"Like this?" Skylar asked, lifting the bow and closing one eye.
Percy placed on hand on her stomach and one on her back, straightening her. "Close, but remember to keep your core tight."
She remained in the position Percy shifted her into as he let go and took a step away from her. She inhaled deeply and aimed the arrow at the target that was pinned to the tree about ten yards away. Percy had been coaching her in archery all week long when she wasn't with Laura, even though the female accompanied them some days. She was a gifted archer, but Percy was even better. He was a patient and enthusiastic teacher. Skylar knew he was also keeping an eye on her for Orion.
She hadn't seen Orion all week. Well she'd seen him, but she hadn't spoken to him. She'd seen him in the distance while she was out and about with Laura. She'd seen him helping to rebuild the fences around the paddocks for the herds of cattle and the sheep, flying overhead coming in from patrol, and speaking with clan members. She missed him. If she'd been asked a week ago if she would yearn for the company of her captor, she would have laughed. Now she was hoping that they'd get the chance to speak again before she was forced away, because she knew that was what would happen. She didn't have any illusions about what would happen. And she didn't think that Kellan would be a fan of hers either. She still didn't understand why Leo insisted on letting the other Alpha, who had no idea Skylar existed, have a say in her future. He would be even less forgiving than Leo.
"Are you going to shoot or what?" Percy asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes, I'm just focusing," she told him.
He chuckled and she inhaled deeply before letting her arrow fly. It flew so well, it completely missed her target and soared into the forest.
She groaned and let her arms drop. "I wasn't even close that time."
"You're not keeping your arm straight when you let the arrow go; it wobbles," he explained. "You're getting better though."
She snorted. "My empty target would beg to differ."
He laughed and handed her another arrow, his silver eyes alight with amusement. "You can't be a natural at everything, Skylar."
He was of course referring to her flying lessons, which she had no memory of. Percy had taken her around the perimeter of the territory, so her dragon knew where to fly. She thought she was beginning to become more conscious while in her dragon form, but it was hard to tell. When she looked back on it, it felt like a dream she had that she couldn't remember. Like she knew she had been aware of something at one point, that something had happened, but she couldn't describe it or even say what had happened. It was incredibly irritating, and she didn't think it was fair that her dragon was conscious while she was in control, but as soon as the beast took over she couldn't remember anything.
Percy had told her that her dragon caught on to every thing his dragon showed her. They'd practiced diving and aerial agility, loops, evasive maneuvers, slowing down, hovering, the finer points of flight. Apparently her dragon was eager to learn, incredibly sassy, and competitive. Percy told her that made her a fast learner.
After her dragon got a chance to fly around the territory, Laura and Percy had taken her for a flight; she had sat on Laura's back to observe the clan'd lands. Fiona had joined them as well, since Olly was busy with Orion and Leo. Skylar had especially enjoyed flying over the ocean. The endless expanse was terrifying and awe-inspiring. It was so large, so calm, and so powerful. She'd seen the ocean before, but never from so far above it. The serene blue of it, and the clan off in the distance, it made everything seem so small. It made even her huge companions seem minuscule and insignificant.
Before seeing Laura's dragon for the first time on that flight, she didn't think caramel was a color that could sparkle. Laura proved her very wrong. Her scales glittered just as much as Percy's silver and Fiona's lavender. Her dragon was also as expressive and perpetually excited as the woman herself, although Skylar shouldn't have been surprised at this point. From what she'd observed, dragons and their humans had similar personalities and ways they carried themselves. Although it seemed even more pronounced in dragons, like with Percy and Laura's dragons. Skylar knew that the humans loved one another dearly, even though Percy hadn't proposed yet, but their dragons were never not giving each other loving glances or touching. They had fewer inhibitions than their humans, and were obviously impatient with the decisions of their humans.
Percy's voice dragged her back to the present. "Alright, let's try again. Your arrows seem to be going to the right quite a bit, so aim slightly left."
Skylar did as she was told, all while keeping her core strong as he had instructed. She closed one eye and took aim, slightly to the left of her target. After a deep breath, she let the arrow go.
It flew past the left corner of her target, exactly where she had aimed.
She snarled at the retreating arrow. "Seriously?" She'd been practicing archery for a week and she hadn't gotten any better.
Percy cocked his head to the side, following her line of sight. "That wasn't what I was expecting."
"Me neither," she huffed. "Are all of your students this inconsistent?"
He didn't sugar coat it for her. "Nope. You're definitely a challenge."
"Lovely."
"Hey," he laughed and threw an arm over her shoulders. "You'll get it, I promise. Let's go work on something else, since no one gets better when they're frustrated. Up for a sparring match?"
Skylar sighed and nodded. "After I get my arrows."
"I'll help you find them, if you can. You have some good power behind your shots."
"At least I've got that going for me," she rolled her eyes and walked into the trees behind her target. Her arrows were nowhere in sight, but that was no surprise.
"You can help me make more later," Percy called as he searched the underbrush to her left, "if we can't find these."
"Maybe the ones I make will actually work!" she answered, and he responded with a barking laugh.
She quite enjoyed Percy's company. He was fun and loved to talk, which made Skylar wonder how he and Orion got along so well. As she had spent more time with the future Beta, she had wondered this more and more. She finally asked him on her third day with him, while Laura was busy on patrol with Fiona. Percy was going to take Skylar's dragon for another lap around the clan territory and they were walking to the landing pad.
"You and Orion are best friends?"
He had given her an odd look, but then nodded slowly. "For as long as I can remember, yeah."
"Interesting."
"How so?" he'd asked.
"You're so opposite. You're funny and love to laugh. Orion's so serious most of the time." She'd of course gotten glimpses of the goofy Orion, and the vulnerable Orion, but for the most part he was all business.
Percy shrugged. "We balance each other out, I guess. I don't really remember how we became friends. His dad's the Alpha, and mine's the Beta, so we were always together a lot. He's one of the best people I know. I trust him more than anyone, except for maybe Laura."
"Laura is pretty wonderful," Skylar agreed.
His face turned slightly wistful. "She grew up with Orion and me. We were the only three in our group of first time shifters. We've always been friends, the three of us."
Skylar gave him a sidelong look. "You love her a lot, don't you?"
"More than anything," he admitted. "You're not going to bother me about asking her to be my mate, are you?"
"Should I?"
"Everyone else is."
"Are you going to ask her?"
"I was going to do it a few days ago but-" he glanced at her and quickly shut his mouth.
"But what?" she wondered. "You can tell me."
He shook his head. "It's not important."
"It's not important? This is your future wife we're talking about, of course it's important!"
He sighed and rubbed his face. "I was going to ask her the night you came to stay with her. We were supposed to go to the falls, have a nice picnic dinner, and I was going to ask her."
Skylar immediately understood what had happened. "But she wanted to stay with me."
"That's why I love her, though. She cares so much about people, even if she doesn't know them that well. She loves you Skylar, and I don't blame her for wanting to take care of you."
Guilt washed over Skylar, even though she hadn't meant to disrupt his plans. But she knew how much Laura wanted to marry Percy, and the fact that she was the reason her host was still without a ring on her finger bothered Skylar greatly.
"You should ask her tonight," Skylar had told him, pulling him to a stop and making him face her. "I'll stay in my room, lock me in if you have to, but take her to the falls and ask her to be your wife."
"You're sure you'll be okay all alone?"
"I'll be fine, I promise. I was alone most of my life before this, I can survive one night on my own," she promised, squeezing his arm. That was when two massive forms flew over them, headed for the landing pad. One black, one gold. Skylar had stared in shock at the two dragons. It was her first time seeing Leo in his dragon form (when she could remember) and he was a formidable beast. If she'd thought Orion's dragon looked fierce, she didn't have a word to describe this monster.
He was different from every other dragon she'd seen so far, and she'd seen quite a few since being at the clan, in that the angles of his face and body were harsher, more angry. More spikes and barbs protruded from his face, and the ridges above his eyes were deeper and more angled. The biggest difference was that he had a horn protruding from his snout, angling back slightly towards his face. This dragon also had the ragged scars dragging down the right side of his face, just like his human. And when he landed and looked at her, chills ran up her spine. His black eyes were ice cold when he looked at her, not like when she made eye contact with the gold dragon next to him. Her sweet friend's eyes were filled with longing as he shifted back into Orion. The black dragon remained a dragon, staring at her with emotionless eyes.
"If you've never seen a Wildling, they look a lot like that," Percy murmured to her as the black dragon's head swung away from her and he shifted back into Leo. Leo stared at her, far less formidably than his dragon, and steered Orion away. "He gets confused with them all the time."
"Why does he look so much like them? So different from you guys?"
Percy shrugged. "Everyone's different. We all come from Wildlings, I know Nana told you the story. Some of us are closer to our wild side than others. Leo is one of them."
She nodded, looking after them. Orion looked over his shoulder and made eye contact with her, his eyes filled with sadness, but also encouragement. She felt a deep longing for his company as she watched his walk away, and something that could only be described as loss when he quickly turned to look at his father when the Alpha began talking. That had been the last time he'd acknowledged her presence when she was close, and she guessed that Leo had said something to him.
And although she missed Orion, she'd made Percy and Laura very happy. Percy had followed her advice and proposed to Laura that night. Laura had been over the moon ever since.
As she searched for her lost arrow, she looked over her shoulder at Percy, who of course held one up triumphantly. She rolled her eyes.
"Is Laura coming to find us later?" she asked as he waltzed over to her, twirling the arrow between his fingers.
"She is," he told her. "Why? Is my company not enough?"
Skylar chuckled. "Of course it is. I was simply curious. She said she wanted my help deciding on food for your mating ceremony next week."
Of course, Laura didn't know that it was very likely Skylar wouldn't be here next week, but Skylar was happy to help nonetheless. Seeing her new friend so happy, so in love, it made Skylar's troubles pale in comparison. She'd never had a close female friend her age before, and she liked it a lot. She would miss Laura dearly when she left, but she would be okay knowing that she was keeping her friend safe.
Laura had done her best to keep Skylar as busy as possible, likely to keep her from thinking about anything that was going on. Much of the business had circled around the bakery. Laura's mother and father were the bakers, and they were very good at what they did. They were kind people, and they hadn't had any problems with Skylar's presence. She supposed they did as their Alpha commanded, but she still appreciated their hospitality. From what she had observed of them with Percy, they loved him like a son already. Especially Laura's father, who had two daughters and no sons.
After working with them, Skylar had a much greater appreciation for what the bakers in the castle did. It was far more work than she had anticipated, and it was exhausting. Her first few loaves of bread didn't rise, and she'd required constant guidance from Laura and her parents. Luckily, they were nearly as patient as Percy when it came to teaching her new skills.
After locating her arrow, Percy led Skylar towards a clearing in the woods and turned to face her, wasting no time in taking on a fighting stance. Skylar's dragon growled in anticipation, while Skylar dropped into a fighting stance as well. The first few days of this had left her sore and barely able to move, but she enjoyed it. It made her feel strong and powerful, like she would actually have a chance if she were left on her own. She assumed Percy had been teaching her dragon combat skills as well, but she couldn't remember any of it.
"Strong arms," Percy reminded her as he began to circle around her. "Stay tense and you'll stay alert."
"Right," she muttered, flexing her arms slightly so they didn't wobble as she moved, her eyes never leaving her opponent. Percy would not take it easy on her, and he hadn't yet. She'd landed on her back more times in the last week than she cared to admit, but she thought she was lasting longer every time. She appreciated Percy's help, even if it wasn't who she wanted to be learning from.
Percy had mentioned that Orion wanted her to know how to fight on their first day. It was a comment he'd made in passing, possibly not realizing he'd said it, but she appreciated it nonetheless. Knowing that Orion cared enough that he wanted her to be able to protect herself in the likely chance she would be on her own against Draco gave her comfort that would otherwise have evaded her. She would have preferred if he'd been able to teach her himself, but he'd given Percy the task and Orion trusted Percy with his life, which meant he trusted the Beta with hers as well.
Even if she wasn't able to talk to him or be around him, Orion was keeping his promise to protect her. Even better, he was making sure she could protect herself. Of course, that saddened her because it likely meant he thought there was little chance Leo would let her stay, little chance that he would be around to protect her in the future. She never thought she'd need to protect herself, she'd always had guards for that, and now that the situation was before her, it was incredibly intimidating. She didn't think she could do it.
Percy lunged at her and she dodged to the side quickly while keeping her form, like she'd been taught. As Percy reoriented himself, she took advantage of his moment of weakness to aim a kick in his direction. He moved out of the way easily. Like she'd said before: he wasn't one to take it easy on her.
They continued like this for a while, until Skylar's muscles were screaming. Even though they'd been doing this for a week, she still wasn't used to this level of physical exertion. She was growing stronger, but her body was still mostly accustomed to the activity level of a princess, which wasn't much. Especially with her parents, who were always afraid to let her leave the castle for fear of what her dragon would do.
She wondered for the hundredth time what they were doing, if they were looking for her. What they thought of her disappearance. She still wondered if they really loved her, or if they only kept her around because they needed an heir. Other than that... she couldn't come up with a reason why they hadn't killed her. She'd had plenty of time to ponder such things during her week away from Orion. He had a knack for keeping her mind off the things that weighed on her. She would've thought it was because he kept her so busy, but Percy and Laura had been keeping her just as busy, if no more so, but she'd thought about her parents, Draco, and the dark prospects of her future more than she cared to.
There was a rustling in the woods to her left and Skylar looked over. As soon as she did it, she knew it was a mistake. Percy hooked a heel around her ankle and flipped her onto her back. She hit the ground with a thud and her breath whooshed out of her.
"Uhhhhnnn," she groaned, laying her head back and fighting to regain her breath. Percy stood over her, a disappointed look etched on his face.
"You let yourself get distracted," he told her.
"I noticed," she replied, closing her eyes before sitting up slowly. She turned to look into the woods, only the see Nana and Olly standing at the edge of the clearing. Nana giggled while Olly shook his head and crossed his arms over his broad chest.
Skylar's heart lit up at the sight of them. She'd missed Nana dearly in the last week, she hadn't been allowed to see the healer either, and she'd very nearly sought her out a few times. It was bad enough that she couldn't see Orion, being unable to see his family as well hurt. They were the people she'd grown to trust and suddenly she was ripped away from them.
"Nana," she smiled, stumbling to her feet.
"I thought I heard you two over here," Nana held her arms open and Skylar stepped into them, hugging her closely. "It's been very quiet around the Big House since you left."
Olly grunted in agreement. "Orion's even grumpier than usual."
"He is?" Skylar looked up at him, trying not to appear too eager.
Olly nodded, giving her a small smile. "He misses you."
Skylar barely managed to keep from smiling, but dragon hummed in triumph in her head. Of course the golden-eyed Alpha missed them. Her dragon missed the golden dragon dearly, and had been quieter than usual as well. In all honestly, Skylar had been worried her dragon would get away from Percy's dragon and hunt down the object of her desire on her own. Fortunately she hadn't done such a thing yet, but it was only a matter of time.
"I miss him, too," she told him. She glanced at Nana, whose eyes flashed knowingly, before she turned to look at Percy.
"We're here to take Skylar," she stated.
Percy blinked once, but didn't appear too surprised. "I was wondering how long that would take. It lasted longer than I thought."
"Laura and Fiona are on their way. You three are going to go on patrol at the outer edge of the valley, giving Skylar the full tour," Olly explained.
Percy chuckled and nodded once. "You got it. I assume Leo is at the Big House then?"
"In his office with two very unsettled clan members. He won't be looking out the window to see you leave."
"Of course he won't. I'll wait here then," he turned to Skylar. "Behave."
She was just confused about what was going on. Was she being kidnapped again? "I guess I don't really have another choice."
Nana grinned widely and grabbed her hand, dragging her into the woods. Olly took up the rear, a satisfied smile plastered on his face. Skylar stared at him suspiciously, narrowing her eyes. If Leo discovered that they were with her...
"How have you been?" Nana asked, not slowly her quick pace in the slightest.
"Fine, I guess. Incredibly busy," Skylar responded. "Percy and Laura are wonderful."
"They are," the old woman agreed. "I'm glad they took good care of you."
"I heard he finally asked her to be his mate," Olly mentioned. "Thanks to you."
"I just encouraged him to ask her."
"The rest of us have been doing it for months," he chuckled. "I guess there's something special about you."
Skylar grinned. She was glad that she could help bring them together. "Their mating ceremony is next week. Isn't that fast?"
Nana answered her. "Not for dragons, love. Once they've chosen a mate, there's very little reason to hold off. Besides, their dragons will be even more unbearable until they've claimed one another."
"Claimed?" What an odd word for a mated pair.
"They'll bite one another's necks, to seal the bond. It's more of a traditional thing, if the pair isn't True Mates."
Skylar shivered slightly at the thought of biting anyone's neck, or anyone biting hers in return. It was simply repulsive. "What does that have anything to do with it?"
"When True Mates claim one another, they form a mental connection that only they share. All mates have one, but True Mates are incredibly strong, almost to the point where they can hear one another's thoughts."
"How... odd," she stated for lack of a more descriptive word. To not have her thoughts be her own any longer, that was not a good selling point on True Mates.
"It's actually quite wonderful, but it can't be explained to someone who doesn't have their True Mate," Nana sighed. "I do hope you'll find out someday."
Skylar nodded slowly, not as enthusiastic about the thought as her dragon, who couldn't wait.
"Anyway," Olly sighed, obviously a little uncomfortable about all the True Mate talk, "Percy's been teaching you to fight?"
"And archery, although that isn't going all that great," Skylar sighed, thinking of her empty target.
"Either way, I'm sure you're better at it than you were last week," he chuckled.
Considering a little more than a week ago she was still a princess dreading the full moon, she supposed he was right.
The sun had begun it's descent toward the ocean, and all the shadows in the forest were elongate, giving it an eerie appearance. It made the woods look more foreign than they were before, which alerted Skylar to the fact that she hadn't yet been to this section of the woods.
"Where are we going?" she asked, stumbling as Nana gave her hand a good tug.
"Use your senses, child. You're a dragon, embrace it," she chastised, and that was all Skylar got as an answer.
She sighed and closed her eyes, relying on Nana not to lead her astray, and opened her ears and nose to her surrounding. As soon as she began paying attention, she heard the telltale sound of water lapping against a shore and the fresh smell of it reached her nose. It didn't have the saltiness of the ocean, it was fresh water. It must be one of the lakes she'd seen when she'd flown over with Percy and Laura.
They were close, from what she could tell, and they seemed to be getting closer. She assumed it was their destination.
She kept her eyes closed, using her senses (and Nana) to lead her in the right direction. She only opened them when one of the smells she was incredibly attuned to hit her nostrils. Her dragon growled in satisfaction when she opened her eyes to see Orion standing next to the lake.