*This chapter was written by Metal Pen with some minor edits by me

Chapter 7 – The Forged Bond

Percy was half laying on a simple brown sofa, wearing only his leather trousers, and resting his feet on a coffee table of the same colour. There was a gentle fire crackling away in the corner of his homestead with a few braziers lit across the walls to illuminate the small living room. The walls had been painted a calming shade of azure that reminded him of the skies.

Artemis had told herself that if Percy had promised that he'd stay at his home and rest for the next few days, that she would take her chance to get away from him and the things that he was doing to her. She was lying to herself though and she mentally scolded herself for becoming so easily enthralled by him as she walked into his living room with a herbal tea in her hands. She gently set it down next to the sleeping Dragon who didn't seem to have awoken due to her footsteps.

"Thanks." He muttered sleepily, not bothering to reach for it. It seemed that he was either far too comfortable or he was actually still mostly asleep and had only picked up the scent of the tea and thanked her instinctively.

Artemis sat silently just watching the green Dragon. He'd been amazing in his fight and his true form was something to marvel at but to Artemis, there was nothing greater than the man that he'd turned into from all of the incredible hardships he'd overcome during his life.

His burden was one that she wouldn't wish upon her enemies and yet he'd taken it head on and never let it keep him down. The Goddess stopped fighting against her urge to look at his body, instead just accepting that she found him almost irresistible. Her eyes rested on the three fresh claw marks that ran from his shoulder to his hip from right to left. They'd heal eventually according to Percy but half a day after his fight and with constant wet towels draped over his chest, they'd only done as much as stopped bleeding after this long.

She was beginning to worry but her mind went back to something that he'd told her before. That he was immortal to time and death because of the curse of the box? If he'd really meant it how it sounded, then Percy simply could not die until he was the last Dragon left, but there was no way for him to actually know that for sure, so Artemis realized that she just couldn't let him be as reckless as he'd been earlier that day.

"Cinnamon." Percy grumbled with a yawn before pushing forwards and getting up. He stretched his arms out in front of his chest, the skin tightened and a little bit of blood came out of each of the claw marks on his chest where he'd stretched them too much. "Oh, hello milady. Didn't realize you'd still be here." He muttered casually before reaching for the black t-shirt he'd placed at the side of the sofa. Quickly getting dressed after he'd applied some bandages to his chest so that his top wouldn't stick to the blood, he took a sip of the green tea. Delight worked its way across his face because of the brew that the Goddess had made for him.

"Percy, how did you know that the black Dragon was in Germany? Can you just feel the presence of all the Ancient Dragons?" The silver Goddess queried, determined to bring her focus away from Percy's chest, that and the disappointment that she had because said chest was no longer available for her to look at.

Percy's gaze had locked onto her, staring intently with those piercing emerald eyes of his that almost made her squirm from their incredible intensity. What was going through his mind when he looked at her like that?

It was happening more and more with each passing moment that they were around one another, Artemis was feeling like nothing other than prey in the eyes of a predator, and worse than that she was quickly finding that if that was the case, in his eyes, she was fine with that.

The man that had returned after three years only to be so much more than he already was. It was like he'd left their world just to kick fate in the teeth before coming back to beat up anyone who'd taken over his metaphorical throne while he'd been missing.

He'd been slouching in his attempts at hiding the fact that he couldn't stop inhaling her scent whenever she was within a certain distance of her, but recently, she'd found that SHE was doing it to him just as much. The fresh smell of an ocean breeze, not overwhelming but with just enough of a presence to make her consciously think about the way that the moon and the ocean always worked perfectly with one another.

"This tea is actually really good." Percy commented with surprise in his eyes. He looked like he was briefly analyzing the contents of the cup for a few second, possibly trying to separate all of the ingredients, before he brought it back up to his lips and finished off the contents in one go.

There was thin trail of tea that fell from the side of his lips and travelled down his chin. He'd been about to swipe it away but before he knew what was happening, Artemis was standing in front of him, gently pushing her thumb across the side of his mouth, getting rid of the green tea while she stared into his eyes.

There was a few second of tense silence that had fallen upon them where the only things to be heard was the crackling of the fire behind them. Suddenly Artemis had pushed herself away from him, breaking out into an involuntary shiver, "What are you doing to me Percy?" She whispered, sitting back down in the chair, refusing to let her eyes meet his.

"I don't know if it's my fault, Artemis, but it's not just you that it's happening to." He told her firmly as he approached her. She wasn't sure what he was doing or whether she wanted him to come any closer but the feeling she got just from him slowly closing the distance was one of security and comfort.

She sent a questioning gaze his way as she knew her words would fail her sooner or later. As if he'd read her mind, Percy slowly enclosed Artemis' soft hand in his own and gently placed it over the part of his chest that she knew had a trident tattoo over the top. His heart, whilst slow and rhythmic, thundered powerfully against his ribs with each beat. It wasn't fast or unplaced but it was incredibly strong. "It happens whenever you're near me. Us Ancient Dragons, we all have an absolute sense of loyalty, so much so that when we find our partners, they undergo the changes that we do as well." He calmly explained. Artemis stared into his eyes with shock.

"You might not have realized it and I know that this has happened in such a short amount of time, but you've subconsciously accepted me for what I am, and that has been the foundation for us both changing." He slowly bowed his head to her. Was it shame that was written over his features?

"I'm sorry if that wasn't what you wanted, it's not something that any of us have control over, it's just what happens between two powerful souls." He whispered from where his head was hung. Artemis had no idea what she should have done in that situation. She wanted to slap him for being so stupid, if it was something he had no control over then there was no reason for him to be accepting the blame.

"Souls are unpredictable things, just like beating hearts, but they make their own decisions yet sometimes those decisions are ones that are being made by the people's minds as well, Percy." She responded just as quietly, unsure that she could meet his gaze if he chose to look at her.

"I'm sorry." He told her quietly, his grip got tighter by an almost undetectable margin. Artemis' body moved of its own accord and without her mind thinking. Both of her hands freed themselves and gently held Percy's face, forcing his eyes to meet hers.

She had no words for him, but there didn't need to be any. It seemed that he greatly liked the sensation of his face between her hands as he almost subconsciously nuzzled her palms for a few moments. They really were all animals, beautiful and majestic creatures with souls of their own.

"I don't know what my soul thinks it wants, but no matter how hard I try, I can't pull myself to tear away from you." She whispered, closing her eyes as she couldn't face him or the implication of what her words were saying, but she never let go of his face. As he kneeled in front of her, the sides of his face being gently held in place by the silver Goddess that had helped him hunt an Ancient Dragon, a Goddess that had infiltrated all of his senses and turned him into something else.

"I can't put into words what you've done to me, or what is happening to the both of us, but it's something that I don't want to stop. I'll walk this path for as long as time lets me, but I guess for now, I need to sleep." Artemis could see the hesitation in Percy's eyes as he slowly broke free from her and stood up before walking through some hallways.

What the hell had she just been doing? She was a virgin Goddess, sworn to forgo the company of men. She was infamous for hating men in nearly ALL situations but here she was, with Percy Jackson doing the things she'd just done and finding absolutely no false reasons for her doing it. She'd done that entirely of her own will.

Whatever was happening to her was happening because of him and she could see that he was having the exact same situation. As Percy got further and further away, the warm feeling of comfort had started to fade. He'd gone to the deepest part of his underground home, a place that had felt almost like a forge. It was the only place that he claimed to be able to sleep this far away from the ocean.

She knew that's where he'd gone to be able to sleep, she could feel his presence, it was far stronger than it had been, than it ever would have been from the point of view a Goddess had for sensing those of divine blood. She had a special kind of link to him now, something that was slowly getting stronger and stronger with each passing moment.

She tried to make sense of what was happening in her mind and her heart that was thumping furiously against her ribcage but no clarity was coming to her.

A few more moments had passed where her mind was clear but her body had started to move on its own again. She stood without thinking and started to walk through Percy's home. A few seconds later and she was standing in the doorway to his large room. Their eyes locked with one another but there were no words from either of them. Artemis just stood there for a few painfully long seconds.

Finally, she walked in and closed the door.

So like I said last time I've been thinking about writing own story. I will finish this one first but was wondering what type of story would you want like a child of Chaos or a certain pairing let me know and I'll maybe do a poll if there is enough people actually interested.