Odessa How stubborn could this dragon be? My hands are holding his face, making him stare into my eyes like he could read the soul within me. Does he think so lowly of himself that I deserve another? The thought angers me, the thought alone that some goddess up in heaven thinks that this man is unworthy for the sake of being a bastard child. My eyes soften, stroking his cheek and possibly a tear. One wouldn't know if it was a water droplet from the waterfall's constant roar or if it came from his eyes.

"Listen to your dragon, Creed. I only want you, you are the only one that would make me happy," I pleaded. I pleaded like a little girl wanting the lollipop from the candy store. How did I result to this? Also begging for a man not like me in the slightest. I promised myself I would never succumb to such a thing, especially with stories and stories I had written, but this was different. Different land, culture, men and women, creatures of unexpected proportions staring at me in the face. I wanted him, and no one would tell me differently.

Creed continued to gawk at me, unable to move his head from my tiny hands. "I love you. Can you not hear me, you big lizard?" I said frustratedly. I needed a sign, a nod of the head, a squeeze of my waist. There was something I needed. No word would leave his lips because I dare not let him suffer.

Whatever god or goddess of this realm heard my terrible plea, his mouth pushed to mine. His mouth opened, causing a soulful dance of our tongues. The growl in his chest reverberated against my body. He moved, pushing me to the coldest rock he could find, my body welcoming the heat of his body.

"I love you," the deepened dragon voice pushed through his lips. Creed's face was stoic, unmoving, as he tried to hold in the wince from his throat. My arms wrapping around his neck, I kissed him again, only for him to push my top down, feeling my breasts.

This was what I wanted.

His hand massaged me, my head rolling back as he kissed each one tenderly, until the vibrations in his chest became impossibly loud. Growing, hissing noises I had never heard coming from Creed spilled from his body. Soft hands became rough, his tail encircling my leg under the water.

I've always been the bold one, asking him, telling him to touch me. This time I wanted him to lead, to take me right here and now. It didn't matter we were outside, under a waterfall, for a first time, it would be memorable. My teeth bit down into my lips, Creed's eyes meeting mine only to find the fire behind them. Could his dragon control his human body? Scales appeared on his chest, my fingers tracing the more intense fire like touches.

His brows furrowed, softening enough to ask me a question. That's why Creed was so different from other men I wrote about. Creed asked. He pleaded for permission.

"Make love to me," I whispered into his mouth. I knew it would hurt. He was enormous in his girth. I wasn't sure of exact dimensions, but I don't think normal human men could have it so thick. My heart beat erratically between my thighs, wanting us to finally become one with each other. We were mates, and that's all there was to it. No one could take that away from us.

The waterfall continued to pound into the water to my right, water splashing on his beautiful face. As Creed pulled down the bottoms to my swimming suit, his claws gently scratching my inner thigh, we heard yelling from the other side of the spring.

"Damn girl out in the open!?" Daine's unfortunate timing had Creed in a frenzy. Creed's fired eyes grew a bright red, scales now growing over his body. Pulling me to his chest, he turned around, teeth morphing into their fang like structure and tongue slithering from his lips. Letting out a gigantic roar, I gripped him tighter, my bare back now facing not only Daine but several others.

Lura pushed Daine to the ground, mumbling something incoherent as three warrior Elves stood in a defensive mode with spears pointing right at us. Annabelle, pushing back the warriors, making them lower their weapons, had Creed stopped his transformation.

"Tell him it's alright!" Annabelle's motherly tone spoke. Through the roaring waterfall, I could barely hear her voice, but the message was clear.

"Creed, it's alright." His breathing was ragged, I put my hand to his face to look at me. "It's Okay, it's just our friends. Remember, we need to show them you are a gentle giant?" My hopeful eyes had Creed soften, glancing back from the group and to me, his fire in his eyes dimmed, his scales retracted and body relaxed.

"Damn, that was so hot. Think Tangle would get some back tattoos?" Lura shook her head, smacking him again in the head. "You have the worst timing, you know that? You could have gotten yourself killed!"

"Nah, Odessa promised me he wouldn't hurt me. I trust her," Daine threw me a wink as I looked back. The front of my chest was still plastered to Creed's torso.

"We are sorry for them," Annabelle cleared her throat, "interruption. But we need you both back at the meadow. Princess Sadie and her mate are here wanting to visit with you." Creed and I looked at each other. Why would some Princess want to visit with us?

"If you could," I spoke out loud, twirling my finger so they would turn around. Daine stood there, still waiting for us to come out of the water, not twisting his body like I had asked.

"Oh, I'm not looking at you, honey." Daine eyed Creed up and down. "I just wanted to see what he was packin."" Lura, laughing again, pulled Daine away, leading him down the path back to the meadow.

Everyone else waited for us to dress, actually just me to dress. Creed refused to put on his pants but put on his cloth to cover some of his body. His muscles continued to flex in tension until I grabbed his upper arm and walked with him.

If Creed could feel anxiety within the others, then surely something was about to happen. Why would they come all the way here? Was this princess that special and wanting to meet us, of all people? A weak little human and her dragon? A dragon they must not know much about if they let people gossip and treat him so badly. Those thoughts alone stirred me up, only the have Creed rub my knuckles with this thumb.

"So who is this princess?" I asked no one in particular. Annabelle cleared her throat. "She was a lost princess who recently came back to Bergarian from the Earth realm. She's a werewolf, and a powerful one at that. Princess Sadie is very compassionate about learning about different cultures and species. I'm sure that is all that it is," she waved her hand. The uneasiness in her voice continued to shake me as we approached the meadow.

"A,...a werewolf?" I spoke to myself. I shouldn't be surprised. Everything around here was coming straight out of a fairytale book, anyway.

As we entered the clearing, a large group of Elves were standing around in a circle. The circle scattered, watching Creed and I come up the path. All eyes were on us and I wanted to hide behind Creed, but I was his voice and I was speaking for the both of us. I'd have to be strong to get through this, even though I hated the attention.

Coming forward, a large man with an enormous number of tattoos stood over a smaller woman in a pale pink dress filled with flowers, closely resembling to the one I was wearing. The tall tattooed man looked at Creed, sizing him up, but Creed took no notice. His face remained expressionless, as mine probably resembled that of a constipated ghost.

"This is her?" The girl pranced up towards me, remaining a respectable distance. "I'm Sadie. It's nice to meet you!" Her pearly white glistened against the forest backdrop.

"I'm Odessa and this is Creed," I spoke, hoping only she would hear. The tattooed man, probably a werewolf, walked up behind her. He was terrifying. Earrings, piercings and a crazy slicked back hair made me shake. Creed pulled me to his side, bracing his arm around me.

"I'm Seth, Alpha to the Warrior Pack. We have come to ask a few questions." Heckers, he sounded like the bad cop. I'm guessing Princess Sadie was the good cop. I'd rather talk to her.

"You can come with us, Odessa," Sadie held out her hand. "We are going to go to one of treehouses and talk there." My eyes looked between Sadie's hand and Seth's stern face. There was no way I was going anywhere with those two alone. "That's Okay, we can talk out here," my voice shook too much for my wanting. Sadie glanced at Seth, who only backed up.

"Really, it will only take a few minutes and you can come back outside. We will not hurt you. I know you must be scared by all this." Sadie's eyes softened, still holding out her hand. How would she know?

"You're human, taken away from your home and now living in a strange place. We only want to clear up a few things that might have happened that you don't understand." What is there not to understand?

"If Creed comes with me, then I'll go," my voice a little louder. Daine walked over with Lura, who had him on a leash. Literally, she stuck it right around his wrist, ready to pull him back either from his mouth or Creed lashing out. Elves were weird.

"If it is alright, Princess," Daine bowed lowly. "May I accompany Odessa? We've become good friends," he smiled devilishly. Creed rumbled low, his nose grazing my neck. Even if Daine was a 'good friend,' I wasn't letting go of my mate. "Thank you Daine, but I'd rather have my mate go with me." The entire Elven tribe within hearing distance stopped what they were doing to stare at us. A pin could drop on the soft soil and could be heard. Sadie's and Seth's eyes looked at each other in confusion. Creed stood beside me, standing up straighter like he won a prize. I wanted to coo at him with how adorable he looked because he was my mate!

Daine burst into laughter, breaking the silence, holding his sides until Lura pulled the vine like rope on his hand. Creed growled, having Elves stand back in fear. "Oh, right, sorry," he wiped away a fake tear. "Honey, you are not mates, there is not a mark on your shoulder." Glinda smacked her son on the back of his head.

"Shh, you fool!" Glinda hissed.

"Lura can't hit me and you can't hit me anymore! I'm a grown damn elf. Only my future mate can hit me." He waved his finger around. "Pull on the damn leash, but don't hit my pretty head! It's why I don't think without speaking as it is!" My body tensed, coming out behind Creed. "But I have mark here." I pointed to my neck sheepishly.

"Aren't you cute! That, my dear, is a hickie, not a true mark. He temporarily marked you, that's all that is." Glinda pulled on the leash hard enough that Daine fell backwards in the grass with a yelp.

Those eyes all looking at us sent me back behind Creed feeling the heat of the stares. Why can't we go back to the cave where we were happy? I'll stay in the cave the rest of my life and never come out if this is how life is on the outside. I'll cook and clean and be there when Creed comes home every night as long as people don't question who we are.

"It's true. He isn't your mate. We have come to talk to you about this in private," Seth's gruff voice spoke. Sadie only slapped his arm, causing him to flinch.

"I'll handle this, Seth. You need to be more tender." Sadie rubbed the area she slapped. "Odessa, you don't bear his mark. So let us figure this out, together." I grit my teeth, becoming angry. The entire crowd murmured, some smiling while others laughing at what I didn't know. Why was everyone having a hard time accepting this was who I wanted?

"We've told them nothing," Annabelle and Glinda approached. "They don't know."

"Know what? He's my mate and no one can tell me different!" I snapped. "Creed, can we go home, back to the cave? Let's go." I pulled on Creed, who was staring at the crowd with anger. His face was read, beats of sweat building on his forehead. The hands I was holding turned into claws. Sadie tried to come closer, but Seth grabbed her by the shoulder.

"Listen, Odessa, you both have not completed the bond just yet,..." Sadie's voice pleading.

"But I decided..." my voice trailed. "We decided we wanted to be mates, so we are. I don't care about anyone else. We don't understand what else you want us to do because no one will tell us! Why can't we just be happy together?" Sadie sighed; Creed was shifting from side to side, his scales rippling down his arm. If I continued to show my frustration, Creed was only going to get upset.

"How about we all go, then? Let's all go meet and talk privately." Sadie's smile was now sad, her face full of concern. "We really want to help and I want to listen. This situation is more unique than what I was planning on waling into, but I think we can work this out. You just need to be honest with me, and I'll be honest with you." The eyes of the crowd trailed back to us until Seth let out a loud growl.

"Go back to your daily lives and quit meddling with others!" The crowd dispersed, many still watching as they continued to walk away. "Do you not have a handle on your own tribe, Zaos?" Zaos stood back, biting his tongue as he bowed at Alpha Seth. Obviously having something to say but dare not speak back to the werewolf.

"This way, your Highness and Alpha, we have a conference room that will accommodate all of us." Zaos led the way into the forest beyond the treehouses.