Dragon Blood

Thirty-Four: Home Again

Skylar opened her eyes to find herself staring at a very appealing backside as its owner crouched next to the fire. She smiled and stretched like a cat, entirely at ease. Even with the knowledge that she was going home today. She was scared, but as long as Orion was with her, everything would be alright. He rose to his impressive height and she took her time looking from his feet to his head. His back was still to her as he looked into the newly made fire. She shouldn't have been surprised he was awake with the sun.

"Good morning," he said, turning to look at her with his stunning golden eyes. She could sense his dragon's happiness at seeing her and her own dragon purred in return. 

"Good morning," she smiled, sitting up slowly.

He walked over and crouched next to her. "Are you ready for today?"

She bit her lip and nodded slowly. "I think so, as long as you're with me."

"Always," he grinned, leaning forward to kiss her forehead. Heat bloomed through her at the affectionate gesture. His grin lit up his face, slightly crooked on one side, and her first thought was that he needed to do it more. It gave him a carefree, easy-going look, rather than his regular stern, serious demeanor.

She reached up to push a lock of his thick dark hair off of his forehead. "We should leave now, to get there by nightfall," she stated.

"Are you in such a rush to get home?" he wondered. She tried to gauge if he was upset about that or not, but he kept his face carefully neutral.

"We don't want to waste anytime. Draco will be waiting for me, and we'll need as much time to convince my father as possible."

He nodded slowly, tucking a lot of her wild hair behind her ear. "Let's eat something first, shall we? Then we can fly all day, I promise."

"Okay," she agreed, standing up. He turned away from her to dig through his pack and she stared at him for a moment. The heat in her chest, the longing she felt for him, was entirely knew to her. She wondered if it was just because all of the feelings inside her were new and exciting, or if it meant something more. She should have talked to Laura before she left, but the future Beta female was distracting Cassie while everyone else had been talking. She cursed Cassie for spending time with her only female friend her age so she couldn't talk to her. She'd never been able to talk about boys with anyone, and she desperately wanted to talk to someone about her feelings for Orion. He was perfect, and he was hers. He loved her. He had left his clan to travel to the humans with her, to ask for help from her human family. It took someone special to do that. He was the only person who had made her feel truly safe in her entire life; she owed him more than he knew.

"Thank you," she whispered suddenly. He paused and pivoted to look at her. 

"For what?"

She shrugged one shoulder. "For everything. But especially for being here."

"Skylar, of course I'd come with you. You think I'd let you do this on your own?"

"Leo didn't just let you come because he wanted you to make sure I didn't run away?" It was always a possibility with the Alpha. Even if he'd agreed to her plan, that didn't mean he liked or trusted her. She'd heard what he said about her, talking about her like she was no one important to Orion, just some woman around to fulfill his needs. She blushed at the thought and looked down at their boots. What was wrong with her? Of course she wasn't just that to the man before her. He'd told her he loved her, and she could feel that he meant it. If he didn't, her dragon would rip him to shreds.

Orion chuckled softly. "He couldn't have stopped me from coming with you. He knew that, so he made it seem like he gave me permission."

She gave him a small smile as she looked up at him. The more she woke up and thought about what was going on, the more doubt washed over her. "What if my father won't help us?" It was hard to admit that that was a real possibility. If Draco kidnapping and threatening her wasn't enough to spark her father's ire, she didn't know what would.