91 Retrieving Hesper

Toma's POV:

I heard a strange, alluring sound rousing me from my sleep as it's enchanting sound stirred something inside of me. I heard a small purr follow it before I heard the sound again, waking me up more as it sounded like it was coming from in the nest with me. I opened my eyes tiredly and glanced around. Did I have hatchlings and don't remember? I saw a small, cat sized blue dragon looking towards me, curled up to itself nearby. Ross.... His scales were glimmering a little, glowing slightly like they did when he swam in the sea. The blues on his scales were colored brilliantly, standing out with each other and looked healthier than usual, soft. I couldn't see any signs of oil on him though... like his body was naturally doing that for his scales.

He purred at me, and then I heard the call again, but it came from him. It tugged at me a bit, making me want to pull him to me and hold him as it lured me towards him. He fluttered his wings a bit and looked at me longingly. I purred as I transformed into my dragon form, keeping my size as small as his. I ran up to him and landed in his embrace, purring deeply. He purred and quickly rubbed his head against my body, and I caught his scent then. It was almost seductive like in nature, stirring me up a bit inside as it made me want to never leave him and hoard him away from the others. I licked his body then, purring. What's happening?

I heard the door open then and a maid started to walk in with a plate of sushi, but she stopped as she saw us, and Ross called out again lowly in my ear. She widened her eyes slightly and blushed before she quickly sat down the plate. "Oh, Lady Sera! Oh boy! LADY SERA! ROSS'S MATING SEASON HAS STARTED!" She yelled, quickly leaving the room to go find Sera and inform her. Mating season? Ross has a mating season? I widened my eyes. Is this what's wrong with him? He purred and licked my neck, trying to get my attention back on him. He rubbed his head against me and gave another sweet call. I blushed. When did he learn to call to me like that? I tried to copy his little call. He gave another one, sounding delighted and tackled me into the nest, knocking me into a pillow. I widened my eyes before slipping away from him and ran for my coffin, jumping into it.

He whined and gave another call, lonely as I left him. He sounded heartbroken. I poked my head out to him, watching him. He was watching me from the nest, sitting up on the pillow as he whined and then laid down on the pillow, rubbing his head against it lightly as he whimpered. He caught the scent of the sushi then and looked towards it before he got up and slowly went towards it, sniffing it and then started to eat a few pieces before he looked towards the door and ran for it. Where is he going? I called out to him in anger. He's in his mating season! He's going to cheat on me. I roared as I went after him, turning huge. I hope I don't loose myself like he has. He stopped and then roared back at me, giving a purr as he lowered himself down to the ground and gave me a sweet look. I looked him over before leaning down towards him and licked his face.

I thought Ross would be different if he had a mating season. He's nothing but submissive. I'm going to hold this over his head for years. He shivered in delight and then ran up to my feet, nuzzling his head against them then curled up, puffing out smoke. I growled and pushed him back to our nest, puffing smoke at him. He fluttered his wings before he looked up at me and puffed smoke back and laughed. I growled towards him before covering the door with my body, laying down in the process. He's not going anywhere. He looked towards me and tilted his head before he flew up to me and landed on my head, calling out at me sweetly. I shook my head to get him off. He growled as he hit the gold then looked up at me, puffing out smoke at me in irritation. I smirked a little as I watched him. Poor little Ross... He's just wanting to mate with me. He's like a female in heat. He noticed the smug look on my face and growled before he turned away from me and went over to a pile of gold, pouncing into it and hid in it. I wonder how much longer I have....

After a few minutes, he came back out and transformed into a bigger dragon, coming towards me. I watched him in amusement, looking him over. He purred as he got closer then nuzzled his head against me before he tried to nudge me out of the way of the door and towards the nest. I moved slightly but stayed my ground. He growled then before he nipped at me. I nipped back, giving him the same challenging growl. He purred and then licked my head and called to me again sweetly. I called back to him, laying my head down on the pile of gold. "I'm not letting you leave," I told him. He purred and licked my neck then before he laid down next to me and started to lick me.

"Toma~" He purred sweetly to me, moving closer.

"Yes Ross?" I asked. He nuzzled his head against me and crawled on me.

"I don't want to leave," he told me sweetly and licked my neck as he laid on my back.

"Good. I don't want you running off and making eggs with dragon girls." I purred to him. He puffed out smoke then and growled.

"I don't want their eggs in my nest. I want yours~" He nuzzled his head against my body then and called to me again.

"We can't have eggs," I said in amusement. "Not by just mating." He growled then.

"Watch me," he purred to me and fluttered his wings. He started to tug me back towards the nest then, giving me a loving purr.

"Ross," I gasped out. "You know it's not possible." He tugged me into the nest anyways and licked my face, giving another sweet call. I purred before calling back to him. Poor thing. He just wants to mate. The doors busted open then and Silas came walking in, panicking.

"Ross! Toma! A dragon snatched Hesper!" He cried out, his breath hitching in his throat.

"It's the starting of mating season," I told him as I went to lick Ross. "He's already caught the fever and he's the only one who knows where the dragon realm is. So if Hesper has been carried into there.... There is no way I will allow us to go in there. We might both catch the fever and who knows what will happen." Silas frowned.

"Toma! My child is in there with those dragons! They could be doing things to him! He's only a child!" He pleaded with me. "Please!"

"I doubt it. Dragons respect ages of the young. He's probably just a treasure piece." I purred in amusement. "Maybe next time you won't let Hesper be stolen so easily... We'll go find him after I mate with Ross and get him back to his sanity." Silas bit his bottom lip.

"You promise you'll help me get my baby back?" He asked me softly.

"Well..." I trailed off. "As long as we can fight whatever hoard he ended up in." He nodded quickly and smiled hugely, looking grateful.

"I'll go ask Aurelio to go with you when you two are ready!" He ran out quickly, shutting the door behind him. "AURELIO!" Ross let out a whine and quickly nuzzled his head against me as the door shut. I looked towards Ross.

"Listen up... We'll mate now and hopefully you'll be sane enough to go save poor Hesper." I licked the top of his head. His purr quickly filled the room and he tackled me to the ground, giving a sweet call to me that aroused me slightly. He rubbed his head against me and tucked his wings against his side. I called back to him and purred loudly. My sweet mate. He started to crawl onto me eagerly before he licked me....

~Time Skip~

Ross seemed to have calmed down after we mated, regaining some of his reasoning as he laid there in his human form, running his fingers against me as he purred happily. "Toma, I love you," he told me sweetly.

"I love you too," I purred to him and gave him a kiss. "We need to go save Hesper."

"Hesper? What's the matter with him?" He asked and frowned, starting to sit up. "Save him from what?"

"He's been taken by another dragon... and it's mating season. Silas is really worried." I reached up to caress his cheek. He frowned then.

"A dragon stole him? They stole from our hoard?" He sounded upset then growled. "Do we know which dragon? Was there security footage? Any signs?"

"I don't know.... he just said he was taken. We'll have to ask him," I told him. He growled then and got to his feet, pulling me up with him.

"I'm going to tear that dragon up," he hissed. "Stealing from us...." He started to pull me towards the door. I followed after him and grabbed the plate of sushi on the way out. He pulled me upstairs quickly, fuming and started to smell Silas out. We found him with Aurelio, talking to him frantically about his missing child.

"I don't know! The maids said they made him a hammock on the balcony and then when they came back to check on him, he was missing. There were dragon claw marks on the balcony! It stole him while he napped!" Silas told Aurelio and started to cry. "I don't know where it took him!"

"Well probably to the dragon realm," Aurelio said calmly. "Don't worry. We'll get Hesper back. He's safe wherever he is... probably scared.... but safe. He knows we'll find him too."

"Aurelio's coming?" Ross asked as he stopped walking and tilted his head. Silas looked towards us with relief in his eyes.

"Absolutely not! I'll get snatched up by a dragon just for being a wizard. They're looking always for a wizard. You two can go together." He waved us off. "I'm staying home." Ross frowned.

"We'd protect you," he told him softly. "I wouldn't let another dragon take you from my hoard- even if you refuse to be apart of it."

"No.... no no. I don't want to go in there. That's not for me. It's a dragon realm not a wizard realm." Ross nodded then looked towards me.

"You're going to have to stay close to me at all times," he told me. "Other dragons might try to take you from me, so you need to be close so I can eat them if they try to bite you."

"I'm not going to be stolen," I told him and laughed. He purred and then kissed me before he looked towards Silas.

"We'll go look for him," he told him and gave him a kind smile before he started to lead me towards the front doors and transformed. I transformed as well, flying up into the sky.

"We'll go to the castle and sniff around for any scents," I suggested. Ross nodded and flew beside me, letting me lead him to the castle. When we landed, he looked the balcony over and started to smell it, looking at the claw marks curiously then tensed as his eyes lit in recognition.

"This isn't good. They might not get him back," Ross murmured.

"What?" I asked and looked around, smelling with him.

"It's the dragon king's scent," he whispered, looking the claw marks over. "The dragon king took him."

"Well.... maybe we can bring him an offering to bargain and get Hesper back. He's just a child.... He needs his parents. The king will know that right? He'll give us Hesper if we tell him." Ross looked towards me then.

"No... well- it depends. The dragon king is the only dragon who can have multiple mates marked all at once. He has lots of mates in his hoard that please him, and if he picked up Hesper and marked him to make him one of his mates later in life, he won't give him back. He'll say that his mates can fill in the holes of parenthood, and his mark lasts for life. Hesper will go back to him if we manage to get him away from the dragon king," he told me and then looked out towards the woods surrounding the house. "There is the chance he took him as treasure though... and if we give him something more valuable than Hesper, he might trade, but seeing as it's mating season, I doubt he'll let us get near his hoard long enough to talk to him. He's going to be more territorial."

"We need to try something... Catch him fish?" I asked. "I'll.... I'll go get something from my hoard to offer. A chest perhaps. We need to do something! Hesper is a child of Silas and Rei."

"I didn't say we were going to do nothing. We're going to try to reason with him. If he marked him, we can either talk him into letting him come here till he's old enough, or we can try to steal him or kill the dragon king... which means whichever of us kills him becomes the next dragon king- but he's so strong he'd end our lives easily," Ross murmured to me. "If he's treasure, we can give the king lots of fish and a little gold.... He might trade for it if we're respectful and explain to him."

"Well let's go gather our bargaining items," I insisted. He nodded and then licked my head.

"I'm going to go fish," he purred to me sweetly then took off flying to go get fresh fish. I went down to my hoard quickly, gathering a treasure box full to take to the king. Hopefully he'll trade.

Ross came back after a bit with a sack full of fish and landed outside the castle. He looked towards me and gave me a loving look. "I'll replace what you're giving to him," he told me then looked behind me at the castle. "We should take Rei with us just in case," he suggested and looked back towards me. "If Hesper is marked, he won't want to come with us, but he might for his dad."

"Okay... Go get Rei and he'll ride on your back since you're stronger." He nodded and then went into the castle, taking a few minutes before he returned with Rei, putting him on his back and scooped up the bag of fish. He purred to me and nuzzled my head before he took off into the sky, starting to lead me over the forest. It took us a little bit before we approached a mountain and he landed at the base of it, taking us into a hidden cave and pushed his way into it then led me through it to where a shimmering portal was and took us through it into a world that was untouched by humans- a dragon paradise. He glanced around cautiously then looked in the direction of a large mountain off in the distance.

"He lives there... but we must be careful," he told me softly then flew up into the sky, waiting for me and had me flying real close to him as he kept looking around for other dragons, on edge. I followed after him.

"Let's be straight and fly in calmly. We'll lay down submissively to show we mean no harm," I pleaded. He looked to be considering it then nodded.

"We'll have to be extremely submissive looking. His mates will attack us before he even knows we're there if we go in and look like we might be there for bad reasons," he told me. "They'll have eggs too, so they'll be on edge."

"We could give out mating calls?" I suggested. That's probably a terrible idea.

"Do you want him to mark us both and make us his little submissive mates?" He asked me and didn't sound happy about that. "No, we can always land in the clearing below the mountain and catch their attention there then get him to come to us halfway. His mates won't leave the nest unless he's in trouble or he tells them to."

"How would we catch his attention?" I asked curiously.

"We could call for him. He won't be happy that dragons are outside his nest. He'll come rather quickly- especially because it's mating season," he purred.

"Okay, we'll call for him." I started for the clearing, landing fast. He landed beside me and sat down the bag of fish. He looked up towards the opening in the side of the mountain high up before he let out a small roar. He was quickly met by the sounds of female dragons roaring at him viciously and I saw a smokey colored dragon poke his head out. He snarled at us and was down by us in an instant, rearing his head up in anger. Ross quickly dropped down to his belly and let out soft purrs to the strong looking dragon that glared us down. I laid down as well, being quick about it. Rei slipped off and walked up towards the dragon.

"YOU! Give me back my child." Rei hissed. The dragon roared at Rei and went to smack him across the clearing but Ross quickly got in the way.

"Forgive him, great king! He's not our kind," he said to the king then got back down on his belly. The king looked Ross over with distaste then looked towards Rei.

"You must be Ross and Toma... and that vampire there is his father?" The king asked, anger lying under his voice as he glared Rei down in particular. Rei exposed his fangs then.

"You'll give me my son back! I'm in no mood for games." He hissed. "He's only eleven. He's not ready to leave my care." The dragon king pounced over Ross then, going for Rei with a snarl.

"He doesn't want to be with you," he hissed and pinned Rei down. "He doesn't need you. He has my mates to look after him. Get lost, little vampire." Ross widened his eyes and looked towards the dragon king.

"Your mates!? Are you insane!? You're not going to let my precious boy be raised by your mates!He needs the loving care of a father. You better give me my child back or I will bring my whole kingdom in here and after you! Believe me I do have alliances with many kings." The dragon king hissed at him then looked towards Ross.

"Get him out of here, and don't you ever bring him back," he hissed at Ross, glaring him down. Ross nodded and then gave the king a small purr.

"Of course my king. I'll get him out of here, but may I ask why you won't let the vampire raise the child?" The king glared him down then.

"Do you question me?" He snarled.

"No! Of course not! I was just curious, my king," Ross said, sounding like a respectful subject. He gave the king a purr then. He softened slightly as he looked Ross over, seeing how he was laying submissively.

"I've taken the little vampire as my mate to join my hoard. He's not to leave, and he doesn't wish to leave. Now get out of my sight with that vampire!" He roared.

"You marked him didn't you!" Rei hissed out. "I'm not afraid of you, you sick monster. Give me my son back. He's too young and doesn't know anything about mates yet." The king whirled around to look at Rei.

"What do you take me for?! I'm not going to mate with him till he's older! He's too young!" The king hissed at Rei. "Now get out of here before I eat you!"

"Give. Me. Back. My. Son!" Rei hissed out. "You're not going to deny him his family." The king growled then.

"He doesn't want you. He told me himself that he would want to stay with me! You can ask him for yourself!" He flew up to the nest then. Ross perked up and looked at the nest.

"He's going to bring him down here," he whispered, looking happy about that. The king quickly was back down here again with Hesper on his back. Hesper widened his eyes when he saw us and slipped off of the dragon to run to his dad.

"Daddy!" Hesper called out.

"Hesper!" Rei purred and held out his arms. "Come here." The king let out a sharp growl then, looking upset that his little chosen mate had quickly abandoned him. Ross started to sneak over to the bag of fish, getting closer to Rei and Hesper so he could quickly pick everything up and get us out of here at a moment's notice. Hesper ran into Rei's hug with a purr.

"Daddy~!" Hesper purred out and buried his face against his father's chest.

"It's okay sweetie... I'm bringing you home." Rei rubbed his head then. The king growled then.

"Hesper," he hissed slightly. Ross looked towards me then at the king closely, tensing up in case the king tried something. Hesper looked back at the king and blushed.

"Y-yes?" He asked.

"Do you really want to go home with him?" He hissed and narrowed his eyes slightly. "I thought you said you would want to stay with me." Hesper started to pull away from Rei but his father held onto him tightly.

"He's not staying with you," Rei hissed harshly. "You'll take our offering and let us leave." The king growled.

"Let him go! Don't hold him like that," he snarled at Rei, pissed as he started for them. Ross quickly jumped between them and tossed the fish bag at the king, distracting him for a second.

"He's my son. I'll hold him as I please and keep him in my house until I deem him old enough to leave and there is nothing you can do to stop me. He's half mine and half my soul mate. So you'll respect that and when he's old enough you'll knock on my door and ask for his hand... Until then fuck off." The king slowly looked towards Rei then glared, his body tensing up before he leapt over Ross and tackled Rei off Hesper, going to bite him. Ross knocked him off and pinned him down only to be thrown off and the king went after him with a snarl. I jumped in then and pinned the king down with my weight.

"Stop it," I hissed. "Hesper shouldn't have to witness this. If anything, be more humane for him." The king roared at me and bucked me off, going after me then with an angry look. Ross quickly jumped in the way and purred, trying to calm the king down as he lowered himself to the ground again. The king paused and looked at him then at me.

"You're mates," he muttered, catching the scent on us. He glanced us over before he looked towards Rei then narrowed his eyes before he looked towards Hesper. He raised his head up then. "Hesper," he purred slightly. "Do you want to go with these people and leave the safety and warmth of my nest?"

"No," Hesper told him sweetly.

"Hesper," Rei hissed. "You don't want to come home? Your mother will be upset."

"She will?" Hesper said innocently.

"Yeah, she was crying," Ross told Hesper, looking past the king towards Hesper. "She misses you and is terrified for you. Hesper, tell the king no."

"But..." Hesper looked towards the king. "He told me I didn't belong in your world anymore," he told us.

"Bull shit," Rei hissed. "He told you a lie."

"He belongs with me! He carries my mark!" The king growled at Rei then moved over to Hesper. He purred and nudged his head gently against Hesper and gave him a sweet look. Hesper purred and rubbed under his chin.

"He's my son! I don't care if satan has his mark on him or god! He'll stay in my home until he's of age! Then he'll choose."

"He'll choose me in the end. What does it matter?" The king purred, melting at Hesper's touch.

"Hesper, you need to tell him that you want to go with Rei, and if you want to come back to him, tell him that real sweetly," Ross whispered towards Hesper.

"But I want to stay with him now," Hesper said and giggled. "He gave me jewelry."

"Think about it this way Hesper.... He'll be so happy to see you when you come back that he'll give you even more jewelry," Ross purred, trying to get Hesper to tell the dragon king no himself.

"He will?" Hesper asked.

"Hesper," Rei hissed. "If you don't come home then I'll send your mother to fetch you."

"He doesn't want to go with you! Back off!" The king hissed then scooped up Hesper into his mouth and unfurled his wings to take Hesper back to the nest.

"Don't you dare take my boy back up there," Rei hissed. "GIVE HIM BACK!" The king growled and took off into the air, not listening to Rei. Ross sat up then.

"Maybe we should get him to calm down first and then he might give him back," Ross whispered, walking over to Rei as he watched the king land in his nest. Rei started for the mountain then in determination. Ross frowned at Rei then before he let out a mating call, looking up towards the mountain where the king was nesting. The king looked back down at us, looking at Ross in particular.

"Ross!" I hissed and pounced on him. "Stop that noise!"

"What? I got his attention," Ross purred towards me and licked my head. "I didn't mean anything more about it-" The king landed by us then and looked towards the fish Ross had brought with a purr, getting one out of the bag and ate it. Rei walked back then, pointing at him.

"Give me my son back," he hissed. "Damn you!" He looked towards Rei with amusement then.

"Why should I?" He said and ate another fish. Ross looked at him and then up at the nest.

"He's my son! Don't you have a soul? What if I just go snatch an egg from you? I'm sure you wouldn't mind." Rei hissed. "I'll mate it to one of my children." The king looked towards Rei then and hissed lightly.

"You can't take my eggs," he snarled angrily. Ross tilted his head then looked up at the nest again.

"I will if you don't give me back my son! An eye for an eye you bastard!" He hissed.

"What he's trying to say is, you should be able to relate to him. Nobody would want their child taken from them, king." I waited for him, hoping we were convincing him. The king looked me and Ross over before he looked at Rei and walked up to him. He looked him over and smelled him, giving a low growl.

"How will I know that he doesn't get taken by another dragon if I decide to let you raise him? I easily took him from you, and he's perfect for dragon kind to hoard away as a mate or treasure. I'm going to take him back from you in the end anyways when he reaches the age of twenty if I do return him." He looked Rei over and raised his head up high, watching him.

"My king, I can personally return him when he is of age for you if Hesper wants it. I will see to it that he won't be taken from Rei again. I'll teach him about dragons and about you as he grows up," Ross purred out to the king, watching as he looked towards Ross.

"A sea dragon...." He murmured, looking him over. "You would make a decent protector, but your mate would be better to protect him if your mate was a little older and stronger. He would get decent meals with you though.... I take it you caught this fish?" Ross purred and nodded.

"Yes my king. It's an offering for you in hopes of your generosity. I promise that if he comes back willingly to you, he won't be a disappointing mate." The dragon looked Ross over before he gave a soft purr.

"If you weren't mated already sea dragon, I would be tempted to make you one of my mates for your fish," he told him then looked towards me before he turned to Rei. "Do I have your word little vampire king that Hesper will not be stolen by another and that he will be returned to my hoard when he is twenty?" 

"Hesper will be full aware of you and allowed to go where he pleases," Rei told him. "Only after he is eighteen." The king growled lightly before he puffed smoke at Rei.

"I want Hesper back in my nest where he belongs when he's of age." I could tell he was slightly pleased about the age of eighteen though.

"That's if he wants to return to you," Rei growled. He snarled back at him then, tensing up in anger. Ross let out a quick purr then.

"Who wouldn't want to return to you my king? Of course he'll come back to you~" He reassured the king to keep him from attacking Rei.

"Unless he decides he rather be with his own kind that'll treat him humanly." Rei scoffed. The king narrowed his eyes at Rei then.

"I've treated him well enough since I've taken him from you," he growled and started for Rei.

"Oh really?! You're living in a cave! My child isn't a caveman!" Rei tapped him on the nose hard. The king sneezed then growled at him.

"You wouldn't understand it because you're from the human world. The cave is actually a lot nicer than you think, way more comfortable than any of your human beds, and I was making improvements for him to enjoy," the king hissed, glaring at him. "Get out of here before I eat you."

"Hand over my son and we'll go."

"Hell no," the king spat and then unfurled his wings, going back up to the nest. Ross gave a frustrated growl as he watched the king leaving.

"GET BACK HERE YOU BIG BIRD! THAT'S MY CHILD IN THERE! Damn it. Ross! Go get me an egg." Ross tensed and looked towards Rei before he looked at the nest with wide eyes.

"Get... an egg? That's suicide! His mates will slaughter me before I can even set foot in his hoard," he complained.

"He's taken my child from me. Hesper is only eleven!" Ross looked towards the nest then before he looked towards me and nuzzled my head.

"If they eat me~ know I loved you more than my treasure," he purred to me sweetly.

"If anything steal Hesper if you can," I purred to Ross.

"Okay~" He looked towards the nest and tensed up before he snuck up to the mountain and started to fly up lightly on the ledges, keeping quiet so he could sneak in. He transformed into the size of a hatchling as he reached the hoard and went in. It was quiet for a bit before I started to hear loud roars and Ross came flying out rather quickly in his bigger dragon form, landing quickly by Rei and looked towards him, Hesper between his jaws and an egg in his talons. I could see a few dragons rushing to the entrance of the hoard before they stopped and snarled at Ross when he held the egg up like he was going to drop it. Rei snatched Hesper away from Ross and hugged him tightly.

"We're going home where I'll lock you up in a room with no windows or doors for the rest of your life!" Rei kissed the top of his head. Hesper broke out into tears and tried to get away from him.

"Alfarus!" Hesper cried out. I saw the king pushing his way through his mates before he snarled and let out an angry roar. He quickly dove down and tackled Ross, going to bite him, but Ross threw him off, almost dropping the egg. A red dragon quickly landed by Ross and snatched the egg away, looking at it with concern before she took it up to the nest to protect it. Ross widened his eyes as the king was coming back at him while he was trying to get off his back and yelped as the king pounced on him, going for his throat. I snarled and attacked the king, biting into his neck. I heard a fierce growl come out of the cave before I was attacked by a black blur. The king groaned and looked over at me with a snarl before he looked towards Rei and went for him, stealing Hesper from his arms as the red dragon came back and pinned Ross down as the king flew back with Hesper to put him in the nest.

"HESPER!" Rei yelled out. I fought with the black blur, finding myself thrown into a tree. I heard something crack in my shoulder before pain struck up through my body. He snarled at me before going straight for Ross to attack him, letting out a warning snarl. Ross let out a roar and knocked the red dragon off him, attacking the black dragon quickly and bit down into him harshly, clawing at his chest as he flared his wings up to keep his balance. The black dragon turned his size quickly into a smaller dragon before slipping around Ross and turning huge again. He threw him down on the ground hard before roaring in his ear.

He started up a ball of fire, spitting it out onto Ross and around them. Rei took off for the mountain to try to get up to the cave, ignoring the fight. Ross whimpered, stunned by the fall before he looked up at the dragon and growled, scratching at his underbelly then bit down into his shoulder. He flipped them then grabbed the dragon by the wings, flying them up as he pinned the dragon in his arms and started to fly off with him towards a lake through the trees. He dove down into it quickly, letting out a roar as he went to drown the dragon. I heard the dragon letting out a roar, making a pissed sound as she tried to get away from Ross before they reached the lake. Ross went into the water with him, dragging him into the lake. I was suddenly tackled by the red dragon and she spat fire at me, clawing at my stomach before she bit down into my shoulder with an angry growl.

I let out a growl, head butting her away from my stomach before I took off flying for the nest. I managed to get in the nest before she could and was surrounded by large piles of riches and gold. Big nests laid throughout the room for the king's different mates, even one for Hesper where a human was lying inside, napping. I couldn't see the king and Hesper, but I saw his other two mates out here, a green dragon and a black female dragon. I saw the red dragon's nest, a few eggs lying inside it as small cries came from the eggs as they missed their mother's heat. I glanced around before heading straight for the opening in the back. I saw the king laying in his nest, glaring at me as I came in. He snarled slightly and tightened his wings against his side.

"Get out," he hissed at me. I could hear his mates coming to his aid quickly behind me, letting out small calls to him and growls at me. I growled towards him before heading straight for his wing with a growl.

"Hesper, your father wants you home." The king snapped his jaws at me as I got closer and then rolled over a bit to distance me from the wing he was hiding Hesper under. I felt one of his mates grabbing my back legs, trying to yank me out of his nesting area. I growled and turned to a smaller size, slipping out of her teeth before going straight for his wing. "Give him to me!" I growled. He hissed and went to bite me.

"No! Hesper wants to stay here! He's my mate! Do you want me to take your mate from you, you little disrespectful night dragon?" He snarled at me. "All it would take is one bite and I'd be getting all the fish." I growled and attacked his head, biting down into it. He let out a small scream before he jerked his head out of my jaws and was on his feet quickly. He attacked me then, tearing into my side with his claws as he bit down into my neck harshly, tearing a chunk out of me. I groaned before slipping away, going straight for Hesper since he had dropped him to attack me. I got him quickly before taking off for the exit as fast as I could. He let out a roar and went after me quickly. Ross landed on the edge of the cave, shaking water off of him and looked behind him in a panic as the black dragon he had tried to drown was coming after him.

He looked towards me then at Hesper before he snatched me up and dove out of the nest towards Rei and caught him in his jaws, carrying us off as fast as his wings could take him. I could hear the king and his mates coming after us, roaring at us in anger as they tried to catch up to him, but Ross took the scenic route, weaving his way through the trees and going through tight spaces between the branches. I purred as I placed Hesper in my mouth for protection, hearing him calling out to the dragon king. I heard the dragon king calling back quickly, sounding anxious to get him back. Ross tightened his grip on us as he heard the king calling for Hesper then looked at me as he held onto me tightly and then managed to get Rei onto his back without hurting him.

"Hush Hesper up," he told me quickly. "The king will be listening for him." I frowned before having smoke form in my mouth where he fell unconscious from breathing it in. After a few minutes, I heard the king's calls getting fainter as he lost us when Ross started to take strange turns in the woods. Ross purred and then took us back to the portal before he got us out of the dragon realm and sped out of the cave, flying us back to the castle. When we reached it, Rei spoke up to us as he slipped off of Ross's back.

"Thank you," Rei purred to us. "Thank you for getting my son." Ross looked at him as we landed and gently set me down.

"You better keep a sharp eye on him. The king knows where Hesper is staying," Ross warned.

"We might have to move him to stay with both of you," Rei whispered. "You'll be able to protect him."

"That's true... but it's mating season," Ross told him and purred, nuzzling his head against me. "He can come with us though."

"Just put him in a room with no windows and chain him up by his ankle if you have to. I don't want him leaving that room. I'll lock him up like Rapunzel to make sure he doesn't get raised by that king."

"The king really would be respectful of his age if that's what you're worried about," Ross told him. "More than likely, he'd be more loving to him because of his age and will be sweeter to him. If Hesper could get the king wrapped around his finger at his age, being mated to him later on won't be so rough on him because the king will cave and give him whatever he wants~"

"Yeah but I don't want Hesper growing up without his family," Rei hissed. "We're his family."

"Of course he should be around you," he purred to Rei and leaned his head down to him. "Just know that Hesper will run off as soon as he's old enough so he can get back to the dragon king. The king's mark is really powerful, and he'll be desiring to be by the king's side all his life until either he or the king dies."

"Well that king will be coming to my door to ask for his hand and be bringing offerings before it's over with. I'm not giving up my son so easily. I've wanted him all my life. Fifteen beautiful children, powerful like their parents."

"You have sixteen though~ You do love your sixteenth child, right?" Ross asked him, tilting his head.

"It's one more than I wanted but I still love all sixteen of them," Rei told him. Ross purred, satisfied before he nuzzled his head against Rei.

"We'll take him home with us and contact you if anything happens," he promised him then looked towards me before he gently took Hesper from my mouth and between his jaws. I growled softly as he took Hesper from me. Hey.... I could have carried him.

"You better... He's my little evening star." Rei growled. Ross looked towards him and gave him a comforting purr before he looked towards me and nuzzled his head against me. He unfurled his wings and took to the sky, flying in the direction of his hoard with Hesper. I growled before flying after him. He's leaving me! He flew slowly so I could catch up, looking towards me with a sweet look before he flew close to me when I neared him.

"He'll know we took him back here... Eventually he's going to come to our hoard when he sniffs us out." I licked his head. He looked at me and gave a slight growl before he moved Hesper to his talons.

"It'll be awhile though. He won't be able to track our scent back to my hoard... but he will certainly be looking for it," he told me. "We'll be prepared. Mating season might be over by then~"

"We should have Sera watch over Hesper while we're in the treasure room," I suggested.

"I was thinking that myself~ I want to spend all my mating season with you," he purred sweetly to me. "It'll hit you soon as well, and we won't be leaving the treasure room for awhile when it does~"

"I know," I whispered, scared for when it hits me. I might wake up with five eggs curled around to my female belly. Who knows what might happen.

"Do you want eggs to come out of our first mating season together?" He asked softly, giving me a curious but hopeful look. I looked him over and whined. How am I supposed to tell that face no?

"Ross," I whined. "Don't look at me like that."

"Why not?" He asked me and pouted a little. "I'm just curious if you want to have children with me this time or if you want to wait...."

"I know you want hatchlings," I told him.

"I do," he purred, getting a little excited as he watched me.

"I know you do," I told him calmly.

"Uh huh... so are we?" He asked me and gave me a sweet, loving look. "We can talk to Aurelio or have Charles turn one of us into a girl~" I whined before sighing.

"I might eat them," I warned.

"I won't let you," he promised me sweetly. "I can do most of the taking care of them so you won't have to do much with them."

"Fine," I grumbled. "We'll have hatchlings." His eyes lit up then in pure happiness and love.

"Toma~" He purred happily and flew a little closer to me, nuzzling his head against me slightly. "You're the best mate ever~!"

"At the end of the mating season," I told him firmly.

"O-okay," he told me. "We'll have our eggs at the very end so it doesn't interfere with the rest of it," he whispered and looked up at me. "Do you want Aurelio's help, or do you want one of us to actually become a female?"

"What? I don't want either of us female. We're going to ask Aurelio."

"Okay~ We'll go to him at the end of mating season," he purred happily then gave me a sweet look. "Do you want to celebrate our victory of getting Hesper back in the treasure room?"

"Yeah~ We'll drop Hesper off with Sera and head straight for the treasure room." I purred at the thought.

"I'll make us some sushi for it then~" He told me and then looked ahead as we reached the castle. He landed then transformed into his human form, waiting on me as he looked up at me with a loving purr. "We can eat sushi and mate if you want~ or we can curl up together with our sushi and relax~" I transformed human as soon as I landed, taking Hesper out of his arms. I looked him over.

"Sniff out Sera," I told him. He nodded and then walked inside, sniffing the air as he started to lead me up the stairs and towards her room. He stopped outside it and knocked on it.

"Sera~ Can you watch Hesper for us? He's got a dragon looking for him, but Toma and I want the treasure hoard to ourselves~" He purred sweetly to her on the other side. Alfred opened the door with a tray in his arm as he looked us over.

"Bring him in," Sera said sweetly from her couch. She was watching a tv show tonight. There was a plate with a sandwich on it, along with chips and a pickle. She had a wine glass in her hand with a magazine across her legs. Alfred had a bottle of wine sitting on the table, waiting for him to open it for her. "Oh-" she noticed I was holding him knocked out. "You can lay him on my bed, Toma." I walked in and laid him down on her big white bed with tons of pillows on it. I covered him up before looking Sera over. That reminds me... They must have just got back and I just noticed. Ross got back and got the mating season feelings when he came down to the hoard. "Oh boys... I hope the season turns out interesting for you.... A maid informed me you were coming down in season. Just don't take it up here and keep it in the treasure room." Ross purred towards her.

"I'll try to remember Sera," he told her happily then looked towards me. "He promised me eggs at the end of the season~"

"You mean I get little grandbabies?" Sera asked and awed. "I can't wait to spoil them!" Alfred walked up to the table and sat the tray down. He popped the cork in the wine before pouring Sera her glass of wine.

"Uh huh~ but it'll take awhile for them to hatch when we ask Aurelio for it," he told her and smiled sweetly. He grabbed me gently then before he kissed my neck with a small playful growl.

"All babies take time," she reminded us. "Sometimes its nine months... sometimes shorter... sometimes longer." She looked us over lovingly. "So I'm going to be watching over Hesper?"

"Uh huh, the dragon king took him as his mate and is angry we stole him back," Ross told her, glancing her way. "We're keeping him here where the king doesn't know where he is."

"Okay. Alfred, I want you to take the day shifts since he's a daywalker like his father. You can have fun showing him our indoor pool."

"I think that's a lovely idea," Alfred hummed out. Ross nodded.

"Thank you Sera and Alfie," he said happily then looked towards me with a light playful growl and kissed my lips.

"We're happy to help," Alfred told us.

"Alright boys, you're distracting me from my show." She gave us a playful look. I laughed and pulled Ross out of the room before she could get onto us any long. I took him towards the kitchen so we could get some sushi before heading to our treasure room.