smack? I’m afraid modern-day slang is lost on both of us.

“Are you silently having a conversation with your human about me?”

Our human, and of course I am.

We floated in silence and lost all concept of time until Alexander’s stomach growled.

Time to find sustenance, mate.

“Tomorrow can we take another path and see more?”

He wanted more time with us. Today was a win.

Absolutely, though some areas I can only make it through in my human form.

“That will work. I’m determined to make Ionus like me.”

Trust me, he already does.

Alexander said not another word as I emerged from the water in my human form. Clearly he’d forgotten I’d be naked. He watched as I dressed and if it took a few moments longer than it needed to, who cared? As our mate, he should learn to love and appreciate us in both forms as we were, after all, inseparable.

“Shall we head back up?” Alexander nodded and I extended a hand to him. My dragon won him over and now it was my turn. He paused for only a moment then slid his hand into mine. After spending this time together, bonding, our connection had strengthened. Like fibers interweaving, strengthening the foundation we must solidify. It was odd, almost as if I could see them come together in a beautifully intricate pattern. And though it had only been a day since Alexander and I met, the bond would strengthen when we were fully mated.

Listen to me, the once skeptic glass is always half empty sibling. Who was this and what have you done with Ionus?

“Something funny, Ionus?” Alexander asked as we strolled through the granite shaft.

“Ah, so along with a telepathic communication mate link, you can feel my emotions, too?” Interesting. Touching base with the Dragon City archivist to see if this was normal while not fully mated was added to my to-do list. “Think of something, whether funny or not, project any emotion so I too may see if I feel yours.”

Alexander scrunched up his nose and clenched up. “Careful, little human. You don’t want to shit yourself.” Before he could stop it laughter burst from him, and I felt it as much as heard it.

“Did you just make a joke, Ionus?”

“I’ve been known to, but it worked.” Alexander cocked his head. “I felt your happiness flow through our connection.” A light, feathery tickle that pleased my dragon.

Ours.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know.

There would be no living with the scaly fiend now.

I took Alexander’s hand again and passed over waves of varied thoughts and feelings. Everything from food to flirting. Yes, I, Ionus, flirted with my mate. I think. He smiled so it must’ve been successful.

“Can I talk to you telepathically?”

“I’m not sure. It may not come until we’re fully mated.” Alexander blushed. The most adorable shades of red pinked his cheeks. “Give it a try, maybe with less force than before.”

He rolled his eyes. “Do I just think something or…?”

“Try it that way.” A brief sound, akin to radio static, fluttered through my mind and left just as quickly. “Maybe don’t try as hard. Just let a thought freely flow.” Hell, I had no clue how or what to teach him. For a dragon, it was a natural form of communication. In utero we could project our feelings as well as feel what our omega parent felt.

With our mother it was fear, though she tried her best to hide it.

“Is it okay if I take a shower before we eat?” Alexander asked as we entered the house.

“Absolutely. I’ll do the same and meet you in the kitchen.” The Cochrans had stocked the food supply while we were gone, ensuring I had more than raw meat to feed my new human. I’d also requested a prepared meal be delivered with the forethought of having dinner on the balcony that overlooked the canyon with Alexander tonight. The various tones in the natural rock formations as the sun set were breathtaking and I wanted to share that with him.

I showered and came back down just as Raven snuck in.

“So, how did it go today?” Of course, she fished for information. Most likely at one, or all my brothers’ insistence.

“A dragon doesn’t kiss and tell.” A joke that fell flat when she excitedly jumped up and down.

“You kissed him?”

I swear, bubbles with the word swoon on them popped around her.

“No. We aren’t there yet but we had a very productive, relaxing day.” There, enough said.

“Hopefully your romantic dinner will end with love’s first kiss.”

“You watch far too many Disney movies.” I heard the door to Alexander’s room open and close. “Out with you. Thank you for everything you’ve done but scootch.”

“I’m scootching, sheesh.” Raven blew kisses at me. “Good luck!”

I popped out onto the balcony to see what magic she had woven, and it was breathtaking. Fairy lights were strung all around. In the middle of the stone floor sat a round table covered with crisp white linen. A candle sat in the center with a place setting on each side, giving just enough light to dine by but not enough to distract from the visual for which our first date was centered around. The plates were covered with a stainless dome, hiding the surprise culinary delights her family had prepared for us.

My brothers and I did our best to continually show the Cochrans how much we appreciated all they did for us. Their homes held no mortgage, and we paid them handsomely. We’d been known to gift them random vacations to places far away. In our eyes, they were family, and family took care of their own, and I for sure owed them something special for this delight.

“Wow. This is amazing.” Alexander’s voice came from behind me. “What’s all this for?”

Slowly I turned and took his hands in mine. “This is all for you.”

“For, for me?” The shy look on his adorable face filled both man and beast with joy.

“Yes. My mate deserves a proper date. Would you do me the honor of dining with me this evening, Alexander?”

“Meh, I could eat.” Always the jokester but I knew he was taken aback by this gesture. His excitement funneled through to me and thus became mine.

I brought happiness to another. What a strange yet wonderful emotion.

“Please,” I slid his chair out, “have a seat and enjoy the marvelous sunset with me.”

Silently, we watched the wonders of Mother Nature as they unfolded before us. Every shade in full representation from bright yellows to various hues of orange and reds. As day turned to night the reds transformed to deep purples and drifted into midnight blue as nightfall set in.

“That was by far one of the best sunsets I’ve ever witnessed.” Alexander, a true lover of nature, appreciated this glorious wonder.

“Yes, it is. That canyon has remained untouched by man. Save for you.”

“Sorry. I didn’t know it was on private land.”

“No need to apologize. There was a reason you saw what no other had. You were drawn to this magical place under fate’s guidance.” Like the gift from the Goddess herself which I knew he was. A gift, just for me.

Enthralled. That was the best way to describe how drawn I was with this beautiful man who sat across from me. His blue eyes sparkled in the low lighting while his mischievous curls danced in the wind. There was no way I wouldn’t fall madly in love with Alexander, whether we were mates or not.