The awkwardness hadn't left the room yet, and Orion had been gone for ten minutes. This bothered Skylar greatly; she'd thought they'd all been having a good time together. The fact that her mother and Greta were getting along with her dragon family let her hope for a moment that they could all be in her life, that she wouldn't have to choose. Violet's proclamation changed that stopped thread of hope in its tracks. Dragon business wasn't her business, she said. Skylar felt like her parents forgot what she was, that she was a dragon herself. She didn't know if it was because they were so used to pretending like she wasn't or because they were in active denial about what she was.

She looked up at the queen through her lashes to find Violet incredibly focused on stripping the leaves off of the stocks of rosemary to set them to dry. Skylar didn't think her mother had ever used her hands a day in her life, not like this. The queen was adept at sewing in her spare time, and Skylar had seen her sketch every once in a while, but she didn't do manual labor like this with her hands. Skylar had no idea what it meant that Violet was so willing to suddenly help with chores like this. She was not only a guest of the clan, but the human queen. No one expected any of this from her.

Violet wiped her hands on a towel Nana had set next to her. She'd changed out of the purple dress she'd arrived in, although her new attire was no less expensive or nice. Skylar was impressed she had managed to keep in clean while working on the herbs, and was even more impressed that she'd endanger the fine garment at all.

"Is something the matter, love?" her mother asked, looking up at her.

Skylar tilted her head and raised an eyebrow. "No, why?"

"You're staring," Violet pointed out, looking back down at her work. Skylar blushed and averted her own gaze. Leave it to her mother to point out when she was being rude, whether she realized it or not.

"Sorry," Skylar muttered. Surprisingly, her mother didn't get on her case for her lack of enunciation.

Everyone went back to working in silence, the only sounds coming from the mortar and pestle and the gentle noises of Benny nursing. Skylar wanted to say something to break the silence, but she had no idea what to say that wouldn't sound forced.

She was saved from having to say anything by Laura appearing in the doorway. She appeared absolutely flustered and her eyes darted around the room frantically until they landed on Skylar and Violet. Relief flooded over her, but it didn't last long.

"Skylar, Your Grace," she said rapidly. "You both need to come with me, right now."

"Laura, what's wrong?" Skylar asked, wiping her hands off and walking over to her friend. The first thought through her mind was that something had happened to Orion, but those fears went away as soon as they appeared. If something had happened to Orion, Laura wouldn't bother telling Violet about it. There were two other people in the room who would care much more.

"The king and Leo, they're-- just come with me," she demanded. "Orion said to get you."

Based on the tone of her voice, it was obvious enough to Skylar that Leo and the king had a disagreement. The only problem was about how intense the disagreement was. She thought that it probably wasn't good, especially if Orion wanted to draw her into it.

Violet looked between Skylar and Laura with worried eyes. No one moved to follow Laura, but Victoria unglued all of their feet form the ground.

"What are you all doing staring at each other?" she snapped softly, gently swaying the infant in her arms. "Go stop them! I would, but I don't want Benny anywhere near that."

"Greta and I will stay with Victoria," Nana told them. "Go, now!"

Violet and Skylar dropped what they were doing and took off after Laura. Laura and Skylar would have sprinted to the field where all of the soldiers and dragons were, but Violet wouldn't dare lose her composure that much. Instead they left it at a light jog, but it didn't take long for the shouting to reach Skylar's ears.

"Move, move!" she demanded, forcing her way through the men surrounding the arguing leaders.

"She's too good for your beast of a son," she heard Hal yell at Leo.

Leo snarled. "Don't you dare talk about Orion like that." She caught a glimpse between the shoulders of two dragons as Leo grabbed Hal by the lapels of his jacket. Her father glared at Leo and then swung his fist in the direction of the Alpha.

The next few moments moved in slow motion. The man next to her started to move forward, but she placed her hand on his arm to stop. She looked up at him, only to find Orion staring down at her. He was worried, it was etched on his rugged face, and it was something she hadn't seen often. They both turned to look at the pair as Hal's fist closed in on Leo's cheek.

It connected with a thud and Leo's head snapped to the side. There was a moment of stunned silence as everyone watched for the Alpha's reaction. Skylar pulled at Orion's arm, knowing this could only get worse. It had escalated too far for them to stop anything. Orion stepping in would only cause more problems, she realized that quick enough.

"Where's Zachariah?" she asked softly, looking around for the Beta, perhaps the only one who could step in without causing more anger in either man.

"We'll find him. You try and stop this before it gets any worse. They won't hurt you," Orion responded, motioning to Percy, who nodded. Orion leaned down to kiss her forehead before the pair took off in the other direction. Skylar turned back, trying to figure out she could possibly stop this from going any further, when Leo straightened up again.

When he looked back at the king, his black eyes glowed in anger. She sensed a change in the energy surrounding him, immediately identifying it as his dragon about to intrude upon the small gathering of men. She didn't think about what to do next, time had run out, so she sprang into action.

"Stop!" she roared, pushing past the shoulders barring her way. "Stop it right now!"

"Skylar, come back!" Laura hissed. Skylar felt a grab at the back of her shirt, but she couldn't let Leo shift and hurt Hal.

She knew it was a bad idea, but she stepped in front of Hal and gave his shoulders a strong shove. It was the first time she'd ever used her dragon strength on her father, and she didn't ever want to do it again. Hal stumbled back, putting distance between him and Leo. He stared at Skylar in confusion, but anger was still written plainly on his face. Violet rushed over to the king and grasped his arm, pulling him even further away from Leo. Hal didn't even look at his wife, he just continued to scowl at Leo with clenched fists.

She turned to face Leo and realized that he had lost control of his dragon. Before she could get out of the way, the black dragon surged forward with a roar, all of his anger focused on the king who had dared to strike him. Skylar had seen Leo angry, but she'd never seen him lose control like that before. Over a few words no less. Words from an angry man who would likely regret them later.

The group of men all scrambled backwards and then stared up in shock at the large black dragon. The massive beast was tense and snarled at Hal, who was too stupid to back down. Instead he shook free of Violet's grasp and drew his sword.

"Father, don't!" Skylar shouted at him, but he didn't listen. She turned to back to the menacing dragon and saw that his attention had shifted to her. He realized she stood between him and his target and he would not stand for that.

"Leo," she reasoned to the black dragon. "It's me, Skylar. You don't want to do this."

The snarl she was greeted with said otherwise. Leo was buried deep beneath the surface. The Alpha dragon was in control now, complete and total control. If he went on a rampage, any hope of a partnership between humans and dragons would be gone. If any human got hurt, especially the king, all would be lost.

Her own dragon roared in her head, not entirely sure of all of the details in between but she understood that if the black dragon wasn't stopped, Draco would kill them. Skylar realized she had two choices: let her dragon free to try and stop the Alpha or let the black dragon ruin everything they'd worked so hard for.

She decided she wanted to stop Draco. She couldn't let herself be afraid of the black dragon. Her own dragon wasn't, why should she?

In one fluid motion, faster than any other time she'd shifted, her dragon lunged forward, facing Leo's dragon.

As was expected, this angered the black dragon further. He recognized the challenge when he saw it and roared in the blue dragon's face. She didn't back down, even though Leo was nearly twice her weight and width. Instead, she stepped blatantly between Hal and Leo, snarling back at him.

The white teeth of the opposing beast glistened in stark contrast to his dark scales as he advanced toward her. She met him step for step, leaving the same distance between them. Unfortunately, she was so focused on his snapping teeth, she wasn't watching his legs. If she had been, she would have seen the muscles clench in preparation for a pounce.

He moved faster than any dragon of his size should have been allowed to and she was pinned on her back before she realized what happened. He stood over her, his jaw opening to clamp down around her neck. She wiggled and fought him, but he was too heavy for her to just shove off. She kicked her back legs, looking for purchase on the softer scales of his stomach.

She squealed at his mouth closed over his neck, his sharp teeth puncturing the armored scales. Fortunately, he lowered his torso as he lowered his head and her claws caught his stomach. She kicked relentlessly, tearing through the weaker scales, and almost immediately he released his grip on her throat. She rolled out from underneath him and took a few steps away. She felt the hot blood dripping down her neck, staining her brilliant blue scales. Her mind conjured up images of the soldiers attacking her in the arena at Draco's castle and the injuries they'd inflicted upon her, but she shoved them away. These weren't soldiers. This was a dragon, an angry dragon, but still a dragon. She knew she could never beat him on the ground like they were. She wasn't trained in combat like he was, and he weighed nearly twice was she did.

No, she couldn't beat him on the ground, but she remembered something Orion said to her on one of her first days with the clan. She was built for flight, with a streamlined body and long wings. He said that he himself was built for fighting. He was bulky with shorter wings. If she was correct, Leo was built in much the same way as his son. If she could get him in the air, she could out-fly him. She hoped.

She backed away with a snarl, enticing him further. The black dragon was fully engaged with her now, identifying her as more of a threat than the human Hal. As intimidating as his angry gaze was, it was what she needed. She needed his full attention and all of his anger focused on her.

She stepped back further, opening her wings to take off when a flash of gold dove in from above. The familiar gold dragon slammed himself down on Leo's back, flattening him to the ground. Orion's jaws locked around the back of Leo's neck, just at the base of his skull and held him there. Skylar and her dragon watched on his worry as they saw how close the black dragons ebony horns were to their mate's face. If Leo was allowed to throw his head back, the horns would impale themselves in Orion's head.

The black dragon roared in fury but the gold dragon gave him no room to struggle. Percy, Olly, Zachariah, and Jed ran toward the raging Alpha and the blue dragon stepped back, making sure to stay well out of their way. She watched curiously as they pushed down as hard as they could at various points on the black dragon's body. Once he began the slow, painful process of shifting back into his human self, she realized what they had done. They had hit the different pressure points to force his shift, much as Orion had done for Skylar.

Leo lay unconscious beneath the gold dragon, who gingerly stepped away from his Alpha. He watched as the four men surrounded Leo. Laura stepped forward with a blanket and the four men carefully transferred Leo over to it. They each grabbed a side and carried him back toward the Big House. The gathered men, a mix of humans and dragons, parted silently to let them through. Orion remained in his dragon form, watching them leave. The blue dragon walked over to him, bumping her head against the side of his neck.

Mate. The word floated through her head in relief. She hadn't needed him to come and protect her, to save her from the black dragon, but she was glad he was there. He bent his head down to rub his cheek against hers before tenderly licking the wounds on her neck. She hissed at the sting it caused but allowed the gesture.

Unfortunately, beneath his gentle motions and relief, she sensed his anger. She knew at least some of it was directed at her.

He lifted his head and she stretched the lick under his jaw, asking for forgiveness. For what, she wasn't sure, but she didn't want him angry with her. Everything was alright now, no one got hurt and Leo was taken back home.

He gave her a meaningful look and they shifted together, back to their human forms. She completely forgot about their audience as he turned to look at her.

"Are you okay?" was the first thing he asked.

When she nodded, he continued with his second question, this time nearly yelling at her. "What were you thinking?"

She frowned up at him. "I was stopping your father from killing mine."

Orion glowered. "Well it was a dumb thing to do. He could have--would have--killed you! He is stronger, faster, and has more experience! Not only that, but his dragon was in complete control. His anger suppressed any humanity that would have stopped him."

"I wasn't about to let him ruin the whole plan. If he had hurt someone, this all would be over and we'd likely be fighting the humans as well as Draco!"

"So you thought you'd let him hurt you instead?" he asked, his voice breaking a little and the anger leaking out of his voice slightly. "You thought that would be better?"

She stepped toward him and grasped his forearm. "Orion, there was nothing else I could do. I had to stop him. I'm okay. Look," she reached up to touch her neck. The wounds inflicted on her dragon hadn't been bad enough to transfer to her human body, "I'm not hurt."

"Your dragon was, and I know you felt it," he argued. His fingers reached up to brush her cheek. "When I heard your dragon's cries of pain..." His voice drifted off and he closed his eyes. "I couldn't go through that panic again, Skylar. I really couldn't."

"I had to save my father," she whispered. "I had to save our relationship with the humans. You would have done the same thing, and then I would be the one upset with you."

He snorted. "But I know how to handle my father, and I'm a far better fighter than you."

"I'd like to see you try to take me down," she smiled, sensing that he was no longer angry with her. "Everyone's okay."

He nodded. "Yes, thankfully." His strong hands brushed her hair from her face and he leaned down to kiss her briefly. It was when there was a surprised gasp from the humans watching that she remembered that there over a hundred humans and dragons observing their interaction. Blood rushed to her cheeks and she put her hands on her chest to push Orion away slightly. He smirked and kept a tight hold on her hand.

She turned to look back at the crowd and the first thing she saw was her mother and father. Her mother's mouth was twisted in displeasure, and her father was openly glaring at Orion.

Her hand squeezed his tighter and she stepped in front of him protectively. What had just happened was Hal's fault. It was also Leo's, but the punch Hal threw had been what pushed Leo over the edge. It was Hal's fault and he still had the gall to look at the man she loved in such a way.

"Father," she started walking toward him, pulling Orion along with her, "are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Hal snapped. "What were you thinking, Skylar? Engaging a beast such as that."

The way he said beast, she knew he wasn't simply referring to the way Leo had been acting. No, he meant all dragons.

She kept her anger in check, the way Leo hadn't. "Father, he was upset. You insulted him."

Hal scoffed. "He started it, spewing nonsense about you and Orion."

Now that made her blood boil. "It's not nonsense, Father," she snapped. The look Hal gave her would have had her cowering in her slippers once, but she'd grown a lot since then. She was the daughter of two Alphas, the female the future Alpha of the Western Clan wanted to lead with him by his side, and she had just held her own against an insane Alpha dragon. She was no longer scared of her human father.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "It's been a long day, and you spent much of it traveling. Perhaps you all need some rest and good meal. We'll begin training everyone together tomorrow."

Violet nodded, grasping Hal's arm. "Yes, that sounds like a good idea, love. We'll stay in our tent with the men here, but please thank Victoria for her offer to stay in the Big House."

"You'll stay with us, Skylar," Hal said. It wasn't a request, but a demand.

She shook her head. "You can find me in the Big House if you need me. I'll see you tomorrow."

With that, she turned away from her parents, pulling Orion along after her as they walked back toward the Big House.

As she walked along, she couldn't help but feel that she'd finally chosen sides. Up to this point, she'd kept up the illusion that she was carefully walking the line between her human life and the new life she'd found as a dragon. She realized now that no matter how much she had once wanted to, there was no chance she could return to her old life, or even some semblance of it. From the moment she let her dragon out for the first time, the first time she'd been in Orion's arms, she was lost to this life. She could be nowhere else and truly belong. By turning her back on her human parents and walking away with Orion, she knew she had closed and locked any door that would have let her return to the human world.

She looked up at Orion, expecting to feel some sort of loss for the only world she'd ever known before this one, but she didn't. Instead, when she found the man she loved already looking down at her with a small smile pulling at his mouth, she saw only her future. Hope, love, and happiness pulled at her heart and she grinned back up at him. He gave her hand a tug, pulling her close to his side and wrapped an arm around her as they walked. His strength and the warmth of his large body engulfed her and she was home.

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I'm sorry this took so long to update! I suddenly became a very busy person with writer's block. This chapter didn't turn out like I meant for it to, but I'm happy with the result! Finals are coming up, so I can't promise the next chapter will be out any faster, but I'll try my best.

Please vote for Skylar and Orion and their happiness!