Skylar blinked her eyes open, the early morning sun filtering through the leaves above her, sprinkling them with small rays. She was warm, extremely warm, and smiled as she realized it was because Orion was wrapped around her like a vine. His arm was thrown over her waist, holding her close, while his wonderfully heavy leg was wrapped around both of hers. The best part though was that his head rested on her chest, and he was still soundly asleep.

She grinned like a loon, reaching up to run her fingers lightly over his hair. He stirred, his arm tightening around her, before he settled again. She blushed to herself as she remembered they were both naked beneath the blanket he'd wrapped around them. Not with embarrassment though, no, but with pleasure. She turned her head, feeling the tenderness in her neck where he'd sunk his teeth in.

He'd been as gentle as possible, but she was so gone with desire that she's hardly noticed the pain as he broke her fine skin. She'd reciprocated the act immediately after, kissing his neck and letting her tongue skim across his skin. Then, she allowed her dragon as close to the surface as possible so her eyes began to glow and her teeth sharpened. She had kissed his neck one more time before sinking her teeth in and taking his essence into her body.

As soon as his blood touched her lips, she felt the connection between them begin to forge. She felt her heart begin to beat in time with his own, her mind begin to meld with his. She felt his passion, his love for her. The connection was new and fragile, but strong. Even now she could feel his presence in her mind.

She lifted her hand to admire her new ring. The sunlight caught it just right, causing it to shimmer and shine in just the way her mates dragon did. It was the most wonderful piece of jewelry she'd ever worn. She looked over at where her trousers had been discarded on the ground, thinking about the necklace she'd made. She still had no idea what he thought of it.

Ignoring the thought, she ran her hand through his hair again and he inhaled deeply, turning his face into her bare chest and kissing her. A sigh escaped her lips at the contact and her body began to tighten in memory of the night before. She'd like to do that again, soon.

"Good morning," he whispered against her skin, inhaling again.

"Mmmm," she smiled. "Good morning."

"You smell amazing. You smell like me." His lips brushed her sensitive skin again and she tugged his hair lightly to pull him up to her face. He complied easily, positioning himself over her so that she could feel the entire, wonderful length of him.

"Not so bad yourself," she said, running her nose along his jaw, against the dark scruff. She leaned up to kiss the bite mark she'd left on his skin last night. The permanent mark that would tell every female that he was taken and to stay away. She liked that he smelled like her. She instinctually knew it was because they had marked one another, claimed each other as mates, and now their scents would begin to mix. There would be no confusion about who Orion belonged to.

He grinned down at her, resting his weight on his elbows and looming over her. The morning sun formed a halo around him. He was beautiful.

"It's light out," she told him, reaching up to cradle his cheek. He leaned into her palm with a contented growl.

He chuckled, swooping down to kiss her again. "Good observation, love."

She rolled her eyes, but felt her cheeks warm at his affection. "No. It's light out and you were still asleep. And I woke up before you. That never happens. You're usually up before the sun."

He raised his eyebrows and turned to look over his shoulder at the sky. "Well would you look at that." He turned back to her with a playful grin. "You wore me out last night."

Her eyes widened at his brashness but she giggled at his impish expression. "I could say the same. How did you sleep?"

"Very well, actually," he said, rolling off her and cuddling up to her side. "Better than usual. Much better. I like sleeping with you in my arms."

"I liked it, too," she pressed her face into his shoulder. "I could get used to it."

He leaned forward to kiss the mark on her neck. "Oh, me too, me too. I love you."

She looked up into her earnest face. "I love you, too."

She studied his fine features, admiring him and wondering how she'd gotten so lucky that he was hers. He stared back just as intensely, and she could feel an increase in his heart rate through his chest and through their newfound connection. She sensed the heat of his desire and it matched her own. She was tender from his attention last night, but that didn't change the way her body responded to him.

He leaned down to claim her mouth, kissing her thoroughly as his rough hands ran from her hip, up her side, and her sensitive skin came alive under his touch.

She reached out to him, wanting to feel him and watch her hand touch his body. It found its way to his chest, sliding along the taut skin and through the light spattering of his chest hair. As her fingers explored him, she came across a line of raised skin that she couldn't place. She pulled away from his kiss to look down at his chest, a lump immediately forming in her throat. Her fingers were brushing over the pink, newly healed scar that was the only evidence left of the wound that nearly killed him.

Unbidden, a soft sob escaped her as she ran her hand over him again. "Oh, Orion..."

"Hey, hey," he whispered, drawing her attention back to him. "I'm okay. I'm alive, and I'm here with you. Always."

"You almost died. I thought you had died," she told him. "I wanted to die, thinking about a life without you."

He gathered her close. "I didn't. I'm safe, you're safe, and now you're mine in every way." His tone held a slightly desperate note, and she knew they were both aware of how close they'd come to losing each other that day.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled into his chest, leaning forward to plant a kiss on the scar. He moaned and dragged her face back to his.

"It's. Not. Your. Fault," he told her between kisses. His legs entwined with hers once more, and she became increasingly aware of the affect she had on him. This all felt so much more wanton in the daylight, but she loved the way the sun outlined him in gold. She loved that she could see all of him with ease, loved that he was there with her, and he was all hers.

"I can't get enough of you," he gasped into her mouth. "Now that I have you..."

"Mmmm," she moaned against him, forgetting about the scar, her mind giving in to the much more important sensations her body had become addicted to. "Now that you have me, Orion Nogard, what will you do with me?"

He chuckled deeply, nipping her skin lightly as his hand slid back down her body. She arched against him, with a small gasp of pleasure.

"Oh, my dear Skylar," he whispered into her ear, "I'm going to enjoy this." Then he covered her again with a playful growl.

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

They walked hand in hand back to the clan, both giddy and in wonderful moods. Skylar's shirt covered only half of the mark on her neck, but she liked it that way. She looked up at her mate, her big grin plastered on her face. He looked down at her with a similar smile, lifting her hand to kiss her ring. In his other arm he carried the blanket and the basket containing what was left of their dinner-that-turned-to-breakfast. After wearing one another out once again, they'd dressed, albeit reluctantly, and sat down to eat their food.

"Where'd you put my necklace?" Orion had asked, picking at a piece of cheese.

She swallowed the bite of apple she'd just taken, watching him closely. He'd asked so nonchalantly, she still wasn't sure what he thought of it.

"It's right here," she said slowly, reaching into her pocket to pull out the dragon scale. "Do you want it?"

He gave her a confused look, like she was speaking another language. "Of course I want it. I love it, and I love the gesture. I don't get gifts very often. Now, give it here." He leaned toward her and she scooted out of his reach.

She sent him a mischievous look and his eyes narrowed, but they took on a predatory look. She thoughtfully tapped her chin, although she was incredibly pleased he liked her gift. "How bad do you want it, Orion?"

He leaned forward, almost crouching now. "Skylar, you can't have a gift for me and then try to bargain. That's now how gift giving works. Now, I believe that's mine." He started to crawl toward her, slow, calculating, and she hugged it to her chest with a playful grin.

"I don't know," she said thoughtfully. "It's really rather pretty. Perhaps I'll keep it. I do need a new necklace."

Orion paused and his head quirked to the side. "You do?" He glanced down to her chest, where her necklace from Jonathan had been a constant presence since he'd known her, and his eyes widened. "You do."

"Of course I do," she whispered in all seriousness. "You think I would keep it after what he did?"

Orion shrugged and leaned back on his heels. He ran a hand through his hair. "You loved that necklace. It was yours."

She lifted her left hand and wiggled her fingers at him, the gold of her ring sparkling in the light. "And now I have a new favorite piece of jewelry that's all mine."

He smiled again, his male ego inflating to dangerous levels. "I'm glad to hear it. And speaking of that, so do I." He launched himself at her, tackling her to the ground with a playful kiss and taking the necklace from hand.

Orion brought her back to the present. "What are you thinking about?"

"I'm just really happy."

"Me too," he sighed contentedly, swinging their hands as they walked. "I feel like I can finally breathe again."

"What do you mean?"

"Since I kissed you that first time, from the first moment I wanted to mark you, my dragon has been on edge and I've felt like a band has wrapped around my chest. Now that we're bonded..." he shrugged with a smile, "I'm happy. Actually, that's an understatement. I am absolutely, completely, totally elated."

Come to think of it, she'd never seen him like this. Relaxed and carefree. Even with the impending battle, the tension between the humans and dragons, he didn't appear to have a care in the world. She loved it.

They walked on in companionable silence. Enjoying the beautiful day. Orion didn't seem in any rush to get back to training or his clan but neither was she. She was sure they would be bombarded with questions about where they'd been. She decided she didn't care. She was happy and that's what mattered.

They passed the soldiers, who were out training again and likely had been for hours. It was almost midday at this point, and that's how she knew for sure Orion was relaxed. Normally he would have been busy for hours, but he'd spent the morning with her and was the most calm and stress-free she'd ever seen him.

Her heart sank a little as she realized their little bubble of happiness was gone, that they needed to start worrying about Draco again. There was still no sign of him, and she hoped he would show up after the Full Moon. The last thing they needed to deal with was a forced shift among the dragons when they needed to deal with the king.

She watched as a dozen dragons took off, each with a soldier on their back armed with a bow and arrow. At the head of the dragons was Percy, and even he had a rider. It was reassuring to know things were still getting done without her or Orion there to push them.

As they began to walk back to the big house, there was no way they could avoid where Leo stood with Kellan, Hal, Jed, and Jonathan. Relief flooded her as she saw Leo shake Hal's hand. They'd cleared the air. She didn't care if he talked to her, she held no hard feelings, but she knew Orion was still upset about what had happened.

Leo saw them first, immediately dismissing Hal. As his attention shifted, the rest of the men turned to look as well. Orion didn't let go of her hand, and he didn't slow his pace. Much to her surprise, he didn't even tense up at their scrutiny, unlike her.

"Where in the hell have you been?" Leo snarled at his son.

Orion didn't falter. He just smiled down at Skylar. There would be no hiding what they had done from the dragons, they would smell the change immediately. And once the dragons knew, the humans would as well.

Skylar glanced at Kellan. Her father knew where they'd been, and had apparently declined to share it with his fellow Alpha. Hal looked on disapprovingly and she refused to look at Jonathan. Jed just appeared confused.

As they got closer, she watched Leo's nostrils flare as he inhaled. Bemusement took over the anger on the Alpha's before understanding widened his eyes.

His eyes flew to the place where Skylar's shoulder met her neck and his mouth dropped open in surprise.

"Ah," was all he said.

Kellan appeared displeased in a fatherly way, but not surprised. Jed raised his eyebrows before giving Orion a suspicious look. It was the first time he'd truly acted like a brother.

Leo sighed. "I suppose congratulations are in order." He stepped toward Skylar first, and she pulled her hand away from Orion's tightening grasp.

"I'm sorry," he told her softly. "I truly am. I'm proud to call you my daughter."

A lump formed in her throat but she smiled and, before she could talk herself out of it, hugged him tightly. She was shocked when Leo's arms came around her as well.

"What is going on?" Hal demanded, his anger and confusion clear on his face.

Skylar backed away from the Alpha to look over at her father. Unconsciously, she reached up to touch the mark. Hal's eyes followed her hand and they narrowed in fury as he saw what was there.

She squared her shoulders and took her mate's hand profoundly. "Orion and I claimed one another. He's mine."

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

Draco ran his long hands over his face in frustration. He hadn't anticipated how long it would take to get to the dragon clan. His men didn't seem in any rush to get there and it was driving him mad. It didn't help when two wagons lost wheels and they needed to stop and get this fixed. The longer it took them to get into position, the longer the dragons had to prepare. He didn't know who to blame for Skylar's escape, but if he did, that person would meet the sharp end of his blade.

They were stopped once again, but this time it was so that the men could eat and rest. He sat on his own next to a fire, his untouched plate of food next to him. He wondered idly if Hal has brought his men to the dragons. His spies at the fellow king's castle had told him he left with a number of soldiers, but there was no proof he'd gone to the dragons or had even made it. He didn't know what difference that would make though. The dragons were incredibly outnumbered either way.

He looked over at the catapults and massive crossbows, weaponry designed specifically to take down dragons. His men were trained very well in aiming at flying dragons.

"Your Grace," one of his generals approached him. He looked up in irritation and the men averted his gaze. "Some of the men are wondering how far away we are."

Draco glared up at him. "That shouldn't matter to them. All they need to worry about is being ready when we arrive."

The man sighed but nodded and walked away. Draco watched him go, anger burning in his chest. The problem was that even he didn't know how far away they were. He was relying on the directions his wife had given him. She was locked up in a tent somewhere, closely guarded. He trusted her, but not enough to let her walk free. She was still a witch.

A commotion among the men drew his attention. They were looking up at the sky and Draco cursed before following their gazes. A dragon soared over them, lower than he would have expected. It stared down at their camp and circled twice before seeming to find what it was looking for. It appeared to be alone.

"Hold!" He shouted to his men as the dragon started to land. It was a small beast, the smallest dragon he'd seen, but that didn't mean it wasn't imposing. The deep purple creature landed with a heavy thud, looking directly at him. It was not threatening, merely cautious.

It shifted then, to leave a woman who looked remarkably like Skylar standing in its place.

"Draco, I take it?" she asked, eyeing him up and down.

"Yes," he said slowly. She appeared disheveled and exhausted, but she was had a feisty stubbornness that reminded him of Skylar. "And who are you?"

"My name is Cassie," she said. "You're not an easy man to find, Your Grace."

"I'd like to keep it that way," he snapped. "What do you want?"

"I'm here to make you a proposition," she said slowly.

He sighed impatiently. He didn't have time for this. Who was this girl and why shouldn't he just kill her. "Tell me why I should even listen to you."

"Skylar is my sister."

Oh my. Now she had his attention. The resemblance made sense. It would seem Skylar found her birth parents. He chuckled at the thought of Hal meeting the people who's daughter he raised.

"I'm listening," he states. "Please sit."

Cassie walked over stiffly and to sit on a log across from Draco. "What can I do for you?" He asked, folding his hand beneath his chin.

She took a deep breath looked him squarely in the eye, showing him her bravery. She wasn't afraid of him.

"I will tell you anything you wish to know about the dragons," she began, her voice steady, "as long as you promise to kill Skylar and Orion Nogard."