Ok ladies and gents, here's the second chapter of Beyond the Stars, sequel to Mind, Body, and Soul. If you haven't read that one yet, I highly suggest doing so. Desna and I already do have the first few chapters of this story done, and are currently doing a bit of editing on the next chapter, so updates will be somewhat frequent for a bit. Without further ado, please enjoy, and remember to review!

Lucy grit her teeth, barely managing to bite back a scream as she snaked her whip out and cracked it across the front legs of the hideous nightmare of a creature rushing at her. She narrowly dodged when it spat at her; it could shoot venom from its fangs and liked to mix that with shooting web at her, hoping to pin her down so it could move in.

Like it had with the villagers it had taken. She was going to have to get the village to send a coroner out, none of the people she'd found in this damn things lair were still alive. Wrapped in venom drenched webs, every fluid in their bodies sucked out of them.

Spiders, TWO massive Spiders, one the size of a carriage, the other the size of what might pull it. White and grey with eight beady black eyes and long nasty black fangs, little hooks tipped each leg too on both of them, and she was bleeding from where they had caught her, ripped her skin, thank the gods they had no venom on them.

The smaller one, the male she assumed, had longer legs than the female, was the same pasty white and grey and was faster, he'd landed most of the strikes now bleeding.

The mission hadn't said she'd be taking on a damn spider and it's fucking MATE, she fucking HATED spiders. Anything with more legs than a damn dog was far from her list of things she would chose to handle.

But here she was, she'd finally gotten it out of it's damn lair into the open but it hadn't given her much of an advantage, just no more of the things little baby spiders trying to poison her ankles.

It was the third of five missions she'd grabbed, planning to work for at least a month, avoid the guild all together and let her head get screwed back on right.

"Princess, perhaps we should retreat...you're bleeding in several spots now…" Loke said unhappily trying not to wince when Lucy glared at him.

"NO Loke, we take this nasty damn thing down now." She snapped "I'll be fine, just...damn it...Leo the lion, first of the Zodiac, lend me your power!" She called.

Her clothes changed, she shifted into the Leo stardress so she could join him in blasting the thing, her whip wasn't doing enough damage, but it did serve to keep the thing at bay.

She was tired, and bleeding, and fighting a personal nightmare in real life and didn't see all of what happened over the next few seconds. She heard Loke though.

"Oh dear Gods…" He breathed and she'd frowned.

"What?!" she demanded in a near panic and then the male spider was suddenly slammed into the ground, golden flames swirling around it, something...no...someone, was on top of it, plunging a sword into the space behind its eyes, long wings keeping them steady as the male let out a keening horrible sounding screech before he went down, long legs giving out, a couple cut off from the body by the glowing flame enclosed sword in the mans hand...it was a man...Dear Gods was it ever.

He was unbelievably gorgeous….

And she had never felt a pull as strongly as she did seeing him. Like he was a wildfire and she a little moth.

She knew she was young, at 20 years old, she knew that many would consider her musings naive. But with everything that had happened for her in the last five years, physically she may be 20, but mentally and emotionally she was much older. And she was a woman dammit, she had urges, she was allowed!

Many of the men in the guild were nothing to sneeze at, least of all the dragon slayers that called Fairy Tail home. And when you added in the Pradesh siblings, she was occasionally surprised that there wasn't a regular flood warning for all the sexual tension that built up around the women that tried to catch any of the mens eyes. Lords knew there were plenty of tents pitched under tables with Erza, Emzadi, Cana and Xally walking around too, she even liked to think maybe one or two went up because of her.

In all honesty, while she could fully admit and admire the men in the guild, she was content with being single and just being surrounded by those that she considered family. Until it started happening.

One by one, each of the seven dragon slayers of Fairy Tail found their mates. The part that she still found particularly funny was that it wasn't until the Pradesh siblings started visiting that the slayers started pairing off. The first few new couples had her ecstatic and so very happy for her friends. She thought it was amazing that, while still crazy, they had found their mate who would help keep them calm, or support them when needed.

The next couple of announced mates had her smiling just as brightly, and she refused to acknowledge the ribbon of envy that started slithering through her emotions, quick to tamp it down and lock it away. Melancholy, jealousy, they had no place in her heart, she wanted her Nakama happy.

Then Rogue announced that he had found his mate, once more with one of the Pradesh siblings. The searingly hot and sexy one that had sung on stage with Gajeel had gotten Lucy panting right along with most of the other single women, Vander, with his wine colored eyes and sultry voice. She had been quick to walk away, not wanting her budding jealousy and aggravation to be heard by the slayer who could hear souls or his mind reading mate. Seriously, were all of the good ones going to get snatched up by the slayers?

The last one though. The last one was the one to really put the final nail into the coffin of her high hopes and leave her lost in some turbulent emotions.

Once the last slayer had announced finding their mate, had, well, damn near claimed him in front of everyone, that had been it for Lucy. Impromptu weddings, coronations, they had just torn her down.

So she had taken Armans advice, tore a random few jobs off the board as soon as she had gotten home and left Magnolia, having Virgo pack her a bag even as she boarded the train. She had needed to get out of there. Wendy got Farron, the tall, dark blue eyed elegant and clearly, from what she had seen, incredible kisser who had looked a great deal like her dream man.

Taking jobs, working out her frustrations, and the fear that she didn't want to acknowledge was what she needed she was sure. For the life of her, she couldn't understand why seeing every slayer bothered her so much, even as she was so happy for each of them. She hadn't wanted any of them, not in the romantic sense, and yet seeing all of them together and happy had something deep inside aching sharply.

It had been months of a slowly growing need, this sadness she couldn't explain, loneliness in the midst of all the people she loved and cared for. She was almost ashamed of it.

It should, however, be mentioned that flying by the seat of her pants wasn't always one of her best ideas. Looking up at the job that she had taken, Lucy took a firmer stance, wishing belatedly that she had paid closer attention to the flyer she had grabbed. Now she was standing before a spider about the size of a carriage. Her limbs were trembling, her shoulders drooped, she was panting in exhaustion, and the steady drain of her magic as she kept Virgo and Loke out to help her had her worry increasing each passing second. She had been tracking these things for a couple of days now, and had honestly felt that taking down an unknown monster stealing villagers would be within her abilities. Once she had found it, she admitted that it was bigger than she had been expecting, but she still felt confident...until the fight continued for more than three hours, and the spiders showed absolutely no signs of slowing down. Fighting two, plus their damn spawn, it had taken a heavy toll on her.

Then he appeared, and she wasn't entirely sure what to do.

One moment she had been gasping for breath, her eyes narrowed as her mind raced at incredible speeds trying to find a way to beat these things. The next she let out a startled scream as she leaped backwards, the male spider collapsing to the ground at her feet. Staring in confusion at the fallen monster, she looked up past the still impressive height when she saw him.

He was standing confidently on the back of the hideous thing, arms folded and head quirked down, casting his face in shadow with his dark hair framing his head. The part that drew her attention the most though were the wings that extended out from his back and were shifting keeping him stable as the thing lurched through its death throws when he wrenched the flaming sword out of it.

Wings…he had wings, long black wings. It wasn't the first time she'd seen wings on a wizard, no, there were others so she had to assume it wasn't common but it wasn't unique, still, it was different. He reminded her of an angel, well, angels didn't have black wings, or shoulder length red/brown hair with streaks of gold in it from being out in the sun….did angels wear tight jeans and have really nice legs?

She was sure she'd never seen one in a black vest that hung open showing a delicious expanse of tanned skin and tattoos and a ripped chest and torso either and none of the pictures drawn on cathedrals showed angels filling out the front of a pair of jeans really well. She was sure she would have noticed and spent more time admiring the paintings.

What was she trying to do again? Oh yeah...not die.

The female spider had backed up a bit at having her mate killed and for the first time Lucy noticed two huge dogs, hounds, long legs, deep barreled chests, elegant necks and long slender heads with rosebud ears, one was black with four white feet, the other brindle and both wore glittering gold collars.

The dogs were driving the female spider back a bit, running around her snarling and snapping at her legs. Lucy wasn't certain how spider love worked, or if it was even a thing, but the female started vibrating her legs and even Lucy felt the ground shudder a bit.

Confused, she was frowning, glaring at the massive thing while trying to keep the mystery man in view too, uncertain of his intentions. Then it happened, Spiderlings started rushing out of the cave behind the female, rushing to her aid and swarming over the males corpse. The winged man took to the sky, long black wings slamming down and carrying him up as strings of web were spat at him by the large wolf sized baby spiders. None landed but Lucy had to move quickly to avoid being hit herself.

Eyes widening in horror she watched the babies start sinking their fangs into the dead male, sucking him dry, many of them enlarging.

"Magic, they're sucking the magic energy out of the male, it's making some of them grow…" Loke said in alarm, pulling Lucy to back away further. The dogs were moving swiftly, they were incredibly fast and agile and Lucy kept narrowing her eyes on them, certain they were familiar. She knew she had seen them somewhere before.

The winged man came down briefly, standing between the dogs long enough to run glowing gold hands over them, they rubbed against his wings then took off again as he shot back into the sky. They were keeping the spiderlings from rushing at her and her spirits.

"Princess...perhaps we should go…" Virgo said softly. Lucys glare silenced her, they had already been over the whole retreat and regroup thing, she wasn't having it.

The winged man landed nearby, a dozen feet or so from Lucy, striding toward her. Dear Gods...she was so drawn to him, her mind was so fixed on that want, that need it could barely register anything else. She couldn't help but think he was familiar, why? She knew it should be obvious, but Gods his body, his face, he was tall, over 6 feet easily, his mouth, his lips looked wonderfully kissable.

Lucy had to consciously fight to keep her tongue from hanging out before a sense of self-preservation hit her and she shifted her stance, hardening her eyes and gripping her whip in her hands, waiting for him to get just a...touch...closer...now!

'SNAP!'

The sound of her whip cracking the air echoed sharply as with a flick of her wrist she sent her now blue and gold whip towards him to try and bring him to his knees before he could reach her. Instead her jaw dropped as his hand flashed out and caught the magical whip, wrapping it around his forearm without hesitation and raised an eyebrow at her.

"You know...of all the ways I had imagined meeting you for the first time, finding you in the middle of a battle and having you attack me with your celestial whip certainly wasn't one of them. Not really my thing either, I mean, maybe a little bondage could be fun but whips? That's more of Virgo's idea of fun." His voice echoed through the air, rolling across her skin in a soft caress and she felt something inside of her lurch hard, causing her to lose her footing and stumble towards him with a gasp.

Gulping hard she ran her gaze over to Loke then Virgo, seeing them just as dumbstruck as her. Loke's jaw was hanging open, blinking repeatedly, even as Virgo stood motionless, her eyes wider and mouth slightly open showing her own surprise. Swallowing hard against the drool pooling in her mouth, she fixed her face into what she hoped passed as a believable scowl.

She was about to say something nasty when a hiss made her eyes snap back to the serious issue at hand, namely a massive spider and about 30 or so smaller versions of her. A few...not so much smaller now, nearly as big as the male. The dogs were still doing a good job, but there were just too many spiders.

"Fuck!" She snarled, jumping to the side to avoid a blast of venom laced webbing only to run right into another that encased her left leg beneath the knee, instantly burning when it touched her skin.

She shrieked at the pain, eyes wide as she saw a good dozen or more of the spiders rushing toward her as she clawed at the web anchoring her leg to the ground only to scream again when it burned her hands.

A flash of gold and the web burned away, she was wrenched into thickly muscled bare arms and pulled into a partially bare chest as long black wings slammed down and she was carried swiftly into the air, trying to cling to him and almost losing her whip as her burned hands protested. A jolt flew through her, powerful, hitting all the way to her toes and fingertips when her skin touched his, she felt him shudder at the same time, so knew it hit him too, whatever it was and she gasped, pushing at his chest.

"Easy, I need to get you out of harms way…" He said, his voice lacking the humor of a minute ago and she shoved harder at him.

"Damnit! NO! I can do this! I am fucking done being rescued, put me the fuck down and let me do my job!" She snarled. Stunning very familiar eyes widened on her almost making her brain stutter and forget what she was mad about but not quite.

She was having enough trouble with herself, her confidence, her trust in herself, her ability to believe she had any damn value as a person, all of it, that was what she was trying to work out and every time she started to struggle, somebody stepped in and didn't let her finish proving to herself she could handle things.

Not this time, no, she had to do this! Gorgeous man distracting her or not, she was finishing this job!

He smiled at her though. "Can I help?" He asked, dipping a wing and banking, taking them back toward the spiders Virgo and Loke were currently fighting.

"I don't care if you do or not, just don't fucking rescue me and try to keep me out of the fight!" She snapped.

His arms tightened a little around her and he chuckled. "Fair enough. Ok, how do you want me to return you to the fight?" He asked.

Lucys mind raced, shoving aside the immense distraction he was, how good he smelled, how good he fucking felt and focusing on the fight.

"Gods I'm going to hate this...set me on top of that damn female." She said shuddering in revulsion at the idea of even her shoes touching it. She recalled Virgo and Loke and summoned Cancer, the spirit appearing in the air beside them "Cancer, start cutting off legs, and share your power!" She called as she was carried toward the female that had reared back on her back legs and was waving hooked front legs at them, spitting venom into the air that the man holding her deftly dodged keeping her neatly from getting hit even as he held her with one arm around her, the other now extended sending blinding light into the creature's "face".

It screeched, backing up several feet, all legs coming to the ground. "It's blinded, I'll help Cancer handle the babies." He told her setting her onto the things back and Lucy slung her whip out, using it to hook onto the thing so she could hold on as she started hacking away at it with a sword.

She hadn't anticipated it being able to reach over it's back with it's legs...the way they were angled and how the winged man had taken down the male she hadn't' considered it a possibility, it wasn't like she studied spiders, she absolutely hated the things.

A hook tipped leg caught her, hit her horribly hard, if not for her grip on her whip and the sword she'd just managed to plunge into a spot between the thick hard "shell" of the things back it would have swept her to the ground, as it was the hook ripped through her skin, tore a gash from her hip across her back to her shoulder and she screamed as it happened.

Black spots were appearing in her vision, and her magic was all but gone, she had to end the fight and soon or she would be killed. She staggered and almost lost her balance but for an arm coming around her waist, a flaming sword shot down and plunged into the creature beside Lucys sword.

She had no choice but to lean into him, too injured and weakened by those injuries to do anything else. She wrenched her sword free and went to plunge it in again as the spider tried again with a leg, starting to stagger under the assault, to sweep them both off of it.

The man holding her wrenched his sword free and she watched it flare as it sliced through the leg before it could hit them. That was when she realized she was doing this wrong, instead of focusing on killing blows, she needed to cripple it before she could kill it.

"The legs, focus on the legs!" She yelled, and started hacking at where a leg met the body. It was still hard, as sharp as her stardress blades were, and she could use both now, retracting her whip and trusting the man to hold her steady so she could use both hands.

It worked, once deprived of three legs the spider went down and when she did, the spiderlings started swarming toward her, those that Cancer hadn't removed the legs from. As each went down it's siblings swarmed it and sucked it dead.

It had reduced the numbers down to three almost as big as the female but they were all three injured and when they rushed their mother she fought them. The long black wings carried her from the thing again, several yards away safely out of range of the fighting monsters.

They stood, him still supporting a good part of her weight and she didn't try to get away from him. It felt right, she felt...safe with him, and that confused her but there were more important things to worry about, like the waring massive spiders, the mother had killed two of the offending offspring but the third was winning, beating it's heavily disadvantaged and mortally injured mother down.

Lucys vision was swimming, and Cancer vanished, her stardress melting away because she lacked the magic to maintain it. She was vaguely aware she was all but topless now, damage to her back, blows she'd taken throughout the fight had left her normal clothes in tatters again. She was so used to it now though she scarcely noticed.

The offspring finally finished off it's mother, the big female crumpling to the ground and the man holding Lucy set her down so she could sit on the ground before he rushed the injured monstrosity before it could get it's fangs into its mother.

"Stay here, you're too injured to finish this." He said firmly and moved away before he caught her angry glare.

He'd watched how it worked, if this beast drank it's mother down it would heal and grow stronger, likely bigger and stronger than the mother had been and killing the mother had been a workout.

It whirled,sensing him coming, and he shot upward into the air, using the same blinding blast he'd used before and then, leaving Lucy more than a little stunned, he drew in a deep breath and she could swear, in fact she was certain, he used a Dragon Slayer roar on it.

Whatever it was, it took the thing down and scorched the other dead spiders near it into charcoal.

The offspring fell over, its legs curling up as it died. The man landed and started walking back to Lucy, eyes sweeping over the field to make sure there were no threats left. The two dogs nearly as big as horses ran to him, eagerly butting his hands with their noses begging to be pet and Lucys eyes widened more when she saw him wave his hand, saw nothing short of Celestial light spark and the dogs vanished, she felt the shift too, the dogs were celestial spirits!

"Who the hell are you?!" Lucy demanded.

"Uh, Princess, that might not-" Loke said, appearing by her side clearly under his own power.

Once more she felt that strong pull, and she could even admit to herself that on a scale of one to ten on the attractive meter, he shattered the measurements, but she wouldn't let herself be fooled by looks or anything. She needed answers, and she'd be damned if she didn't get them.

"Now-" Lucy paused to swallow again and interrupt Loke. "-who the hell are you?" She asked, narrowing her eyes at the amused smirk that crossed his face.

"Princess...I would advise to exercise caution and some decorum when speaking to him." Virgo stated lowly, coming up to Lucys side also having pushed through to help her injured mistress, she was pressing a cloth to Lucys back to slow the bleeding coming from the ugly wound, keeping her eyes on the ground as she knelt next to her master. She didn't need to see Lucys face to know that she was getting a shocked look.

"That's not necessary Virgo, thank you." The man said, her maid spirit bowing her head toward him.

"Virgo? What's going on?" Lucy asked quietly, keeping an eye on the male. It wasn't until the sound of shifting drew her attention that made her realize that there was far more to this man then met the eye.

From his tight jeans tucked into knee high boots, black vest that hung open, black wings, a face that appeared to be chiseled by the hands of the gods, and the amethyst eyes speckled with gold that drew her in powerfully, Lucy knew as her spirits paused that there was indeed a great deal more to him then looks alone. Lokes final action, however, is what drew the most confusion of the new mans arrival. She struggled to think under those eyes, those familiar, beautiful eyes...

Beside her Loke had taken to one knee, with his head bowed in obvious reverence. Swinging her head to her other side, she found Virgo kneeling as well, her hands resting peacefully on her lap.

"Oh come on you two, this is ridiculous you haven't done this in years! You're just fucking with me now." The man groaned, bringing up a hand to bury his face in with exasperation. He knew the chuckles he received were all the answers he was going to get, even as he focused his gaze on Lucy once more.

Taking a deep breath, Loke took it on himself to stand and grip his masters hand in a reassuring gentle squeeze. Clearing his throat and adopting a formal tone, Loke turned to Lucy with a devilish grin. As he proceeded to introduce the newcomer to her, Lucy's eyes widened, and the blood drained from her face in shock.

"Lucy Heartfellia, celestial mage, and light of Fairy Tail, I'd like to present, taken in by the Spirit King himself, the one and only Archangel mage in more than 800 years, Zen Pradesh." Loke smiled.

Zen rolled his eyes. "Make me sound like a prize on a gameshow, thanks Loke." He chuckled.

As Lucy blinked rapidly, recalling things in her books on the Archangel mages that had fought in the holy wars over a thousand years ago. They had been called living seraphim, the stars of dawn and evening, protectors not just of Earthland but also of the Celestial realms and all the heavens. There hadn't been an Archangel mage in centuries, the magic was thought completely lost. Taken in by...the Spirit King?! Loke and Virgo kneeling before him?!

It registered then, Pradesh...Zen Pradesh, the second son of Arman, Bickslows lost older brother who hadn't been unable to live with them, whose absence the King mourned, the fountain...everything. An Archangel, magic believed dead.

But here stood one, the only one apparently, and he happened to be just…dear Gods and stars…hot.

She had to be losing too much blood.

"I'll get those Virgo…" He offered and suddenly he was right there in front of her and Virgo was helping him set Lucy back so she sat on the ground a little more stable.

Ok, add into the whole eye candy thing that he also smelled amazing and had thick dark lashes rimming those deep purple and gold eyes. Being close to him suddenly without a battle to occupy her was unsettling to say the least.

He smiled at her staring and she was blinking rapidly trying to keep her eyes focused, she was way too overwhelmed by all of this information, and by him, those eyes...her dreams...black wings...She couldn't tell if it was the blood loss, the venom or the young handsome man touching her, gently running warm fingertips around the edges of the burns on her leg, the gash across her back taking it all in. Lucy was light headed, struggling to string thoughts outside of "It's him, it's the man from all my dreams" together.

"Ok, so my healing is…funny, when I heal it…converts pain, I really can't control it, it just does it, the theory is so people can relax and the healing goes along easier but for some reason when I heal women….well…I'm just healing you ok? I swear nothing more." He vowed and Lucy grit her teeth as her back pulsed angrily in pain.

"I get it, fine, help me out here." She tried not to snap, but knew that came out snappy.

Zen nodded, eyes leaving hers and going to her back so he could remove the cloth Virgo had pressed to it. His hands replaced the cloth and brought the wound closed. Lucy hissed in pain and he gave her an apologetic look.

"So there's something else…see, I'm not just an Archangel mage." He drew a breath, nodding to Virgo where he wanted her to press the cloth as he adjusted where his hands were. "I'm also a Dragon Slayer, the first celestial Dragon Slayer...anyway, I know you know about Dragon Slayers and….fuck this is harder than I thought…." He shook his head frowning then looking into her wide eyes. "Lucy, you're my mate." He said as his hands lit with gold and Lucy felt the magic start and the pain initially spiked as flesh started to move to come back together but then that pain instantly converted to pure, bone melting, panty drenching pleasure.

Not just she felt good and relief from pain, more like Zens magic was pushing every button and ringing every bell she had pushing her into moaning like they were fucking each other senseless because damn if she couldn't get a happy ending out of what he was doing if he kept it up.

It was all too much for her, the pleasure layered over the shock of being faced with the living real version of a man she had been dreaming about since she was an awkward teenager, meeting those familiar purple and gold eyes, told she was this mans mate? Yup, check please, Lucy fainted.

Zen watched her body tense, bit his lip when she let out a moan that instantly made his well fitted jeans uncomfortably tight then she went lax and Virgo vanished, seeing she was no longer needed. Leo did too initially but reappeared a moment later under his own power again, clothes bundled in his arms that he set on the ground next to Lucy.

"They always faint when I heal them…" Zen sighed and Loke snickered. It was common knowledge in the celestial realms that while Zen was training the healing side of his magic, when he used it on women the pain to relaxation conversion his magic naturally did, related to the mercy side of things it carried, did too much and made that relaxation into pure physical pleasure.

The Spirit King seemed to lean toward the theory that it was because Zen was Boscan in heritage and while he was spending almost all of his time with Celestials learning to use his magic properly, Arman still insisted he have education benefits all Boscans enjoyed, Loke had sincerely, deeply enjoyed going with Zen for his Sudehpah sessions starting when he was 11 and going until he was 13.

Loke had strongly advocated allowing Zen another year of those, but even Arman wouldn't agree. The Spirit King was suspicious all of that training Zen had in the physical arts of pleasure had somehow affected his magic.

Draco of course disagreed, saying it was just something about Zen that would have probably happened regardless.

Either way, when Zen healed women….they tended to get overwhelmed by him, the worse the injury the more the pain is converted so the more pleasure the woman felt. Lucys injuries had been pretty bad…

"Well, she knows, and you're out of training as of what a few weeks ago? Didn't take you long to find her." Loke smiled.

"Long enough, Gods she'd been pulling at me so hard for so long now, being here...with her..." Zen breathed, brushing her hair back from her forehead with light fingertips. "Gods she's beautiful…" He smiled, eyes studying the lovely woman who was the other half of his soul. Loke was nodding in hearty agreement but Zen didn't see him, gently running the back of a finger over Lucys cheek.

The lion smirked. "Well…wake her up, she's all healed, lay one on her, final test." Loke prodded and Zen gave him a reproachful look for being cheesy.

Still he bent over her, the beautiful young woman with the golden hair and eyes like honeyed chocolate. She had occupied his dreams most nights for the last few years, though the dreams hadn't turned heated until the last few months, growing in intensity, making it hard for him to focus on his studies, his training, even sleep wasn't easy because when he closed his eyes she was the first thing to come to his mind.

Draco and the spirit king had been adamant though he couldn't go to Earthland for her until he had mastered the last of a few spells and been able to take on and successfully defeat at least 10 armed magic users on his own while protecting this ridiculous life sized doll he was always made to defend in his drills that drained his magic intermittently and sometimes in large amounts all at once. He'd come to hate the thing. Especially when keeping it from being hit by a spell or sword was what was keeping him from going to his mate.

That his final few tries had involved him protecting one of Cassiopias stars had made it easier to swallow, though they were all immense flirts.

He was with her now though, and she was so much more beautiful than she'd even been in his dreams, months he had watched her through the mirrors in the celestial realm, watched her crying, becoming sad, felt her soul reaching for him and he'd ached to go to her, begged Draco and the Spirit King but had been rebuked, he wasn't even allowed to know her name until he'd completed his training. Now though he was at her side, and he wouldn't leave it, he shifted over her, holding himself off of her, straddling her hips and placing a hand to either side of her head he bent down his lips sliding over her plump pink mouth to kiss her.

The rush of relief, the slam of his dragon within him into a frenzy of newer hotter need. A steady chant within him of possessive vows, proclamations and demands he should immediately take her, strip them both right on the field of battle and fuck her until she screamed his name and his teeth could set into her skin. He pushed it all back, he had control, his father and Draco were wrong, he could manage this, yes it was all new and incredibly powerful in its intensity, but he could handle it. Dragon Lust, his instincts as a slayer would not overwhelm him, he'd admit now though he should have worn looser jeans...

Lucy had spiraled out through a haze of pleasure and she was coming back to much the same. Images of laying in a mahogany haired purple eyed angels arms, wrapped in black wings, naked, legs wrapped around his hips, lips locked as she trailed her hands over hard muscles and smooth tanned skin, being made love to by a black winged angel, leisurely, sweet wonderful sex while he whispered sweet things to her, cherished her..loved her. This dream had been her only comfort for a while now and she revelled in it, kissing back, biting, pressing into the warm firm body and he felt so impossibly good, much better than he usually did.

Yes please, oh she'd been such a good girl, supported all of her guildmates while they had found their mates and soulmates and all of it, watched good sweet man after good sweet man go off the available list while she stood alone.

Watched her own best friend land one of the hottest beasts of a man she'd ever seen and a kiss that almost burned down the infirmary between them.

This was her reward right?

She wrapped her arms around him, fisting her hands in silky thick hair at the back of his head and kissing him hungrily, tongue pressing into his mouth, greedy for the deepest kiss possible.

He growled and she felt it, the sound resonating through her and thrilling her, he'd never growled at her before, Gods she loved it, her imagination was getting so much better at this. She moved her hands from that thick long hair, over broad shoulders and down thickly muscled arms then over his chest, delighting in the feel of smooth bare warm skin under her hands, tracing a wonderfully defined and toned body. Noting with satisfaction those muscles tightened, rippled under her touch and he moaned into her mouth when she dug her fingers into one pectoral, wanting to feel the thick muscle there clench in her hand.

Gods she was doing good on this dream, so much detail….taste, sound, scent, he smelled good, the taste, the feel, there was a cinnamon spice to him, his lips were so warm...

She was dreaming though, she damn well knew it too, that was how it always worked in these stories, curse her writers mind for making her live through it.

She'd start making out with a hot guy, get their clothes off, he'd have this dream of a mouthwatering body, right down to a cock she'd know would leave her legs no longer functioning once she got to ride it and just before she'd start that glorious ride, poof, no more black winged angel.

Only the dream was weird, his clothes started appearing, since when did these dreams work in fucking reverse? It was her damn dream, she wanted to see the goodies damn it!

"No…no…take it all back off…" She breathed against soft warm lips that were slanting over hers she could feel him above her, a knee between her thighs, Gods when she reached up her hands really did meet firm delectable muscle under smooth warm skin.

Wide chest, so well defined, she could trace over just perfectly chiseled muscle, right from the defined pecs to washboard abs, down trim hips and snug denim held…

"Oh yes…" she groaned as her palms met a hard rounded ass and she dug her fingers in as hard as Cana would, hard enough he hissed in a breath, lips leaving hers for a moment before descending again and slanting over hers once more. The rich scent...perfect...like stardust and cinnamon...

He tasted good, smelled good, felt good….dream.

Except dreams didn't chuckle when she groaned out her approval of their fine assets, and tried hooking a leg around their hip to drag them down so she could better get her hands on everything this one did though, and those lips moving over hers, the tongue teasing hers, withdrew and her eyes fluttered open, presented with rich purple and gold eyes and a handsome face grinning down at her.

"You sure aren't shy." He chuckled huskily and Lucy squeaked, snapping her hands away from him, blushing 50 shades of fuck my life and shimmying out from under him while he sat back on his folded legs smiling at her.

"I…" Lucy sat, too off balance to stand effectively and glared at the snickering Loke.

"Sorry Princess, but you're his mate after all, might as well enjoy I guess." He grinned.

Lucy blinked, trying to rein in the out of control freight train that was her thoughts, it was hard to do watching the tall mage get to his feet and come to her, holding a hand down to her.

"I'm really…your mate? Like a Dragon Slayer thing?" She asked.

He smirked. "Exactly that really, The Spirit King and my Uncle Draco seemed to think the magic I was born with wasn't enough, even though I couldn't live at home growing up because my magic was so dangerous, so…I was taught Dragon Slayer magic, given a dragon soul by Draco to help me harness my strength." He said lightly.

Lucy was pulled up to her feet when she accepted his hand and teetered, falling against him, hands splayed on his hard muscled chest.

"So you're…" she trailed off frowning.

"He's the one and only Celestial Dragon Slayer Princess, ward of The Spirit King himself, taught by him and Draco. The first dragon slayer of his kind, since Draco has never taught any before him. It worked well too, the Dragon Soul provided the stability and Zens magic came into balance." Loke said.

Zen nodded to her as she looked at him in amazement. "Archangels work similar to Seith mages in a special way too, we have soulmates that are the life of our souls." He told her.

"And so I'm your…mate or soulmate?" She asked.

Zen shrugged and smiled. "Both." he leaned into her, nuzzling into her neck and her eyes fluttered closed but her mind was in turmoil, months of unhappiness were suddenly unknotting, she felt so amazingly good when she was close to him, Gods his mouth, his teeth nipped at her neck and she gasped.

She took a step back, ignoring the powerful pull that wanted her to not just step back so she was touching him, but to just wrap herself around the tall man.

She narrowed her eyes. "Where…have you been?" She asked softly. She'd watched over the last months as just about everyone she knew had found happiness, partners to love and cherish them, it figured hers had what, gotten lost?

Her dreams, she stared at him, he was the angel in her dreams, the lover she had been with for months now, the gold flecked purple eyes, the black wings and soft sun streaked dark hair, it was him...where had he been? Why had she been left pining over dreams for so long?

He grimaced.

"Training, until a few weeks ago, I sensed you, felt you...I knew you were...lonely and I'm so sorry about that...I came as fast as I was able, it wasn't easy getting away from my father and family once I was released from training...I had to make some promises and I'll keep all of them...but you..." He paused moving toward her, reaching out and pulling her to him so he could lean down again, nuzzle into her hair, his hands smoothing down her sides and sliding to her back to pull her firmly against him as he kissed her neck. "I had to find you, my mate..." he purred.

Lucy moaned at the wonderful sensations he was stirring, dear Gods her dream man was real, and his body felt so good, his hands, holy sweet Mavis his lips and tongue played at her ear and she smiled faintly then froze and blinked, Celestial realm…and Loke knew him, so did Virgo, something suddenly clicked in her head and she pulled back enough to turn incriminating eyes on Loke.

"You…." She hissed and Lokes eyes widened, smile falling.

"You knew about him didn't you?!" She demanded, suddenly furious and hurt and confused. If Loke had known that there was a mate for her, that she was meant for someone, why had he let her believe she was alone? Why during one of the many times she had sobbed over the last year into the silence of her apartment, so many times into his damn suit coat about not being wanted, feeling lonely and hopeless, why hadn't he told her? Gods she'd come apart at that fountain right in front of the Lion spirit, the fountain dedicated to this man and his lost mother!

"Of course, I've known Leo since before he was Karens spirit. Since I was 8." Zen said quietly when Loke didn't answer. Unhappiy his mate had pulled back from his embrace but he loosened his hold, let her glare at Loke, confused as to why.

"I wasn't allowed to tell you Princess, we…we didn't know if Zen would survive, his magic was so off balance for a while it wasn't until he was…um…15 that we knew he'd be ok…and he really didn't know who his mate was then, only that he had one because he felt the pull to Earthland…we didn't know you were…meant to be his…" Loke trailed off looking at the ground and frowning.

"15! That was years ago Loke! What the hell?!" Lucy cried, tears stinging her eyes. "When did you know I was his mate?! Me, your Princess, who you claim to care about?! When did you know I was the one and that he was mine?!" She demanded.

"Until about a month ago the images in the mirrors were clear enough I could see you and figure out who you were, what's wrong Lucy? Why are you…." Zen answered when Loke just stared. Zen was confused, unsure about just what was happening between Lucy and the leader of the Zodiac but he could tell it wasn't good, she was furious, hurt, tears wet on her lashes, the salt scent of them heavy in the air and his instincts were making him bristle, his dragon stir inside of him angrily because his mate was upset, hurt, and he damn sure wasn't going to let that continue if he could help it. The amount of fury and rage that was stirring in him, the murderous need to destroy whatever was causing it was staggering.

"I'm angry because as recent as yesterday! Yesterday Loke, I was crying on you, telling you how alone I felt and all you did was proposition me! Offer to ease my loneliness with sex!" Lucy snarled and Zen stilled, eyes narrowing on the Lion spirit who was swallowing hard.

"Princess…it's not serious, you know I'm only teasing, I only do it to help you through things, I never…Prince Zen…" Zen was moving now, walking toward Loke, eyes fully gold, Lucy watched as a sword formed in his hand, golden light and fire creating it.

"You…flirted…teased…MY mate, you could have told her I was on my way to her…coming as fast as I could…once I left the Celestial Realm and started working to get to her you SHOULD have told her but you chose not to and to …proposition MY MATE?!" He growled. "All that pain! All the loneliness she went through you could have helped!" And Loke waved his arms, backing away.

"I…Lucy and I have always been like this my Prince…it wasn't serious at all, I was just trying to cheer her up! I…I meant nothing!" He said hurriedly.

"Oh you'll mean nothing alright, when I use your skin as a throw rug you mangy lion!" Zen lunged and Loke retreated, vanishing in a shower of golden light. Zen snarled, turning to look back at Lucy. "Go back to town and get your reward for your job…this shouldn't take long, I just need to relieve the fucking cat of one of his lives…" He said and Lucy started to object, to tell him not to bother, it wasn't that important to her, that she did not want him to go right after she'd met him, but he vanished just like Loke had and she stared gaping in stunned amazement…Zen had just gone, on his own magic, with no help or guidance…to the celestial realm…

What kind of mage was he?! She looked around and the tears that had been stinging finally falling because she realized, once again, she was alone, not even Virgo was there, just a bunch of dead spiders and her…left behind…again.

Oh I'm sorry *rubs back of head sheepishly* Did I forget to mention we'd finally see Zen and Lucy meet in this chapter? hehe...please don't kill us, we have plans, it won't be like this for long!