Oberon Dragon

by Sage Hunter

  It was quite the relief, and I began quickly roaming the farm as she busied herself inside, doing chores and preparing herself to take care of the animals.

  I used all of my senses to try to locate any potential legions that might have stuck around on the farm, worms that had encroached upon it during the night. But I found no evidence of either thing and ultimately sighed. In a way, it was disappointing that I wasn’t able to find anything that justified my apprehension the night before. However, it was also a very big relief to know that there was nothing lurking around in the shadows that was going to come out and attack Jenny when she least expected it.

  No, they said they were going to get their revenge. And it wasn’t going to come immediately. They were going to let us stew in our own juices so that we became paranoid and unhinged before they made their move. They were weak. They had to utilize every possible tactic they had against us. And the element of surprise was one of the big ones.

  It was very difficult for me to keep my calm, but when I went back inside and saw Jenny sitting at the table, smiling as she flipped through the mail and didn’t find any more of the threatening letters from the thugs that had recruited her husband and turned the entire town against her, I felt a small surge of elation. She was so beautiful. And I was here to make sure that, no matter what, nobody changed the way she lived.

  It was quite a noble task, and I walked over to her, wrapping my arms around her gently and planting a soft kiss on the nape of her neck. She moaned softly and leaned back against my chest, smiling up into my eyes.

  “What did you think? Is it as good as you hoped?”

  I felt a small pang of guilt. She hadn’t realized that I had already snuck out to explore the farm before today.

  I nodded. “It’s absolutely beautiful here,” I said. At least that part wasn’t a lie.

  “Thank you, I know. That is why we bought this place. Well, I picked it out. My husband just went along with it. I had no idea what was going to happen when we did. I don’t even know whether or not I would have wanted to do this if I had known.”

  I held her tightly, planting another kiss on top of her head. “There was no way you would be able to tell that something like this would happen, and I personally believe that everything falls together the way it does for a good reason. You do not have to be afraid. All of us have hard times in life, but that does not mean we are going to give up on what has been accumulated throughout our toils. In fact, it is the fact that we have toiled that makes the victory so much sweeter.”

  “You know what, I suppose you are right. If none of this ever happened, I never would have met you. And I don’t think I like the sound of that.”

  “You see, that is exactly what I am talking about. It is so much better to be able to say that you have survived something difficult and made it worthwhile and it isn’t to say I have had an easy life, and everything that came to me I have accepted without question.”

  Jenny gazed at me, a gentle gleam in her eye that made her look all the more beautiful to me.

  “What is it?” I asked quietly, smiling at her.

  “I just really like the way you think,” she said, wrapping her small, delicate hand in mine. We remained like that for a few more moments as she took a small sip of coffee and ruffled through the newspaper, and I smiled.

  “You really do have a very nice piece of land here,” I said. “I can see why it means so much to you.”

  “I’m really glad you think so,” Jenny said. “I don’t ever want to let it go. I would rather die here than be driven away.”

  “Perhaps it is that courage that brought us to each other in the first place. Because I would rather die here than have you be driven away as well.”

  Jenny stood up and cleared the table, then faced me with a small smile playing at her lips. “I don’t think that either one of us will have to die, though,” she said quietly. “In fact, let’s make a deal. Neither of us will die just to protect this place. If worst comes to worst, we make a break for it together. You can take me to your planet or something. There are options if we still have each other. Right?”

  I considered this briefly, then smiled broadly. “Right. It is a deal.”

  She held her hand out and I shook it resolutely. She grinned at me and I pulled her close. She let out a surprised little gasp as I grazed my lips against hers, holding her against me enough that she could feel my heat.

  “You are the greatest human Earth has to offer,” I said decidedly.

  “You haven’t even really met any other humans!” Jenny said with a laugh, pushing me away and turning her back on me. “Don’t say things you don’t mean. That can’t be true.”

  “Well, to me, you are the greatest human I will ever know. And that is an indisputable fact.”

  “Indisputable fact, huh?” she asked skeptically.

  I pursed my lips and nodded sagely. “Indisputable.”

  “Well, I suppose there isn’t much I can do about something like that, is there?” Jenny said, chuckling quietly.

  “Nope. That’s exactly why you are just going to have to accept that you are the best human.”

  She scoffed and shook her head, but I relished in the sweet smile that continued to play on her face, long after the conversation ended. This was what love was all about. This was love, wasn’t it? Yes. It had to be.

  Our eyes lingered on one another and a sudden powerful desire consumed me. Jenny wrapped her arms around me and I lifted her onto my frame, unable to hold myself back a moment longer.

  She cried out softly as I undressed her, pressing my swelling member against her thighs. She yielded to me, just as eager for the act as I was, and soon I was submerged in the heat of her body, my eyes closing briefly to relish in the thrill.

  I rocked my hips gently at first, then gave way to the momentum and began to lose myself entirely as the human’s flushed, beautiful face contorted in pleasure. Knowing she was enjoying herself brought a small growl to the back of my throat and I found myself aching for release.

  She tightened her grip on my shoulders, moving sinuously against my body and coaxing me to succumb to her body’s pleasure. But I wouldn’t. Not until I knew she had been satisfied.

  Finally, she let out a low, hushed moan and I gritted my teeth as my member was massaged by the hot contractions of her muscles. I couldn’t help but release myself fully within her, our bodies lost in shared rapture. The event was somehow different than the rest, and I shuddered as a full body shock pulsed through me. I widened my eyes and the human stared at me as our bodies seemed to take on a life of their own, and our shared bliss turned into something far more powerful than I had ever imagined possible.

  She furrowed her brow when I pulled away and sat up, looking at me in shock. “Did you feel that?”

  “I…I felt it,” I admitted, though I couldn’t be sure what it might mean. I had heard rumors of what it could possibly imply. The arrival of a child. A baby. A son.

  “There was something…strange,” Jenny said, her eyes searching my face for answers. But I couldn’t be sure that shifter magic worked the same on Earth, and I was afraid to give her the wrong answer. What if I was just imagining things?

  She touched her abdomen gently, then looked up at me again, her face concerned. “Excuse me.”

  I frowned, but let the human leave. When she returned she looked perplexed, but didn’t speak. We laid together in a comfortable silence for the rest of the night.

  We didn’t make love again that night, but held each other close. That was what truly mattered. I had never been so enamored with anybody in my life, and all night long, all I could think about was just how badly I would destroy anybody who attempted to steal this happiness from me or injure a human in any way.

  However, when I woke up the next morning, the peacefulness of the bedroom seemed to drive any thoughts of misdeeds out of my head.

  The human was smiling sweetly at me again, her gentle eyes looking at me with adoration. I would nev
er get tired of seeing that look on her face. Every time I woke up, I wanted to be able to see her there beside me. No question about it.

  “Did you sleep well?”

  “Yes,” she said, gripping my hand under the sheet and squeezing it gently. “I had a really good dream. I think everything is going to be okay.”

  “Actually…” I started, but cut myself off before telling her the truth. I had slept horribly, plagued by concerns and worries. There was so much danger surrounding her every moment, I had to make sure I was on my defenses as much as I possibly could.

  She wasn’t necessarily going to understand that, so I simply gave her a small smile. “I really do like the thought that everything is going to be fine. Your dream sounds wonderful. I will make sure to do everything within my power to make sure that dream of yours comes true and stays true of your life for always.”

  The human chuckled at me, reaching her face over to kiss me tenderly on the lips. “You really take this stuff seriously, don’t you? You are on duty? I mean I understand it, but you really don’t have to work so hard for me. I didn’t do anything to deserve that kind of devotion.”

  I gaped at her, completely shocked by the fact that she could blow off such an important aspect of her own personality. She was so incredibly giving and thoughtful and kind, she was an anomaly in the universe, and she deserved to be protected every second of the day, and every day of her life. How could she not see that?

  “You really do deserve it,” I said, looking at her, my eyes growing hard. “There are not a lot of people like you out in the universe. People who are willing to take the shirt off their back and offer home to a stranger. Most people are so full of fear or self-preservation, or just plain greed, that they never do anything good for anybody else. It is a sick condition, but it is the way things are. And you, not being like that, makes this universe just a little bit better. So yes, I will defend you, until I no longer have breath in my body.”

  She was silent as she listened to me speak, and opened her mouth as if to reply.

  Before she could, a sudden bang caused us both to jump out of the bed and run to the window to see what had happened. One of the silos was burning. It was burning down and all of the feed within it was burning up.

  “No!” Jenny exclaimed, running barefoot through the hallway and out the front door. I followed blindly behind her, my eyes furloughed in confusion and anger. I had a feeling that I knew who was behind this already, without having to see or sense anything specific at all.

  What I knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, was that she was in danger, and I had to get out there before anything happened to her. This is a trap. I had to make sure she was safe.

  “Human, stand still. Stay put. Do not move. I will protect you.”

  She froze, her eyes widened as she looked up to the sky. Above her head was what appeared to be two dark clouds hovering. But I knew better. These were not clouds. These were the leaders of the legion. And they had come for us.

  Chapter 14

  Jenny

  I was frozen in fear as soon as I saw the dark clouds above me in the sky. I realized right away that they had some form of sentience, and soon, this was confirmed as they solidified into strange, strangely proportioned beings. They were an off-white color, with thirty gray eyes and unsmiling mouths. I could hear Oberon behind me, unleashing a low roar from the back of his throat.

  Beneath them were more of the red, wormlike members of the legion, and the growl in Oberon’s throat began to deepen. He was furious, and he glared up at the two giant cloud monsters, a serious energy suddenly overtaking the entire farm as he began to pull the energy from the air in order to shape shift into his dragon form.

  He was behind me as he did so, but I could sense the change in power as the transformation became complete. Suddenly, all the figures were lunging at me, and I was pushed forcefully out of the way by the large clawed hand of Oberon in his dragon form. He leapt into the air, soaring near the cloud people and letting out a puff of smoke from his nose. He seemed surprised that he was able to do this, and I watched him with a frown. Hadn’t the strange and obtrusive legion man mentioned that he wasn’t able to use his magic on Earth? What had changed?

  Suddenly, he was knocked out of the sky by a harsh red laser, and he fell heavily to the ground. I gasped and made my way toward him, but he growled at me, and I froze in place. He did not want me anywhere near the danger. He was letting me know he was all right. He was going to deal with it. No matter how difficult it might seem.

  Still, I couldn’t help but be nervous, and rubbed my hands together as I watched the horrible fight ensue. The small legion worms began to descend upon Oberon. He was still lying on his back, hardly able to catch his breath. They took advantage of this weakness, and were soon plaguing him. I wished there was something I could do, but before I could think of anything useful, a large rolling flame appeared and the majority of the little red legion worms which descended upon Oberon ended up dropping to the ground and writhing in agony as the flame consumed them and they met their end.

  I watched, horrified, as Oberon did his best to get back to his feet, taking a deep breath and exhaling the rest of his fire at the remaining legion worms on the ground. Another laser was shot at him, but he avoided it this time.

  He gave me a meaningful glare and I ducked inside, to watch the fight from behind the window. He didn’t want me to get hurt. I had to try to honor that. It would do him no good to be distracted by trying to protect me while he was trying to save his own skin as well. It was selfish of me to try to demand that kind of attention from him, now he had serious enemies out there ready to kill him.

  He seemed unable to conjure up another breath weapon, and so he lunged at the first sky cloud that was closest to him, knocking it onto the ground with one heavy hand and gnashing at it with his teeth. It was all I can do to keep from running out after him when they knocked him to the ground with another laser.

  If he took much more of this, he wasn’t going to survive the fight. I was terrified. It was much scarier than when the man had pulled the gun on Oberon in my driveway. This was different. This was a fight that, somehow, I sensed Oberon could lose.

  But I had to keep rooting for him. I had to believe he would win. I had no other option. I had to keep the faith up that he would survive. Otherwise, I would be completely lost. Nothing would be able to console me if I was worried. I had to believe the best would come. Even if it seemed grim.

  After all, I was fairly certain now that I was carrying his child.

  Chapter 15

  Oberon

  I glared up at the leader of the legion. I had managed to snag its second-in-command in my teeth, popping out most of its dull, grey eyeballs. It had let out a small wail of pain as I dismembered it fully, allowing my fire breath to singe it just to be on the safe side.

  But I had to let the fire within me restore itself. There was no telling when it would be out of its power. The alterations that these legion members had attempted to make on the earth’s atmosphere seriously disturbed my ability to tap into my shifter magic, and now that I had a little bit of it to draw from, I had to be patient with its reserves. They were precious.

  I barely dodged another laser shot, and then lunged into the air, attempting flight with just one of my wings. It seemed futile, but when I started to descend back to the ground, I was able to angle myself well enough that my shoulder plied into the legion’s leader and knocked him out of the sky.

  We barreled together toward the ground, each of us bracing ourselves for the impact. Before he landed, I twisted around, letting out a sudden and powerful explosion of fire. Now he let out an agonizing scream as he was consumed by my flames, and I quickly sank my teeth into him before he had a chance to escape and douse himself somehow.

  I shook him in the air violently, finally releasing my jaw and allowing him to drop to the ground, mangled and lifeless. I looked around, alert toward any potential dangers, but I knew I had gotten rid of
everything that had threatened us thus far.

  As I gradually shape shifted back into my human form, overwhelmed by the fight, I had been stricken with two different lasers, and it was extremely painful. But they hadn’t gotten me anywhere serious, so I knew I was going to be fine. I headed toward the house, my limbs shaking violently. Jenny met me at the door, ushering me inside. She sat me down and brought me out a cup of coffee, and sat down beside me, draping her arm over my shoulder gently.

  “Are you all right?”

  I nodded. “I will be fine.”

  “I think I understand.”

  I looked at her, working my brow in confusion. “Understand what?” I asked.

  “I think I understand why your breath weapon finally started to work.”

  I pursed my lips in confusion, perplexed by her words.

  “Why? How do you know? What do you think happened?”

  She smiled at me shyly and looked down at her hands.

  “Well…I think, I might be pregnant. Shifter babies grow faster than human babies, right? Everything in my body is indicating that you are going to be a father…”

  I gaped at her, shocked and overwhelmed with joy at the news.

  “Are you serious?” I asked her, shaking my head in disbelief. “How is that possible? We haven’t even gone through the sacred ceremony yet!”

  “I guess we went through a sacred ceremony of our own,” she said, smiling shyly at me.

  I lifted her up and spun her around in the living room, thrilled by the sudden development. I knew then, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Jenny and I were star-crossed lovers, and there was no chance that either one of us would ever want to change this dynamic between us. We were meant to be.