Dragon Blood

Eight: Orion

He and Percy had been at it for nearly a month and they'd found squat. The worst part was that they couldn't even shift and travel as dragons. There were too many humans around who would likely notice two large dragons flying through the sky. The pests would mistake them for Wildlings and they'd be avidly hunted. He looked over at his silver stallion in contempt. He was tired of riding around on horseback. Horses were too slow.

He tossed his finished plate on the ground and took a swig from his canteen before laying back on the hard surface. Damn, he couldn't even see the stars. The upper foliage was too thick. How long did his father expect them to ride around searching for dragons who had so obviously gone to live among the Wildings?

He just wanted to get home and resume his duties. He wasn't technically Alpha yet, but he might as well have been. Leo had been giving him more and more responsibilities and backing off. The Alpha wasn't getting any younger, and Orion felt ready to take on the role of the leader. He'd been ready to be Alpha since he was just a hatchling. He'd trained hard and had listened to (almost) every piece of advice his father had given him over the years while he'd groomed him to become Alpha. He and his dragon were born to lead, there was nothing else that they wanted. Percy would be his Beta, he would mate with the daughter of the Alpha of the Eastern Clan, and everything would fall into place.

Sure, he would never get the love that Percy had with Laura, but his father had made an agreement to mate his oldest son with the oldest daughter of the fellow Alpha to form a stronger alliance than friendship. Cassie was a nice enough girl, even though she was only seventeen, which was seven years younger than Orion himself. She would make a good Alpha female for his clan, and that was all Orion looked for in a mate. She had Alpha blood and she followed Orion's lead. She'd give him heirs and companionship. He didn't feel he could ever love Cassie, but love was something his Nana told him and his little brother about in her stories, not something that Orion saw in his future.

He was just on the edge of sleep when Percy pulled him back from the much wanted unconsciousness. "You hear that?"

Orion groaned softly before he pried open a golden eye to look at the horses. Completely at ease. Alright, so it was something only dragons could hear. "No. Hear what?"

Percy rolled his eyes. "Listen."

"Alright, alright," Orion sat up slowly and closed his eyes. His ears reached out into the night, picking up the smallest rustles from nocturnal creatures hunting for bugs, to the footsteps of deer and the coyotes tracking them. And there, behind all the natural noise, the step of hooves on soft dirt and the creak of carriage wheels. He opened his eyes again and looked over at his friend. "The carriage?"

Orion would forever be amazed at the extent of Percy's hearing; he'd had to be listening for something specifically out of place, but his friend had picked up on it without trying. "What about it."

"Well it's headed this way, and I don't feel like worrying about answering questions if someone finds us," Percy pointed out. "You know how nosy humans are."

Orion lifted a broad shoulder and let it drop again. "Point taken. But it's easy enough to lie; we do look like travelers. And a carriage that's travelling this late probably doesn't want any trouble either. I think we're good, so I'm going to go back to sleep."

Percy sighed and rose to his impressive height. "Well, I can't sleep so I'm going to go check it out anyway."

Orion groaned and glared up at his friend. "Why can't you just leave it alone?" He gathered himself and stood up. Percy might have impressive height, but Orion was still an inch taller than him. Standing well over six feet, both men were imposing in their human forms.