Hello my friends, how were your guys' Christmases? Or any other holiday you celebrate! As always I own nothing but the story, all characters, locations, and abilities belong to the marvelous Hiro Mashima.

As always, I send my love to my friends and my readers!

BlackRose999

The Star Queen

Chapter Ten: The Problem with Mating

Timeskip: Two Weeks

It took them more than a week to reach their destination, a little city called Oak Town, and a day to find lodgings suitable to their needs. They met with their client at his home, and at first, the man had been very keen on meeting the girls until it became very apparent that they were all taken. After that, it was all business.

"So you're the mages from Fairy Tail, may I see your guild marks to verify that information?"

The six of them showed their marks, and despite the heat of the desert, Lucy kept her jacket on to hide her mate mark. This satisfied him, and he began talking.

"Perfect, now I expect you to fit in easily at the club so I hope you brought scandalous outfits!"

Five heads whipped to look at Natsu, who looked stupidly at the poster. He flipped it around and groaned. "Guys I'm sorry… It says more on the back…"

"Guys relax, you do remember I have the world's best stylist in my arsenal right?"

With their outfits hammered out, they all went to their room to get dressed. Two queen beds and a twin bed were featured in their hotel with a sliding glass shower door. The girls showered first, and then the guys took their turn, with Gray going last as he preferred colder showers. Cancer was called out as everyone waited for their turns to be pampered. Lucy went in her normal outfit, except for her jacket as no one would be able to see her mark in the dark, as it was already pretty scandalous, but the other four members were given some varying outfits. Natsu sported a rolled-sleeve button-up shirt with three open buttons to show off some of his chest, black slacks, with rose-tinted shades. Gray sported a black tank top and black ripped jeans, a leather jacket completed the look as his necklace was transferred to Bianca.

Bianca wore a blue strapless cocktail dress, with black heels and gartered fishnet tights. Her long blue-black hair was pulled back into a high ponytail, and her make up was seductive and sultry. Erza on the other hand went with a white bodycon dress that showed off her voluptuous chest and slender frame. When they were finished, whey waltzed downstairs and toward the club, ready for anything.

The music was lively, full of hard beats and loud noise. Lucy and the girls found a booth, keeping watchful eyes on the bracelet in question, that of course was seated on a dais with a glass case over it. The boys found themselves at the bar, ordering drinks for the girls and themselves. At Lucy's request, he ordered her a shot of Firewhiskey and a tall strawberry daiquiri, though he had no idea why she'd want the shot. She took the shot first, downing it without so much as a murmur of pain at the heat. She let out a breath and smiled at Natsu, who was drinking a square glass of the stuff.

"Not as bad as it seems, no wonder you drink it so often!"

A sudden silence caught their attention, and suddenly a man was lit up on the stage, he smirked and shouted "LADIES AND GENTS! YOU KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS, EVERYBODY GRAB A GIRL AND HIT THE FLOOR!" The room erupted into a flurry of motion, with several men and women propositioning the group. A singular glare from them sent their would-be partners running for easier conquests. Not liking the woman oogling her husband, Lucy stands and saunters over to him, "Wanna show them how it's done?" Grinning he wrapped a hand around her waist and led her to the floor, the music dripping in seductive tones.

She stood in front of him, her hands down to her sides, as he ran his fingers down her skin. She let her head loll back, remembering the steps. He suddenly dipped her, catching her and holding one leg up against his hip, as she drew a hand down his face. They moved together, spinning and dancing in perfect harmony, her mark shimmering with the sensual feeling of their dance. By the time they were done with the song, and the spell was broken between them, they realized the temperature had risen and that they had taken over the entire floor.

Panting, Lucy smiled at him under her lashes, loving the desire that coursed through her veins and the hot need for him in her soul. The sound of glass shattering caught their attention, and they watched as a man-made a mad dash with the bracelet in hand. Their job coming back to them, she ran forward, hitting the knee of the man at a slide and tripping him. He cursed and looked at her, her back to him and her Mark flared proudly, he suddenly grinned. Abandoning the bracelet, he ran out the door with the men hot on his heels.

Lucy felt her stomach drop into the deepest bowels of her body, and fear rose through her. What was more valuable in this room than the bracelet? The answer came to her in a sickening wave, the life of a Dragon Slayer and his Mate. Terror scorched through her, and she frantically looked around for Natsu. He was moving through the throngs of dancing people in an effort to reach her. Lucy saw a flash of white catch her eye, but when she looked the figure was gone. She could have sworn the figure looked exactly like Lisanna.

Shaking her head once again, she looked back to where Natsu had been and discovered he was held back by a horde of drunken women desperate for a hookup. Anger filling her, she stalked down the steps and coldly addressed the women who stood between her husband and mate.

"Can my husband help you with anything in particular?"

The women promptly backed off, muttering a few colorful phrases toward Lucy. Smiling warmly, she allowed herself to lean into his embrace, relishing the feeling of his arms around her. "Remember who your mate is Natsu.. For she is very territorial." Grinning like a lovestruck fool, he kissed her shoulders, sending his love and his utter desire for her through the bond. "Later. We have work to do." Groaning in annoyance, he picked up the bracelet as she stepped outside for fresh air, before anyone could pocket it he eyed the diamond clusters, deciding that he liked Lucy's ring better.

A scream caught his attention, and as he whipped around his mind registered that he knew said scream, it was Lucy's. Running, he burst outside to watch a group of men grab Lucy and speed away in a Magicar. Her keys laying on the ground helplessly. Screaming for her, he bolted after the car, but he was too late. They had vanished into the wooded wilds around the town. Eyes wide with terror, he turned to see his Nakama running up behind him as they realized what had happened. Unable to form the words, he felt tears drip down his face, and understanding filled their faces, followed by an equal type of terror.

"Natsu? Oh, gods what happened?"

"They… They took her. She's gone!"

Meanwhile

Lucy struggled against the bonds that held her, wringing her wrists against them to try and wiggle even a finger through them. She couldn't. Snarling, she bent her hands down farther, sliding her butt and legs through so the ties were in front of her. The man up front paid more attention to his map and the road, while the other man besides her dozed in and out of sleep. The two cars behind her made it impossible to look out the window without being seen. Glaring, she started to gnaw on her binds, hoping to break through the rope. She debated using Natsu's magic but decided that it would be too conspicuous, and she wanted them to think she was still bound.

She never got the chance. Soon after she began gnawing on the ropes, she felt the car come to a stop. Frantically moving her arms back behind her, she sported eyes narrowed in obvious hostility, she sat up like she wasn't terrified of what would befall her.

"Out you get, and don't try anything funny."

She got out of the car, eyeing the large warehouse in the dark skies with clear disdain. This is where they'd taken her? She inwardly smiled, the open-air here would make tracking her easier, and Natsu was sure to pick up her scent now.

"Let's go blondie, the boss will be here shortly, until then we were given very specific orders…"

Puzzled, she looked up to see the hungry eyes of the men around her, and suddenly their orders became clear. Stepping back, she felt her hands begin to tingle as Natsu's flames lit her fingers up. Burning the rope. They advanced on her, and she made her move. The first flame-laced punch landed in one's throat, making him wheeze and stutter. The second was an uppercut and a low balled sweep, a ring of fire following her foot.

"Don't let her escape, she'll be pissed if we lose her!"

She looked terrifying to them, with flames encircling her it lit up her features with a glow. She regarded them with a look of complete hatred, her fingers clenched so tight into a fist that her knuckles were a stark white. The next man reached toward her and got a sucker punch to the jaw, sending him flying as the force of Natsu's flames hit him. With her magic amplifying his, her punches were almost lethal. Remembering Erza's self-defense classes, she took on another two men, winning easily. She twisted and bent, keeping pace with them as if she were born to.

"I've had enough of this!"

Whipping around at the sound of the voice, she found herself flying backward and into the trunk of a tree. Moaning, she wrapped her arms around her stomach, praying that the blow wouldn't harm the baby. Looking up, she regarded a man with crooked teeth and a dark look in his eyes. She screamed as he punched her, kicking her in the sides as she desperately tried to protect their child. Her arm took the brunt of the damage when he tried to kick her stomach. Suddenly changing tactics, he kicked her in the face, breaking her nose. Moaning in pain, she stilled and glared up at him.

The air around her seemed to warm, the heat making him sweat profusely. She began breathing in the heat, taking small puffs of air before taking a deep breath. She breathed fire at him, a fire so white and pure she marveled at the impossibility of it. She lit the forest aflame in her efforts to remove the man from her person, and slowly she began to relax. Leaning against the tree, she waited for someone to notice the burning forest, for someone to come find her. Exhaustion filled her, but not before relief flooded through the mark like water on a hot sidewalk.

Knowing he'd find her, she allowed herself to pass into a stress-induced slumber, and only when she felt her body move did her eyes flutter open. The sky was dark, but her vision was blurred. She remembered those arms, the heat they gave off a dead giveaway.

Present Time

Natsu held his wife in his arms with an enraged, broken expression. Taking inventory of every nick, bruise, and cut. Steely calm enveloped him, and he looked at the opening eyes of his mate with unchecked joy.

She was alive but injured badly.

"Lucy… Baby, you're safe, sleep. Just sleep."

He walked through the horde of his Nakama with tear-stained eyes, relief coming off him in waves. Hands reached out to touch him in solidarity, but a single glare made them turn away in respect. For a dragon, the harming of their mate was the harming of themselves. And it was not taken well. Natsu could feel his rage blooming as her breaths came harder, raspier. She was severely injured, the point where his touch felt like a blow to her. She couldn't keep this from him in her state, and his rage boiled evermore.

"I want to stay with her, she needs me now more than ever. I want Porlyusica to check on her."

His demands were rushed to be completed, as everyone feared what would happen if his demands weren't met. He regarded every one with a glare, his focus on only Lucy and their child. Porlyusica came as fast as she could, taking note of her battered body with a devastated expression.

"She'll live, but the bones that are fractured need to be tended to... And the status of the babies needs to be checked."

Natsu looked up from his hands toward her in shock, "Babies? As in plural?"

Porlyusica glared back at him, not liking to have to repeat herself.

"Yes, babies. She's carrying twins."

Standing, he made his way over to her, gently taking her hand in his and watching her chest rise and fall. He marveled at the idea of twins, but then reality slammed home like a metal door on a wooden frame. It shattered his illusions. Looking up at her in fear, he asked quietly "What happens if they're no longer living? It would devastate her… Ruin her mind." Porlyusica just shook her head and gave him a look of pity.

"We pray for a miracle… And hope with everything we have that her babies make it through the night."

She laid there brokenly, her heartbeat strong but unsteady. He sat beside her, talking to her about their memories in the hope she would wake. He did this all night long, fear and concern keeping him awake. With the morning rays came a flutter of life from her, her hand squeezed his. Screaming for Porlyusica or Wendy, he touched her face as her chocolate-brown eyes opened slowly. He kissed her forehead, only backing off when the healers came forward.

"Oh gods, thank you… Thank you for giving her back to me."

He kissed her, touching her face gently, enjoying the lively warmth that it exhibited. She was allowed to sit up after an initial check-up and healing spells. Wide-eyed and alert, she looked at the exhausted form of Natsu and ordered him to sleep. He obliged under the condition that he slept in the bed beside her, where he could guard her.

"What happened to you, Lucy? Natsu was worried!"

Happy looked at her with tear-filled eyes, obviously worried for her too.

"They beat me, but they said their 'boss' would be coming for me soon. I never got to see who it was. But they said 'She'. So their boss was a woman. That's all i could gather before I started throwing punches…"

Happy looked at her in shock. "You beat all those guys up!?"

Slightly offended, she felt herself flame with embarrassment. "Well… Yeah, I had only me and without my keys- HOLY MAVIS MY KEYS!" Looking around the room, she discovered them on her bedside table. Clutching them to her chest, she sighed a breath of pure relief.

"Natsu looked for them all over where you were snatched, none of the keys are missing so that's a plus!"

She giggled, running her fingers over his outstretched arm. She smiled warmly at him, sending her love and her thanks through the bond. He woke immediately, his dark eyes beaming at her.

"You ok Luce? Nothing permanent?"

"No, I'll be fine after a few more sessions of healing, so I'll probably be out in a few days."

He sighed, gripping her hand tighter. Levy came and performed her SolidScript magic to heal the minor wounds. And as Wendy came up the stairs he stood, smiling warmly at the little Dragon Slayer. He let her touch his wife, let her work her magic to heal the broken bones. Within two days, she was up and moving without any pain, and she loved the feeling of it.

She went about her day as normal, and on their way home for the night she looked up at the treeline, stopping to stare at the white-haired figure standing there.

Once again, she blinked and it was gone.

"Natsu… I think Lisanna is stalking us."

"What? Why?"

She sighed, hoping not to sound too crazy. "I saw a white-haired figure the day I was attacked, and the guys that had me said they had a female boss, and then I saw her again just now. I swear she's stalking us, I don't know anyone else with white hair that would have it out for us."

He paused at that and decided internally that there must be some mistake. Lisanna wasn't the type to run with Dark Wizards.

"I'm sure it's nothing Lucy, it could be an effect of your attacks, maybe a hallucination?"

Frowning, she looked back at the forest, her instincts telling her she wasn't wrong. But if Natsu disagreed, and his senses couldn't pick up her scent anywhere, then she had to be wrong.

Right?