I stared at the creature in front of me, trying to decide if my mind was playing a trick on me. I had just jumped off a twelve story building after all. It may have rattled my brains.
No one else was currently around, although that would soon change when everyone in my room managed to descend the pack house and get outside to check on me.
So it wasn't surprising when the little dragon focused it's attention on me and attempted one of the smallest and cutest roars I'd ever heard. Although it came from what was obviously a baby, the dragon in me recognized the challenge for dominance that had just been issued and was not happy.
Instinctively I tried to answer that challenge by roaring back at the baby dragon to let it know who was in charge here. Unfortunately for the poor thing, werewolf voice boxes aren't designed to roar like a dragon. So what came out of my mouth was somewhere between a roar and a loud growl, which made me sound much more threatening than a normal roar would have.
Instantly the young sky blue dragon dropped onto his belly as he realized that there was a much older and more powerful dragon present.
The act of submission by the surprised baby dragon settled the part of me that had been acting up since Aurora disappeared. I hadn't realized just how much my wolf had been suppressing our instincts so I would be able to pass off as a normal werewolf until now.
Unfortunately I didn't actually manage to get beyond establishing the pecking order with this baby before I heard the front door of the pack house slam open and footsteps running towards us really fast. Grace and Detsy really hadn't wasted any time at all.
The poor dragon in front of me also heard the door slam and the pounding footsteps. Since we were beside the pack house and there were no trees or bushes to hide under as they had all been cleared around the pack house. The little one decided that I was the best cover currently available and ran between my legs so it could hide from the frantic footsteps and their owners. I also got a glimpse of just how thin this baby was as it moved.
Grace and Detsy rounded the corner of the pack house, still at full speed, and finally came into sight. The first thing I did was to put my hand up in a stopping motion and my fingers to my lips to ask for silence before mind linking them as they stopped a good ten meters away from me.
"Sorry for scaring you, but please calm down as it appears we have a guest who is currently hiding behind me." I said with a look of apology to my mates for scaring them.
Grace just looked behind me while still focusing on my face and raised a single eyebrow when she didn't see anything. Detsy on the other hand managed to spot the baby dragon behind me as her eyes went wide and she became very still.
Detsy very slowly tugged on Grace's arm to get her attention then pointed to the small head that had appeared around my boots. Grace also went silent and slowed her movements when she saw the real live dragon.
"I don't think he's more than a few weeks old." I said out loud, calmly and slowly so as not to spook our visitor. "Although we'd only managed to establish the hierarchy before you both found us." Grace and Detsy didn't reply to me because they were still transfixed on the actual, breathing dragon at my feet.
"Do you have a name little one?" I asked softly to the sky blue baby at my feet.
The dragon looked up at me as an internal battle raged across his features. On one hand he was extremely scared and just wanted to hide. But on the other hand he had lost our short dominance battle badly, therefore I was now his superior in his mind.
After a few moments his desire to flee and hide finally lost the battle. "Dasir." His pronunciation rolled the s sound a lot.
I knelt down so I wasn't towering over him as much and asked. "Well Dasir, Why aren't you with your Dame?" Only after I said it did I realize that I'd instinctively used the Dragon word for mother. Sire being the word for father.
He looked at me with big eyes that were as blue as his scales and started to tremble. I wasn't sure what this youngster had been through, but this was not normal behavior for a few weeks old hatchling according to my instincts.
"Can you and Beverly visit the kitchen and get some diced up meat before you join Grace, Detsy and I out the back. We have a visitor who looks like they haven't eaten in a week." I quickly asked Saffron via the mind link while Dasir was once again having his internal battle.
"I don't know who my dame is." Dasir finally admitted. I motioned for him to continue. "I hatched in a cave with only a heat lamp to warm my egg. There were many humans there who seemed to be very excited at the prospect of getting rich by selling me to the highest bidder."
Dasir stopped to take a breath as tears formed in his eyes and the three of us present took that moment to absorb what the little dragon had said. Someone had managed to get there hands on a dragon egg somehow and their only thought had been of what profit they could make. How despicable.
"Once I'd hatched I was kept in a small cage and only fed scraps occasionally so I wouldn't grow too fast." Dasir continued. "But there was one lady who was not impressed when she found out what was happening to me. She couldn't change the minds of the others there, but she did sneak in each day to feed me properly and ensure I had clean water."
This was starting to sound more and more like a horror story. "Three days ago they removed me from the cave I hatched in and were transporting me to something they called an auction." Dasir continued. "The nice lady took the opportunity to break the lock on my cage while making it look like an accident. I took to my wings and have only stopped to rest in high trees until I crashed into your enormous building just before."
Beverly and Saffron had appeared with a small bag of meat halfway through the story and like the rest of us present, seemed more horrified at what this little one had been through than shocked that a dragon had shown up.
In her attempt to lighten the mood a bit, Grace asked a stupid question. "If you're only a few weeks old, how can you talk so well?"
I chuckled and replied for Dasir. "It's called iroferntint in the dragon language, but it translates to blood memories. These memories are imparted through the genetic code by the dame and sire of every hatching. It's also how Aurora was able to tell me so much about my history. As well as how a dragon instinctively knows their name"
Grace became silent as she thought, so I turned my attention back to Dasir. "So why did you fly towards us when you got free of the humans that were holding you captive?" I had a feeling I already knew the answer, but wanted to hear it for myself to be sure.
A dragon showing up at a werewolf pack house couldn't just be a coincidence. There weren't that many pack houses around so the odds of it were like trying to win the lottery.
Dasir looked at me shyly before answering. At least he wasn't quite so fearful now that we hadn't tried to lock him in a cage. "Something was pulling me in this direction. Although I don't know what." He admitted as my suspicions were confirmed.
"Well you're too young for a mate bond." I observed. "So the only other thing it could be is the rider bond."
The five people in the clearing with me, including Dasir, looked at me in complete confusion after I spoke.
"Sorry," I said to Dasir. "You would know it as an Yirdirr, which roughly translates to partner."
Dasir's face lit up in excitement for the first time as everyone else still looked at me with confused expressions.
"Dragons have two types of bonds that naturally occur." I explained to everyone present. "The first type is the mate bond, commonly called Ediris in the dragon tongue. It is the romantic bond just like a werewolf mate bond. However there is a second type of bond that is much rarer called a Yirdirr bond. It basically means partner for life, but there isn't anything romantic about it at all."
"These bonds are different from mate bonds because the partners can not only talk telepathically just like we do, but they can also draw on each others energy to achieve things that would have otherwise been impossible for them or to heal stupidly quickly. It has been described as having a best friend for life." I continued.
"However these bonds are rare because the pull to find ones Yirdirr partner only occurs in times of extreme need." I paused to let that sink in. "So the fact that Dasir even feels that pulls goes to show just how badly he's been treated."
Just like that I felt the three other werewolves present, as well as myself shift from suspicious of the intruder to protective. I also had a good idea of who Dasir's bond partner was judging by who was sitting closest to the part of the wall he'd slammed into.
"Beverly." I called out to the only human present that was half hiding behind Saffron because there was an actual dragon present. "Would you please bring me that meat you two got from the kitchen, I think our friend is hungry."
I turned to Grace and Saffron while Beverly hesitantly made her way over with the food. "Can the two of you please keep everyone clear of this area for the moment, I don't want the entire pack rushing over here to take a look when they learn of Dasir and scaring him. Could you also contact Alpha Leyton and Luna May to request their immediate presence." They both nodded at me before disappearing to intercept the people that could be heard to be heading for us.
When Beverly got to us I took the food from her hands but didn't let her back away as I started to feed Dasir by hand. He was a baby and his Dame would have been feeding him, had she still been around.
While Dasir had completely focused on the food the moment it appeared, he was still very gentle when he took it from me. I was grateful because baby teeth are very sharp.
After he'd eaten a good chunk of what Beverly and Saffron had bought I turned to Beverly and asked if she wanted to have a go at feeding Dasir. Predictably she looked at me like I was mad.
"He's not going to hurt you." I reassured my friend as I gave her the remainder of the food.
Beverly still looked unsure until she turned back to Dasir and saw his pleading expression for more food. Admittedly it would melt anyone's heart.
After that Beverly didn't hesitate to hold one of the larger pieces that were left out to the thin dragon baby. He was also extra gentle when he went to take it from her.
However as they touched briefly both Dasir and Beverly went completely still. Confirming what I had suspected. Dasir had been flying in the direction of his Yirdirr/rider, who happened to be on the other side of the wall he'd smashed into as he attempted to get to her.
Detsy moved the moment both dragon and human stopped moving but I called out to her. "Wait, it's ok Detsy, neither of them are in any danger." I looked at my mate in a reassuring way as she walked over to me with a puzzled expression on her face.
"In a minute or two both of them will pass out, when they do can I please get your help in moving both of them quietly to a room together then asking her parents to come here so we can explain what's happened." Detsy nodded in acceptance of my request as what was actually happening dawned on her.
Beverly and Dasir suddenly collapsed at the same time and I moved to catch Beverly before her head hit the ground. Detsy gently, but quickly, picked Dasir up and tried to cover his bright sky blue scales from view as best she could.
Somehow we managed to get the pair into the elevator and all the way up to the 12th floor without an issue. I just used the excuse that Doctor Rory had given Beverly something that knocked her out and no one saw the dragon that Detsy was carefully carrying.
Once we'd put the two in a room that wasn't currently being used, I mind linked everyone who I thought needed to know and asked them to assemble in Alpha Leyton's study. Needless to say they all agreed quickly.
On our way back down to the second level, Detsy and I noticed that everyone seemed to know something was going on. However, no one seemed to know what that was and people were trying to guess.
When the two of us entered Alpha Leyton's study, I found that everyone was already here except Beta Rebecca and Luna May. Grace, Saffron and Derrick were all seated opposite Alpha Leyton who was in his normal seat.
"I'd like to wait for everyone to be present before I begin." I told everyone there. Some looked confused and the ones that had been present to see Dasir wanted answers, but they begrudgingly nodded their heads in acceptance.
While we were waiting I asked Saffron to call Beverly's parents and ask them to come to the pack house immediately. She once again looked at me with a confused expression but called them anyway and made sure that they know it wasn't an emergency but they still really needed to be here. They agreed and promised to arrive within the hour before hanging up.
After what felt like forever but was in reality only a minute or two later, Luna May and Beta Rebecca entered the study and look up their normal positions beside Alpha Leyton and on his lap. Saffron had gone back to sitting on Derrick's lap while Grace and Detsy were sharing a single seat couch. I'd chosen to stand so everyone could see and hear me clearly.
"I've called you all here today because the situation with the dragon being on Earth has become even more complicated." I said as Alpha Leyton raised one eyebrow at me.
"The dragon that came to earth must have been carrying eggs and now these eggs have hatched. I have no idea how many eggs there were or how many managed to catch, but there are baby dragons on earth as well."
Luna May looked at me like I'd lost my mind before gently asking. "How in the world could you possibly know such a thing." To be fair, anyone that hadn't seen Dasir would have a hard time accepting such a statement.
I looked Luna May in the eye to show her just how serious I was as I replied. "Because we have a three week old baby dragon that goes by the name of Dasir in a spare room on the 12th floor."
Luna May looked completed caught off guard, so Alpha Leyton took over for her. "Ok then first, how did we manage to get a dragon in one of our rooms and second, what does this mean for us?"
I started to retell the story of the last hour to everyone that hadn't been there to witness it. From the sudden impact on the side of the 12th story of the pack house, to me leaping off the roof after whatever had crashed into the wall, to finding Dasir and retelling his story. I also told then what a Yirdirr or rider bond was and how it had called Dasir to Beverly. I also mentioned that those two were unconscious as the bond formed.
"As to what that means for us, well I'm not too sure. All I know for certain is that Dasir and Beverly are going to be inseparable and they should stay in the pack house so I can watch over them." I finally finished my story.
Everyone looked thoughtful but it was Luna May who asked the first question. "All this talk of dragons is unsettling everyone." She began. "Please understand that I don't doubt what you're saying, but I think everyone would feel better if we actually saw this creature that was only a myth until recently."
I almost reacted negatively to what she said until I realized that she wasn't trying to challenge me, she was simply unnerved and wanted a visual confirmation to help sort out her thoughts.
"Of course." I replied after I'd finished thinking. "Neither Dasir or Beverly will wake up for several more hours and I'd like her parents there and informed when she does. But it wouldn't hurt to sneak a peak in the meantime. Just remember to be very quiet."
I lead the group out of Alpha Leyton's study and up to the spare room on the 12th floor. Saffron, Grace and Detsy opted not to go in and risk disturbing the duo as they had already seen Dasir. But Alpha Leyton, Luna May, Beta Rebecca and Derrick all went inside the room quietly to observe the baby dragon.
They came out stunned, but fully convinced about my claims of dragons and one being involved in the war that was coming. Grace had told me earlier that the bloodhound pack had already been asked to track the natural wolves back to their main camp.
Before anything else could be said someone from downstairs mind linked us. "Beverly's parents are at the front door and are saying that they were told to come here straight away."
Alpha Leyton replied via the mind link. "Yes that's correct. Can you please show them to my study and get them any refreshments they'd like. I will be down in a couple of minutes to meet with them."
I looked at Alpha Leyton as he sighed. "Do you mind if I'm the one that talks to them?" I asked. "There are things they need to know that only another dragon will able able to tell them."
I'd forgotten that Beta Rebecca didn't know of my heritage and had a small chuckle as she made a sudden small jump back. Luna May noticed and immediately started to talk to her.
"If you want to do the explaining then I'm more than happy to let you have the responsibility, but as this is my pack I do need to be there. Is that ok with you?" Alpha Leyton asked me.
"That's perfectly fine with me." I replied as I turned around and started to head for the elevator, all the while preparing myself to deal with two parents that were going to be very upset.
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Authors note:
How is everyone finding the integration of dragons into what you thought was going to be a werewolf only story?