Orion snarled at Nana for the first time in his life. He'd never had reason to until now. His grandmother, of course, wasn't the least bit intimidated by him even though he was twice her size. She simply put her hands on her hips and lifted an eyebrow. She didn't even seem bothered by the act of aggression.

"You can't keep me here," he snapped at her, moving toward the door of his bedroom. He had gained enough strength to walk on his own, it had been two days since he'd woken up, but he could feel that he wasn't back at full strength yet. In fact, this was the first time he'd stood up.

The stab wound in his chest had healed enough that Nana felt comfortable taking the stitches out, it healed faster as his strength had increased, but it still pained him a little if he moved to fast or exerted the muscles in his chest. But that was unimportant compared to getting to Skylar. Something was wrong, his gut told him that much, and he wished more than anything they had marked one another. Then he could sense her thoughts and feelings, but right now all he had to go on was instinct. His instincts had never let him down, and he knew they weren't now.

"You aren't strong enough yet," Nana argued. She was calm, cool, and collected as usual. His temper came from his father's side of the family, Nana and both of her daughters had always been able to control their anger rather well for a dragon.

"I'm strong enough to walk to the door," he pointed out. "So I'm strong enough to go after her."

Nana scoffed. "That's quite a leap there. You haven't even been downstairs yet. What if you're not strong enough to make it downstairs?" she shook her head and put her hands on his arms to try and push him back to his bed. "I'm not arguing that you're doing much better, but, Orion, love, your color still isn't back and you haven't eaten any solid food since you got back."

Orion let her sit him down on the bed, but he was still fuming. "You can't keep me from her."

"And I don't want you to. How dare you accuse me of such a thing." Nana stood in front of him, glaring down. "You know I love Skylar like family, but I have to think about you right now. Orion, you would be risking your life to save her, and you don't even know where she is."

"She's with Draco." That much he was sure of. His dragon had finally shared with him what had happened after he'd fell unconscious. Ashley, the maid, had betrayed them, but that hadn't surprised him at all. He hadn't trusted her from the start. What surprised him was that she got the best of them, of him. He was a dragon, an Alpha, and a little girl had tricked him, nearly killed him, and stole his mate. She handed Skylar off to some guards, which meant she was likely in the castle, in the dungeon, where Draco could do whatever he wanted to her.

Draco likely put her with Jonathan, he was sadistic that way. That would be a cruel trick, something that he would love.

The thought of Jonathan sent his dragon into a frenzy. The knight was the whole reason they were in this situation. He was the one who got caught, the one who Skylar insisted they save. Orion didn't blame Skylar, not at all. She had a good heart, it would have gone against everything she believed in to leave Jonathan at the hands of a monster.

"Exactly, love," Nana ran a hand over his hair. "A man who has spent his entire life perfecting how to overpower and kill dragons. He'll have her locked up where there is no chance of her escape. The chances of you saving her when you're at full strength were low, but now..."

"I can't just sit here knowing where she is and not do anything about it!" he threw his hands in the air and rose to his feet again. He regretted it at once as the blood rushed from his head, leaving him dizzy enough to stumble forward. Nana caught him, carefully avoiding his wound, and helped him stand up again.

"You can because she'll have a better chance if we think things through first, if we come up with a plan."

Orion ran a hand over his face sadly. "Can I at least leave this room?" Even surrounded by his most prized possessions, his books, he felt trapped and anxious. He felt like a caged animal.

Besides, once he was outside, it would be easier to sneak away to rescue Skylar.

Nana smiled and held out her hand. "That I can agree to. Would you like to meet your brother?"

Orion cracked a small smile, hard as it was knowing what Skylar was going through. He had yet to meet Benjamin, the newest member of the clan. Leo had stayed true to his word; he couldn't meet Benjamin until he was strong enough to leave the room. Now he was, and he would welcome is little brother to the clan.

"I would very much like to meet my new brother," Orion nodded, reached forward to take Nana's hand. She gripped it tightly, leading him from the room. He had to admit, the longer he walked, the harder it became. He hadn't stood on his own in five days, he was tired and, hard as it was to say, weak.

Nana pulled him downstairs, which felt like it would nearly kill him, to the living room. He was surprised to find Laura and Percy sitting there with Victoria and Penelope.

"They could set up camp on the outside of the Square, toward the pastures," Laura was saying.

"The clan won't like them that close," Percy replied.

"There's nowhere else to put them," Victoria sighed, sipping her tea. "That's the only place big enough for them to all be together. The problem is going to be feeding them and keeping up their strength. That's hard enough to do with the clan, let alone-" She paused when she realized Percy and Laura were staring at him in the doorway behind her. She spun around with a huge grin.

"Orion!" she exclaimed, exploding to her feet. She'd been so busy with the new baby and preparing for the arrival of the human army that she'd only visited him once, and he'd been sleeping so he didn't know until Nana told him later on.

"Victoria," he greeted her. She threw her arms and around him and he grunted as she squeezed too tight. He didn't have the heart to tell her she was hurting him, it just felt good to see her. Her hug felt different, for some reason, and then he realized it was because her belly wasn't squashed between them.

"Easy there, darling," Nana warned. "He's still not back to himself."

Victoria immediately released him. "Of course, I'm so sorry, love. It's just so good to see you up. I was so worried about you." She pushed her blonde hair away from her face. She looked exhausted, but her excitement and constant happiness overshadowed that. She was simply glowing, even more than she had been when she was pregnant.

"I'll be alright," he assured her, moving over to the couch to sit down and rest from his trek downstairs.

"You're a stubborn Nogard," she teased. "Of course you will be." She gently brushed his hair back with her fingers, still grinning from ear to ear at seeing him up and about.

"I'm sorry I wasn't with you," Percy spoke up, guilt clouding his eyes.

Orion raised an eyebrow at his best friend. "We were a two day flight away. And you had your mating ceremony. Congratulations, by the way," he winked at Laura. "I don't blame you for not being there. I also remember specifically telling you to stay when Skylar and I left."

"Oh, Skylar," Laura sniffed sadly. "Leo told us what happened." Orion was miffed for a moment at Leo for sharing the information about Skylar, even if it was just with Laura, until he remembered that she and Percy were officially mated now. Laura was the Beta female, so she would be included in almost all discussions, and if she wasn't, Percy was now allowed to tell her.

"I'm going after her."

"Not yet, you're not," a new voice growled. He turned his head to find Leo standing in the doorway, cradling a swaddle of blankets. "Not until you're stronger and we have a plan."

"Dad-"

"I said not yet. Not no. Now stop arguing and let me introduce you to your brother." He stepped into the room, carefully holding the infant in his arms. It was strange watching his father handle such delicate cargo, to see him look down and coo playfully at the contents of the blanket. This was a side of Leo Orion hadn't seen since Olly was a baby. That was eighteen years ago, and he had forgotten about it and didn't think the intimidating Alpha was capable of it.

"Orion, meet Benjamin Zachariah Nogard."

Orion lifted his arms as Leo moved the baby over to him. The child squawked at the change in position, but then settled into his brother's arms. Orion stared down at the week old baby and could help but grin at the sleeping pink face.

"Hello, Benjamin," Orion whispered down at his brother. The baby blinked his eyes opened and stared up at him. Wisps of dark hair feathered across his tiny head. He was so tiny; Orion didn't think he'd ever held something so small before.

He stared down into the blue-gray eyes of the infant. Within the next few weeks they would take on the vibrant color of his dragon. Orion convinced himself that he could already see flecks of light green beginning to form there. He reached up to touch Benjamin's soft cheek with his thumb. He was a big brother again, and he forgot how exciting the prospect was. Olly was grown up now, as he'd proved by rallying humans and saving Orion, he didn't need his big brother anymore. This little baby was brand new to the world, and he would need both of his brother's to help him through it. Not only that, but he was a part of the Alpha family, currently fourth in line for the title, that in itself was a responsibility that weighed heavily on some.

"We've been calling him Benny," Victoria told him, smiling down at her first son. "He's beautiful, isn't he?" Orion looked up at his step-mother. He'd never seen her so entranced by another person before. She was completely devoted to this child, as she should be. She deserved to feel like that more than anyone he knew. She'd given up on mating and having her own children to take care of Olly and him when Valerie died. That was, of course, until she and Leo mated. She deserved this happiness, this unconditional love, from someone she created. He and Olly owed her everything, but she was still their aunt and step-mother, not their mother, as much as it might seem like she was.

"He is," Orion agreed, looking back down at his tiny brother. "He's amazing."

"Hello, my little love," Victoria grinned, cooing down at Benny. At the sound of his mother's voice, the baby began to squirm and cry.

Victoria gently scooped him from Orion's arms. "Are you hungry, darling? Hush now, Mama's here."

She quietly left the room, whispering to her son the whole way. Orion smiled after her and leaned back on the couch.

Leo sat down next to Orion, a smile still plastered on his face. "I haven't seen her this happy since she found out she was pregnant. She didn't think she'd be able to have kids, you know."

"So you told me," he responded. "He's perfect."

"Ten fingers, ten toes. That was the first thing I checked when Nana handed him to me," he chuckled. "It was the first thing Victoria did when she held you for the first time."

"She deserves this," Orion said, and everyone in the room hummed their agreement. "Now Dad, about going after Skylar-"

"Orion," Leo snapped, falling back into his familiar self. "I won't risk losing you. You're not strong enough to try and save her. You don't even know exactly where she is." Leo rose to his feet so that he was able to loom over his son. Orion hated that and stood up himself, although this left him light-headed again.

"I know enough to be able to find her. She's in trouble, I can sense it."

"Did you two claim one another?" Leo looked pointedly at Orion's neck, where there certainly wasn't a bite mark.

Orion knew where he was going with his argument and begrudgingly answered. "No."

"Then you can't sense anything. You might think something is wrong, but that's natural as long as you're apart when you haven't claimed her. You can't know something is wrong, son."

Orion lifted his lip in a snarl, but Leo, surprisingly, did respond in kind. Instead he placed a hand on either of Orion's shoulders and looked him squarely in the eye. He wasn't trying to intimidate or undermine him, he just wanted him to listen.

"I know you love her," he started. "I know how hard this is, and I'm sorry. But we have to think about this with clear heads. Draco will be keeping her where she can't be saved, and where she can't escape. She will be impossible to get to. But, Draco seems like the kind of man who likes to put on a show. What do you think he'll do with her, to hurt us? She proclaimed herself as one of us, and he's getting ready to wage war. What do you think he'll do?"

"I don't know," Orion admitted. His mind was too clouded with anger and desperation to think clearly.

"He's going to wave her in front of our faces. If I had to guess, he's going to bring her here, to use her to try to get us to surrender. And you would, you know you would. You would do anything for her, and she would do anything for you. Going on a suicide mission will do nothing more than cause you to lose each other forever," Leo said matter-of-factly. "The last thing I want to do is hurt you, you must know that. I won't lose you, I just can't."

Orion was touched by his father's words. Apparently, having a son brought out the sentimental side of the Alpha. He knew his father loved him, but it wasn't something they talked about often -- or ever.

Unfortunately, Orion had a counter argument. "I won't lose Skylar. I just can't."

He wasn't going to budge on this. Besides, his dragon wouldn't dare let him consider taking the chance that Draco would bring Skylar with him. It would make more sense for him to leave her in the castle, where she can't escape. Besides, Draco would never shy away from bloodshed, especially if it was dragon blood.

Leo let out an explosive sigh and ran his hands over his face. "Oh, Orion. At least there's no question about whether or not you're my son."

"She's my mate, Dad. I can't let this fall to chance."

Laura stepped forward. Her voice was tentative, but it didn't waver. "Leo, he has a point. Whether it's official or not, Skylar is a part of this clan, because she's Orion's mate. She means a lot to all of us, and she's in trouble."

Leo turned to look at her, but Orion saw the difference in his gaze. He didn't look at her like any other clan member. He looked at her like he looked at Percy, not entirely an equal, but he didn't look down on her either. He looked at her with the respect she was due as future Beta female of the clan.

"Laura," he said slowly, "I know she is. And so is Orion, since he's trying to go after her before he's completely healed."

Laura nodded and looked over at Orion. "He has a point. You won't be able to do anything for her in this state."

"Can anyone come up with a better argument about why I shouldn't go after her?" Orion growled.

"Yes," Percy cut in. "You need to be here when the human army gets here to help keep the peace between the humans and the clan members. You and Olly are the only ones who have spent time with both, and we need more than just Olly here."

"Hal doesn't like me," Orion pointed out. "My being here will probably raise tensions. Besides, his daughter disappeared under my watch. I can make it up to him by going after her!"

"By getting yourself killed?" his best friend shot back. "Draco isn't going to kill her."

"No, he's going to torture her!"

That quieted everyone. Apparently, this wasn't something they had thought of. It was the only thing Orion could think of.

He pushed past his father to storm out the front door. He needed to be outside, he needed to see the sky. He needed to calm down, needed to have a moment to truly think about what was going on. He didn't need everyone telling him what he couldn't do for Skylar. He needed to think of what he could do to save her.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

He was exhausted and he hurt everywhere. The longest they'd stopped flying was long enough for Jonathan to get a drink, relieve himself, and check on Skylar. The dragons' own exhaustion in the laborious pumping of their wings.

Jonathan looked over at the yellow dragon, where Skylar was still wrapped in his paws. He had seen her drift in and out of consciousness for two days, and she'd woken up more when he's dribbled some water into her mouth one of the times they'd stopped. She'd asked where they were going, asked for someone named Orion, and then relaxed when he'd told her they were headed to the clan. He wanted to check on her again, wanted to do something for her, but he knew there was nothing. He just had to hope that there was something they could do for her at the dragon clan.

He adjusted on the dragon's back, he hadn't felt his legs in two days, but the further away they got from Draco's kingdom, the more relaxed he felt. Well, as relaxed as one could be when they were on the back of a dragon flying toward a clan of other dragons. He wanted to go back home to the castle, where Greta, Hal, and Violet would be waiting to greet him. Where he would be taken care of by people who he trusted and who trusted him.

As they got closer to the mountains, Jonathan suddenly felt as if they crossed a barrier, a barrier he wasn't supposed to cross. It felt like the magic was trying to pull him back, to launch him outside the barrier, and the only thing keeping that from happening was his contact with the dragon beneath him. He looked around the skies, wondering where the other dragons were.

As soon as the thought crossed his mind, a roar exploded behind him. He spun around to see an emerald green dragon on their tails. Intimidating as the creature was, he didn't appear angry. His companions swung their heads around and roared softly in return. The green dragon eyed them closely, before swooping beneath them and taking the lead.

They followed the beast further into the mountains, into one of the most beautiful terrains he'd ever seen. It was wild, serene, and went on as far as the eye could see. He'd seen mountains like these before, but never from the back of a dragon. Never from up in the air. And even though he felt like he could sleep for a week, he was alert and the adrenaline reentered his body at the appearance of the new dragon. He realized he'd grown comfortable with the two dragons he'd been travelling with so far. That worried him more than anything. He couldn't risk trusting these creatures or letting his guard down. Skylar wasn't the enemy, but they rest of them still were.

They broke through the mountain range and were suddenly over the top of a valley. He felt the energy of the dragons rise as they picked up speed to keep up with the eager green dragon. Jonathan looked ahead and saw a rapidly approaching village. It was small, but he could see that it bustled with people, all of whom looked toward the approaching trio.

They hovered over a large patch of dirt before the dragons landed with a thud. Skylar remained cradled gently in the yellow dragon's paw before he let her slide carefully to the ground. Jonathan wasted no time leaping from the green dragon's back and running over to her. He knelt beside her and carefully wrapped an arm behind her shoulders. Her eyelids fluttered, but she didn't wake up. She was covered in blood, bruises, and lacerations from the damage done to her dragon, and Jonathan wiped her blood caked hair back from her face.

He turned to face the dragons and found three men in their place. Two had crumpled to the ground and sat with their heads bowed as they rested. The third man he picked out as the dark green dragon that had joined them on their approach was focused on Skylar's prone form on the ground. He turned his head to look toward the village and Jonathan followed his gaze. Three men and one small woman were running toward them. The one in the lead didn't look so good, but he was the most determined of them all.

"Skylar? Where is she?" the man in front asked as he got closer. "Jed?"

"She's right here," the man who'd been staring at Skylar answered through tight lips. He nodded at Jonathan and Skylar and the second man froze, staring down at her. Horror filled his strange golden eyes while the white haired woman rushed past him.

The old woman knelt down next to Skylar, meeting Jonathan's gaze with kind, pale blue eyes. "I'll take her now."

Jonathan reluctantly let the woman take his place next to Skylar and he rose to his feet. He could do nothing for her, but this woman seemed confident in her ability to take care of her. Jonathan had no choice but to trust her.

"Nana- Nana is she-?" the golden eyed man swallowed heavily.

The white haired woman ran her hand over Skylar's torso, gently probing before looking back up at the large man. "She's not good, but she's alive."

Jonathan watched the relief wash over the man's face as he moved over to her. He moved quickly, but the movement obviously wasn't comfortable. His bulk crouched down next to Skylar and he cradled her close to him.

"I'm here, I'm here," he cradled her face. Jonathan watched as she murmured incoherently up at the man. Her beautiful eyes fluttered open fully for the first time since they'd left Draco's castle.

"Orion?" she breathed out. "Am I dead?"

So this was the Orion Isabel had mentioned and the one Skylar had been asking for in her stupor. This was the man who had her heart, the man Jonathan immediately hated.

"No, love, no you're not," he kissed her forehead. "You're safe now."

She smiled softly before her eyes closed and she relaxed into his arms. Panic flashed over his face before the old woman, Nana assured him that she'd simply lost consciousness again.

One of the other men who'd, one nearly identical to Orion in coloring and size but with deep scars running down his face, stepped forward.

"Kordan, Jackson, it's good to see you. Thank you for bringing Skylar back," he approached them.

"We heard she was Orion's mate, Alpha," one of the men said, the green dragon. "And we wanted to come home."

"I'm glad you're home. Your families will be happy to see you. Percy will take you up to the Big House, and Victoria will take care of you. I think Nana will have her hands full with Skylar."

"I think the girl needs it more than we do," the yellow eyed man stated with a sad glance at Skylar's prone form. "You'll take care of this one?" He motioned with a thumb back at Jonathan, who had been ignored up to that point.

At that, the scarred man's black gaze swung over to Jonathan. He looked him up and down in a manner that told Jonathan the stranger obviously thought he ranked higher than the knight. Jonathan didn't appreciate that sort of look.

"Yes, I'll take care of him. You get to Victoria and Laura," he stated. The dark-skinned man greeted the men with a broad smile after a worried glance at Skylar. It was very quickly becoming apparent to Jonathan that these people cared about his princess greatly, and they'd just landed. The scarred man spoke up again, pulling Jonathan's gaze back to him.

"You're human." The accusing tone of his voice didn't sit well with Jonathan. As if he were the beast in the situation.

"Yes. I came with the princess," he stated, refusing to be intimidated by the older man.

"The princess, huh? You're not looking very well, son."

"I was Draco's prisoner." He was impressed he was still standing, come to think of it.

"And your name?"

"Sir Jonathan, head of His Majesty's knights."

The black-eyed man opened his mouth to respond, but someone else spoke up.

"Jonathan." The sound was a snarl, ripping from deep within someone's chest. He'd never heard such a guttural voice before. He turned to find the voice, not surprised to find the golden-eyed man, Orion, who had relinquished his hold on Skylar. He rose to his full height, which wasn't much taller than Jonathan, perhaps only a couple inches, but he was broader. Everything about him screamed brute, beast. Jonathan narrowed his eyes, unimpressed at the primal display of power.

"You're Jonathan?" he growled again, taking two steps closer to him.

"I am."

The brute's eyes began to glow and he lifted his lip in a snarl.

The scarred man cleared his throat. "Orion-"

He was completely ignored by both young men. Jonathan glared at Orion as he advanced closer. Every fighting instinct he had had him widening his stance and clenching his fists, prepared to defend himself.

"This is your fault," the dragon snarled. "It's your fault this happened to her."

"What the hell are you talking about," he spat. "I didn't do this to her, Draco did."

"She wanted to find you. Your carelessness is what got you caught. She didn't realize you were a lost cause."

"Obviously I wasn't, because here I am," Jonathan snapped.

"At what cost?" Orion roared, gesturing back at where Nana crouched next to Skylar, preparing to move her.

"I'm not the one that did that to her. You can't pin that on me!"

"I can and I will! She wouldn't let you go, and she should've. She doesn't need you."

"Is that what bothers you? Not that she saved me, but that she might need me? Might even want me?"

Orion lunged forward and grabbed the lapels robe in tight fists, pulling Jonathan in so they were nose to nose. The cold golden eyes glowed brighter and Jonathan would've sworn he saw the shadow of a dragon in them.

"She doesn't want you. And she doesn't need you."

"Has she told you as much?"

"In fact, she has."

"Well, then," Jonathan shoved himself away, pushing at the brute's chest. There was a gasp of pain and Orion stumbled a few steps back. Jonathan glared over at him, beginning to advance himself. "If she doesn't need me, but apparently needs you, where were you when Draco having her beaten? Sitting here safe at home, waiting for her to be delivered?"

The next thing Jonathan saw was a fist flying at his face. Everything after that was dark.