A/n: Here is the sequel to A Proper Path. This is just the prologue so the exciting stuff will happen later!

Azrael hadn't spoken to Apollo in over four days but he was angry at him. Admittedly, part of it might've been his fault for not telling him about the fact that he was one of the few dragons in his clan that was a breeder male but when they'd been together it had been the last thing on his mind. Now, it was too late to go back and he was having Apollo's spawn.

"You're calling it my spawn in your head again aren't you?"

Snarling at Apollo, he turned so his back was facing him and crossed his arms over his chest. They hadn't been together long but he already knew him so well. It was unnerving and only made him angrier. He wanted to take down the elders of his clan and avenge the people that had suffered because of them but with this recent development he didn't know what to do.

"I remember that I told you to pick your battles, Azrael. This is one battle you can't fight."

"It's your fault!"

"If I had known I would've taken more care so this wouldn't happen but it's not the worst thing in the world."

"Of course you'd say that! You're not the one who's pregnant!"

The few breeder males in his clan were not only unique to his clan. They were common among dragons and he had heard the same went for certain species of demons. However, Azrael never paid much attention to his status. He never considered having a child and the only thing that had mattered was trying to find a place for himself between his many siblings and in the clan.

"We'll figure this out together."

Pursing his lip, Azrael growled softly and shook his head. "No, I'll figure this out. You just stay away from me!"

He got up off the bed with the intention of walking out the door but before he could he found himself pressed up against the demon.

"Like it or not, Azrael we're stuck together now. We're not mates and I technically have no claim to you but that child your carrying is mine and I will be damned if I let you run off."

"You can't watch me twenty four/seven!"

"I'll bring you back. I'm a stubborn man."

"Apollo…"

He knew that Azrael didn't mean anything he said. He had lived with the dragon for enough time to pick up on certain personality traits and when the going got tough, he lashed out. "I don't want to force you into anything but we have to deal with the consequences of our actions and besides, from the way you were talking lately it sounded as if you wanted to put your clan behind you and start fresh."

"Not with some demon spawn!" he snarled.

"Why must you always be so stubborn?"

"You're the one who did this to me."

He chuckled. "You didn't seem to be complaining when we were making…"

"Shut up! I don't want to hear it!"

Azrael pushed out of Apollo's hold and went back to sitting on the bed, ignoring him. He was being childish but he was only half a century year old and the demon had said many times he acted like a teenager.

He sat there for a while until he smelled food and his stomach forced him to get up and into the room where Apollo was cooking. "I'm not thrilled about this idea."

"I think you're just scared but it's understandable."

"I'm not… fine. I'm scared. Are you happy now?"

Apollo paused and turned around. "Azrael, it's going to be okay and I'll be here with you."

"My clan could still try to find me you know. I'm a fugitive."

He knew this was what it came down to for Azrael. He had run from his clan and he would always be considered a fugitive. It was the same for him because Apollo knew his brother wouldn't give up until he found him. In a sense, they were always living in danger and for the fear of something happening but it couldn't force them to stop living.

"Apollo, I thought you were making dinner?" Azrael growled up when the demon came up to him and started sucking softly on his neck.

"Fine, then. I'll make dinner and then-"

"You don't touch me ever again."

He said this as he tilted his head to the side, trying hard to suppress a whine when he felt fangs scrape against where neck met shoulder.

"I don't think you want me to stop but you are right. Dinner comes first when you are eating for two."

"Don't remind me that I have your spawn inside me!"

"I would appreciate it if you'd stop calling it my spawn because it's part of you as well, Azrael."

Giving the demon a look, he sulked outside and climbed one of the trees. It was the closest he got to the feeling flying used to give him. The stubs where his wings had once been healed nicely but there was always this ache because a dragon without his wings was a joke but Apollo always tried to change this mindset. He would tell him there was more to a dragon then his wings but he was a demon. What did he know?

"Dinner's ready. Are you done sulking?"

"I am not sulking," he muttered as he stood and headed towards the door. Stiffening when he felt a hand on his back, he tensed as they brushed over his shoulders and then went lower. "Apollo, stop it."

"I wish I could make it easier from you, you know that right?"

"There isn't any way you could. I have to live with this."

Pulling away when the moment started to get to awkward for him, he went inside and left Apollo chuckling outside. Sometimes, he could be so hard to deal with but he was starting to get used to it.

xXx

Azrael groaned as Apollo nipped at where neck met shoulder. Growling softly, he felt nails lightly scrape down his inner thighs and avoided touching that one spot.

"Stop testing me you damned demon."

"I love the way you squirm. It's like your body is begging for my touch."

He snorted. "You wish!"

When a hand finally touched his weeping member, he let out a loud groul and spread his legs further.

It was time likes this where he almost forgot about a life growing inside him. Never had he thought about children. His breeder status had been a second thought but here he was still with Apollo, a man he knew next to nothing about even after all these months.

"Is it normal for demons to sire children without a mating bond?"

Apollo chuckled. "That's some kind of pillow talk."

"Just answer the question."

"Yes and what about dragons?"

"No."

"I guess your species puts more stuck in mates and such."

Azrael was quiet before he felt another question begging to come out. "Are you ever going to tell me what happened with your brother?"

"What is there to tell?"

"We're having a child. I thought it was important to do that sharing thing."

"My oldest brother cast me out after I ran away. It helped his pride if he thought he cast me out and not that I left on my own."

"Is that why you're here in hiding?"

"It was the right decision for me at the time Azrael but it appears my brother is still determined to find me. He might have cast me away but it was a rouse. What he actually wanted was to bring me home and make me pay for leaving him."

Azrael huffed. "Even after all this time he is still trying to seek you out?"

"My brother is a persistent man. It's why Archer came to me. Aries has been getting out of control for years and he wants my help."

"Then help him."

"I don't have the desire to face my brother, Azrael. I am content with my life."

Azrael would be lying if he didn't have the desire to avenge his clan and take the elders anymore. The urge would always be there and one day he would get stronger. Meeting Apollo was just a bump in the road and while it was a good one, it was something he would have to overcome one day.

In regards to his words, he didn't know what to think and sighed when the demon leaned over to kiss his mouth and then shoulder. "Apollo…"

"How do you feel about mating with an old, cowardly demon?"

"This is how you ask?" he growled softly as he tried to resist the urge to arch into his light touch.

"It would be stupid to ignore that the bonding process has started. With your carrying our child the urge is worse. Do you want to keep fighting it?"

"There is so much to discuss! This wasn't even planned."

"Should I never have saved your life then?"

Azrael frowned and shook his head. "That is not what I meant."

For a long moment, they started deeply at one another before Apollo leaned forward and kissed him. Then, after a second, he felt lips trailing down his neck and a dull pain.

He was mating him. Azrael knew this very well and tilted his head to the side to give him more access. Pushing the man off suddenly, he latched his mouth onto Apollo's neck and bit down after the demon had pulled away.

The only thing running through his mind as he bit him was about making Apollo his in return. The rest, he figured, could be sorted out later.