The Redemption of Maximus

Ownership-Maximus

  After that meeting this morning I should have known that this day just wouldn't be easy. My job usually never is. At times like this it almost makes me happy that I don't have Xander's job. If I had to deal with all the species on a daily basis and their so called disputes, I would have left a long time ago.
 
  For once I thought I might have been able to walk the perimeter of all five clans and then return to my cabin to be alone. Just as I was leaving the last sector I was stopped by a whistle. I whip my head towards the water to glare at the thing that decided to call me like I'm some common household pet. For a second I consider flashing behind the asshole and strangling him. However, last time we got into an altercation I didn't like what the fishy fucker was able to reveal about me.
 
  He rises out of the water with a knowing smirk on his face. I watch as his fins slowly dry to reveal a pair of legs matching the rest of his shiny skin. I fold my arms against my chest and take up my no holds barred stance so that he gets the message I'm not in the mood for his crap today.
 
  "Hurry up fish boy. I don't have all day to waste on you" I spit as he slowly walks to where I am standing.
 
  At my remark he gives me a smile that most humans would find frightening. All teeth as they call it. His however don't reveal those little blunt squares but  instead are all sharpened to a point. I still find it creepy and would hate to see him eat.
 
  "Merman is what I am you stupid reptile" he spits as he comes closer. Wisely, he decides to stop a few feet away from me. Even though we have a strong dislike for each other, he know that in any fight we would have, I could easily win it. "I am the only male of my kind, the least you could do is get it right." He goes to remind me.
 
  "Whatever. Why did you decide to stop me?" I question him.
 
  He narrows his eyes at my question. Having contact with all the species I already know that this is a sure fire way to get under his scales.
 
  Questioning one of them is like a deep insult. They find it as offensive as if someone had just slapped them. As I watch his skin flicker like a lightning bug I can't help but to smirk knowing that he can't answer. He just has to stand there until I decide to rephrase or walk away and try another day. He shouldn't have called me a reptile. We stand there in our little stare off and finally after a few moments he cast his gaze away from mine.
 
  "Now that's more like it" I say as I savor his submission. "You may tell me of your reason for stopping me" I say with a shit eating grin on my face.
 
  "There is a camp near here. They are humans who have traveled through the forest on this day. Several of them have made the journey over the past few weeks. This new set of humans bring cameras however." He informs me as his brings his gaze back to mine.
 
  "Interesting. Tell me the reason I'm you speak on this matter" I say wanting him to get to his point.
 
  "There are some clans who still wish to remain a secret for as long as we can. Cameras have the ability to out us all. We would like this matter handled and for the humans to leave so that we may once against go into the trees." He says. With a last perusal he turns and walks back to the water.
 
  After a few steps away from me I hear a gentle song on the breeze. I bristle at the blatant disrespect of him trying to enamor me. I stand and glare at him knowing that I won't be able to travel through the ether while he sings.
 
  "Get on with it" I grit out.
 
  His song abruptly stops, and he gazes at me over his shoulder. "In my days I have learned to see many things in the aura of others. I can sense when two can be together before they even meet. I feel the need to warn you, that you will find the rest of your aura soon" he says quietly. He runs the last few steps to the lake beyond and jumps back into the water with a little flip in the air.
 
  "Show off" I mutter to myself as I disappear into the ether.
 
  My body travels face in between the space of time, and I arrive in my spot in Xander's office. Deciding that the humans need to be handled I make myself known immediately as I feel like I don't have time to fuck with him on this visit.
 
  "Since you are not teasing my dragon, I'm guessing you have something important to say this time" He says without looking up from his paperwork.
 
  "We have a group of humans nearby. They set up a camp to take pictures. From the description of the fish it sounds like a group of reporters" I inform as I steal the apple from his desk and sink my teeth into it. I watch as he rolls his eyes knowing that I just stole his snack. I toss it into the trash after I have taken a bite.
 
  "You missed the rest of the meeting this morning. There was more to discuss." He says as he stacks his papers.
 
  "I think I heard enough, brother" I sneer at him.
  With a sigh he finally meets my gaze. "All dragons are related since we came from the same women. What you missed is the part about mates. Are you even a little curious?" he ask. A part of me is curious. However, I know that if I show him that, he will take forever to tell me the information, so I just stare at him.
 
  "We will all go through something different with our mates. The bond strengthens to the point that we are driven to procreate. The bond itself is not formed until we mark our human. Once we do we are able to share each other's emotions. In order to form the bond the human goes through a type of death and in order to survive must share a part of your soul" he says as if he was talking about the weather.
 
  I can feel my beast swirl in my chest, and I know that he is listening to this conversation well. As Xander still hold my gaze I know there is more he is not telling me, so I choose to remain stoic.
 
  "They will also gain a piece of our soul and stay bonded to us. Magma has also informed me that sometimes she can speak to Igneous through the bond even if they are not in the same room. They are still testing it" He finishes rising from his chair.
  He moves to walk around his desk and leans against it as he stands closer. "I will go and check on the humans tonight. If I gather enough information and see that they are here for us, I will make sure that they don't come back" I inform him.
 
  I watch as his eyes flash while he has a conversation with his beast. When they are done he meets my gaze and I feel his aura push out.
 
  "Have you thought about the offer that was made to you" he ask as he searches my gaze.
 
  "I have already given you my answer. I not be your second in command. I'm fine being the guard" I grit out.
 
  "The other guards you have trained with need a leader. You are best fit for that position. I trust you to be in that position. My beast will have no other. You would get more say in decisions. This could be something more permanent Maximus. If this is to be your home then you must find a way to build a foundation" He says in earnest.
 
  "I am only here until I receive what you promised me. Once I have that, I'm gone" I remind him as I hold his gaze.
 
  "Think on it. Until then see what the humans are up to and report back tomorrow" He says as he pulls his aura away. When he turns his back to go back to the chair behind his desk, I close my eyes and evaporate out of the room.
 
  I appear in the forest near the last place that I ran into a group of humans. The sun is almost set and soon it will be nightfall. Derek, the fish boy said he saw them coming through the forest this morning. Their territory is at the edge of the five clans and their part of the forest is the only one with a path. Since they live in the water most of the time many of them need some way to find their way back.
 
  I lift my head higher in the air and take a sniff. The scent of humans is definitely strong on the path. As I inhale once more I smell at least five of them and something else. Whatever it is smells good enough to eat. It almost reminds me of warm golden honey and strawberries. The scent is so mouthwatering that it causes my beast to stir.
 
  MINE!!
 
  I roll my eyes at the decree of ownership of whatever food the human carries. Even though I agree with him to get our hands on the item. We have always had a thing for food. With the way that I grew up and it being hard to come by. More often than not if I didn't indulge in something he wanted to eat he would try to take over. Looks like I will be scaring some humans today and taking what they leave behind.
 
  I slide my body into the ether becoming invisible to the surroundings. If I'm going to find this group of reporters then they don't need to know that the big bad dragon is hot on their trail. I make quick work of the path that they took. It looks like the fish boy was right and they did set up camp in the area.
 
  I stand close to the tree line where they eat across the fire. As I tune into their conversation I roll my eyes as someone talks about someone wedding coming up. If this is going to be some kind of retreat then I am definitely out of here. One of the guys decides to get up from the group and walks into the trees on the opposite side of the clearing in which I stand. Needing to see what he is up to; I dematerialize in that direction and follow him.
 
  "She has no idea what she is doing. How am I just supposed to sit back and watch her go through with it. I need to come up with a plan and fast." He whispers.
 
  Through the ether I walk around until I am standing right in front of him. I look to his hands to see if he has a phone, but he isn't holding anything. It looks like I just followed some freak who needed to talk to his self. Not wanting to waste more time I step around him to make my way back to the camp. However, something makes me halt when he laughs. This definitely isn't a good laugh.
 
  "Going on the forest hunt for the freaks will be easy after all. If I can get her alone no one will suspect me if she were to go missing especially with all these monsters nearby. Count your days Em they just got numbered. You will be mine if I have anything to say about it." The weak human hurriedly turns around and I step out of his way distracted.
 
  The rage I feel is boiling in my chest. If it were up to me I would make sure that he was the one to go missing. However, I can't interfere with human problems as just a guard. I will just have to see what I can do if he tries to commit a crime. A tip to the local authorities ought to do it.
 
  I make my way back to the other side of the fire. It looks like the humans are done eating and now a pudgy one stands talking to the rest. I never understood how human men could allow themselves to get so out of shape. My ears prick when I hear the word dragons. BINGO! Looks like we do ourselves some reporters. I count six in the little group so it should be easy enough to get them so scared they will leave.
 
  I let the pudgy one finish talking. However when he moves it seems that I can't get my feet to. He was blocking the view of the most gorgeous woman I have ever seen. I find myself involuntarily stepping forward so that I can get a better view. I access my power and get ready to dematerialize closer, but I'm stopped. What the fuck.
 
  Don't.
 
  "Don't control me. We have been over this. Now release me" I tell my dragon.
 
  No, this you do not control. Fate has interceded on my behalf and now I must claim my place.
 
  "Speak English you overgrown lizard. I don't have time for you poetry" he spit.
 
  I watch as the beauty rises from her place on the log and heads to some of the tents. The jerk from the forest is right behind her. Suddenly I am released, and I pop up right behind the tents in the trees. I try to rebuild the shield in my mind while I listen to the conversation going on between them.
 
  I can no longer be imprisoned and am eternally freed. That which you want to happen will bring you no success.
 
  "Damn it, I really don't need this right now" I shout when I realize my shield won't go up. Outside of my head I watch as the prick steps forward and she gets cornered against the tent. I growl at the notion that he would touch her and ready myself to intervene by stepping forward.
 
  However, what I assume is a friend of her steps forward to help. I sniff the air and my whole body freezes. That smell of warm honey and strawberries is so strong here and I close my eyes savoring the scent. I have never smelled something so amazing in all my years. I make a move to step forward and once again I am stopped. This can't be happening.
 
  What you scent will be yours in time. What is not seen, now can be. She is brave will be made afraid.
 
  "Now you are just pissing me off. I have no idea what that means you pompous poetic freak" I shout into my head.
 
  Once more I try to build a shield in between my beast and me. I wasn't even going to touch the girl. All I wanted was to get closer. I need to get closer to see why she smells that way. I sigh with relief as the wall finally holds. I take a step forward and see that her and her friend are now walking toward the trees.
 
  As I watch her enter by herself I hear a sinister laugh ringing through my ears.
 
  The divine one is mine. She is who was made for us.
 
  Made for us. No it couldn't be. "You mean this tiny wisp of a female is our mate?" I question him. The feeling sits with me oddly since it has been more than a decade since we have had a conversation. Instead of answering he lives his long tail into the air and swings the bulbous tip like a whip. It shatters the barrier, and he comes rushing forward.
 
  "Noooo!" I scream at him.
 
  My shout goes in vain as my deepest fear comes true. I end up banging against the shield as my dragon takes control of my body.
 
  He stalks the girl as she walks through the forest. He invaded her privacy from just a few feet away as he watched her relieve herself. I can feel the ether. I know that we are invisible and a part of me is happy that she cannot see us.
 
  Or at least I thought she couldn't see us. When she rises from the floor she looks directly to where we are standing. I feel my body freeze and our breathing halt it's weird rhythm as he waits.
  He takes a step forward when she turns her head briefly.
 
  "Wait. You don't know if it is her. She has done nothing to show that she sees us. This cannot be Emily." I scream as I bang against the shield.
 
  As she peers once more into the darkness of which we stand, my beast cocks out head to the side observing her. And then she screams as she begins to fall.
 
  Catch her.
 
  He rushes forward and picks her up just before she hits the ground. Everywhere where her body touches ours bringing about tingles. It's almost as if my skin has become a live wire and it warms my blood. However I am unable to focus on the sensation long because footsteps are thundering in this direction.
 
  Our vision disappears and I know at once what he is trying to do.
 
  "No you can't do this. We can only move someone with permission. Terrible things will happen if we do not have it" I remind him.
 
  He hesitates for barely a moment and then we are flying through the ether with the girl in our arms.
 
  No permission is needed for those who belong to us. She is a part of me for I am a part of her.
 
  We materialize I to the living room of my cabin. I watch unable to do anything as he lays her on my couch and stands over her.
 
  "She doesn't belong to us dipshit. What you just did was kidnapping. Since it was my body you used, I'm the one who will face the consequences"
 
  I tell him as I pace. "What are you gonna do now, huh?." I question him.
 
  She will belong to us. In her woken form she will feel no anger. The bond will grow until she takes our mark.
 
  "Woah, hold on their Casanova. She is human. She won't understand anything of what you mean by the bonding crap. She's definitely gonna freak once she gets a load of your freaky peepers" I inform him.
 
  You know not of what you speak. She will love man and beast. She is mine.
 
  "Yeah, yeah. I heard you the first times you said it. Humans don't have a second side to them though. They live by different rules dufus. If you want her to stay you need to follow her rules" I say trying to convince him.
 
  I have had no luck breaking this stupid shield. For once I can't put the dragon back in the cage and I am afraid of what he is capable of doing to this innocent human woman.
 
  She will come to no harm by my talons. Death will be brought before she comes to harm.
 
  "If you really feel that way then let me be the one to talk to her" I suggest.
 
  No, then the dragon will go back in the cage.
 
  "What if we make a deal? I won't trap you again if you let me have control" I offer.
  His only reply is a long growl to show that that idea displeases him. I pull my hair on my prison at the frustration I feel. "What do you suggest then?" I ask.
 
  No more prison. You shift at a time of my choosing. And I get to speak with our Mate too. You get a haircut and clean this place you call a home.
 
  At his words i feel my muscles tense. The nerve of this overgrown, stupid, pompous ass....

  I can hear you!!
 
  "Good. Who are you to tell me what to do with where I live and my body. And there is no way in hell I am letting you take over fully. You won't be biting any heads off on my watch" I scream at him.
 
I shall take no lives on this span; my word is bound. Have we reached an agreement.
 
  "Wait, if you have conditions, then I should have some too" I say as I think. "obviously, no killing. I decide how we handle the human. You can give opinions if you want but I don't have to listen to them. This right here, you putting me in my mind is a no go unless you have my permission. And you stop with the poetic crap you got going on. I know you can speak regular you overgrown lizard" I say.
 
  No more names.
 
  "That may take some time for me to stop. Do you have a name then. You didn't the last time we talked" I say.
 
  I will receive a calling from the one who loves man and beast. Hence you may just call me dragon for now.
 
  "We just talked about this poetic crap. It gives me a headache trying to decipher it. Would you cut it out" I yell.
 
I am not poetic as you so eloquently put it. I am a romantic. You could learn something from me if you listen.
 
  "Whatever liz----dragon. Do you we have a deal or not" I question him.
 
  I wait with bated breath for him to give me answer. What we both want from each other isn't that much. Even if he is an annoyance. Instead of answering I watch as the shield in my head disappears, and my conscience comes to the fore front of my mind. Not used to the feeling I sway dizzily on my feet as I try to catch my balance.
  
  As I topple forward to catch myself on the edge of the couch. My unknowing victim decides to finally wake up and make my ears bleed.