Chapter 37: Chapter 37

I slam the door of the truck as Maximus waves me off. I have a bit of a clue of what he is going through but if he refuses to talk then how can we help. Rushing through the door of our cabin I know that I have bigger issues to handle. Maximus and his woes will have to wait until I am done tending to my own mate.

I slow my pace as I quietly close the door behind me. I have seen how Caldera became irritable or aggressive each time someone came over. I don’t need her attacking me in this state before she realizes who I am. I make my steps around the couch louder deliberately and meet her frazzled gaze as she watches me in a defensive stance. She cocks her head at me when I pause my steps.

If I am going to be able to bring back Magma, then I need to be closer to her. She only invited me to her nest earlier today. I don’t want to overstep my boundaries by heading directly to it. I take measured steps toward her wanting her to see my every move. “I’m back now Caldera, I won’t be leaving you again” I tell her as I crouch down to her level.

She lifts her nose in the air as she scents me. Knowing that I probably wont be able to keep this outfit, I turn to face her fully so that I can hopefully miss her claws. With a sudden growl she jerks me toward her and brings my face close to hers. “You smell of a female. Who has touched my mate” she yells. Her claws start to shred my clothes as she throws them away from me. Her tone is chilling and I can hear the anger in it. A moment of confusion passes before I realize that I was holding my mother earlier. I must smell like her.

“My mother, I was holding my mother today while she cried” I tell her in a rush. I watch as her eyes flash briefly. As she growls I know that Magma must be speaking to her. I lift a head going to cradle her face when she suddenly shoves me away from her.

“You will ruin what I have built. You do not smell right. You do not smell like my mate. You dare to offend me as I keep our young safe. You do not deserve to be here. You are ruining it” She screams as she tugs her hair. Flames leave her mouth as she speaks and I hurriedly back away not wanting to cause her more stress.

I shouldn’t have left her. I knew the fragile state that she was in and now that I have returned it seems I have made things worse. She is not going to let me near her right now and that is where I need to be. As she rants from inside her nest I run as fast as I can to our bedroom to shower. When she was going through morning sickness and I ate something that made her sick, I always had to shower so she could no longer smell it. This should do the trick to help calm her.

I finish my shower in record time. Wrapping a towel around my waist I walk back to the living room and see her curled up in her nest. Her body rocks back and forth in the fetal position as she stares at our eggs. I look to the window to see that the sun will be setting soon. Tomorrow morning would mark the third day.

As I approach her I see when her rocking stops. Her head tilts into the air as she scents me once more. She rises quickly and eyes my figure. By the way she is looking I probably should have put on more than a towel. There is no way that she is ready to handle what the look makes me want to do. “Mate” she says. Happy that she is acknowledging me I lean down to cup her face when I get near. Caldera croons at my touch and as I look into her eyes a part of me wishes that they would turn hazel.

Magma is also my mate. Having her missing out on these precious moments is taking its toll. She removes her hand from my face and uses it to tug me to her. I step into her nest and take my place once more at her side. So far she has allowed me to keep the towel which I am grateful for. One can only enjoy walking around for so long naked before the precious bits start to get in your way.

She tries to leave my hold to lay on the other side of her nest. I quickly tug her into my lap. She quickly wiggles trying to get out of it and I tighten my hold. “Eggs” she says as she squirms. She isn’t even more than two feet away from them. I understand her need to protect them but having them in sight should be okay. I need her comfort right now. After the news, this morning I was so afraid that I was going to lose her if I didn’t get answers from my shitty father.

“They are right there. I just need to hold you mate. I will let you return to them in a moment” I promise her as I tighten my hold. Her wiggling ceases but her body doesn’t relax. I sigh roughly. This is not how things usually go. Normally my skin touching hers brings her comfort. She used to describe e being close to her as like a warm blanket. Her body would turn pliant and loose as we shared a comfortable silence. But Caldera isn’t Magma. Her touch is……

I run my hand along her arm as I notice our touch. What has happened to the sparks that I feel when touching her. “Magma, I mean Caldera. What is wrong with he bond?” I ask in a panic. She quickly jumps away from me and returns to her side of the nest. She eyes me warily for a moment and then turns away.

“The bond is fading. Soon it will be no more” she answers. What the hell. No one spoke of this. How could we be losing our bond.

“That doesn’t make sense. I am yours. We are mates. How is it that our bond is fading? I don’t want it to fade” I plead with her. Tears prick my eyes as I think about losing what we have. Now that I have noticed the sparks fade I try to see what else has changed. Closing my eyes I search for her emotions. That part of her that’s tied to me that allows me to feel what she feels. I gasp at what I find.

I can still feel her but its like the feelings are muddled. Something about them almost seems as if they have been interrupted. “How do I get it back. How do we save our bond” I ask her desperately.”

"Patience mate” she says as she eyes me. Her face looks almost sad as she says it. “Now sleep” she commands.

“How the hell do you expect me to sleep at a time like this? You just told me or bond is fading. You don’t even have answer to how we get it back. Was I just supposed to stand back and lose you? To stand back and lose Magma? How are you even calm about this right now? Does it not matter to you that we are losing our bond? I thought you loved me-loved Magma” I shout as I rant.

She whimpers in distress at the tone of my voice probably scenting my anger. Before I can scream some more she jumps across the distance and lands in my lap. My arms quickly grasp her to me still hating the missing sparks. Her face lands in my neck as she nuzzles me. “Patience mate. You will arrive soon. The change has already begun.” Before I can answer any of her questions, her teeth sink into my neck and blackness clouds my vision.

A scream leaves my chest when I awaken. Fuck that hurts. What the hell is happening to me. I try to open my eyes but they feel like sandpaper. My body is so hot and it feels as if someone is ringing a giant gong in my head. Something cool goes across my forehead and I lean into the relaxing sensation.

I try opening my eyes once more. As soon as I do the pain in my head intensifies as my vision fights to adjust to the light. Caldera stares into my eyes as I feel her touch against my cheek. As I look at her the pressure in my head intensifies. I cry out and its like a thousand nails are trying to pierce through my soul. The weight of the pressure is splitting me in half and I don’t know how much more of this I can take.

She grabs my face so that my eyes go back to hers. I can see her lips moving but for some reason cant seem to focus on the sound. Fuck. This pain is so much that I cant even hear her. Her eyes keep flying behind her frantically and I finally notice that she looks more crazed. That is definitely saying something seeing as how she has spent the last few days surrounded by fire.

Her voice finally comes to focus when there is a lull in the pain. “We must act quickly; we are out of time. Here” She says and then she brings her lips to mine. Her tongue licks into my mouth and the taste of her distracts me from the pain in my skull. And it heated. I feel it as a frown forms on my face at the temperature. Suddenly the heat intensifies and I try to jerk my mouth away from hers.

Her claws dig into my shoulders holding me in place as she burns me. The pain in my skull thickens and my ears ring with a loud pop as my body burns from being filled with her fire. The fire at once no longer seems hot. Reaching my hands up to her I bring her closer to me as I once more return her kiss. The tips of my fingers start to tingle and I can feel the sensation spreading.

MINE!!!!

A rich baritone fills my head causing my eyes to blur. Then it’s like I have an out of body experience. I watch from behind the scenes as Caldera purrs in my arms. “My mate. Finally. What took you so long?” She asks. Instead of answering I see as I jerk her neck to the side and pierce it with my teeth. I moan at the sensation as emotions rush through me. Happiness and pure joy brighten the word as I seal the wound I made.

Each puncture of my teeth is clearly defined against the paleness of her flesh. I run y fingers along the mark as she passes out in my arms. The sense of the world itself returns. I gently lay her down without the nest as odd sounds start to fill the air. Searching for the source of the sound I become distracted as I see the world clearer. My vision clouds in different shades and it is almost as if I can see the heat of every object in the room.

Hearing the sound once more I zoom in on the heat sources of two oval shaped objects. Our eggs. With this new vision I can see beyond the golden shells. I can see the shapes of the two tiny beings curled inside as they move around. I can even see as their moves inside through the flowing liquid. Blinking rapidly the world once more becomes normal and the inside of the eggs can no longer be seen.

Our young are arriving. We must wake our mate.

I freeze at the voice in my head. Who the hell has just spoken to me. The voice is almost just like mine. In a way it is richer almost deeper. My body relaxes as I think about it. The voice doesn’t bring me fear. If anything it is like I have known the voice my entire life.

I am called Ermias and I am your dragon. I have seen everything you have experienced through your eyes. I have witnessed your emotions from the rises to the pits. I have felt your pain and joined in your happiness. I am you and will always be with you. Now is not the time for us to get acquainted my human. We must wake our mates so that we can greet our young together.

My mind is moving rapidly as I start to wonder about the implications of what this means. I now have a dragon and am just like my mate. Shaking my head to clear it I gently shake the body of the woman I love as she sleeps in my arms. She finally rouses after a few seconds and blinks her eyes open. When I see that they are hazel and not red and slitted I am elated. Pressing my lips to hers I devour her mouth as she hungrily returns my kiss.

My hands glide along the curves of her body as I familiarize myself once more with her form. When she breaks for air I run my nose along the tip of hers enjoying the feel of how strong the sparks have gotten.

“Hello my love. I am glad to see that you are back” I say to her as I move her hair out of her face.

“I never left you Igneous. I was here the entire time and saw all that you did for us. The sacrifice that you have made for us. You choosing to fully accept Caldera and wanting the bond back has allowed her mate to bind with you. Our bond has been completed now”

Before I have the chance to respond the fire from the nest dies around us in a swirling circle. Cracks start to fill the air as the eggs of our children wiggle. We hurriedly detach as we rush over to them just as the pieces of shells start to fall to the floor. I smile at her in glee for a brief moment and she smiles in return.

The egg on the right gives an awful squishing sound as the top is shoved off. A babies wail fills the air and Magma reaches in to grab our baby. A tiny head of vibrate red hair with black streaks can be seen with tanned alabaster skin. She cradles the baby in her arms as it is gently soothed. Unable to help myself as I stare at my kid in wonder, I take the hand that leans on top of her arm. Peeking into the crease of her arm I look at the child’s legs and cant help but to shout with pure joy.

“It’s a boy. He looks like you but it’s a boy” I tell her as I caress his head. Another loud squish fills the air with an even louder cry. Reaching into the half shell of the other golden egg I gently pick up our other baby. The hair is jet black like mine and I quickly notice that it’s a girl. “And a little angel. Our little girl looks just like me.” I cradle her to my chest as a rumbling purr leaves my lips. Her little eyes blink open as she wraps her hands around mine. Rubbing my thumb along her tiny cheek I admire her skin that is the paleness of her others.

As I stare into her gaze my vision clouds over as tears fill my eyes from the joy I feel. Everything is perfect. “I agree, everything is perfect” Magma says as she meets my gaze. She scoots closer so that I can look at our son too as I hold our daughter. I gasp as he eyes briefly flash turning to slits when Ermias comes forward.

“Hello, my little ones” He says to them. I look to Magma to see that Caldera is also present for a bit before returning.

“They are dragons too” she says in wonder. I look to her and respond in kind. “Nothing can hurt them. Ever” I promise to her. As our son starts to fuss she quickly moves him to her breast to feed him whole our daughter closes her eyes.

“So, have we decided on their names” I ask her.

With a brilliant smile on her face I believe that I already have my answer. “Sticking to themes I see. Well, welcome to the world Marble Thalia Grecian” I say to my daughter as I kiss her little head. Leaning over to my son I give him the same greeting “Welcome to the world Obsidian Ivan Grecian” and then I place a kiss onto his hair. Smiling at my mate I try to convey with all my emotions how she has officially made me the happiest man alive.