A Dragon to Light the Way
Chapter 9
Lucy laid still on Sting's bed as he growled at the rest of them from the other side of the door. She swallowed, and squeezed her eyes closed but opened them just as quickly when she saw the net of fire. She tightened her hands on the cover around her, and fought back the tears that threatened to spill, but couldn't stop the sob from escaping her lips.
"Lucy?" The soft voice caused her to look up, and meet Sting's concerned gaze. She let out another sob and curled into him as he wrapped her in a tight embrace, his hand rubbing up and down her back in a soothing manner.
"I was so scared." She whispered, hiding her face in his shoulder as another sob escaped her and the tears finally fell. Sting merely growled and shifted them so he was laying down beside her, holding her close as she cried. She didn't know what came over her, but the next thing she knew, she wanted to tell him why she was scared.
"Those flames, just like Natsu's. I thought I was going to get burned again, but only much worse." She whimpered, hating how both her body and voice trembled, but blinked when Sting curled more around her and rested his forehead against hers.
"I'll never let you get burned again. You have my word, I wont allow anything to harm you." He stated, and she looked into his eyes. Smiling at the sincerity within them, and nuzzled even closer to him.
"I must look a sight right now." She laughed out, it was a dry joke, but Sting still gave a huff.
"Lucy, you could be covered in the most hideous make-up, out of fashion clothes, but you'd still make it work." He growled, pressing a finger under her chin to tilt her head up to press a kiss to her lips. She sighed as she relaxed into the pleasurable sensation. Never had she been kissed like this. It was a kiss that every girl dreamed of, a kiss that told them that they were cherished, that they were love, that they were the only one for the person kissing them.
"Sting, is it possible for two Dragon Slayers to have the same mate?" She asked, pulling back to look up at him. Waiting as he thought about it, and blinked when he shook his head.
"Not any that I've ever heard about. Why do you ask?" He stated, and she rested her head against his shoulder.
"Then why did Natsu say I was his, when in reality I'm your mate?" She stated, biting her bottom lip as she felt him tense beneath her for a moment before peeking a look up at him. She shifted as he sat them both up, but refused to meet his amazed look.
"Lucy, you...you accept that you are my mate?" He asked, causing her to swallow as she thought about it for a heartbeat. Then finally faced him with a small smile and a faint nod.
"I've never trusted anybody like I trust you Sting. Nor have I ever felt this way about someone. I...really love you Sting." She whispered, closing her eyes and waited for his reply. Only to blink them open when the bed dipped and she suddenly felt lips pressed firmly against hers. Causing a shudder to run through her body as she sensed his want and need within the kiss, and panted slightly when he pulled back.
"Hard to believe that it has only been a week. You don't think that this is rushed?" He asked, causing her to shake her head and nudge her nose against his. Making him laugh for using his move.
"No. But remember, we talked a lot after the Wizard Games, and learned quite a bit of each other." She stated, causing a purr to sound from him as he pressed another kiss to her lips.
"I can't wait to claim you, Lucy. But, right now isn't the right time." He stated, pulling back slightly, although he had a pained look on his face. She smiled when he ran frustrated fingers through his hair and then gave her a small smile with his eyes shining with his desire and love for her. She returned the smile and laid back down on the bed, moving over slightly when he crawled down beside her.
"As for your question, I can only guess. Rather he sensed that I was your mate, and didn't take too kindly to it so tried to claim you as his. Or, he isn't even the real Natsu." He stated, causing her to look up at him in shock.
"Not the real Natsu?" She asked, watching as he closed his eyes to gather his thoughts.
"It's just that, claiming a mate isn't something a Dragon Slayer would fake. It would be too dangerous for both the slayer, and the other person. Mates are the first thing a dragon will teach their child about, because it is the one thing that can be a Dragon Slayer's strength, and biggest weakness. To just stake a claim on someone who isn't a true mate, can drive a slayer to bad things. Something tells me Igneel wouldn't skip over that lesson, and Natsu's the kind that took all of his father's lessons to heart." Sting stated, and she hummed in silent agreement. Natsu was that kind of person, but then why would he try to claim her?
"After he stated his claim on you, did he change in anyway? Like how he treated his friends? Or even Happy?" He asked, causing her to blink and look at him suddenly.
"Happy?" She whispered, recalling back when Natsu had entered her apartment that night to tell her that she was his mate. The little blue cat hadn't been with him, in fact...
She sat up quickly, going through all of her memories with Natsu after he had told her about the whole mate thing. The Exceed had never been around, something that never happened. When they went on missions, no Happy. When they had told the guild the supposedly good news, no Happy. Moving in together, no Happy! Why hadn't she seen it before? Natsu adored that Exceed, because not only was it his best friend, Happy was his and Lisanna's child.
"Happy was never around." She whispered, looking over at him and saw the understanding in his eyes immediately. They quickly jumped out of the bed and ran out of the room.
"Lucy! How are we going to tell the others at Fairy Tail?" Sting asked as they ran down the stairs toward the mess hall. Lucy bit her bottom lip as she thought, knowing that they didn't have any time to tell everyone. They couldn't just burst in with the accusation either. She blinked as a thought occurred and smiled over her shoulder at him.
"You have my back regardless what I do, right?" She asked, watching as he gave her a questioning look but gave a nod none the less. She smiled and faced forward as they entered the mess hall.
"Then follow my lead. Yukino, we need a communication Lacrima, patch me through to Fairy Tail." She called, stopping at the bar just as the woman switched it on. Lucy took a moment to gather herself and then opened her eyes when Mira picked up on the other end. The take-over mage gave a small gasp and then blocked the view of the lacrima from the rest of the guild as she leaned closer.
"Lucy, Natsu isn't far away." The woman mouthed, and Lucy gave a nod before straightening.
"Mira. Put Natsu on, and then make sure that everyone is at a safe distance from him." She stated, feeling Sting tense behind her but didn't stop her as Mira moved away and called to Natsu. They all watched as Mira moved beyond the bar on Fairy Tail's side, and ushered the others back as Natsu came toward the Lacrima.
"Hel...Lucy? What the hell are you doing at Sabertooths?" Natsu yelled, and Lucy glared at him as she saw anger spark in his eyes. It was that anger that she would need to manipulate in order to expose this impostor.
"You lied to me, Natsu." She growled, using his name like venom and watched as he blinked before narrowing his gaze lightly.
"What do you mean? Sting! Hands off my mate!" Natsu shouted from over the lacrima, but Lucy grabbed hold of the hand that Sting had placed on her shoulder and held tight.
"I am not your mate Natsu. I'm Sting's mate." She shouted, becoming loud enough so that the others could hear, knowing that they would understand. Just as she suspected, just over Natsu's shoulder, Laxus and Wendy stepped out in front of everyone, ready to face whoever it was disguising themselves as Natsu.
"The hell you are!" Natsu shouted, and Lucy glared at him.
"I don't know who you are, but you didn't research Dragon Slayers very well. Dragon Slayers can only have one mate, and no two Dragon Slayers can have the same mate." She stated, watching as understanding registered on the fake Flame Dragon Slayer's face. Only to blink when he relaxed and gave a smile.
"How do you know it isn't Sting who is lying?" He growled, causing her to smile and look over her shoulder at the blonde.
"Because, a Dragon Slayer can't lie to a mate and just stake a claim like you did. It messes with them too much and just starts a calamity. Now, who are you? Because even the real Natsu knows this much." She shouted, watching as the man tensed for a moment, before giving a scoff.
"What the hell are you talking about? I'm Natsu Dragneel, son of the dragon Igneel. Member of Fairy Tail, and all I want is to protect all my friends and family." He shouted, and she smirked as she leaned forward. Finally releasing her hold on Sting's hand.
"Then where is Happy?" She asked, watching as he blinked and everyone behind him went silent. She watched as he took a look over his shoulder, and watched as Laxus gave a shrug, helping her out.
"Who the hell is Happy?" He snapped, causing her to straighten with a smile as everyone on that side gave the impostor a deathly look that caused him to shudder.
"Happy, is Natsu's Exceed and his closet friend. One could even go as far as to call Happy, Natsu's son, and where ever Natsu is, Happy is." She stated, watching as he slumped in defeat and gritted his teeth.
"The damn cat." He growled, and then glared at her before turning to face the Fairy Tail mob behind him.
"Who are you? Where are the real Natsu and Happy?" Wendy demanded, powering up her dragon force just as Laxus did the same. The impostor swallowed, and Lucy knew that there was no way out for him.
"You guys try to get everything you can out of him. I'm on my way." She stated, ending the communication and then turned to smile at Sting, who was already smiling at her.
"Looks like you landed yourself a vixen." Gajeel growled, causing Levy to jab him after he started to chuckle. She watched as Sting merely huffed and brought her into a hug.
"No. I've got myself a helluva mate." He growled, then turned to face the rest of his guild.
"We're moving out, I want the rest of you to stay here and wait as backup." He shouted, and then took her hand.
"Ready?" He asked, causing her to smile and give a nod as they started out of the guild. Levy, Gajeel, Yukino, Rogue, Frosch, Pantherlily and Lector right after them and headed for the train station.
"It's going to take some time until we reach Fairy Tail and figure out what we have to do from there, so be prepared." She stated as they boarded a train and piled into a compartment.