Chapter 27: Chapter 27

I sigh in frustration as I sit on the couch watching my mate as her beast once more fixes the nest she has prepared. I wipe the sweat from my brow and silently curse at the heat of the room. Her nest is set ablaze as she constantly rekindles the flames to warm our eggs.

“You will eventually have to say something. I know that you can speak to me Caldera” I say as I stare at the ceiling. She has been in this state since yesterday. With a chuckle I scratch my bare chest. I have pretty much given up on remaining fully clothed due to her actions. There is something about my scent that she apparently likes for her nest. Every time someone has come to visit to check on us, she has shredded whatever I have had on.

It seems to be the only thing to bring her satisfaction besides breathing flames on the nest. I look once more in her direction to find her curled around them. Her fingers are constantly stretched into her talons and every so often she rakes them against the eggs one by one. They really are beautiful. The metallic sheen of gold is nearly breath taking as the different flecks of light from the room hit the surface of them.

Fed up with waiting for Magma to show I rise off the couch and walk over to Caldera. Sensing me near she quickly reaches out a hand and tugs me onto the nest. I land with an oomph against the edge furthest away from the eggs. She leans her back near them and her gaze watches me. It astounds me that I would have been so frightened of this just a few weeks ago. Now I would give anything to talk to Magma and to find out what is going on. Caldera has never been in control for this long.

“Mate” she says as she sniffs the air in my direction.

“Yes, I am your mate Caldera. I am also Magma’s, and I would like to speak with her” I tell her not hiding my concern.

“No” she says as she looks away. I feel a spark of hope in my chest at the brief flicker I saw in her eyes before she hid her gaze from me.

“Yes. You won’t tell me what’s going on. I am starting to get worried. I need answers” I tell her as I plead. I can’t just continue to sit here.

She shuffles in her seat and breathes flames once more on some of the fabric as the blaze of it lowers. I sigh in frustration as tears prick my eyes. I don’t know what to do here. “They must stay warm. Must protect eggs. Human is weak. Dragon is not. Dragon must protect eggs” She mutters.

The sound of her voice has me startled for a moment. It’s the first time she has been willing to speak since she came here to give birth. Without a thought I hurry to respond just wanting to hear her voice once more. “Where is Magma? How long is she going to be away? Is there anything that I can do to help? Are you all okay? I’m just so worried right now” I belt out in a rush.

She stares at me for just a moment. Keeping her eyes on the eggs she leans forward and place a brief kiss on my lips. “Worry not mate. All is well. When they come into the world she will return. Until then I stand guard over our young. We in this agree.” She says quietly.

Her rough baritone is still that of my mate. I find so much comfort in just hearing her speak. To know that they are all okay finally allows me to take a deep breath. Her words were at first so stilted and choppy. She sounded so much more beast than human. As she sits here and gives me reassurance I can see a flash of Magma in her eyes. The eyes of my mate may not be present but she sure is. Finally able to relax I lean against the side of the nest where I am.

The room is even warmer over here. For a moment I forget to be careful where I lay my head and quickly jerk up to check my hair. Magma likes it so much and she would most likely be upset if it were her fire that caused me to lose it. With a few pats and tug I let go a sigh of relief to see that there is no damage from my contact with the flames. A large yawn leaves my lips as I settle. It has been over twenty-four hours since I last slept. Now that I am running out of worries my eyes close of their own accord.

A growl wakes me from my slumber. Rising from the nest in a panic I look at Caldera who is now in a defensive stance as she crouches in front of our eggs. I cock my head to the side wondering why she growled, and I see that her gaze is on the door unmoving.

“It’s alright, I will get it” I tell her as I rise from the nest. I lift my leg high to step over the edge not wanting to remove her piles of fabric. Since she won’t let anyone else near the nest I doubt she would take it too kindly if it were to get messed up. I look back at her as I walk around the couch to the door to see that she hasn’t moved.

Anytime I have invited someone in, even my own mother, she has preceded to take any clothes that have touched my flesh. I only have two pair of pants left as it is. So I have allowed no one else to come in after learning my lesson from the first few times. Cracking the door open I am taken aback to see Maximus. As I take in his appearance I notice that he lacks the black cloak that he normally wears. I know that they are no strangers to nudity, but he should still know to show up covered here. I can’t help the grimace that spreads across my face as I clench my teeth to stop myself from tearing into him.

“Yeah, human I can see that you are pissed from here. I smell it. Today we have bigger fish to fry. You need to come with me” He states as he folds his arm. His tone seriously pisses me off and if he thinks I’m about to leave my mate in her condition he is dead wrong. I give him a brief nod as I clench my teeth and take a step back. His eyes flicker away as if he is waiting. Well he can keep waiting I think as I promptly shut the door in his face.

Not bothering to pay him any more attention I head back over to Caldera who is still in her tension riddled stance. As I approach the nest I allow my footsteps to slow so that she can easily see my movements. As I raise a foot to take my place once more she rises as her claws stick further out and a roar fills the air. I swirl my body toward the door and groan aloud when I see that he has invited himself in. His back leans against the door as if he is trying to stay as far away from her as he can.

“Seriously, did it not clue you in when I shut the door in your face” I scream at him. The sound of ripping fabric fills the air and I rush to cover my manhood as the breeds hits. I don’t even have to turn to face her knowing that she has once more taken my clothes. I stand there still pissed with my hands covering my most essential parts as Maximus fights not to laugh. Apparently not even my fury can stop the fucker from finding a joke in a situation. “What the fuck is so important that you felt the need to interrupt this time” I scream at him.

“Look Igneous, if I had a way to avoid involving you then I would have taken it. I know this isn’t the best time, but I don’t have a choice but to involve you. Only you have the ability to get the answers that we need. He will only talk to you” he says with a stern expression. The air at my back heats and I know that she has begun setting the fabric she ripped in flames. My scent grows stronger in the air as she purrs.

“Who?” I grit out just wanting to end this conversation.

He looks at me and I see something in his gaze. For a brief moment the stoic fucker who likes to piss me off is gone and I see a flash of what I would call pity. My shoulders relax a bit as I wait for him to answer my question already knowing that I won’t like the answer.

“Your father. We captured him when one of our own went missing” he says as he holds my gaze.

I can’t help the involuntary step I take back as it feels like I have just been slapped. Hasn’t he don’t enough. First he doesn’t want anything to do with me all because of who I feel in love with. He was so willing to let me die just so he could get some answers. Now he’s back. Hell no.

“I have nothing to say to him. Let him rot” I say turning away from his searching gaze.

“You don’t have a choice. We need to know what happened to Jefferson. What they were going to do with the other they tried to take. We need you right now and I don’t have to point out how much you owe us” he grits out.

Caldera growls behind me when his tone turns harsh. Normally I would reach out to touch her to provide comfort, but I can’t afford to do that now. I need both my hands to cover my privates and I damn well am not giving him a peek. Even though he’s right, I don’t want to leave. But I do owe them. It’s because of Magma that I am even standing here. It’s because of him and Xander that I made it back to Magma before she lost her mind to her dragon. I sigh heavily knowing that the decision has already been made for me.

“Fine.” I tell him as I start to walk to the room. If I am going to have to leave I am damn well doing it with pants. I quickly grab one of my last remaining sets and throw them on. When I walk back out of the room Maximus is no longer there. I quickly walk over to Caldera and kneel down near her. I actually don’t know how she is going to take my having to leave. Before I can talk to her however she speaks first.

“Hurry. There isn’t much time. Go handle your father and return to us” she says as she taps against out eggs. I frown as I catch her meaning. I think she is trying to tell me that the eggs will be ready to hatch soon. If that’s the case then I really do need to hurry. There is no way that I will be missing the hatching of my children. I will be there every step of the way.

I walk briskly to the door and open it to find Maximus on the other side. He has his phone in his hand as he types fast. “Come on human. We have one stop to make before we go see daddy dearest” he teases.

Not taking the bait, I roll my eyes and grab onto his arm. As soon as I do the world disappears as we fly through the kaleidoscope of colors. We exit in front of my mother’s cabin, and I look at Maximus skeptically as he head toward her door. “What the fuck are you doing” I whisper yell at him.

“He requested her presence too.” He says as he pauses to look at me.

“He has done ENOUGH! You may not care about what those around you go through, but I do. We are not putting my mother through more pain just because you need answers. She will not be going” I tell him.

“Igneous Leviathan Grecian, did I just here you tell this young man what I am ALLOWED to do. Should I remind you who is the parent here as well as why I will surely be going” she shouts.

As I hear her voice behind me my whole body freezes as she scolds me. Shit. I slowly turn in her direction as she walks away for her front door. My shoulder slump as I see her reddening skin and one hand on her hip. I have really done it now. I stand still as she approaches. Her finger lands in the middle of my chest as she pokes it with each word that she utters.

“I have every right to be there while MY husband is questioned. I have known him much longer than YOU. There are answers that I will be able to get from him that YOU cannot. If you have a problem with me going, then I suggest you say it here to my face” she states plaining as she meets my gaze.

I immediately start to shake my head knowing that if I anger her more the ear pulling comes. Dear god as small as she is she sure packs a punch. “No, no ma’am. I don’t have a problem at all” I tell her as I quickly change my tune. Maximus starts to laugh loudly next to us as he watches our exchange. I throw him a glare as he braces on his knees.

“Damn, if that’s what it’s like to have a mother. Then I sure am glad that I dodged that bullet” He says as he wipes tears that haven’t fallen from the corner of his eyes.

“Just you wait young man. Sons can be adopted too you know. Since Igneous here has someone and you do not, I could always turn my affections in your directions” she says with both hands on her lip.

The smile immediately falls from his face as I fight not to laugh aloud at his expression. I don’t even have to look at her to know that my mom is dead serious. He scratches his head and look in any other direction than at the both of us.

“So, young man. We have somewhere to be don’t we” she says as she hold out her hand. She grabs my hand as he takes her, and we are leaving her front yard. When we land the air is damp and dark. My eyes are fighting to adjust to the absence of the sun. A chill goes down my spine as a new feeling inside me claws to get out. It feel almost as if we are suffocating. I know that we are underground and due to my bond with Magma, it’s the worst place to be.

Looking around with the light from the only torch in the room, I see that we are in a cell. In the corner of the cell sits the man that I have grown to despise. My fist ball at my sides as I fight the need to cause him damage. I hear my mother’s breath hitch as she takes in his appearance. As I watch her I know that this is going to take longer than I thought. I just hope that I am there when Magma needs me most.