The adrenaline coursing through my veins made me roar into the heavens. I felt Invincible, the arrogance of a dragon coursing through my veins. Breath escaped my lips, the heat burning the plants around me, and my eyes shifted down to its corpse.
A certain hunger grew at the pit of my stomach. Unbelievable hunger, one that dwarfed my rage. I was entranced, like I was under a spell. All I could think about was how good the wolf would taste.
My lips salivated at the thought of consuming that wolf.
What was it? Was it the mana that I exhausted, or was it the strength? Why was I so damned hungry? Did it matter?
I unconsciously licked my lips as I looked at the corpse of the wolf.
An invisible thread of mana drew me towards it.
How ironic that the wolf who wanted to swallow the Dragon would soon be swallowed by one. I inched closer, one foot in front of the other, at that moment it felt as if it was just me and its corpse.
[Brother?]
Her voice knocked me out of my stupor; her cute little dragon head was tilted, confused by my peculiar behavior.
I shook my head and touched my face before letting my dragon claws rest at my side.
I nodded at her, assuring her that everything was alright.
[I apologize; my hunger got the best of me.]
Damned text, that was the only thing I could think of. What else could have compelled me to act so strangely?
I turned to look at the other wolves, they cautiously surrounded us, it wasn't out of loyalty towards the dead wolf. That much even I could see.
There was no way they would want to avenge that interesting piece of work. Not when, its mere growl made some of them relieve themselves.
The biggest walked forward and lowered his head like he was bowing.
I looked at him.
He was similar to the other wolves, but the moon in his eyes wasn't bit, and instead of a collar, he was pure white.
[Hathor The Snow-Lover Lvl.14]
[Child bred from snow, loved by the moon, a blessed child of the night. A Moon-Swallowing wolf, a foreign lord, compelled here by strange circumstance, a former lord of a mountain range and now the lord of a mountain. An excellent summon for an aspiring Summoner. Driven from his land by a three-headed Hydra.]
A Hydra? That could prove interesting, the inheritance clearly warned not to get consumed by a snake. For a snake at the dead-end of becoming a dragon, one method was to consume a dragon.
His mouth opened, and a voice that I could only describe as fitting for a wolf came out.
"We bear no ill will to the lords of this forest."
A smart dog, he immediately recognized us as the sovereigns of this land. A humble and servile attitude was the proper etiquette when addressing a dragon. If only his previous lord, learned some manners.
I nodded towards it. There was no point in speaking, draconic tongue can only be understood by creatures with the blood of dragons flowing in them, no matter how diluted. This mu- I mean wolf didn't look like the type to be descended from dragons.
Besides, a dragon could always tell when something was related, and he didn't feel a special pull.
As much as he wanted to talk to the cute doggy, dragons only learned how to speak the language of other creatures when they become young, the next stage after being a baby, and unfortunately for this wolf, I was only a day and a half old.
So, while I could understand it, using Dragon Eye, and a mixture of Dragon tongue, I couldn't speak it.
The creature didn't dare raise its head under our gazes.
[What is the insect saying?]
My sister turned to glance at me, her eyes narrowed as she glared at the wolves. I didn't doubt that if it were up to her, we would already have killed them
[It speaks of mercy.]
[Its master dared bare its fangs against us] She opened her mouth, charging a breath attack, causing the wolves to flinch.
Hathor stayed still, a courageous mutt. Where was this valor when dealing with that stray? I glanced at the corpse.
There must have been a reason why, it was under the command of that bug. I looked back at my sister and placed my hand on her head, placating her, the charge dissipating instantly, replaced by a motion to push her head onto my hand. Her eyes were shining brightly.
Just the fact that she only acted up like this deserved a lot of head pats and praise, but unfortunately, we were in public, and I didn't want to embarrass her in front of others.
"It seems you understand me, my lord." He lowered his head further. "It is a shame I cannot hear your majestic and regal voice."
My lips threatened to rise, but I held back. Dragons were weak to flattery; that was a new thing I learned.
"Our family inhabited the plains of Jules for centuries, but with the absence of the Lord of Ice, our spot on the hierarchy dwindled, and a weakened Hydra took over our land." His lips quivered as he spoke.
It would explain why wolves belonging to winter were in a place that so clearly screamed autumn.
"Many of our pack died that day." He shook his head and gritted his teeth. "While the other wolves stayed, I made the decision to travel south. In hopes that our cousins in the plains of Jale were faring better, we planned to stay there and recuperate before taking back our homeland." The corners of his lips trembled into a frown.
"Unfortunately, the trek proved too long, and we stopped to rest in this mountain. We ruled this forest for months, until a Sun-Wolf invaded our mountain and took over our pack. Since that day he has terrorized this forest ever since." Hathor growled at the corpse.
"A shite leader, and an even worse wolf, even just a week under his rule was worse than when the Hydra took over."
It lowered his head once more, his snout touching the ground.
"I see no further need to travel south, if he was anything to base my opinion of our cousins."
I wasn't going to tell him Jaskier was probably an outlier.
"There is nothing grander than serving a Dragon."
This dog is really good with his lip service.
"So, please, my lord, accept our loyalty." It pushed its head close to us.
[Brother, what did it say?] My sister asked, tugging on my scales. It was cute how her eyes sparkled at this novel encounter.
What a cute dragon, should I stretch her cheeks? No, that would lower the dignity of dragon kind. I will do it in private, I silently decided to pester her when we reached our new lair.
[The dog recognizes its new owners.]
My sister nodded, her tail wagging as she stepped beside me. I continued to rub her head; she reminded me of a stray cat I used to feed.
[Accept it.] She nuzzled into my hand.
[I could use a servant.] Her cute voice squeaked out.
I wanted to smack her. What use did a day-old Dragon require of a servant?
Seeing as the wolves were the previous rulers of the mountain, it didn't hurt to take them in as subjects. It would secure our new lair and prevent a power struggle from happening. Although I doubted, they were much of a threat.
But the need to communicate was present, and from my knowledge, it takes a long time for a dragon to grow. Of course, that was relative to a mortal species; for us, it was as quick as taking a nap and waking up bigger.
A dragon's nap could last centuries, so I was more inclined to find an immediate solution.
There was a method I could use, one that I didn't think I would use anytime soon. I stopped rubbing her head and stepped forward towards the wolf. I placed my hand on his head, feeling his soft fur, and retrieved it.
I bit my finger and used my magic to hold the drop of blood still. Even though it was just a drop of blood, it was still the blood of a dragon.
It sizzled, burning everything that came in contact with it, and sparks flew in the air.
Dragons could create kin by sharing their blood. In the inheritance I received, I saw plenty of images of various dragons of all shapes and sizes getting retainers.
Seeing as this poor dog, had no dragons blood, I would gift him mine. I hoped he proved resilient enough to survive the infusion. Like I said, we weren't considered a mortal species, only lesser than gods at birth.
Dragons were a transcendent species; not every creature could accept the power that came from such a being.
I hoped Hathor was strong enough to accept my blood into his body; after all, the fate of his clan rested on his head. While I leaned towards the side of good, if in a fit of rage I was attacked, I would not hold back.
Sensing what I was doing, the wolf raised its head, looked at my hands, and saw what I was planning.
An educated mutt.
I glanced at Hathor and held the drop up; I motioned to it with my head.
He moved forward and bowed once more, and with a solemn look in his eyes, he howled into the sky. When he stopped, I sent my blood forward; from here it was up to him whether he lived or died.
He accepted it and it moved on its own, entering via his temple.
The wolf's body violently shook, a blinding light enveloping him, fire and ice warring for supremacy.
I moved my hand and patted my sisters head as I watched; my hand was oddly comfortable on her head.
While I knew I wasn't a fire dragon, fire was still seeped in my blood. If he got out of this alive, he would be significantly stronger, and he would have unlocked a new limit.
His veins bulged as he toppled over, and he collapsed onto the floor, writhing in pain. The other wolves nervously got closer.
I almost smiled at their loyalty; if this wolf were to die, they would attempt to perish with it. It was clear who the wolves saw as their leader.
I waited patiently until he stopped shaking, silver scales sprouted near his eyes, and little horns sprouted from his forehead.
Seeing as the light didn't fade from his eyes, I could consider this a success. He stood up on his trembling legs and howled into the sky.
[Horath The Dragon Wolf Lvl.18]
[Loyal to the Dragon Lords]
There was only one line of text added to his description, but his specs got a massive increase. I didn't know what the difference in levels meant, but if Jaskier was the benchmark for 17, then Horath was a powerful creature now.
I nodded at him, a part of me was relieved that he successfully assimilated my blood, it would be a shame to kill such loyal wolves.
It also helped that dragon-kin could not betray their master, not unless they were willing to die to attempt it.
[Brother? Why does the funny-looking insect keep screaming into the sky?]
[Apologies, my lord, the thought of serving my new lords has excited me.]
[Oh.]
[It speaks our tongue now?]
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. if she wasn't so focused on getting her head patted, maybe she would have known what was going on.
My sister may be adorable, but she was a little slow.
I shook my head.
[Those mountains were yours?]
[Yes, my lords.]
It turned to look at the mountains, its head held high.
[My territory lies in that mountain, where the rest of the pack rest]
[As my lords, it is yours now]
The wolf howled once more, the others following along with him. My sister, perhaps swept by their mood, also roared into the sky.
Why not?
I also roared into the sky.