Chaos & Salamander

Chapter 81 - Pack of Dragon Slayers

Natsu's POV

Found her. It was easy to track her by her scent to this dark guild. A man with purple hair was holding her against him with a knife pressed against her throat. Her eyes were glowing a fiery red colour as she focused her attention on me. I took a step forward and the man put his other hand out in front of him. The bars of the cell closed but I wasn't going to let it stop me from rescuing my mate.

I touched the bars and an electric shock ran up my arm. A growl erupted from my throat as I glared at the man. "Ha! Don't step any closer or I'll cut this pretty girl's neck" the man said while pressing the knife closer to her neck. 'Pretty?! He thinks she's pretty!' I thought in further anger. She is beautiful but how dare this love rival call my beloved pretty! He had just nailed the final nail into the coffin. A feral growl passed my lips.

Suddenly six leftover dark guild members jumped down from the hole we created, ready to fight. I let the other three Dragon Slayers take them down while I focused on the man holding Lucy. "Surrender to us Chaos and your mate won't be harmed!" the man demanded. How was I going to save her without the man harming her? To protect Lucy, I might need to surrender. Lucy caught my attention with a single gaze like she was trying to communicate with me. She nodded her head and I understood what she was trying to communicate. No matter if she gets hurt, she wants me to save her.

I stepped forward and gripped the bars with both hands. Electricity painfully pulsed through my arms and throughout my body but I didn't let go. My rage powered my will to bend the bars with my bare hands. The man looked at me terrified as I destroyed the cell bars and walked through. "H-How?" he muttered and his whole body shook nervously. Lucy let out a pained cry and I saw blood dripping from where the knife sat against her neck. HE. CUT. HER!

"Oops" the man cursed. He took the knife away from her neck, revealing a long thin cut along her beautiful soft neck. Out of desperation, he pushed Lucy forward separating himself from her. I quickly rushed to her and caught her in my arms. While I was catching Lucy, the man tried to escape but stopped noticing the other male Dragon Slayers blocking the cell exit. I gently sat Lucy down on the ground facing away from the man and pulled the gag out of her mouth. "Natsu" she said my name in relief which calmed my temper a little. Using my strength, I crushed the cuffs around her wrists and ankles with my hand. She immediately wrapped her arms around my neck, breathing in my scent. I wrapped my arms around her waist and breathed in her scent in return. She was here. In my arms. My anger calmed down to its normal level.

When we pulled away, I noticed Lucy's eyes had gone back to her normal chocolate brown that I love. My eyes shifted from hers to look down at the bleeding cut on her neck and I rested my hand next to the wound, inspecting it. "Don't worry Natsu, it only stings a little. I'll get Wendy to heal it when we get back" she said, but it didn't ease the guilt of her getting hurt.

A grunt reminded me of the man who held Lucy hostage. Gajeel had him pinned on the ground with his arms behind his back. I growled viciously as I saw my next victim. This next part, I did not want Lucy to see. I cupped her face with my hands. Her eyes stared straight up to my own. "Don't turn around, I need to punish the man who took you" I said, emphasising the word 'punish'. The man looked at me with a terrified expression on his face and trembling with fear.

"Wait a minute" she said while standing up and walking towards the man. I wondered what she was doing until she took a book from the man's back and then walked back to me. She showed me the cover and my eyes widened at the name. "They had an ancient book on Mating Season. It might have some clues on how to deal with the symptoms" she said and then sat down on the ground in her previous spot facing away from the man, opening the book on her lap.

I took off my cloak, wrapped it around her body and covered her head with the hood to keep her focus on what is in front of her. It looked like she was going to do some reading while I punish the man. As I was about to stomp over to the man for his punishment, Lucy grabbed my hand and I stopped to look down at her. "Please don't kill him" she said as she looked up at me with pleading eyes. I responded with a nod and she let me go, going back to reading the book. A sadistic smirk crept on my face and an evil chuckle escaped my throat as I looked at the man. I will keep my promise to Lucy, but I'll make sure to punish him to the brink of death first.