Chapter 8

Von's POV}

I was sitting outside the Pride’s main house when I felt the wind pick up. “Ahh, Amree was going to land soon,” I said, looking over at his right hand. Garren rolled his eyes. Amree annoyed him. She was like the little sister he never wanted. I laughed at his expression. I found it amusing how they got under each other’s skin; I used to ask her over to annoy Garren when we were younger. We looked at the sky as the area around them became very shaded, but it wasn’t cloudy. It was three giant dragons coming their way. Luckily in front of the Main House was a vast field; I left it this way purposefully for visitors of every species as well as safety measures; from there, you could see anything coming at you. Once I landed, I smiled and stood walking closer; I realized calling her little dragon was laughable as he looked up at an enormous red dragon who stood taller than his Main House, the trees, and everything around her. Beside her was a dragon of deep purple and a dragon of gold. I knew the purple dragon but the gold did not.

As they shifted back, I smiled; because of their magic, the dragons didn’t lose their clothes when they went; they magically appeared on their bodies again. “Hello, my little dragon; everyone is waiting,” I replied. I saw Amree smile and bit my lip; maybe having her come as I got older wasn’t the best idea. "Of course, “she said, smiling. “Well, you know Jace, here is Emy,” she said, motioning to the dragon that was once gold. It was only her hair that remained gold; the color of the dragon could be determined by its hair.

I bow out of respect as she introduced them, then ushered them inside to where the others were waiting. “I have asked the dragons for help. They have brought something they think will help,” I said, moving aside so Amree could speak.

“We have developed charms for you to wear. They fit like bracelets. While wearing them, you can sense and smell the leopards, but you cannot see them. We couldn’t figure that part out,” she said. Everyone seemed impressed, but we knew their abilities well; I could tell she wasn’t done yet. Amree handed the box to Garren. “Be useful little kitty,” she teased. Garren rolled his eyes. “Watch it fire breather,” he snapped back, taking the box and handing charms out to the warriors.

I watched Amree's amused smile. “I have brought Emy with me. She and her Dragon Solis have the power of light, even though we couldn’t get the charms to create a way for you to recognize them. Once you pick up a sense, if Emy is there, she can bend the light around them. You can see them that way,” she said. Amree was proud of what she and her clan had done. It was apparent to me. She was the Dragon Priestess, equivalent to Von’s King role. In her clan, the women ran things and were in charge. However, it could be challenging when visiting to other species’ lands. Some places couldn’t accept a woman commanding armies and politics. “Also, this is Jace. He and his dragon Draco have the power of darkness and death. He can create curses and poison to use on them if need be. However, he can also take away sight from the leopards, create nightmares for them to experience things of that nature,” she said.

Even though I had heard this before, it still made me shutter. That power made me weary.

-I never wanted to be on the wrong end of that nightmare.

-I could only imagine dragon magic.-

How real and intense that could feel. I snapped out of it when Amree spoke again. “My Dragon Granger and I have the power of fire, which is pretty self-explanatory; we will all stay our power, and just physical strength could be useful to you all,” she said. I looked around. He felt his pride’s eyes on me, wanting confirmation that they were staying. The only one not looking was Garren since he already knew the answer. I glanced at my pride members. “Have the spare rooms made up for the girls and one for Jace; they will be here awhile,” I said, confirming what Amree had said. With that, the Pride accepted what was said, and two left to tell the girls in waiting what to do. Girls in waiting were trained to care for the home; they learned to clean, cook, and care for a mate, children. It wasn’t something all women in the pride had to do. It was a choice and something they chose to do. Women were free to do as they pleased; some were warriors, trackers, teachers, or anything they wanted to be. The girls went to sit-up rooms as Amree came to me.

Nearly every pack member cleared our vast meeting room to perform their daily duties.

“So, what do I get out of this deal?" she replied, smiling and looking up at me. Compared to her, I was massive. I smirked, looking down at her. I licked my lips slowly, biting my bottom lip gently. “Oh, my little dragon, “ I said, fingers reaching her chin. Tilting her head up, I leaned down and whispered, “I don’t remember making any promises,” I said, then turned and walked away. “One of the girls will show you to your room,” I replied, chuckling as I went to my room. I knew what I did aroused her. I could smell it; I also knew it probably made her mad, but that was the fun in this, after all. I did tell her we would discuss it but I never actually promised to give her anything.

I fell back on his bed. He had to admit I felt better now that we had a way to fight against them. With the dragons but Emy epically patrolling for them, the fact she can keep them visible with the charms will make them easy to pick off. Fucking leopards, I thought as I rolled on my side, looking out his window into the night. Everything was falling into place, so why wasn't I at ease? What else was coming? What am I missing?