The Dragons' Mates

The Beginning

Ch. 1

"MJ and Mina, meet me in my office" Maximus linked his children. It was time to discuss re-emergence into the supernatural world. "On my way" they both responded via mind link. Upon entering they could see that their father had a lot in his mind and was staring intently at a map on his desk. He looks up and smiles. "Sit down, we need to discuss a few things" Maximus responds. MJ and Mina share a curious look with each other and took a seat in two of the chairs at their father's desk.

Maximus' office had a large semicircular wooden desk with his chair on the flat side and four chairs around the circular side. There was a sitting area on one side with a sofa and two soft chairs that surround a stone fire place that was used for more casual discussions.

Maximus looks at his children and takes a deep breath. "We are going to come out of hiding and reassimilate amongst the other supernaturals." He thought it was best to just come out and say what you were intending to say rather than beating around the bush. Both MJ and Mina simply looked at him and said "OK". "OK? What do you mean OK?" He responds. MJ looks straight into his father's eyes and says, "Father, as the future king of dragons it is important to be aware of everything that is and has been going on as well as thinking of solutions to issues that have been going on. We are all aware that the dragon population has been declining due to fewer and fewer mates being found. In addition to many dragon families have seen a decrease in strength due to mating with those that are not true mates." "Yes dad, we have both been aware of what has been going on. Many of the Omegas have been upset because they fear that their children will never find their mates or find someone to be with because they are of lower rank and not as strong. Plus, the dragons have not seen an attack in two generations. Many of the young teens want to go out into the world and see what it is like," Mina adds.

Maximus POV

I just chuckle, of course they are on board with this. Mina has asked many times about the outside world and why we are still hiding and MJ is very observant and is constantly trying to be two steps ahead. "Alright then, this conversation is going easier than I imagined. The supernatural gathering is taking place in one week, of course dragons have not participated in 300 years, many believe that we are extinct. They will be surprised. I have already rented a small manor near the gathering that we will be staying at for the duration. The ones going will be myself, you two, Beta Callan and his children Blade and Cara, and a couple of the warriors Steele and Ember. I don't want to take to many and leave us defenseless here, but enough that the others know we have numbers and are strong.

Now, my main concerns will be the witches and hunters. They are the ones that have hunted us the most, but I would like to try to at least become cordial with them. It has been 300 years; they do not live as long as we do so many may never have seen a dragon before. We will arrive a day before the start of the gathering in order to scope out the area. We will have a planning meeting tomorrow at 10:00 am to discuss different scenarios of possible attacks and peace talks. Any questions?" He looks at his children. He sees understanding in their eyes as they both shake their heads no. "OK, you are dismissed and I will see you at dinner. I suggest you start packing and speak to the people I have mentioned about the meeting tomorrow. I have already informed Callan and he has told his children." I say. They nod and excuse themselves.

I link Callan to come to the office to start preparation for tomorrow's meeting and to plan the rout we will take as well as how we should travel. I start to think, flying in our dragon forms would be easiest but we will have to fly at night and carry our luggage in our talons, that could be complicated. A knock sounds and I know it is Callan. "Enter" I say. Callan walks in and takes a seat opposite of me. We start our planning. "I think we should fly down to this town at night, then rent a couple of cars to travel the rest of the way. It will give us an opportunity to survey the land and gage if there is any threat on our way" Callan says pointing to the town on the map and the route he thinks we should take. I look at the route and agree. It is the most direct route with multiple ways to detour if we need to lose someone" I state. "How did Blade and Cara respond," I ask him. "You know Blade, he was indifferent, but Cara is very excited. I'm sure that her and Mina are already talking and planning their outfits," He laughs out.

The next day everyone enters my office. “Alright, as you all know I have decided that it is time for the dragons to come out of hiding. I do not feel that my father made the right call about going into hiding. It has caused us to be isolated and to have to take extreme measures to keep up with the current times. I am not saying that we need to go to war, I am saying that we cannot be passive. When we come out, there may be obstacles from the foes that hunted and or hated us. IF we run into these situations, we will handle it appropriately. I propose that try to initiate peace talks with the hunters and witches. If they do not want to talk peace, I will appeal to the council that they are threatening to exterminate an entire race because of powers that they covet but cannot have.

I also think that we should look into alliances with some of the other races. A couple of races that come to mind are the werewolves and the werebears. They are shifters like us and have longevity to their lives as well, not as long as ours but still.” I start out. “What do you think so far MJ?” I ask my son. HE is going to be taking over so he will be playing an active role in relationship building and politics during the gathering. “I like the idea. You know that I am not a passive person. I don’t want war but I will defend my own and not tolerate harm to come to our people. As far as the alliances go, I am intrigued particularly by the werewolves, but you make a point about the werebears as well. They would understand us the most.” He responds. I nod. “OK, now that we are in agreement on that, Callan and I were discussing on how to get to the gathering. Callan has proposed to fly to the town here, and rent vehicles and drive the rest of the way. It will take us about two days, I think …” “Dad, what if we have our things mailed to the manor and fly there instead. We can fly at night so we are not noticed and it will be a lot faster because we will not have to follow the roads, we can just go straight there. Also, if there is a problem, we can evacuate faster,” Mina interjects. I think on her suggestion and look at Callan and MJ. They nod their heads in agreement. “You are right Mina. In order to do this, we need to ship our things today so everyone leave and pack. We can discuss different scenarios at the manor since we will be arriving earlier.” I say and dismiss everyone.

Once everyone leaves, I lean back in my chair. I have been king for 80 years. I remember when I took over from my father. I remember the fear in his voice when he warned me about the outside world. I was not my father. I believed that we should stand up for ourselves. That if we were seen by others as a force they do not want to cross, they will at least think twice before attacking. When I became king, I immediately started sending warriors to scout the outside world. I have also been. I instituted a program where people can attend school to help our society develop. It’s a good thing I did because the world has changed a lot since I took over. We are not uneducated. We have amenities like TV and internet now. We don’t really have a need for vehicles so we don’t have those. It has worked so far, but everything could be better if we were not hiding. I pour myself a drink, “here’s to the future,” I say to myself.

Mina POV

“I am excited about this Cara! What do you think?” I ask my best friend and daughter of my dad’s beta. “I am excited too. I really hope that this will please the Moon Goddess so she will allow us to find our mates.” She replies. “I agree. Let’s plan out what we are going to wear, we want to look our best since we have never been off of this mountain before. I also hope that we will be able to make friends with some of the other supernatural races. I bet the werewolves would be nice. I mean I know they are territorial but I also remember reading that they have alliances in order to keep their packs strong and to stand against their enemies. It would be nice to see something different than what we see all of the time.” I state. We continue to speak back and forth about our outfits and what we hope to see while we are there. It never crosses our minds that we will find our mates or that they would not be dragons. It has never happened before.

Jace POV

"Alpha!" I hear my beta call out. 'What is it Devon?' I respond via mind link. 'News from the council. I think we should discuss this in your office,' he responds. I nod my head and we head towards the pack house and up to my office on the fourth floor. It is more secluded up here and it is sound proof so no one can hear anything that is said from outside the door.

We enter and I sit behind my desk and Devon sit across from me. "OK. What does the council want?" I ask. The council has been a thorn in my side for the last year. They are upset that I have not found my Luna yet. I'm 24, most alphas find their mates within a year of turning 18. This is so an heir can be secured and raised to take over the pack upon their 21st birthday. I have been searching but, no luck. The council has suggested that I take a chosen mate. As a result of this, many she wolves have been throwing themselves at me. It's disgusting. I will not take a chosen mate. "Well, they once again have asked if you have decided on a chosen mate," He starts. "No, I will not take a chosen mate." I declare. He sighs in relief. He is in a similar position as me. He's 24 as well and has not found his mate. It is important that the higher ups find their mates and reproduce. The council has also suggested that he take a chosen mate.

He continues, "The council has also informed me that there was a late entry to the gathering. They were just informing us; they did not say who it was or what race they are." I contemplate on this information. For some reason my wolf Xavier is intrigued by this information. 'What's with you?' I ask my wolf. 'I don't know. I just feel that something is going to happen, I'm excited.' He replies. I look back to Devon, he appears to be having a discussion with his wolf Blaze. "My wolf is intrigued by this information," I tell him. "Yes. Mine as well. He won't stop pacing. It's giving me a headache," he laughs in response. "Well, the gathering is in a few days. We will know more then. There is no point speculating on who these mysterious guests will be." I tell him. With that we get on to our normal daily duties, pack disputes, business details, and going over alliances.

It is the day before the gathering. Devon, my parents, Robert and Linda, my sister Gem, and myself have arrived at the house the we are renting for the week. We get settled into our rooms then Devon and I head out to the back to shift and go for a run. I shift into my all-black wolf Xavier and him to his dark brown wolf, we howled and took off.

While we were out running, I caught the smallest whiff of the sweetest scent, lilac with a hint of mint. The scent was faint and I couldn't track it. It drove Xavier nuts yapping mate, mate, mate. 'Xavier, I can't track it, can you?' I ask hopefully. 'I can't tell where it is coming from and it's gone now. The wind shifted and I can't smell it on anything around us.' He whimpers back. He is upset that he smelled his mate but that was it. I don't blame him, I'm disappointed as well. I can only imagine how beautiful she is. Just thinking about her makes my d**k twitch from excitement. I link Devon that we should head back and rest for the meet and greet tomorrow. When we were back in the yard we shifted back and was handed shorts by my sister Gem. “What are you smiling about?” she asks me. I fill them in about smelling my mate. "I smelled my mate while we were running. I couldn't track the scent though. Maybe she is at the gathering. She smelled of lilac and mint. If you catch her scent, tell me immediately. With us all looking for her we are bound to find her." I command. A thought hits me and I can't help but smile. "What is that smile about?" Devon asks. I chuckle, "the council is going to be pissed. They have been pushing their choices for a chosen mate on me for a year and are demanding that I choose one of them at the gathering. I am going to love seeing their faces when I present my mate to them." Devon just laughs, "I hope I find my mate here as well. Then they will really be pissed." We said our goodnights and headed to bed.

I just stripped and collapsed on the bed. 'Damnit, I smelled her. Goddess what an amazing smell.' My d**k grew hard again just remembering the smell. I began to rub myself, imagining that I was buried inside my mate taking in her amazing smell. After releasing into my hand, I cleaned myself off and went back to bed. As soon as I was asleep, I swear I could smell her again. I was in wolf form. I could see her, but not fully. I couldn't see what she looked like. I could only see sapphire blue eyes and beautiful tan skin. She was coming closer to me and I inched closer to her. She was reaching out. I was so close to putting my snout in her hand, I still couldn't see her though ... BEEP BEEP BEEP. "Damnit" I said as I woke up.

Maximus POV

It has been almost a week since I announced that the dragons were going to come out of hiding. I am pleased that the other dragons were on board and many were excited. I contacted the council and informed them that we will be attending this year. I do not think that they believed that I was the dragon king. That doesn’t surprise me though, many believe that we are extinct. We made it look that way for a reason. Anyways, it is time for us to depart on our journey. “Is everyone ready to depart?” I ask. “Yes, my lord.” I hear from all. With that we shift into our dragons and take off. The flight will take us six hours as we can fly straight rather than taking winding roads and doing human speed limits. Yes, flying as dragons is much faster.

All of the dragons going to the gathering are highly trained warriors and can handle themselves if needed. I did not want anyone going this year that could not fight as this is our first time out of hiding in 300 years. We all take turns leading, tailing, and flanking the group so we can ensure that there are no threats to us as we fly.

We arrive at the manor with no issues. We land and head inside to get situated and rest for the following day. I noticed that both MJ and Mina were acting a little off but they both just went to their rooms for the night. I know that they would tell me if something was wrong so I was not worried about it. After all, this was their first time off of the mountain.

Mina POV

Upon landing I struggled a little with getting full control back from my dragon Sapphire. Once I do and am able to shift back. I high tale it to my room. ‘What is going on with you Sapphire?’ I link her. ‘I, I don’t know. I feel something. A presence that excites me. I wanted to go look for it.’ She responds. ‘OK. Maybe we will be able to find it tomorrow.’ I link her and then shut her out. I need some rest. Tomorrow has the potential to go many different ways and I need to be prepared for the worst. I change into my soft shorts and tank top for bed, get under the sheets and fall asleep.

That night, I dreamed of a large black wolf with the most beautiful blue eyes I have ever seen. This wolf stared at me intently, not like I was its prey but as if I was a treasure. It walked closer to me but I did not feel afraid. I reached out to it but before I could touch it my alarm went off. I woke groaning and Sapphire was growling something about mate and it wasn’t fair. I really couldn’t understand her because it was more growl than words.

MJ POV

To say that I am nervous would be an understatement. As the next king of the dragons, it is my responsibility to learn all I can about the other races and hopefully make alliances that will help ensure that us coming out of hiding was not a bad idea. I agree with my father. Dragons are strong and can be fierce. There was no reason we should not have stood our ground and protected our own. I will not be a king that hides. I don’t want war but am not afraid to wage it in order to protect my people. I am thinking about all of this while we are flying. Alliances need to be made. Potential peace treaties need to be discussed. I just hope the hunters and witches are willing to move on from the past. I think we could benefit each other if we are not being hunted by them. We each have strengths where the other has a weakness.

As we are about to land, my dragon Storm becomes restless. All of a sudden, I am struck with the most amazing scent I have ever smelled. It was honey mixed with roses. I look around but do not see anything. As soon as the smell was there, it was gone. I land and shift back. ‘Storm, what was that?’ I ask. ‘I think our mate is near.’ He growls out. ‘I want to go find our mate.’ He states. ‘What do you mean our mate? We know all of the dragons here and they are not our mate.’ I quip back. ‘Maybe our mate is not a dragon.’ He states matter of fact. ‘That has never happened before. Are you sure?’ I ask. ‘No, but we need to find our mate.’ He states and then shuts me out. I will have to think about this. I do not care if my mate is from another race, I just wonder about the other dragons. I shake my head at that. It doesn’t matter what they think. If my mate is from another race, she was given to him by the Moon Goddess for a reason and I would treasure her as the gift she is.

After getting to my room and getting ready for bed, I fell asleep dreaming of a beautiful silver wolf with light green eyes. Her fur looks so soft. I approach her slowly, not because I am afraid, but because I do not want to scare her off. I feel a pull to her, I ache for her. It’s as if I do not reach her, I will die. I reach out to her; she comes closer and … BEEP BEEP BEEP. Ugh! He wakes with a start, “F**k”.