Dragon 5 Chapter 3 (Patreon)

Maddie squinted at me across the table as I passed the salad to Scarlett. I could tell Maddie was trying to catch my attention.

Wanting to find more time for my human friends, but not having much extra time at all, I decided on a family meal night. I’d brought my mates, the dragonettes, and Sabrina over to the apartment I shared with Frank. Frank’s girlfriend, Maddie, was one of my best friends, but without understanding I was a dragon, it was hard to explain the large number of women currently congregating around me.

I stared intently at the salad on my plate instead of looking up.

Maddie gave it another moment, but then she couldn’t help herself, whispering, “Another one?”

Maddie had been growing increasingly uncomfortable as each woman joined my harem. I’d been changing quickly, and she still thought of me as the guy she knew before I’d found out I was a dragon.

But she was one of my closest friends. We’d known each other for so long, and I didn’t want to lose her friendship. I was hoping if I just overloaded her with everybody, she’d start to relax.

“Another what?” Sabrina looked up from filling her plate with salad.

“Sabrina is helping me with my independent study.” I filled in, not for the first time.

“Uh huh.” Maddie stared at me as she stabbed her food harder than she needed to.

She didn’t believe me.

And I didn’t blame her. She didn’t have all the facts to understand the situation, so it was feeling pretty absurd.

“Zach’s actually a pretty outstanding student. We are working through basic theory quickly.” Sabrina smiled across the table.

I wilted.

Basic theory was killing me. I wanted to blast things, or build giant magical towers, not discuss the basic languages of magic or the various approaches to channel mana.

Apparently after that I had to learn the languages. Then I’d finally get to practice some magic.

While I was certainly getting a good foundational understanding with Sabrina, I’d been excited when my dragonettes taught me to use some draconic language. Although so far I’d only been able to do the magical equivalent of a firehose, to which they informed me I’d need the foundations would be necessary to fine tune any of it. So, I was stuck with Sabrina’s methods.

“Oh. So you are some chemistry wizard? You barely look like you could drink.” Maddie shot back at Sabrina.

Frank, my roommate, began nudging his girlfriend to cut it out.

“Oh. We were invited to some parties today.” I cut through the awkwardness and announced to the rest of the group.

“Parties?” Tryande perked up. Her pointed ears were tucked into her hair, and her eyes, that normally swirled with rich magical colors, were hidden by an amulet similar to Morgana’s.

Jadelyn sighed. “My father is hosting one. Maeve is hosting another.”

She opened her mouth to ask a question, but then stopped, eyeing Frank and Maddie. Guessing at her question, I tried to answer it for her.

“Don’t worry, Maeve’s party isn’t at her place.” I said quickly. “Though I accepted both.”

“Maeve, as in hotty hot Maeve, from statistics?” Frank was all smiles. He had been crushing on the Fall Lady hard. Though I didn’t entirely blame him.

I’d been trying to get Maeve to stop encouraging Frank, or at least have another fae glamor him so she was less appealing. At first, she had let him think she might be interested in hopes of getting closer to me.

But she had frozen him out since I asked her to.

Maddie’s fork landed dangerously close to Frank’s hand. “Who’s Maeve?”

Frank stiffened before leaning back and scratching the back of his head with a laugh. “Some girl in class that totally has the hots for Zach. She’s drop dead gorgeous, and he’s being dense.” He paused. “Though not as pretty as you.”

Maddie snorted and went back to her meal while Frank silently pleaded with me. For what, I wasn’t sure.

Either he wanted to come along, or he needed help with Maddie.

“So, these people are okay with you parading around with… all of them at these parties.” Maddie waved her utensils at my mates.

“Not that it’s a problem.” Frank tried to soften her words.

“I understand. You two think my life choices are a little awkward. Which… is why I think next year I’m going to get my own place, Frank.” I’d been trying to decide how to tell them, but if our friendship was going to survive, I needed my own place. I couldn’t handle the constant judgment from them.

Frank opened and closed his mouth several times before hanging his head. “I get it. You probably need a little more space and some privacy.” He chose to take it another way and grinned at me.

“Yeah.” I agreed. “More space.”

***

The rest of dinner was awkward, but Scarlett did try to perk it up with some of her incredible muffins.

As we were clearing the table, my mind was swirling with thoughts.

In a way, the meal had begun to feel like a little of a goodbye to the two of them. We only had a few more weeks in the semester, and they’d both head home for the summer while I stayed in Philly.

Next year was my senior year, and I didn’t even know what that meant as I shifted to independent studies.

But I still wanted to graduate. I could probably wrap up my studies in another semester if I pushed myself, or I could take a light load both semesters and work on magic on the side.

Shaking my head, I pushed the thoughts away. I’d make those decisions another time.

“Come, that dinner wasn’t satisfying for me.” Morgana whispered in my ear, her hands roving under my shirt.

“Stop that. There are others.”

“They aren’t looking. Just a taste. It’ll look like a play bite.” She nibbled at my neck, and I tilted my head aside, exposing my neck to her with a sigh of relief as I felt her fangs and her venom.

She had only taken a sip before I removed her from my neck and pulled her around to my front. “If I didn’t know better, you were getting a little hungrier for me.”

We didn’t get to flirt for long before Maddie cleared her throat.

Morgana rolled her eyes and sauntered away with grace that made me wonder how even with her magical guise, anyone mistook her for a human.

Prying my eyes off her tight, leather clad rear, I met Maddie’s eyes.

“Look. You know that I don’t like this.” She waved vaguely at the ladies cleaning up. “But I don’t want you to just cut Frank and I out because of it.”

I held up my hands and leaned against the counter. “Who said anything about cutting you two out?”

“Come on. I’m not an idiot. I don’t approve, something seems wrong. But you are all adults, and no one seems unhappy with the situation.” Her eyes focused on my neck, a crease forming in her brow. “You’re bleeding.”

I wiped at my neck. “Shit, sorry…” I struggled to come up with an excuse. “Must have scratched at this bug bite.”

“Let me.” Maddie grabbed a paper towel and wiped it away. “Huh. I don’t see a bug bite.”

I was distracted with being caught potentially in a lie and just diverted the conversation. “Don’t change the subject. I do believe you were in the middle of apologizing.”

She playfully slapped my chest. “Oh, shut up. You know you’re stuck with me, but Frank is a whole other level. You know he’ll track you down and make you share your pheromones or whatever has all these women around you.”

I laughed. “Sorry about that.”

Maddie snorted, but then her face became more serious. “If Maeve was a problem, would you tell me?”

“Absolutely. And she’s not. I had a talk with her.” I promised Maddie.

“Good. I like Frank, but he still sort of wants to skirt chase.” She rolled her eyes. “Maybe he’ll settle down.”

I wasn’t so sure about that, but I hoped for Maddie’s sake that he did. I didn’t know what Frank would do without Maddie.

“Look. I know this seems strange to you, and there are things I can’t tell you, but we are happy.” I promised my friend.

“You all look happy, which is what is so confusing. I mean, how can this work?” She held up a hand to stop me from responding. “Nope. I don’t want to know the intimate details.” She smiled at me. “Thanks for dinner, Zach. I think we’re going to head out for a bit, but I’m glad I got a chance to see you.” Maddie ducked away, grabbing Frank’s hand and urgently leaving the apartment.

As soon as the door closed, Polydora raised her hand. “Did we do something wrong? They fled.”

“No. I think our harem is just too much for her to comprehend. Let’s finish cleaning up and then I’m taking a nap before I go out with Morgana to visit some vampires.”

Tyrande walked over and kissed me on the cheek. “We’ll turn in for the night. We have to get up early for some calls back home.” She let her magical facade drop and showed me her beautiful high elf form for a moment before heading into my bedroom. The bedroom had a portal back to Jadelyn’s manor, where she and Yev were staying.

Yev came and gave me a kiss before following her older sister. The scent of my dragon mate lingered, and I savored it.

“Do you have transportation arranged for us to follow you on your trip tonight?” Polydora asked.

I groaned in my head. I had been dreading this conversation. “Actually, I’m just going to take Trina with me.”

Trina perked up. “Really?”

“Really. We are heading into some vampire dens. I thought your death magic and healing might be useful.” I added.

Amira perked up.

Technically, the black dragon and the copper had the same type of magic, but Trina just came to mind first, since I’d spent more time with her. I was comfortable with her.

“Why her?” Amira asked. “I have the same magic. Is it because she’s metallic?”

I should have seen that coming.

There were several other stares at me in the room, most pointedly, from Chloe and Larisa. They were blue and white dragons, respectively.

“No. I have no problem with chromatics; Yev is a green.” I pointed out. “Trina went through the challenge at the conclave with me.”

“Trina, you will call us if things go poorly?” Polydora asked the other dragon.

“Hey.” I protested.

The dragon girls all shrugged. “Male dragons aren’t exactly known for asking for help.” Polydora added. “Plus, it is her job to insure your security, which means calling for backup if needed.”

Trina gave Polydora a sharp nod.

Letting my thoughts roam, I realized Sabrina might also be useful on the mission. She could help in figuring out the difference between a vampire or demon kill. “Sabrina, do you have time? There’s a sex demon causing problems in the city too.”

She stood up straight, a touch of hurt in her eyes. “I didn’t do it.”

I blinked. “Never thought you did. I just wanted to ask some questions.”

“Oh, sure. I can help answer them, but I can’t be out too late tonight. I need to rest for an exam tomorrow. Normal class work on top of tutoring you is taking a lot out of me.” Sabrina replied a little sheepishly.

Several of the dragons stared at her like something was wrong. I had to work to not laugh at the fact that they couldn’t understand why she would turn down the chance for more time with me. They all were singularly focused at the moment.

“Okay then. Ladies, as much as I’d love your company, I need to get some sleep if I’m going to be out with Morgana all night. Trina, Sabrina, meet me at the bar at ten.” I led Sabrina over to my bedroom and walked through the closet.

If I didn’t leave, there was a pretty good chance I’d end up in bed with at least one woman, and then I’d never get any sleep.

“Where are we going?” Sabrina asked, but she didn’t seem concerned as she followed me.

“My place in the atrium. Had to get away from the dragons.”

“They are oozing the desire for sex.” Sabrina said flatly. “Not surprised you feel it.”

Halfway to opening the door, I looked at her. “You can sense that?”

“And your own desire is through the roof. I am a succubus.” She sighed. “I think some of the dragons are putting off pheromones. It got really bad when they were close.”

I grumbled to myself. It was the last thing I needed, but it made me feel better about being a horndog lately. If my honor guard of dragonettes were the problem, that somehow made it better.

I’d been a little worried it was some sort of dragon king result. Like my body was going through some sort of new pubescence. Horror hit me as I wondered if that was really a thing.

Distracted in my thoughts, we reached my room in no time.

Sabrina looked around before sitting down in a chair with dragons carved into the wooden arms.

I grabbed a spot near her.

“So, what can you tell me about demons? Morgana thinks there was a sex demon killing in town.”

Sabrina bit her lip. “You don’t suspect me, do you?”

“Not really. You don’t exactly seem the type. Though… uh… if it isn’t insensitive, how exactly do you… feed?” I stumbled over my words.

It felt like a very personal question. That, and I was pretty sure it involved sex.

“Well, let's talk about the basic theory of magic and mana. We know all paranormal abilities run off of mana as does magic.” I tried not to groan as she went straight into teacher mode, her legs crossed as she pushed her glasses up firmly onto her face. I did not want more magical theory, but I needed information for the case.

“Right. Mana is a physical particle, but only something with a soul can store or manipulate it.” I had learned at least that much.

Sabrina nodded along with me. “Correct. And emotions are outpourings of the soul. That’s why people under high emotional stress have trouble controlling their magic. Demons manipulate emotions and the soul. We heighten an emotion to the point that their souls pour out mana, and then we collect a specific flavor of emotionally tinted mana.”

I opened and closed my mouth a few times. “So, you make men really horny and then…” I made a slurping noise. “You suck up all the lusty mana?”

She frowned at me. “Crude, but yes. I also don’t have to be the one to make them lusty, nor do they have to be men.” She raised an eyebrow, and I suddenly understood what she was trying to say.

“Shit. I didn’t mean to assume. Are you—“ I decided to shut up before I made it worse.

Sabrina laughed. “I’m bi, or maybe omni.” A husky chuckle rolled out of her. “Sex is in my very nature. I’m not picky.”

I didn’t know what to say to that. Previously, she hadn’t given off much in the way of sexuality. “Oh. OH. We were giving you a buffet tonight?” I realized if I was understanding how she fed correctly, we must have been giving her a feast.

Sabrina sighed. “A table of horny dragons was a lot, I…” She blushed. “I should tell you that I fed off of you. It was too tempting.” Red tinged her cheeks, and she was avoiding looking me in the eye, going as far as to cover her face.

“Sabrina, that doesn’t bother me. You have to eat too, and it’s only fair when you’re surrounded by all that lust.” I tried to be gentle. I could tell it was something she was self-conscious about.

But I had to ask one question. “It won’t hurt me or the women?”

Sabrina went from covering her face to waving her hands wildly. “No, nothing like that. You’ll be fine. As a dragon, I take no more than would normally leave your body.”

“As in, you’ve been doing this for a while?” I asked, surprised.

Sabrina shot up from the chair, her face beet red. The sudden motion knocked her glasses off her face and she quickly fumbled to grab them.

Her human guise was gone.

Instead, she had pale pink skin, goat horns that curled out of her head and plump lips that made my jaw ache and my mouth salivate.

I wanted to taste them. No, I needed to taste them.

“I’m so sorry.” Her words brought me up to her eyes, which were filled with raw, lusty hunger. I became hard in an instant.

Fumbling some more, she got her glasses back on, and her succubus nature was hidden away once more. A more bashful girl with glasses and a sweater that was a few sizes too big stood once more in my room.

“I keep it under wraps. My nature causes more trouble than it’s worth.” She grumbled.

The compulsion to push her up against the wall and use her to slam through it was gone, but my body was still quite flush and my pants were tented. I was avoiding the urge to adjust myself and draw more attention to it.

“Oh, it’s fine. Thank you for the information on demons. But I really should get some sleep. Are you good to meet at Bumps around ten?” I rushed her out.

“Yeah, I can do that. How do I get out of here?”

“Go out that door. Two doors down, you’ll come out at Bumps.” I hurried Sabrina out of Morgana’s wing and closed the stone door behind her.

“Fuck.” I said to myself as I marched back into my apartment. Flipping the dragon-claw styled shower knob to cold, I stepped under it and dunked my head.

I would not be getting any sleep until I relieved myself of the current need in my body.

AN - Holy crap Patreon changed. Took me by surprise. Also! I can now see and sort by tags! I noticed I 100% have forgotten to post some art. I'll put up the DJ art, someone remind me when we get back to SSV, I have Angelina slime and slime-therapist art. Doctor Wells and Venus/Mona too.