“I have directions to the campsite,” Sonar told him as he approached his friends.

“How far away?”

“A few miles. We’ll need to drive there since shifting would draw attention to us here in the open.”

They had bought a used vehicle with the gems they’d traded for Earth’s money. It took a few days, but eventually Markus had learned how to operate it properly. “Let’s go.”

Markus was the only one that could drive the vehicle. Sonar sat next to him. Their third silent companion, sitting in the back, was Warrior Roan. The male had barely spoken a word since they’d arrived. The male was prepared to handle Sonar if he had another episode. Markus still resented having him there, but he would make sure Sonar was on his best behavior.

It was late, but the ranch looked like its lights were still on. When he parked, someone came out onto the front porch. He greeted them when Markus got out of the car.

“You boys are in luck. I was just about to go to bed. You needing a place to stay?”

Markus approached him slowly. “Yes.”

“Do you have your own camping gear or do you need to rent a cabin?”

“We have no gear. Do you have a cabin farther out, away from everyone else? We like privacy.”

The male looked from Markus to the two still in the car. “You aren’t troublemakers, are ya?”

“No, we mean no trouble. We will be here a few days only, passing through.”

The male still didn’t look sure he wanted them there. “I don’t take out-of-town checks.”

“We have cash.”

That got the male’s attention. “Cash? It’s going to cost ya a hundred a night because there’s more than one of ya.”

“We will pay for a week, even if we do not stay the whole week.”

“Seven days? That will work…I have a family coming in next week that wanted that same cabin.”

“That will be fine. I’ll pay up front.” Markus walked up to the porch and pulled out the paper money. “I believe this is seven hundred.”

The male looked excited as he reached for the money. He quickly counted it then smiled. “What’s your name? I’ll add you to the guest log.”

“Markus.”

“Markus what? What’s your last name, son?”

He’d forgotten again that humans used both a first and last name. “Markus…Dragon.”

“Dragon?” The male chuckled. “You sure did come to the right place. Take the dirt road on the right until it runs out. The cabin will be on the right.”

“Is it locked?”

The male looked at him like he was being ridiculous. “Son, we’re in the middle of nowhere. The cabin is bare minimum. There’s nothing to steal. No wild parties and nothing illegal. This is a family-friendly campsite.”

“Yes, sir. Thank you.” Markus went to get back inside the car. He started it up and drove down the dirt and gravel road. It was really bumpy, and areas were slanted in some places. Pulling up to the cabin, he turned to his companions. “Let’s shift to dragon form and take to the sky. Stay away from the populated area. We need to look for any signs of other dragons.”

They got out and undressed. Roan spoke for the first time. “What if we don’t find anything? How many days will we remain here?”

“If we can’t find anything, I’ll send out a sonar call. That will reach for miles. We’ll give it a few days to see if anyone answers the call before we leave.”

They shifted into dragon form. Sonar was a blue-and-black-scaled dragon, slightly smaller than his own golden-and-black-scaled dragon. Roan had red and black scales.

They flew toward the Dragoon Mountains and over the nearby lake. It was a beautiful planet which differed in landscapes as much as the Drakonian dragons differed in the color of their scales. He was tempted to shift and take a dip in the lake. It probably wouldn’t be a good idea until they secured the area around the campsite.

He nodded his head for the others to head back to the cabin. He flew up, letting the wind under his wings lift him higher and higher, then he opened his jaws and howled out a sonar call. Hopefully, they would finally find their people…maybe his mother and sister. He’d missed them over the years. His sister would be eighteen now or, actually…she would have lived hundreds of years. Would she still be alive? Maybe mated with children? He missed his family and had thought of them often. It was the one thought all of his fellow warriors had that kept them going when they could have given up and found a planet to live on. They all hoped to be reunited with their loved ones.

It had been hard for them during the long years of space travel. There had been a whole year that went by that they had not found a planet that they could spend any time on where the atmosphere could accommodate his people. Markus found that outer space could be a dark and lonely place to be, even when surrounded by hundreds of his own people. Other than his best friend Sonar, he had not bonded to any of the few females they had on board.

There had been three hundred warriors and a hundred females when they first left Drakonia in the midst of a battle with their enemy. They provided coverage while the other battle cruisers tried to escape with more of their people. He still could see the moment one of the escape cruisers was shot down in the sky. It would forever be with him. The other escape cruiser made it out, but they had no idea where it went. During ten years of searching, they had not found any of their survivors. The four hundred on board dwindled down drastically as some sought their final flight. Half of the females bonded with warriors on board, the other half found no bond. Many warriors felt the weariness of their travel, and at times the hopelessness. If they could have at least found a female to bond with, even one not of their species, it would have filled the emptiness many of them felt.

Instead of going to the cabin, he flew back toward the small town, keeping high up enough that no one would see him. He intended to just do a perimeter check, but his dragon had other ideas. Without any real thought to it, his dragon sought the one female he had found interest in after all these years.