Dragon Blood

Forty-Two: Hate at First Sight

Orion snarled at Nana for the first time in his life. He'd never had reason to until now. His grandmother, of course, wasn't the least bit intimidated by him even though he was twice her size. She simply put her hands on her hips and lifted an eyebrow. She didn't even seem bothered by the act of aggression.

"You can't keep me here," he snapped at her, moving toward the door of his bedroom. He had gained enough strength to walk on his own, it had been two days since he'd woken up, but he could feel that he wasn't back at full strength yet. In fact, this was the first time he'd stood up.

The stab wound in his chest had healed enough that Nana felt comfortable taking the stitches out, it healed faster as his strength had increased, but it still pained him a little if he moved to fast or exerted the muscles in his chest. But that was unimportant compared to getting to Skylar. Something was wrong, his gut told him that much, and he wished more than anything they had marked one another. Then he could sense her thoughts and feelings, but right now all he had to go on was instinct. His instincts had never let him down, and he knew they weren't now. 

"You aren't strong enough yet," Nana argued. She was calm, cool, and collected as usual. His temper came from his father's side of the family, Nana and both of her daughters had always been able to control their anger rather well for a dragon.

"I'm strong enough to walk to the door," he pointed out. "So I'm strong enough to go after her."

Nana scoffed. "That's quite a leap there. You haven't even been downstairs yet. What if you're not strong enough to make it downstairs?" she shook her head and put her hands on his arms to try and push him back to his bed. "I'm not arguing that you're doing much better, but, Orion, love, your color still isn't back and you haven't eaten any solid food since you got back."

Orion let her sit him down on the bed, but he was still fuming. "You can't keep me from her."

"And I don't want you to. How dare you accuse me of such a thing." Nana stood in front of him, glaring down. "You know I love Skylar like family, but I have to think about you right now. Orion, you would be risking your life to save her, and you don't even know where she is."

"She's with Draco." That much he was sure of. His dragon had finally shared with him what had happened after he'd fell unconscious. Ashley, the maid, had betrayed them, but that hadn't surprised him at all. He hadn't trusted her from the start. What surprised him was that she got the best of them, of him. He was a dragon, an Alpha, and a little girl had tricked him, nearly killed him, and stole his mate. She handed Skylar off to some guards, which meant she was likely in the castle, in the dungeon, where Draco could do whatever he wanted to her. 

Draco likely put her with Jonathan, he was sadistic that way. That would be a cruel trick, something that he would love.

The thought of Jonathan sent his dragon into a frenzy. The knight was the whole reason they were in this situation. He was the one who got caught, the one who Skylar insisted they save. Orion didn't blame Skylar, not at all. She had a good heart, it would have gone against everything she believed in to leave Jonathan at the hands of a monster.

"Exactly, love," Nana ran a hand over his hair. "A man who has spent his entire life perfecting how to overpower and kill dragons. He'll have her locked up where there is no chance of her escape. The chances of you saving her when you're at full strength were low, but now..."

"I can't just sit here knowing where she is and not do anything about it!" he threw his hands in the air and rose to his feet again. He regretted it at once as the blood rushed from his head, leaving him dizzy enough to stumble forward. Nana caught him, carefully avoiding his wound, and helped him stand up again.