Dragon Mating Season

Find them!

Third, they will become protective.

{MIRA'S POV}
Piece of cake. Cal falls unconscious on the ground behind me. Lucy runs over and grabs her keys from his now limp hands.

Breaking into the Dark Eclipse base was easy, thanks to Herman kindly telling us how the doors work. As soon as we got inside, we "borrowed" the cloaks and masks of three dark guild members who were unfortunately nearby.

After that, we simply walked through their base, and one of the other guild members told us where Cal was. Cal didn't even see us coming.

Lucy clips her keys to her belt underneath her black cloak. "Where now?"

Some masked people run by shouting, "Hurry!"

"I say," Levy points to the corridor they disappeared down, "we follow them."

Lucy and I nod. We race after them. More and more people start showing up around us, until we find ourselves squished shoulder to shoulder in a high ceilinged room.

On a stage in front of us is a masked man in a red cloak, arms raised. My eyes narrow. That must be the boss.

"The time has finally come!" He shouts. "We have the mates of not one but three dragon slayers!"

People cheer. The boss continues. "We were right not to capture Emery before!"

Not capture? Ha! Yeah right. I know Emery, and I bet they didn't even have a chance to capture him. If not he himself, then Misaki would have beaten them up, just like Laxus is going to when he gets here. That is if I haven't taken care of them already.

"At long last, with their blood, we can finally reawaken the magic we lost long ago! Now let's go! To the place they're being held!" The boss yells, pumping his fist in the air. Everyone joins him.

The other girls and I share a glance. Oh no. But we're swept into the crowd, heading out the door and to the prison we just escaped from.

When we get close, I hear the clang of magic hitting the cage bars. The boss laughs. "Listen to 'em boys! Trying to get back to their precious mates!" His voice gets all pouty and weak.

Levy puts a hand on my arm. "Not now Mira."

I realize I'm trembling in rage. I take a deep breath, but it doesn't help to calm my anger.

We continue forward with the group. When we get to  the cage, there are several shouts of astonishment and confusion. The boss slams his fists on the cage bars, behind which Herman stands, scratching the back of his head sheepishly.

"What is the meaning of this, Herman?!" He screeches, losing his composure.

"Uh, boss, sorry but they got away."

"I can see that, you dolt!" He puts face close to Herman's through the bars, expression scary. "And where are they now?"

Herman seems to think about it. "Probably to get the blonde one's keys back from Cal."

The boss pinches the bridge of his nose, tic mark on his temple. "You told them Cal had those keys."

"Uh-huh. Also how to open the doors, so they could let me out so I could capture them. They didn't let me out though."

The boss opens the cage bars. Herman steps out, only to be punched. The three of us watch in horror as the boss punches him over and over. Once he's sufficiently bloody and battered, the boss tosses Herman, like a rag doll, back into the cage and closes it.

He spins to address everyone else. "Find them! The next person who lets those girls escape gets even worse punishment!"

"Yes boss!" We shout with the rest of the dark guild members, and cloaked people scatter.

"Let's hurry up and figure out what they're trying to do so we can get outa hear." Levy says.

"Something about our blood?" Lucy adds. We race off, to search for more clues.

{GAJEEL'S POV}
When I think about Shrimp being held hostage, I can't help but growl angrily. I wonder what she's doing right now?

My Shrimp isn't one to simply submit to her captors. She'll find a way to escape, I know she will. She'll outwit and outthink all who dare to oppose her, because she's Shrimp.

And even though I know Shrimp's not some weak damsel in distress—she's my mate after all—that doesn't mean I ain't gonna save her.

I have a bone to pick with those fools who dared to kidnap my Shrimp. I feel my magic, my power, increasing every second she's in danger. I'll blow them all away, as Salamander might say.

"We're almost there!" Misaki shouts.

That's weird. Even though I see a bunch of people running around below us, I can't smell any of them. Now that I think about it, we couldn't scent any of those 200 dark guild members that were in Magnolia either.

"Their masks are enchanted with magic to mask their scents and distort their voices!" Emery explains, glaring down. Something tells me he and Misaki have dealt with these guys before.

Laxus, Salamander, and I don't even wait for Misaki to park her cloud. We jump off while it's still moving, and land easily on the ground in front of the base, our feet leaving a massive crater.

There's an explosion of dirt and dust, and the Dark Eclipse members stagger away, coughing and yelling in alarm.

The dust clears enough to get a clear glimpse of a bastard in a red cloak. "That's far enough, dragon slayers! We cannot give you your mates!"

In an instant, Laxus, Salamander, and I are up in his face. He looks from me, surrounded by a furious gray aura, to Salamander, who's completely on fire, to Laxus, which is self explanatory.

I hear the sound of him peeing his pants underneath that fancy red cloak of his. The man, who looks like he's in charge, sinks to his knees. "B-Because we don't have them."

"And where are they now?" I snarl.

Right then, all of our heads snap up simultaneously. Because a chorus of piercing female screams just rang out from inside the base.