Dragon 7 Chapter 1 (Patreon)

It was time to head back and leave Summer’s mansion, and the group around me was excitedly whispering back and forth. There was some surprise for me that had them nearly bursting.

Even Summer herself had walked over to the portal with us.

I was anxious as she drew closer to the portal. She was part of what kept the tamed section of the faerie stable.

With her in her prime right now, she shouldn’t really be leaving the faerie.

“I still don’t get what the big deal is.” I stopped moving as Ikta came to a sudden stop in front of me.

“Close your eyes.” The fae queen of the wilds and a notorious trickster demanded.

I glanced at all of my ladies around me, realizing there was little she could do to me with all of them around. Although she’d dumped me into a portal before, so I couldn’t put anything past her.

Ikta was crazy, but we’d settled some of that when I made a promise to her. Her and a pool of nymphs within the next year and a half.

I eyed her as she smiled ever so sweetly back, a little bit of a sparkle in her eye. She was excited about something, but she’d been on good behavior ever since we’d struck a deal. I decided to give her the benefit of the doubt.

“Fine.” I pressed my eyes closed.

Her power glowed purple; I could see it through my eyelids.

“Please don’t shove me through a portal.” I grumbled.

“She won’t.” Morgana’s hand fell down on my shoulder.

“Course not. Open them. Look at my wedding present!” Ikta sounded excited, which I had to admit terrified me a little at what I was about to see.

I opened my eyes to see a big ornate front door through a portal with Ikta to the side gesturing wildly at it. “What’s this?” I asked.

“Your new manor!” She exclaimed. “I had to hide all the driders when I sent them over here and have them work at night. But they are amazing engineers. Morgana helped me with parts of it, too. I wanted to enchant it specially in ways that I needed her magic to accomplish.”

I glanced at Morgana for the drow vampire to explain. “Is it bigger on the inside?”

“Not only is it bigger on the inside, it is multidimensional.” Morgana stressed the word. “It exists in both this plane and the faerie plane at the same time.”

“Let’s go.” Summer shooed me into the portal. “I didn’t donate my blood for us to just stare at it.”

“Your blood is in this?” I asked, surprised.

“Mine too. And Ikta’s.” Maeve was hot on my heels as I went through the portal. I opened the door to a massive entryway. There were three different staircases leading off into separate directions and a large opening in front of them for the rest of the first floor.

A drider was upside down on the ceiling, working on the wiring for the giant chandelier. “Sorry, we are still working on a few final touches.” The drider apologized.

“No problem. Thank you for getting this up so quickly.” I blinked, realizing how much easier walking on walls had to make that task.

She waved with a blush and got back to work.

Ikta slid around me. “So? What do you think?”

“It’s lovely. Why don’t you give us a tour?” I knew it would make her happy to show off all her work. It seemed at least some of my wives had participated in this places creation.

Summer stepped in behind me. I tensed, and she sighed. “This exists in the faerie too. So, I can be here even when in season.”

“Were exactly in the faerie is it?” I now knew enough to be cautious about the quetzalcoatl coming up to my window.

“Between places.” Ikta answered vaguely with a wave of her hand. “There are several portals here that will take you to my village in the wilds, or to Winter or Summer’s domains. You are in neither at the moment. You have your very own fragment of Faerie now. Since you have part of my power, we can hook it up to you and you’ll have access to some fae magic. It should be quite varied fae magic given you have my blood, Summer’s and The Fall Lady’s binding it.”

She made it sound like they were jumping me with a car battery.

I gave Summer an askance look, but she just shrugged it off with a smile as we stepped through the grand entryway to what I assumed could be considered a kitchen. But it looked far more like a small restaurant.

“We weren’t sure how big to make it.” Ikta danced through the tables over to a triple set of stoves that had four sinks behind it. “But Morgana helped us, and we can stretch it if your harem gets too big for it.”

“No, no. This is plenty.” There was easily seating for fifty. More than enough.

“You do have a number of nymphs moving in.” Morgana didn’t even try to hold back her smile. In the back of the group that had trailed behind us, there were over a dozen nymphs.

Besides Pixie and Evelyn, I hadn’t learned any of their names yet. But each of my wives had gotten a personal nymph, and they were quickly and quietly inserting themselves into our lives.

As we passed the kitchen, a few nymphs stopped to investigate and familiarize themselves with the appliances.

“We’ll need staff for a place like this.” Jadelyn was glaring at Ikta’s back.

I wasn’t sure if she’d discovered Ikta’s ruse yet, but we were all letting it happen as it would. I was sure another ‘nymph’ would appear after we settled in.

Ikta ignored any ire from Jadelyn and skipped through the kitchen into an enormous two-story room. Down a few steps was, a study decked out in comfortable couches and chairs. A winding staircase wrapped from next to the entrance up to the second floor, which was stuffed with books and another door.

Tucked under the staircase was a small bar.

“Oh look. They built you a bar to man, Blueberry.” Kelly taunted Morgana.

“There’s a certain drink that can only be found here.” Morgana taunted back with a curl of her lips. “I’m certain I’ll be happy to serve him all day. You can go play sportsball Furrball.”

I coughed into my hand to get them to knock it off, but they were caught up in a moment of tension and didn’t hear me.

Yev wrapped her arm around me, sniffing the crook of my neck and leaning her weight on me. “Maybe we should go play in your hoard? Hmm?”

Ikta pointed up the stairs. “We have a special door up there suited with a changing portal. It’s a mixture of mine and Morgana’s magic, but it primarily serves as Zach’s office.”

The girls perked up.

“This way leads to the formal dining room, the guest dining room, and the cellar.” Ikta gestured to the side. “We also have a portal room, complete with one that sends you to somewhere random in the wilds.” She grinned. Though I would never use that portal. Once was enough.

“Is that room connected to my hoard?” I asked, knowing my priorities.

“No. That’s once again connected to your bedroom. Though it is through a closet this time.” Morgana explained. “Your bedroom is… expansive.”

“It must fit us all.” Scarlett stated it in a way that sounded like she’d said it more than once.

I wondered how much input each of them had in the new manor. There were touches and tastes of each of the girls in the decorations as we walked through formal dining rooms and the guts of a house with a laundry room and a few mechanical rooms, though those were enchanted.

“This is the end of the main floor. Upstairs we have a set number of bedrooms to the right.” Ikta gestured as she got to the top of the stairs. “The one at the end is yours, big guy. And then we have endless guest rooms to the left.” The hallway seemed to stretch out an optical illusion made from mirrors.

But as I walked it, they were all real rooms with a large door at the end of the hall.

Ikta had stopped leading and let me be the first one into the bedroom.

I opened the door, taking in a gorgeous room, clearly done to my tastes. Everything was gold and with dragon motifs. “This is amazing.” I looked around and noticed a number of items from the room that Morgana had first made me. “You moved this from the place in the Atrium?” I noticed a lot of similarities, but the bed had quintupled in size.

“Yes. We connected this space to the Atrium.” Morgana was quick to point out. “Come this way. We still have those palatial baths.” She opened a door to the siren bathhouse that Rupert had bought me as a present.

“Lovely.” I smiled.

“Then we have the closets.” Jadelyn went to another door and opened it up. There was a circular room inside. It branched out like spokes on a wheel. There were nearly a dozen separate closets, many filled with clothes. Jadelyn smiled. “They are huge.”

She wasn’t kidding. I’d never seen so much closet space in my life.

“Your closet has portals in the back.” Ikta batted her lashes at me. “And a door to your office.”

I frowned, turning around and trying to get a sense of direction and distance. “My office shouldn’t be…”

“Don’t try and logic through that one.” Scarlett patted me on the shoulder. “This place has far too much magic for logic.”

“Then my hoard?” I looked at the last door in the bedroom and opened it cautiously, my dragon wanting to know exactly where its hoard was at all times.

What I saw on the other side of the door made me rest easier. There was a stone chamber down below, filled with my familiar gold.

I stopped and instinctively started counting the pieces, trying to make sure each was there.

As I counted, Yev pushed past me and bounded in, shifting and landing among my gold. She started rubbing her body all over it.

“Hey.” I glared at her.

She stomped through the gold and turned her head to challenge me. “I’m going to nest now. The egg is coming soon.” She shoveled a big pile of gold up with her head and let it cascade down her scales. “If you have a problem with that, come here and stop me.”

Poly and Trina bounded past me, taking Yev’s lead and jumping into my hoard as they shifted. They also started nuzzling the gold around.

I paused as I counted, looking up and around. There was more gold than should be in my hoard.

“Did you two have your gold added as well?” I asked.

“Everyone has been keeping gold on their person, and we’ve all added some.” Scarlett assured me.

Trina came up from a swim in the gold and rolled over before shifting down to her naked human form and stretching out in the gold. “You should come down, my mate. Enjoy your hoard. Me and Poly mixed all of ours in here.”

A growl rumbled from my chest and I launched myself down into the hoard, landing on Trina and eliciting a squeak as I pinned her among the mounds of my hoard.

Yev, human once again, slid up around me. Her magical eyes bore into mine as she turned my face to her. “My mate.” She pushed my hand down to cup the small swell of her stomach. The egg didn’t show much, but she was near the end of carrying it. “Give me more.” She demanded.

***

I relaxed on the treasure pile after christening the new gold, feeling at home. I smiled and enjoyed the moment before finally deciding I needed to pry myself away from the beautiful women around me.

When I pulled myself out of the gold, Pixie was waiting in my bedroom with a towel and a change of clothes. They were new clothes, but they fit perfectly.

“Hope you don’t mind. They stocked your closet. And your other closets were so sparse.” She held out the pants for me, and I stepped into them.

Her face came dangerously close to mine as she helped me, and my weakness for nymphs rose to the challenge even after my mates had done their best to satisfy me.

Pixie smirked at the complement but didn’t try anything. She was a summer fae, which meant she had lovely sun kissed skin, bright blue eyes, and cotton candy pink hair. The hair changed from nymph to nymph, but all the summer ones had wild and bright colors.

And it was all natural. She wasn’t using her glamor. I was still getting used to the full beauty of the fae.

Pixie zipped up my pants carefully and picked up a dress shirt, walking around behind me for me to put my arms through the holes.

“I can dress myself.” I grumbled.

“You could, but it’s unnecessary. You have an army of nymphs that would be willing to help you with any need.” She batted her lashes. Despite the fact that she was dressed professionally in a pencil skirt and white blouse, it did very little to hide the distracting curves of her body.

It didn’t help that her clothes were so tight; I wasn’t sure she could have buttoned up the top button if she’d tried.

“I don’t need servants.” I retorted.

“We like to serve. It’s an honor to serve someone as powerful as the Dragon King, blessed by The Dreamer and Typhon. Why wouldn’t we enjoy serving you?” Her statement trailed off as her eyes filled with desire.

I knew that nymphs weren’t human and didn’t have the same instincts. Ambition and avarice wasn’t the same for nymphs.

Instead they wanted to love and be loved, culminating in children. Nymphs got great satisfaction from serving and giving love. I’d figured out that the key was to appreciate them and to reward them, which in Pixie’s instance would be a child at some point.

Her hands slid up my back to rub gently at my shoulders. Magic flowed from her hands and I felt all the tension in my shoulders and back melt off of me. “You really are susceptible to glamor.” She giggled, her warm breath tickling the back of my neck.

I groaned. “Just a little more.” I didn’t even realize I was carrying so much tension in my body.

“You have a ton of responsibility, and it’s been piled on you in the last year without really any gradual increase. Your dragon matron is pregnant and going to lay an egg soon. The entire city of Philly, no, the entire world of paranormals, is watching you try and keep the paranormal society here secret.” Her fingers glided up my check and cupped my jaw to turn my head to look into her beautiful eyes. “It’s okay to be stressed. But I think you need to realize that your life is changing. You might not be able to solve everything with your big dragon claws anymore. You may need some help.” She smiled sweetly at me.

And I knew that she was right, but I didn’t like it.

“I need to use my head.” I finished for her. “I need to figure out plans for how to deal with everything, including the FBI.”

Pixie smiled. “I’m sure you’ll have some chances to use your claws, but I think you’ll need to push them back a few notches.”

I rubbed my chin. “Maybe I should get back to sword training.”

My personal nymph was unamused.

“Kidding.” Although I wasn’t entirely. I’d probably need some way to defend myself that didn’t involve taking on my dragon form in the streets. I was being watched by the FBI and a sword or a gun would be far easier to explain than shifting and magic.

“Either way, I’ve taken the liberty of organizing things that need your attention.” Pixie picked up a pad of paper off the bed.

I finished buttoning my shirt while she watched me.

“Helena and Agent Till want a quiet meeting with you. Ikta and Summer both want to have conversations, but I suspect they are more of a date nature. Morgana—“

“What about me?” My leather clad blue vampire stepped into the room.

Pixie continued on without missing a beat. “Needs help organizing her business documents for the IRS audit you’ve been threatened with.”

“I thought we had an accountant for that?” I frowned.

Morgana winced. “When the FBI ordered an IRS audit, he washed his hands and gave me all my documents. He’s a gnome and a super recluse. Great accountant, but he really doesn’t want to get mixed up in any of the politics.”

“So we should find a new one?” I asked. I’d much rather go slay giant monsters and risk death in the underworld than do my taxes.

“Uh huh. Let’s play that out. ‘Hi, we are a mercenary company currently under threat of a FBI forensic accountant and IRS joint audit. Want to do our taxes?’” Morgana mocked with a smile.

“Good point. Okay.” I tried to sort it all out in my head before rattling off to Pixie. “That needs to be a priority. Wait, no. Yev’s egg laying is a priority. I need to be here for her above everything else. After that, Morgana’s business audit needs attention. The meeting with Helena and Till is likely related. Ikta and Summer, they’ll have to be patient.” I tried to prioritize everything.

“We need to do some more legitimate business. We should stay active during all this so it doesn’t look too suspicious.” Morgana reminded me.

Pixie flipped a page on her pad of paper. “We also have all the wedding legalities to tackle. Scarlett will be your real world, official wife, but Jadelyn wants to loop you into a few ventures to tie you down, and the Highaens have requested multiple meetings with you over joint ventures. Then there are the requests from the council and the dragons, your mother too…” Pixie started to ramble off a whole slew of requests and I felt each one like a pounding of a fresh headache.

Morgana just snickered.

Kelly stepped in behind her. “Blueberry, what are you laughing at?”

“Watching our mate realize he’s going to be spending a lot of time behind a desk. What do you need, Furball?” Morgana teased her.

“Oh. I just came with some training videos for Pixie. She’s going to be his secretary, after all.” Kelly had a few DVDs in her hands.

“That’s so nice of you.” I smiled and watched her hand them to Pixie.

But as I saw the covers, my smile froze in place. They were a different type of secretary video than I’d been expecting. These women were wearing barely anything and covered with fluids on the covers.

Kelly joined Morgana in laughter as I rolled my eyes.

And Pixie was clearly not about to hand them back, sorting through the covers and seeming to prioritize which she’d like to watch first.

I ran my hand through my hair. I was about to be a father, and with the blessing from The Dreamer, there were likely many more to follow.

I might need more than one assistant soon to help me sort out the beautiful mess that had become my life.