Orion's brain froze for a moment. He stared at Olly, unable to comprehend what he just said. Draco was here? It felt sudden, but they'd been expecting it for weeks. He thought they'd have more warning, more time. How had he found them so quickly? It had taken Hal and his men a week to get here, but they'd had a dragon guiding them. Sure, it had been two weeks and Draco had a witch on his side, but the clan was so well hidden. They should have had more time. He turned to Skylar, who was already looking at him with her big blue eyes wide in surprise.

He really wished he'd just stayed in bed with her this morning.

"Orion," Olly said sharply, dragging Orion's attention back to him. "What should we do?"

Orion blinked as his mind started to work again. Draco was here. They were prepared for this. They'd been preparing for this moment. Just because a part of him had secretly hoped it would never actually happen, didn't mean it wouldn't. His dragon snarled, the sound echoing in Orion's head. The beast was ready to protect his clan, ready to protect their future. This was what he had been born to do.

Orion pointed at Olly. "You're going to lead me to where you saw them. I want to see it for myself, to see what we're up against." He shifted his finger to Fiona and Skylar. "Skylar, Fiona, take Benny back to the Big House and make sure everyone is awake."

"I'm going with you," Skylar snapped as she took a menacing step toward him. He saw her dragon in her eyes, as much of an Alpha as his own, ready to do whatever it took to protect their clan and each other. Orion frowned at her. He didn't like thinking that she thought she had to protect him. It was his job to worry, not hers, and he would keep her as far away from this for as long as he could.

"No," he stated firmly, although he knew his eyes were pleading, "you aren't. I need you to go wake up Leo and the rest of the clan and make sure they're ready."

She looked like she was ready to argue some more, but finally gave him a reluctant nod. She moved to Hal to take Benny from him, the infant squawking slightly but settling into Skylar's arms. Hal touched her hand and gave her a soft look before bowing his head once.

Skylar squeezed her father's hand before turning to Orion. "Be careful."

It wasn't a request. She pulled him down for a chaste kiss before turning to Fiona and rushing back to the clan. Orion watched after her for a moment, but there was no time for his gaze to linger.

"Olly, how far away would you say his army is?"

"Half a day's march? It's hard to tell how fast they're moving."

"Dammit," Orion cursed. They were closer than he thought. That didn't give them a lot of time to get to the edge of the clan territory to meet them. The question as how they'd gotten that close without anyone seeing them sooner. "Alright, alright. Hal, Jonathan, you stay here to get your men ready."

"No way in hell am I letting you go scout on your own," Hal told him. "I'm coming with. Jonathan will be here to get the men ready to march."

The few soldiers that had been near enough to hear Olly's first announcement had spread the news like wildfire through the men. Orion saw they were already preparing their weapons, armor, and horses. Good. That saved them a lot of time.

Orion met Hal's gaze steadily, but he knew that the king wasn't about to budge on his stance. He was like his daughter, whether they were related by blood or not. Stubborn as a mule. Orion was still slightly shocked Skylar had given into him as easily as she did.

He finally nodded at the king, coming to a silent agreement. This man was a leader, and he wanted to look out for his men the best that he could.

Hal gave him a small smile and turned to look at Jonathan as he approached. "Your Grace, I'd like to come along as well."

"I don't think so," Orion snarled, his eyes flashing. If Orion's dragon was allowed anywhere near Jonathan, the man who dared touch their mate without her permission, or even at all, the dragon would tear him to shreds.

Jonathan stood his ground, his glare filled with just as much contempt as Orion's.

Surprisingly, Hal put a hand on Jonathan's chest to gently urge him toward the soldiers. "I need you to stay here to guide the men. I've got this covered, son."

"Your Grace-"

"Now, Sir Jonathan," the king said softly but leaving no room for argument.

The knight hesitated, but conceded with a low bow, jogging back to the soldiers. He immediately began shouting out instructions but Orion had already stopped paying attention to him.

"If you're ready?" he asked the king.

"Let's go."

Orion stepped back and let his dragon launch forward. The golden beast emerged in full Alpha force, ready to protect his clan and his mate, no matter the cost. He stretched his long neck, angled his head toward the sky, and released a mighty bellow, the sound shaking the ground around them. The roar of an Alpha.

Every head turned in surprise at the roar, and they all paused for a moment to admire the Alpha dragon in his full form, golden scales glimmering in the bright light of the sun. His teeth glimmered in a similar way, driving home the knowledge that the dragon could tear each of them apart with ease. But, if he could do that so easily to them, he could do it just as quickly to their enemy, and they had nearly a hundred dragons on their side. Their confidence was boosted immediately and they got back to work. Not one of them was familiar with the notion of a dragon bringing them comfort.

The golden dragon lowered his body to the ground so the king could clamber up his leg to settle between his shoulder blades. For having never been on a dragon before, he was quick to adjust, much to the golden dragon's surprise. The dragon didn't like the king, but he respected him as one respects another leader. He gave Hal no longer than a second before launching himself into the air. He didn't wait to see if his brother was after them, mostly because he didn't need to. He trusted the orange dragon to know his job and to be flying at his right flank.

The pair flew East, away from the safety of their valley. The mountains, familiar as they were, seemed more ominous today as they flew through them. Marching the men to the edge of the territory wouldn't be a quick venture, but he was comforted by the fact that Draco nor any of his men could enter their territory without the presence of a dragon.

As they flew closer to the edge of the territory, the gold dragon held back to allow his brother to take the lead. The orange dragon met his eye as he flew past, the anxiety clearly written there, and that bothered Orion and his dragon greatly. This dragon was a part of their clan, and he felt unsafe here. As an Alpha, that went against everything he stood for. The orange dragon flew ahead, the gold close on his tail as they reached the edge of the mountain range. The gold dragon gazed across the horizon, easily finding the mass of men on the march. At the moment they were just spots on the horizon, but he knew it wouldn't take long for them to get much closer.

Let's get a better look, Orion spoke to Olly through the clan link and the orange dragon nodded his head in agreement.

They picked up speed as they approached, the spots becoming larger until the entire horizon was covered with men. Orion had never seen so many humans gathered together in one place. He blinked in surprise. Skylar told him that Draco's army was 75,000 men strong. This looked like far more than that.

It didn't take long for the sentries to see the approaching dragons. Once they did, the spots began to hustle around, preparing to defend. The dragons wouldn't attack them, they weren't that stupid, but they wanted to get a closer look to see what they were up against. They stayed high enough above the men that the archers couldn't reach them. As they flew over their heads, Orion noticed something his dragon wasn't concerned with. While the majority of the men wore green uniforms, there was about a quarter that wore blue.

How easy it would be to open his maw and rain fire down on the monsters, he mused. The back of his throat began to itch at the thought. He didn't breathe fire often, but he recognized the low burning sensation. These humans weren't ready for an attack. They weren't prepared to defend.

They were split up in groups as they marched, roughly defined squares that kept them all in line. The gold dragon looked over his shoulder at the mountains, which were now just shadows in the distance. He glanced at Hal, who paid him no attention. He was extremely focused on the humans below, who had stopped marching to stare up at the two dragons flying over their heads. At the pace they were moving, he would say they were a day's march away. They would also need to stop and rest before--

ORION!

Olly's voice echoed in his head followed by the shriek of his dragon. The gold dragon turned around in time to see a massive spear flying directly at him. He roared in surprise at the weapon and tucked his wings to roll out of the way. He wasn't fast enough, the spear grazed his shoulder, but he would live. What the hell had that been. He'd never seen a weapon like that before.

He felt that Hal was still seated on his back, which was surprisingly but fortunate. He wasn't sure how he would explain to his mate that he father had fallen to his death.

He scanned the humans below, searching for the source of the spear, and a faint clicking reached his ears. He pivoted to the left and found what he was looking for. It was not a spear that had just draw blood, but a large bolt from a crossbow. Said crossbow was mounted to a wagon and run by one man. It was currently aimed at him once again. The source of the clicking was the sound of the soldier turning the crank to pull back the bow. Smoke began to rise from his nostrils as fury overcame him.

Catapults they could easily dodge. Catapults were loud and relatively slow. This new weapon changed the game. It was quiet and fast. If Olly hadn't called it to his attention, the gold dragon would be lying among the soldiers with a bolt through his skull.

He roared down at the men, but began to quickly retreat as he saw more of the crossbows being prepared to launch. The orange dragon was close behind him. He turned to look one more time, hoping to find Draco, and he did. Naturally, he was at the front of the march. His green cloak blowing in the wind across the plains, his black hair tied back in a loose plait. Even from this distance Orion could pick out the sneer on his long, pale face. Next to him stood a shorter, plump man staring after them as well. Orion recognized him, but couldn't place from where.

As much as he would enjoy flying back right now and finishing the job, he couldn't risk it with those new weapons. His dragon was too focused on the one man, the one causing all of this danger to the clan, he would be blind to anything else. They needed to fly back, regroup, and then march out. It was time to finish this.

They flew back to the clan as fast as they could, the wind rushing past them, seeing nothing but their destination. His shoulder burned and he could feel the warm blood seeping from it, but he would live. The bolt had penetrated his scales so easily, like they weren't even there. That was the scariest part. Catapults just knocked them down, bruised and disoriented them long enough for the humans to finish the job. This new crossbow could finish the job in one fatal shot.

Olly began to fly the landing pad, but the gold dragon roared to get his attention, angling toward the Big House. There was no time to waste. Every leader was in the Big House, so that's where they needed to go.

As they descended, the front door flew open and Skylar rushed out. Orion knew she was seeing the blood on his scales. He wanted to tell her that it wasn't a big deal, simply a flesh wound, but when he tried to put weight on it and couldn't, he knew there would be no convincing her he was alright.

Hal clambered down, extremely flustered, and waited impatiently for Orion to shift back to himself. The dragon gazed longingly at their mate one more time before allowing the human side to take control once again.

Orion stood tall, and reached up to grasp his shoulder. It was bleeding, which meant the wound had been enough to transfer to his human body. He cursed in irritation.

"Orion," Hal stated, demanding his attention. Orion gave it to him, sensing something truly bothered the king.

"What is it?"

"The men in blue, the men with Draco," he gasped, obviously still trying to process what they had seen, "those were my men. The men we left behind."

Orion's eyebrows rose to his hairline at this information. He certainly hadn't been expecting that. What sort of unloyal-

"And the man with Draco, the one standing next to him," Hal closed his eyes and ran his hands over his face, "that was my brother, Henry."

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

"I'm not reassured by the loyalty you inspire in your men!" Leo roared as they sat around the table in the Big House. Skylar stood at Orion's shoulder, carefully bandaging his wound. When she saw the blood soaking his magnificent scales when he landed, he heart had dropped. She hadn't really thought he'd be in danger when he left earlier, but now realized her mistake. He kept reassuring her he was fine, that it was simply a flesh wound, she found herself very un-reassured. The most unnerving part was that she'd felt it. Through their mate bond, she'd felt him get hurt, but hadn't realized what it meant. Their bond was still too new for her to have access to those details, but as soon as she'd seen him she had realized what happened. She hadn't told him she'd felt it yet, but she also hadn't had time.

"Dad," Orion stated. "This isn't about Hal. This is about Draco, and the fact that his army is 25,000 men stronger than we anticipated. Along with the new cross bows."

Skylar's heart jumped into her throat at the mention of those weapons. Orion hadn't said it had been a close call, but she knew better. She knew that if he hadn't reacted fast enough, both he and her father would be dead.

Leo let out a sigh and ran a hand over his face. "How do we know that the men we currently have won't switch sides the moment we're out there?"

Kellan spoke up this time. "Their fellow soldiers will on the backs of dragons. They wouldn't risk their brothers' lives by provoking us like that."

"That still isn't very reassuring," Percy grumbled. Laura, Nana, Victoria, Penelope, Greta, and Violet had rushed the infirmary at the news of Draco's approach. They had wanted Skylar to go with them, but Orion wasn't about to leave her sight. She knew he felt the same way, because he followed her out of the dining room and into the kitchen when she went to retrieve a bandage and salve from Victoria's supplies. She tied the bandage in a knot, but didn't move away from Orion. He responded by wrapped an arm around her thighs from his seat at the table, keeping her as close as possible.

"It's all we've got," Orion stated, running his other hand through his hair. "They won't want to endanger their brothers, and hopefully, when it comes to the fighting, Hal's men won't want to hurt one another. We're monsters to them, they came to kill us. They didn't come to kill their friends."

Leo nodded slowly. "What else did you see while you were up there?"

"The men, they're split into groups for marching. There's no saying that they'll be in that same formation when it comes to the battle, but it gave me an idea. If we split them into groups, break them up, it will be easier to pick them off."

"How do you plan on breaking them up?" Jed asked.

Orion smirked. "Humans don't like fire, especially when it's coming down from above."

That got a smile out of all the dragons at the table. Hal didn't look so amused, but didn't argue either. Skylar knew it was because he believed it was a good idea.

"We break them into smaller groups, and just rain fire down on them. We locate the crossbows and destroy them as quickly as possible. Hal, your men will stay back, away from most of the fighting for as long as possible. They're going to protect the border of the territory, making sure that no one gets in to move toward the clan."

"I thought the edges of the territory were enchanted?" Hal asked. "So that no human can enter without a dragon with them."

Leo answered him. "The fewer dragons within the territory, the weaker the magic is. Most of us will be outside the territory, fighting. It also doesn't stop humans from entering, but the magic will slow them down and poison them if they are without a dragon. The closer proximity a human is to one of us within the territory, the less the magic affects them. That's why when you and your men were in the field, you were find because there were a hundred and fifty dragons very close to you."

Hal nodded in understanding. "Luckily, there's not a dragon around to let them through."

"Precisely, but it will still be better for all of us if your men are there just in case. They'll be safer there as well, the ones who aren't on the backs of dragons."

"I appreciate that, Leo. But what about my men who are with Draco?"

"What about them?"

"They're still my men. I'd rather they weren't burned alive."

Leo sighed. "I suppose that's fair. We corral them with fire, we don't engage. We keep them out of the fighting as long as we can. But, if they begin to attack us, I can't condone protecting them. I'm sorry."

Hal bowed his head once. "I understand."

Skylar frowned slightly, wondering how she fit into this. She couldn't breath fire yet. How was she supposed to help if she couldn't breathe fire?

Orion seemed to sense her thoughts because his arm tightened around her. "Can I talk to you?"

"Of course," she stated. What an absurd question for him to ask. She stepped back as he rose from his chair, momentarily distracted by his bare chest. He smirked, sensing the effect he had on her, and quickly pulled his shirt back over his head. She following him into the living room, the sound of the men continuing to talk strategy following them out.

"What's the matter?" she asked.

"Skylar," he stated firmly, "I want you to stay here during the fighting."

Skylar scoffed. "I will do no such thing! This is my fight as much as it is yours!"

He glared down at her, the anger in his eyes quickly rising. "You will do such a thing. I need you here, safe, and to protect those who aren't fighting."

"Orion, what are the odds that something will happen to them this deep into the territory?"

"And what are the odds that something will happen to you on the battlefield?"

"I'm an agile flyer, you've said so yourself."

"You've been flying for a month, Skylar! One month. You've done very little training, and you can't breathe fire. I can't risk anything happening to you out there. Please, just this once, do as I ask."

"When was the last time I didn't do as you asked?" she snarled. Just this morning, she had decided not to argue with him when he told her to go back to the Big House.

"Going after Jonathan? You remember that?" he reminded her viciously. Wow, she blinked in surprise. That was a low blow and caught her entirely off guard. Unbidden, the sight of him lying in a pool of his own blood on the floor of the bookstore came to mind, as did the feeling of being in Draco's arena. Her heart dropped and her anger left her.

She pursed her lips and had to avert her gaze. "Yes," she whispered, "I remember."

He let out his own anger in an explosive sigh, stepping forward to pull her against him. The memory was still so raw for both of them, the feeling of loss that had consumed her. She nuzzled into his chest, listening to the strong beating of his heart, reassuring herself that he was alive, warm, and in her arms where he belonged.

"I couldn't go through that again," he whispered against her hair, his voice cracking slightly. "I couldn't lose you."

"And I'm supposed to just sit back while you go risk your life?" she didn't look up at him, just pressed her face further into his wall of a chest.

He reached up to cradle the back of her head, his fingers tangling in her loose, wild hair. "Skylar, I've trained my entire life for this. I'm the Alpha, this is my clan. I will fight for them, and I will protect them. And I, as your future Alpha, need you to stay here and protect those who can't fight. You are their future Alpha female, it's your job."

She couldn't believe he'd pulled that card. Yes, he would be her Alpha, but they would still be equals, or so she thought. The instinctual, primal side of her began to submit to her Alpha. Apparently, in matters like this he outranked her. Her Alpha had given her a demand, whether it had be phrased like on or not, and she could not deny him. She had a feeling he knew exactly what he had just done.

"I can't believe you just did that," she stated in frustration. Her human, princess side was still ready to argue and fight with him, but her dragon had sat back, ready to do as he asked without a moment of hesitation. She hadn't realized how often she and her dragon had been on the same page recently. At this moment, they were on opposite sides of the argument for the first time in what felt like a long time, and it brought her back to the first twenty-one years of her life, where she was constantly at war with the beast. She hadn't realized how well they'd had gotten along, and now she cherished it. They really were becoming one.

"Did what?" he feigned innocence.

What was he talking about? She was so distracted at the realization about her dragon that she'd forgotten their discussion. Of course, her dragon was quick to remind her of their new duty.

"Used the 'as your future Alpha' line," she growled half-heartedly. "You knew how my dragon would respond."

He didn't deny it. "I will do whatever it takes to keep you safe," he stated firmly. "Even if it means making you mad at me."

She scoffed and looked up at him, not surprised to find his gold eyes holding the slightest twinkle of amusement, accompanied by a mass of sincerity and adoration. She reached up to touch his cheek, her heart melting at the sight of him and his love for her.

"Fine, you win, but only because I'll know if you're in danger. Our minds are linked, so I'll always know. And nothing, absolutely nothing, will stop me from coming to save you."