Tada! New chapter! I'm sorry for how long the chapter is (we couldn't figure out how to break it) and the lack of any good fluff. That should be the next chapter. :D On a sadder note, I reccomend only borrowing HPDH from a friend. It was a good book but not good enough to spend twenty bucks on (I only make twenty five dollars when I babysit). Hope you guys like this chapter and that it was worth the wait. If not...um, I'm trying to start chapter 8 so...I'm only doing this once because I feel so bad! But if there is something you'd like to see, I'll try a fit it in...if I believe it will work. :D


There's something about living, breathing, feeling, and thinking that leaves a decidedly sour taste in some mouths. This particular emotion, envy, was not something he was used to. Especially over something so pathetic as love.

These were the thoughts of the Dark Dragon. How many years had it been since he had killed his mate? Fifty? Sixty? Too long, a traitorous voice answered. In rage, the Dark Dragon roared. Why should he be the only one suffering without his mate? They're all a weakness; they must all die, a much more comforting voice hissed in his mind.

Yes, why should he be the only one without a mate? Why not make them all suffer? The Dark Dragon smirked and roared in pleasure. He just so happened to have two young dragons who were in the middle of the Call at his disposal.


He watched the blonde girl through slit eyes. She was uninteresting as far as humans went. Ever since he had arrived in Australia, the girl had been violently sick, never leaving the house or her bed. In almost passing, Jake wondered if that had anything to do with the bond she shared with her mate, Fred Nerk.

He had been sent by the Dark Dragon to kill her. Jake had accepted because the way he saw it, he was freeing the other dragon. He knew what it was like to feel all this love, fear and doubt inside you, driving you crazy. Something new inside told him the other dragon would appreciate it if his mate were to...disappear.

Silently, Jake shifted back into his human form and jumped off the roof and into the grass. Time to introduce himself.

The native New Yorker slipped through the sweating girl's window without making a sound (just because he knew how to move slightly didn't mean he always chose so—too much work). Moving closer, Jake discovered her sick bowl (which his heightened senses picked up quite strongly) and how much misery she seemed to be in.

The girl seemed to have sensed his presence somehow and had opened her eyes to stare at him. Her face was pale and tear stained and her mere presence seemed to radiate helplessness. Jake felt a fleeting sense of pity fly through him before he dismissed the response as worthless. He just couldn't conceive of her of being worthy of being a dragon's mate.

"Hi. Youse a mate"—a friend, Jake mentally corrected in his mind—"of Freddie's?"

"More like a partner. Why?" Jake answered surveying his surroundings. The door was closed but he could hear the TV from downstairs—someone else was home.

"I was just wondering if youse was checking up on meh for Freddie," the girl answered after a coughing fit.

"Yeah, I'm here because of Nerk." Jake nodded, shamelessly taking the advantage of the ill girl. "I'm one of those friends."

"Deadly." The girl said softly before continuing. "You tell him to get his dragon hide back here. Whatevah he's doing is upsetting this whole mate thing. All I've been hearing is bells and whistles in me head all fucking week."

Jake's eyes narrowed quickly. "What do you mean? Bells and whistles? Why are you like this?"

The blonde girl gave him a look that quite simply asked if he was stupid naturally or if it was something he acquired. "The Call. Me fella entered the third stage. He musta done something to upset our bond—I've been feelin' like shit all week. Since he left."

Nerk leaving this girl...had done this to her?

"Do you want me to stop the pain?" Jake asked softly, looking away (anywhere but her face).

"Would ya?" The girl pleaded, her voice hoarse.

Nodding, Jake found himself standing up to get nearer to her. She wanted the pain to stop. You'd think since she knew her mate was a dragon not to trust everyone in the magic community. Some weren't exactly...nice. Sure, he'd end her pain, but it would mean her death.

Her small brown eyes looked into his black ones and he stopped his hand. His hand that was on her throat started to tremble. His mate had eyes similar to these ones, Jake thought shaking. Understanding, hopeful, full of life...

" 'I's alrighty. I understand. Do it," The girl choked out in whisper. Jake nodded and tightened his grip.


Trixie felt the hair on the back of her neck settle down. Spud's screaming, she knew, would haunt her for the rest of her life. He had stopped a little more than an hour ago and since then had just been breathing heavily.

To be completely honest with herself, she'd never felt so alone. Jake had gone to the Dark Dragon (his grandpa had arrived around the time the screaming had lost some of its momentum) and Spud was...like that.

Heaving a heavy sigh, Trixie left the Spudinski residence.

The cool air felt good compared to the hot house. Refreshing even. Taking a deep breath, Trixie was more than a little upset to find she'd been swept off her feet.

"Who the hell are you—mpf!" Trixie started.

"You don't feel right." Trixie was disgusted to feel the flying sonuvabitch sniff her hair. "Or smell right. Too much of another on you."

She tried biting the asshole but was horrified to realize she had bitten scales. Another dragon? What the fuck?

"But I'll keep ya anyway. Master will be pleased with me gift. Say bye-bye girlie." The mysterious dragon threw a chain around her neck and she felt herself fade from his grasp.

"Now it's time to do what I was sent to," Nerk cackled to himself, slipping into the unlocked house.

The now human boy lazily crept upstairs. His hand moved along the banister as he moved. The instinct that used to sit in the back of his mind was rearing its ugly head. Nerk walked down the hallway and stopped confidently in front of one particular closed door.

Jake's potential mate (after all, Jake had never acknowledged the bond, so technically it was invalid) was behind. Putting his hand on the knob, he was struck with the sudden image of Erin lying helplessly with a purple clawed hand around her throat. Struck with a sudden anger, Nerk threw the door open.

In a cruel amusement, Nerk watched as the two women jumped in surprise and fear. Humans, they were so unbelievably frail that all they could do was cower when faced with an actual danger.

"Who are you?" Amelia asked sharply.

"A...friend. I've come to take him to get help," Nerk purred, moving to be by the teen's bedside.

"What's your name?" Susan asked sharply.

"Hmmm… Finn. I was asked by the Dragon Council to retrieve the boy and bring him back for protection. It seems the Dark Dragon is hunting all dragon mates," Nerk answered, his head tilted to one side, almost as if he could hear someone else speaking.

"What dragon are you?" Susan asked, her eyes narrowed and distrusting.

"I'm the...U.K. Dragon," Nerk lied, pulling out another amulet.

Slowly, Susan nodded as she eyed the ruby encrusted amulet. "A means of transporting him without killing him," the boy answered her silent question.

"Let Spud go, Amelia. He should be able to help," Susan told the other woman.

At the bespectacled woman's nod, Nerk grabbed the pale boy's wrist. His nails transferred half way, sharply digging into Spud's wrist and drawing blood. Amelia (the boy's mother, his mind supplied), suddenly gasped and screamed.

Looking back at the woman, Nerk sneered at her and laughed coldly as he activated the amulet. The boy disappeared (it was only a minor problem he hadn't killed him, he could take care of that later) and he transformed. In order to reach the safest escape, Nerk bulldozed into the Asian woman and let his tail snap and throw Amelia into a dresser.

And out the window he went; through the glass and all.


Jake screamed.

Snatching his hand away from the blonde's throat he put it over his ears. Such a God awful ringing! The pain was close to unbearable and had him on his knees. Hissing, Jake looked at Blondie as she watched with realization. And with that look, Jake knew. The third stage had started.

Struggling to his feet, he changed forms and crashed through the window. Struggling to fly, Jake swerved all around in the sky (basically he was flying like he was drunk and he knew from experience that that was not fun or safe to do). A strong sense of urgency pulled him to where he knew the Dark Dragon was.

The ringing, oh God the ringing.


"Hey, Spud. Man, you better wake up! You have another thing coming if you think you're leaving me all alone during this!" Someone hissed into his ear. It almost sounded like...

Thwump.

Yep, it was Trixie.

"Ow! What was that for?" Spud whined, pouting a little. Great...now his ribs hurt even more.

"We were kidnapped by some weird talking dude...dragon… Whatever!" Trixie whispered harshly.

Realization dawned on him and he looked around. Okay, this was definitely not normal (even for them). Spud found he was currently tied with some brown rope (and all this time he had thought that brown was out of fashion for evil doers!) just as Trixie was. Sadly, they both were on a dusty, dirty floor.

Spud sneezed.

"Why are we here?" he asked, turning his body around to face Trixie.

Trixie gave him another one of those looks. "Your boyfriend—"

"He's not technically my boyfriend!"

"You want him to be, so shut up and don't interrupt me!" Spud glared at her but wisely kept his mouth shut. "—Turned a new leaf 'cause of some orb and is now working for the Dark Drag. The weirdo who nabbed us said he was gonna kill us, but since he brought us here...well, DD wants Jakey to kill us himself. Got it?"

"Right. Jake's evil, Dark Dragon wants Jake to kill us and you don't like the guy who's taken us prisoner," Spud answered nodding sagely.

"Um, boy, why are you wincing and twitching like that?" Trixie asked, her eyebrow raised.

"Well, there happens to be this annoying wringing in my ears that kinda hurts." Spud blinked for a moment. "Is there any reason that my throat hurts?"

"Yeah. You were screaming like hell a couple of hours ago. Wait, why are your ears ringing?" Trixie explained and demanded all in one breathe.

"Something to do with the Call. That book was actually quite vague but I think it's something like Hot and Cold. The ringing gets softer when the dragon gets closer to they're mate but louder when they're further." Spud shrugged. "No big deal."

"Spud?" Trixie asked calmly before continuing loudly. "How loud is that ringing in your ears right now?"

"Actually it's getting fainter. It almost sounds nice now," Spud told her, grinning before he started humming.

"You DUMBASS! That means Jakey is getting closer! And that means we're going to DIE!" Trixie shouted at him, forgetting to be quiet.

"Oh yeah. Huh, this is going to take some time getting used to," Spud answered her thoughtfully.

"Enough of this senseless drivel," a cold voice rumbled.

Both teens looked up sharply. There was a huge, looming dragon standing before them, but for some odd reason neither one could really fear him. Especially since they weren't actually aware of any time he had killed someone; however, if a lackey'd shown up it'd have been a completely different story.

"Um, hi?"

"Guess who's arrived? Your 'boyfriend', as the loud one so gallantly put it," the Dark Dragon told them with a smile and cold eyes.

But only Trixie was truly listening, for Spud was looking past the deranged tyrant. His attention had been caught by the dragon behind him. Jake was half in the shadows and was also staring at Spud in...Spud shook his head to break the spell. He wasn't sure what to call it, but it wasn't surprise. More like relief?

"Spud..." Said boy felt a twinge at the way Jake said his name, as if he was a stranger.

"Um, Jake? You mind helping us out?" Spud asked nervously, noticing that everyone was watching their interaction.

He felt relief fill him as Jake shook his head as if he was clearing it and started to walk towards them. But a sudden sinking feeling entered him as Jake kneeled down, placing his palms flat on the ground and in front of his mate.

Jake leaned forward and Spud shivered as he felt his breath by his ear, "You should know by now, Spud, that words can have two meanings."

His world quickly fell apart with those spoken words and their meaning. All this time he had believed when Jake finally found out, everything would be back to normal (with some additional perks). He had said he would never hurt his mate! He had said he'd rather die. The liar.

Spud felt claws rip into his side (right where Trixie had kicked him before too!). Crying out, Spud thanked God he was already on the floor, because he would not have enjoyed the fall down if he hadn't been. The ropes, he couldn't help but notice, were loosened from where Jake had decided to make a hole in his hide. Then again, on the other hand he really couldn't give a damn as he was currently clutching his ribs.

The feeling from before he'd passed out came back again. The tightening wrongness seemed even worse now. Now, it felt as if it was trying to make his lungs collapse. His breath was coming in short, tiny gasps and he was startled when he heard a sharp cry from Jake.

Slowly, Spud felt the wrongness back off and instead be replaced by a warmth. Probing the slash marks, Spud was surprised to feel the four marks shrinking. What on Earth?

"Spud, I think that if my mate rejected me, or if I hurt them...I'd die." Jake's words came back to him.

Was that what was happening? Sure, he was a little sore that his best friend had lied to him (just because the bastard was currently evil didn't mean shit!) but that didn't mean he wanted him dead. Stumbling to his feet, Spud watched the blond weirdo (that Trixie seemed to love oh so much) cut Trixie's ropes hurriedly.

Catching the plan (even though he had no clue why blondie was helping them now when he'd brought them here in the first place), Spud grabbed Jake's arm and threw it over his shoulders. Now it was time to get out of—

Where did the bad guy go?

"Oh, hell no! The sonuvabitch doesn't even stick around? Now, I feel fucking insulted," Trixie muttered to herself in rage.

"Trix! We have to break the Yin-Yang Orb," Spud panted as he felt Jake's blood mingle with his own on his shirt.

"The what?" Trixie asked, her eyebrow raised and her hands on her hips.

"Bad thing that got stolen a couple weeks ago," Spud explained to her.

Trixie nodded, obviously still unsure, but she started looking around the cave anyway. Spud, on the other hand, was trying to keep Jake from dying (and with some annoyance he realized the slash wounds were already starting to heal) and keep his eye on the blond dragon who had his head buried in his hands.

"Do you think this is it?" Trixie questioned, holding up a small sphere that was full of white and gold dust.

"Well, if it's not we still would've broken something important of his," Spud answered with false cheer.

"Y'know, you're right." With those words, Trixie smashed the delicate ball into the ground.

Dust exploded out of the orb and showered the two defected dragons. Spud watched in amazement as the dust was absorbed into Jake's skin. The warmth that had been gone for the past few hours refilled the brown haired teen and gratified him. Clutching Jake's jacket, he watched as some of the dust left the cave to be carried away by the wind.

"Hey! Blondie! Get your ass up! Some of us have ta be gettin' home!" Trixie barked at the miserable Aussie.

"Erin...I'm so sorry. Forgive me…" Nerk mumbled, his eyes tearing in pain. He showed no sign of having heard the outspoken girl.

"Leave him alone, Trix… Can take us home… Not far," Jake told her, his eyes still closed.

"Uh, Jakey? I don't really trust you in your current state. You can't even form complete sentences," Trixie said frankly.

"…in Canada," Jake retorted, opening his eyes to glare at her.

"Fine. Don't let me burst your bubble; but you remember I have a baby inside of me. You drop me and not only does Trixie go bye-bye but so does Baby," Trixie finally relented.

"We're in Canada? That is so cool," Spud smiled.

"Yeah," Jake breathed. "But can we rest?"

A pensive look over took Trixie's face. "Yeah. We ain't in no hurry. I'll go take care of him," Trixie said, jerking her head toward Nerk.

"He's Nerk," Jake explained.

An amused smirk overtook her, "The Aussie from God-knows-when?" At Jake's nod she snorted and laughed.

The two boys watched Trixie walk away with some nervousness.

Alone at last. Once again, the two teens blamed it on the damn cosmos.

Jake's nerves were already somewhat fried. Y'know, from the whole reversed chi (whatever you wanted to call it) and the fact he'd been quite willing to kill a complete stranger and his mate, Spud. To be perfectly honest, Jake did not want to go through all the emotional baggage the two now had (you couldn't go through what they had and not have any). He just wanted to know everything was alright, but he knew for a fact he'd never say that out loud (so was actually quite happy with the fact Spud seemed to sense how he felt).

"Tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow," Spud agreed. Having decided what was to be done, the two boys let the bond take full control.

The awareness of his mate flooded Jake's senses and he let himself relax completely against the other boy. There was one problem because of this: they both tumbled. Sighing happily, Jake grabbed onto Spud's shirt and buried his face in the boy's neck.

After so long...

Spud squirmed, blushing. Trixie was still in eyesight and Jake was giving him a hickey. "Jake..."

Somehow, Spud couldn't seem to pull off the warning tone—he felt way too distracted to even try. Knowing that if he didn't do anything now, he'd let Jake do whatever the hell he wanted to do. He moved quickly (taking the dragon by surprise) and wrestled the Asian boy until he was under him. In relief, he was pleased that (if a teeny bit disappointed) Jake had stopped and was just staring at him (if a bit amused).

"Can't we just cuddle?"