[3] The Gang

THE SOUND OF a spoon hitting the sides of a teacup as it was being stirred resounded in the room. Placing the spoon to the side, the dark haired blue eyed woman looked up at the group of three women surrounding her on the round coffee table,

“it’s been 13 years since we came to this realm and still he refuses to shift,” she pursed her rosy lips, taking a sip of her tea, “my magic can only do so much to hide his growing aura from his enemies. I’m afraid it won’t last for long. Alpha grows stronger every day. Stronger than I can ever be.”

"This is a problem," another woman replied, this one dark skinned with coffee colored dreadlocks tied up in a bun. Ena sighed, taking a sip of her coffee as she talked to the mother protector, the most powerful witch in the realms and leader of their kind, “but there is nothing we can do Abigail, we have tried our best. It seems Alpha will shift on his own time."

Abigail nodded watching the elder witch. Ena was a close trusted friend. She had been close to her aunt, Emma, the former mother protector and now to her when she assumed the title of Great Witch, Mother Protector of all of witch kind.

She was a trusted and loyal advisor, who stood beside her 13 years ago when she and her pregnant best friend, Anna had first entered the human world, with taken two dragon boys, who were fugitives and were meant to be killed, but couldn’t find it in them to do so as young witches, despite the prophecy that was laid on one of their heads.

Now? Those boys were likes sons she never had, she would never turn them in to the rebellion of witches, or the vampires and lycans who seeked to kill him.

And even if she wanted to, the golden haired dragon boy was way too powerful now to be killed by her magic.

Ena was the head witch in the council of the human realm, a witch wise beyond her years, and her sun kissed skin only added to her fading beauty. Ena shook her head licking her lips, "too hot" she muttered glancing at Abigail.

Maria, Ena’s younger sister, a middle witch, laughed as Ena's face morphed into distaste.

Anna, Abigail’s best friend grinned, "let me cool it for you" she offered before whispering a cooling spell.

A faint puff of smoke escaped from Ena's cup before she took a sip.

Ena sighed shoulders falling in satisfaction, “much better."

The four witches chuckled amongst each other, till their laughter died out.

Maria was first to get back to the current topic at hand, "the witches of the rebellion are searching for him. I hear King Alec has never stopped searching ever since you took him from the supernatural realm and brought him to the human realm. I am unaware however, if he has yet to figure out that the boy is no longer in the old realm.”

Anna nodded, "it’s been 13 years, he has to have figured it out by now. Maybe it’s time we dropped the protection shield. Azians kind may be searching for him, we kept him away from them this long I also believe they can do a better job at keeping him safe...”

Abigail shook her head, "It's not them we are keeping him from. If we drop the protection shield that's masking his aura, it’s not only the dragons that will see him, also-"

"Alec" Maria interrupted.

Abigail nodded, "And he has the hellhounds, lycans and the dark witches.  If they get they get their hands on him-" she shook her head not wanting to finish, "It could be catastrophic, the dragons will come out of their five thousand year hiding to reclaim their prince and both worlds will not survive. He isn't even safe in this world with all the dark witches and the rebellion."

The witches had been split into three groups since the dragon boys came to the human realm

The dark witches: those that wanted to use his magic for the black arts.

The rebellion: those that wanted him dead because of the prophecy on his head.

And the white witches. Those that stood behind the great witches. For now it was only a handful of people that were in this group.

"Well, so dropping the shield is out of the question,’ Ena summarized, “though he is powerful, I don't think he can take on a whole army of hellhounds, lycans sand witch, especially that his golden side hasn't even manifested,”

"True, his dragon does not seem to want to shift. He turned eighteen 2 months ago, and dragons shift by six to seven like Edwin did, it just doesn't make any sense, what is Alpha waiting for? We can sense his power and Omega has a great aura around him, but I just don't understand!” Maria huffed out. Abigail could see the effects of the lingering weight of the rebellion was taking a toll on her.

All the women remained silent for a few seconds, some sipping on their hot coffee or tea’s,

Well it could be a lot worse" Anna began, looking up from her cup.

They all glanced at her questionably

She shrugged, "well look, we have the most powerful witch right here in our midst, the mother protector,” she pointed out, pointing at Abigail, “ no one can break through her magic, which means we are quite safe.”

Both Maria and Ena agreed with subtle grunt.

"And," Anna continued, "Azian hasn't found his mate yet, thank Erania, she created dragons to have long lifespans. We still have 100 to 180 years before he does find her. Imagine having two beings with immense power to protect?!” she chuckled as if it was the joke of the century, “it goes to say, it would be hard to protect both of them, and if she were evil...” she trailed off glancing at the group of women around her, “and she infected him…all hope would be lost"

Anna was right, if Azian ever found his mate and she turned out to be evil

All would be lost. Luckily, they didn’t have to worry about that just yet.

"Yes…” Maria chuckled, “we do have something to be thankful fo-"

"Abigail!" someone yelled as the front door banged open...

The four women turned their heads to see Anna's daughter, Alessia rushing towards them, her wild messy curls, blowing each and every way, sticking to her puffy sweaty face.

“What is it Alessia?” Anna asked, concern over her features as she saw the terrified look in her daughter’s eyes.

“What's going on?!" Abigail asked alarmed as Edwin walked in, a tired out, looking Azian leaning heavily against him.

Something's wrong with Azian," Edwin replied, as Anna and Abigail rushed towards them. They carried him gently to the couch, where he collapsed.

He sat there as stiff as a stick, His eyes were gold and green but remained unfazed, starting into space as if he was in another state, almost as if he was somewhere else.

Abigail knelt in front of him, panicking as the rest gathered around them.

"What happened? How did he get like this?" She asked both Edwin and Alessia hurriedly, panic racing through her eyes.

Edwin shook his head confused, rubbing his jaw in frustration, “I-I don't know, we were in the car coming back from school as usual when suddenly, Azian hit the brakes. We were almost going to run over some human girl crossing the street. She got pretty mad, started yelling, but Azian remained like this,"

Abigail glanced back at Azian as Ena examined him, "he seems to be trapped" she explained.

Abigail looked into his eyes, studying their unusual mix of gold and green, listening silently as her magic whispered to her, "Its alpha and Omega" she said quietly

"What?" Maria asked

Abigail sighed, a little more relaxed now that she knew the problem, "Seems like his dragon and power have taken over."

"You mean they both agreed to something therefore-”“Overpowering Azian- “Anna continued pulling Alessia close.

And leaving him in this state" Abigail finished.

"At least it isn't Ultra" Ena replied kneeling down before Azian, “a combination of the three doesn’t usually end well.”

Abigail nodded as Ena placed both hands gently over the side of Azians face, "Alpha and Omega,” she called softly, eyes searching his, “please,  we need you to allow Azian to take charge."

Azians eyes shifted towards her like he was trying to say something, get something out, but words weren't coming out.

"You both won’t be able to speak, “Ena explained calmly, “Only one of you can speak at a time or all three of you at once, but two, won't happen. Please bring Azian back and explain to us what really happened."

His eyes stayed the same gold and green for about a minute, studying Ena's face with intensity. Then suddenly the familiar ocean blue eyes of Azian came into view. He blinked a couple of times as he was leaving his dazed state, taking a look around him, unable to remember how he had gotten home. The last thing he remembered was-...

Alpha roaring through my mind.

Then…oh no.

"Azian!” Abigail called to him pulling him towards are, examining him all over worriedly. She never failed to take her roll us a mother in the house hold, “darling are you okay?" Abigail asked, cupping his face, "Azian?"

He looked at her, his eyes widening as he glanced at the other two witches that had joined them before his gaze traced over, Edwin, Alessia and Anna, before trailing back to Abigail.

He gulped slowly, steadying his voice, trying to make himself believe the testament he was about to utter, I think I just found my mate".

There was a long silence.

"W-what?” Abigail stuttered, believing she had just misheard, “Excuse me, did you just say you found your mate?" Abigail she asked in disbelief.

Azian nodded slowly failing to come to terms with the whole thing.it had happened. He had found his mate. A mate.

Abigail glanced back up at the other witches, her heart pounding fast,

Every ones heart was beating irregularly Azian could hear all of them.

"How c-could this happen?" Abigail asked glancing at Ena her body seemed to be stuck in the same position, “it can’t happen,” she clarified.

Ena shook her head of this information siding with the mother protector. "That's impossible Azian,” she explained to him carefully words she had already said to him many times before, “you can't find your mate at eighteen. Dragons live a long time, unlike werewolves and vampires they do not need a soul mate at a very young age or before they can control their own dragons, “she reasoned, “most meet theirs at least at three hundred," Ena argued out.

She couldn't believe it as well.

Azian felt angry at how they were brushing it off. He couldn’t tell if he really was or it was alpha’s that he was experiencing, the way they were dismissing his claim over his own mate, “I know that Ena, you’ve told me a thousand times and I know the records, I have studied all the book on my kind,” he gritted out, "I don't know how it happened either, “ he trailed off, eyebrows furrowing as he thought back, “I was just on edge the whole day, since I stepped into school, and then I saw her..."

Abigail stood up, her shoulders falling in defeat. A mate was the last thing they needed. A war was brewing above their heads. Her magic was failing to protect them and Azians dragon didn’t want  to shift, the only thing powerful enough to save them all.

Abigail glanced over at the group in confusion, "where in this realm did you even find her? What is she? A nymph? A shifter? Hybrid? Tell me it’s not a dark witch" her tone grew very stern on the last one,

Azian shook his head and her heart skipped a beat in part relief.

At least she wasn't a dark witch. That was a relief.

"She's...” Azian shifted uncomfortably in his seat before looking up at the group. The next words he uttered came out in more of a question unsure about his own words, “A human?”

Jaws dropped and eyebrows were raised in the uncomfortable silence that occupied the room, Then Ena laughed hard, she glanced at her sister Maria, who chuckled alongside her. "That's impossible Azian, now you know for a fact that's physically impossible"

Abigail was more confused now than ever. But she somehow felt better. There was no way Azian could have a human mate, there is no way she could handle him or go through the mating process successfully. Humans were too fragile to host a being as powerful as Azian.

Maria raised an eyebrow, “Azian you know that can't happen, a human is a….human," she said bursting into another round of chuckled Ena joined in as well. Abagail was way more comfortable now, cracking up a smile of her own. This was probably a misunderstanding.

Edwin folded his arms, raising an eyebrow, "are you sure she was human?" He asked.

"Yes,” Azian answered all too quickly, running a hand through his gold locks in frustration, “the girl I almost hit, " he explained.

That made Edwin and Alessia jaw drop, "her?!" They exclaimed at the same time.

"Yes!” Azian replied for what seemed like the millionth time, “ I can't explain it, you guys were arguing and Omega was talking his head off  inside my mind and I quickly turned to tell you guys to quit it when I felt something tell me to stop, and I involuntary hit the brakes,” he paused, his chest rising and falling rapidly as if he could see it all play before him, “ that's when I saw her and omega covered the car, we were too close for the breaks to work so he stopped it," Azian paused his chest heaving as he remembered.

Her hair was the darkest he had ever seen, her skin a beautiful brown, his heart seemed to be stuck in one long beat refusing to go to the next as he stared at her beauty, trapped in time.

Her dark hair swept across her face, while her eyes were shut closed awaiting impact. Then they suddenly opened, a beautiful golden brown.

Mine" Alpha spoke.

"It was the second word alpha has ever spoken" Azian explained before looking up at curious eyes.

"He said mine, not mate" Ena asked curiously. Azian nodded looking at her inquisitively. He knew the elder witch well enough to know she knew something he didn’t.

Okay that's good," she replied sighing, her hand resting on Abigail’s shoulder in relief, "that was close"

They all looked at the Elder witch.

"When I was reading about dragons,” she began to explain, “and there mates, there was a part that talked about possessions."

"Possessions?" Edwin echoed for the rest of the group.

Ena nodded sitting on the arm of the chair beside Azian, "Yes, our boy here has found a possession" she said patting shoulder.

"What do you mean?" Abigail asked, watching the elder witch.

"Everybody has read dragon stories right?” Ena explained, “Though most dragons were good, they were those that were greedy who loved gold and beautiful princess whom they called their possessions. I fear this is what is happening to Azian,"

"So he hasn't found his mate?" Alessia asked following the story quite well, as her mom rubbed her shoulder.

"I don't think so, if you find your mate, most times the first word that comes to mind is Mate, the acknowledgement, and then the possessives. It even makes more sense because had this girl been his mate, all three of them would have agreed right away and there would have not been any..." She glanced at Azian before continuing, "confusion. All three would have rightly acknowledged her as there mate. It makes no sense, Alpha and Omega were the only ones. A mate is a partner for all."

Everybody began to see the truth to this, Abigail nodding along, finally remembering the bit about possessions. Ena seemed to be right. Once the elder witch read something it never left her memory.

"Furthermore, we all know that a human cannot possibly be his mate. Unlike werewolves, Vampire's and Lycans, and ordinary dragons, a golden dragon’s mate cannot be human. His power would simply  be too much for her to handle. Every golden dragon must have an equal, someone who is powerful as well, “she paused chuckling, "it could just never work."

Azian looked up at Ena hesitantly, “so this girl is  ...Just a possession?"

“Does Alpha disagree?’ Ena asked.

Alpha had remained strangely quiet through Ena’s explanation and it seemed to Azian he wasn’t quite sure of it as well. He however, still couldn't grasp his mind around it. Both Alpha and Omega kept saying she was his, granted Alpha had gone back to growly intensity not really admitting or denying anything,, but Ena was right. Had that girl been his mate, he would have felt the pull.

Alpha and Omega wouldn't have had to push him back.

He sighed burying his face in his hands, "this is confusing,”

"Agreed" Edwin put in, sitting beside him.

"So what's the purpose?" Maria asked breaking the silence. They all looked up at her, "the purpose of this possession. I think we already have too much on our hands to start worrying about this girl, should we be worried?"

Everybody wanted to know the answer to this question as they awaited Ena’s reply.

"Well, she could be," Ena began, crossing her legs.

"What do you mean she could be?" Abigail asked, her heart beating more steadily now.

"It’s up to Azian"

Azian eyed the elder witch, "how?"

"She's your possession, seems like Alpha and Omega are bored out of their minds and want a play toy,"

"Play toy?" Alessia asked chuckling.

Azian growled in response.

"Stop it Alpha" Abigail scolded glancing at Azians golden eyes, before they turned back to blue.

"What I meant is, a possession can easily become an obsession if you get too attached to it so you can't let Alpha or Omega get close to the girl. When they finally understand she isn't to be owned they will let her be, but you dearest" she said patting Azians back softly, "mustn't let them close to her, it would be good if you don't see her for a few days,"

Azian nodded, he breathed out leaning back. That would be easy. He didn’t know her at all, she was just some random girl crossing the street. It was strange however that he felt some sorrow in his heart about exactly just that.

He didn’t know her. How would he ever find her?

But that was the whole point. Stay away from the possession. He breathed out trying to clear his mind. It was just another stage in his progression, just another challenge.

"You'll be alright boy," Ena reassured.

"You had us worried, “Anna said laughing, “Mate! Imagine that.”

Abigail kissed his cheek, "stay away from her okay?" She whispered.

He nodded as she patted his cheek walking away. He knew his duty. They had no time for these games. He had to look for ways to get his dragon to shift like Edwin’s had a long time ago actually, his at the right dragon age.

,Truthfully, deep down, he couldn’t hide that he was kind of looking forward to having a mate. There was a hole that was growing deep inside of him, a missing part that caused Alpha not to shift. That missing part could be his mate.

His life just felt so empty, so closed up.

He knew he wasn't alone but still he couldn't help but feel like something, or someone really important was missing in his life.

He wanted a mate.

He needed one.

But now it was back to the same old routine.

Alpha growled.