Slave Dragon: Earth Dragons Series: Book4

by Hartnady, Charlene

  “I like fucking Macy and she likes it when I fuck her. End of story.” Sand looked completely relaxed. The picture of calm.

  “Well, that puts me firmly in my place,” Britt mumbled.

  ‘You and me both,’ Macy thought to herself.

  Nothing had changed.

  Nothing had changed at all.

  Nothing.

  Shame on her for getting ahead of herself. Shame! Shame! Shame!

  Her eyes stung. Her chest clenched tight. It hurt. It really hurt. She couldn’t become pregnant. She had to take those pills. The last thing she needed was to be pregnant with twins and no partner at her side. No real family. It sounded like Sand would try to make a relationship work with her if and only if she was pregnant. She didn’t want a guy who would only be there out of a sense of responsibility. She really needed to do everything to keep from becoming pregnant. If it happened anyway, there would be no ‘them’. No family. No dream. It would be him, and then her and their kids. Not at all what she wanted. Not a healthy situation.

  Her eyes stung but she managed to blink any tears away. She even managed to smile. “Enough about our private talks. It’s just something we have to do. More importantly, let’s focus on the near future. With that in mind, let’s go through all of this one more time.” She touched the prescription note that had the directions written on it. Macy was thankful of how strong and together she sounded when the opposite was true.

  “Good idea.” Britt picked up the blister pack with the two pills. “This is your Morning-After pill…”

  Macy’s chest tightened just a little more.

  * * *

  Four days later…

  Candied apples. The tangy kind. Sweet and tart and fucking delicious. Then there was the scent of pussy. Hot, wet and enticing. There was a familiar throbbing in his dick and tightening in his balls.

  Things were about to get uncomfortable, and fast. It was just the start of Macy’s heat, and yet her scent was already driving him batshit crazy.

  There was a scraping on the ledge. Shit! He’d been so busy sniffing at the human he hadn’t been paying attention to their surroundings.

  Both the females jumped up and went to stand by the entrance. Their eyes were wide, their heartrates spiked.

  The Feral appeared, she unlocked the padlock on the door and stepped into the enclosure. She sniffed the air and then looked over at him, her eyes moving down the length of him. Yep, if she looked close enough, she’d see one times erection and scent a good dose of testosterone. It was apparent enough for even a Feral to smell. In fact, the humans might even pick up on his musky, needy scent.

  The Feral smiled, her eyes took on a look of glee. “Well done, healer!” She rubbed her hands together. “It looks like your pills worked.”

  Both Macy and Britt looked over at him, their eyes filled with confusion.

  “It won’t be long now,” he said, as his eyes locked with Macy’s. “Your heat. I was going to tell you.” He hadn’t wanted to worry her. Truth was, they still had no idea about that pill. He hated the idea of her taking it and yet he wasn’t sure about having whelps. Just thinking of being a father, of being tied down, made his chest tighten and his eyes widen. His heart began to pound inside his chest. What the hell were they going to do?

  “I left a couple of pregnancy tests,” Britt explained motioning to the table. He noted that although her breathing became a touch elevated, at that moment, her outward appearance was calm. “It will make it easier to test Macy for pregnancy.” This was important if their plan was going to work. They had to convince the Feral early on that Macy was pregnant.

  The Feral cocked her head, narrowing her eyes. “How does it work?”

  “The body produces a hormone when a woman is pregnant. That,” she pointed at the box, “tests for that particular hormone. If it is present in the urine ‒ Macy would need to pee on the item inside the box – then she is pregnant. You would need to look for two pink lines. One line means negative, but I do need to caution about the possibility of a false negative,” Britt raced on. “If a test shows negative ‒ so only one line ‒ wait a day or two and then try again. If a test is positive ‒ two lines ‒ then that means Macy is pregnant. No doubt!”

  The Feral’s eyes were bright with excitement. “How soon can we do this test? How soon?” she repeated, looking eager.

  “Normally I would say to wait until after menstruation is missed.”

  The Feral frowned. “I do not understand.”

  “The bleeding. Normally I would say to wait until after a female misses her bleeding.”

  “Oh.” The Feral nodded. “That makes more sense to me.”

  “In this case, I don’t think you would have to wait as long, since shifters have a shorter gestation period. I might be wrong, so it is important to retest every couple of days until you get a positive, or until Macy bleeds.”

  The Feral screeched, seeming to grow in size. The females shrank back. “I am almost sure she will be pregnant. I used good medicine,” Britt tried, her voice shrill, “good human healing herbs on her,” she added, eyes wide, heart racing.

  “How long, healer?”

  “A week. You sh-should try in about s-seven days,” Britt stammered, looking fearful.

  “You are leaving now, but if the human is not with child, I will find you and bring you back. I might even throw you in too, with that one,” she pointed at Macy, “and one of my males. That way there would be two of you to keep him company. Maybe he would be less inclined to do irreparable damage to either of you.”

  Britt blanched. Macy made a sobbing noise and clapped a hand over her mouth.

  Sand wanted to rush in. He wanted to have at the bitch. He did none of those things since they would only serve to incense the creature. “I will get the human with child,” he boomed, trying to defuse the situation. They had a plan, fighting with this bitch wasn’t going to do them any favors at this point. He did keep his gaze locked with the Feral’s though. He bit back a snarl.

  “Best you do that,” she spat. “It’s time for your ‘hug’, human.”

  “No…no…please.” Britt backpedaled. Her face looked stricken.

  “Why not blindfold her,” Sand suggested. “Humans are timid. You don’t want to accidentally hurt her. What if you need her again?”

  “We just conducted a whole conversation about that not happening. I don’t want to have to see her ever again.”

  “I get that.” Sand spoke in a soothing voice. “Humans are clueless creatures with very little in the way of senses. That includes sense of direction. Sense of smell, hearing…all of them. They live a dulled existence. Even if you left her eyes uncovered, I am sure she would never be able to lead anyone back here. Eyes covered, you can forget about that happening. It doesn’t seem like you wish to harm any of us.”

  “I do not care either way but,” she snorted, “if the human is that afraid of a little hug, then I suppose covering her eyes…no, her whole face…would be acceptable.”

  “I wouldn’t be able to breathe…I…” Britt looked panicky.

  “We could use a pillow cover,” Macy suggested. “The fabric is thick enough that you won’t see anything and thin enough that you could breathe.”

  “Tie her hands behind her back as well,” the Feral insisted.

  “You’ll be fine,” Macy said, facing Britt.

  The healer nodded. “Okay…yes, it’s better than the whole ‘hug’ thing.”

  Sand noted that she looked pale. Macy removed a pillow from its cover. Sand ripped a strip off the bottom of the sheet and tied Britt’s hands. “Will you be okay?”

  “Yes.” Britt looked pale and scared.

  “Take care of yourself,” Macy said.

  Britt nodded. “You guys too.”

  “Ready?” Macy asked.

  Britt nodded and she put the cover over her head. “I’m going to tie it off at the bottom so that it doesn’t come off.”

  “Okay.” Britt’s voice was muffle
d.

  “You good?” Sand asked.

  “Yes.” Her voice was small and childlike. Sand felt so bad for the female.

  Then they watched as the Feral hoisted the female over a shoulder. Britt yelped, but then she was silent. The healer was tough, she would be okay.

  The Feral locked the cage, shifted and left. Sand reached over and squeezed Macy’s hand. He could feel how she was shaking.

  Chapter 20

  Something hard pressed against her lower back. Sand rubbed his hand up and down her arm. He clasped her hip, pushing himself a little tighter against her. “Do you need to rest some more?” he asked, his voice husky and deep.

  “No, I’m…”

  Sand kissed the back of her neck, running his hand down her thigh. “Are you hungry or thirsty?”

  “No, I’m good, I—”

  “Are you sore?” His voice filled with concern. “I think I—”

  “I’m okay, Sand.” She sounded a little exasperated.

  He pulled away, turning to lie on his back. His member jutted from his body. “I’m sorry, I’m coming on too strong. We don’t have to do anything more until you’re ready. I could control myself before, I’ll manage again.”

  “That’s not it.” She sat up as well, the sheet gathered around her hips. “It’s not your fault—”

  There was the familiar scraping sound on the outside ledge. Both of them turned towards the sound.

  Macy grabbed the sheet, pulling it around herself. Sand made a noise of frustration. He sat up, not bothering to cover himself. They watched as the Feral let herself in. She sniffed the air, a satisfied smile spread across her face.

  “Happy now?” Sand asked, sounding irritated.

  “I would have preferred if I had caught you rutting, but…”

  “Macy is a human,” Sand growled. “She needs plenty of rest between bouts.”

  “I am glad you listened. I would not have enjoyed scraping what was left of you off the floor,” she spoke to Macy.

  “We made a deal and I plan on sticking to it. I don’t want to die, thanks,” Macy said.

  “I’m glad! I am excited for the future.” The Feral held up a hand. “I will leave you now. You have yet to reach your full heat.” Her eyes gleamed. “Not long now.” Her smile turned into a wide grin.

  “Don’t let the door hit you on the way out,” Sand muttered.

  “I am careful, dragon,” she said as she shut the door behind her. “I would never let a thing like that happen. Have fun!” She set the lock and left, her nails scraping on the stones as she pushed off the rocky surface.

  “We were right.” Sand lay back down a half a minute later. “She will be checking on us…on you…every step of the way.”

  Macy sighed. “I think so too.”

  Sand looked her way. His eyes had that look. His face was pinched. His gaze drifted to where the sheet had slipped. “I think I’m going to work out while you rest. Maybe I’ll take a cold shower.” He sat back up.

  “What I was trying to tell you earlier, was that it’s been twenty-four hours,” she blurted. “I need to take one of those pills now.” It felt like her throat was closing. “I would appreciate it if you could bring me a glass of water and the drug. You know where we stashed them the other day?”

  His chest rose and fell in quick succession. Sand’s eyes were fixed on the bed. “Are you going to take it then?” He paused. “You’ve decided?”

  “I think I must.” Her chest also heaved, and yet she felt like she could hardly breathe. “No, I know I must.”

  “But what if…” He clenched his jaw for a few moments. “What if you are with child?”

  “I’m not with anything. Right now, there’s an egg and there’s sperm. That’s all. It’s stopping this thing from happening before it even begins.”

  He groaned. “It doesn’t feel right, somehow. I’m struggling with it.”

  It made no sense. It had to be his instincts talking. He would regret this. “Do you want to be a father?” She looked him in the eyes, feeling tears well.

  “You know the answer to that question.” He sounded agitated.

  “Answer me. Do you want to be a dad, Sand?”

  “It’s not always about what a person wants or doesn’t want. It’s not always as simple as that.” He shook his head.

  She laughed. “That’s rich coming from someone who always finds everything so simple. It is that simple. Either you want to be a parent ‒ you want these babies ‒ or you don’t. Which is it?” She knew she was being hard on him, but he would thank her in the end.

  “I…I…” He ground his teeth.

  “Are you ready to be a dad, Sand?” she pushed. “It’s a simple question.”

  His face was filled with anguish. His eyes were stormy and dark. “No.” He shook his head. “No, okay? One day…yeah…maybe…but right now…no, Mace. I’m not ready. The possibility makes me feel out of control and it just doesn’t feel right. Having you take that pill though…” He ran a hand through his hair. “It feels just as wrong.”

  “You don’t want to be a father right now?” She looked him in the eyes.

  “No,” he choked out the word.

  “Bring me the pill and some water please.” Her lip trembled.

  “What do you want? You’ve always said you want children. That you would die for a family. Why wouldn’t you want these babies? Surely this feels wrong for you too?”

  “I want a family, Sand.”

  “I would step up.” He nodded, looking resolute. “I would be there.”

  “I want a family unit with a mom and dad who are together. I know that’s not always possible, but I’d like to at least start out with the best chance of it happening. That isn’t the case with us.”

  “I’d be there, Macy.” He took her hand. “We could make a go of it, if,” he squeezed her hand, “if it came to that.”

  A go of it. She pulled away. “I want love, Sand. I don’t want someone who settles. Someone who’s there just for the children. I deserve more than that.”

  “We need to think of the whelps—”

  “There are no whelps, Sand. There’s you and me. We’re fuck buddies, remember? We’re not together. It’s just good sex, right?” She used his words. It hurt her to say it, since she felt strongly that there could be something between them, but a one-sided relationship would never work. “You get that, don’t you?”

  “I can’t get over how wrong it feels.”

  “Well, I can,” she pushed. “Bring me those pills.”

  He just sat there, his beautiful golden eyes piercing hers.

  “Now, Sand.” Before she lost her nerve. “Go!”

  He sighed as he stood up. Sand disappeared into the bathroom. She heard him open and close the cabinet door. Then he reappeared, the small blister pack in hand. He headed for the kitchen, yanking the cupboard door open and taking out a glass. Then he filled it to halfway and headed back to her. “Are you sure about this?”

  “Yes.” She took the pills from him.

  Sand placed the glass on the side-table.

  She pushed the pill through the foil. It fell onto her palm. So inconspicuous. This was the right thing to do. It was! There was no other option. She could be strong and do it. It wasn’t a big deal at all. Just sperm and an egg. Sperm and an egg. Not an embryo even. No babies in sight.

  “Macy.” Sand sounded concerned. “Hey, Macy,” he clasped a hand around her upper arm in a tender hold, “you don’t have to take them.”

  Shit!

  Holy crap but she was crying. Her cheeks felt wet and she was sniffing. What the hell? This was the right thing to do. She lifted her gaze from the small white pill and looked him in the eyes.

  They were soft and filled with concern. “It doesn’t feel right, does it?”

  “This is stupid, Sand. There is no baby…or babies. There are no babies.” Her voice was stern. “There’s nothing yet. Why am I even crying?”

  “It feels wrong, that’s why
. It feels wrong to both of us. Don’t take the damned pill.” He shook his head.

  “I have to.” Tears ran even faster down her cheeks. “I really have to.” She’d find the right man. A great guy. A sweet guy. Someone who cherished her. They’d try hard at making babies. She’d pee on a stick. Her heart would beat as she waited to see the result. Her husband would be pacing. Then she’d relish the look of excitement and sheer happiness on his face when the test came up positive. They’d laugh and cry and he’d pick her up and swing her around. Then they’d laugh some more.

  That’s what she wanted.

  Yet. Yet… She couldn’t make herself put that pill in her mouth. “I have to. I must.”

  “No, no you don’t.” He put his hand over hers and closed it. “We’ll tackle whatever comes our way. If it’s meant to be, it will be. We’ll figure it out.”

  “That’s irresponsible.” She used her other hand to wipe her face.

  “Then we’ll be a little irresponsible. At least we’ll be doing what feels right.”

  “More like, what doesn’t feel wrong.”

  “Semantics.” His jaw tightened for a moment. “Please don’t take it. Trust me on this one. I know you. The kind of person you are, and this won’t sit right.”

  Shit! She only wished that Sand felt the same way about her. This decision would be a no brainer then. He was right though. It wouldn’t sit right. She could do this. She was a strong woman. “Okay,” her voice hitched, “I won’t take it.”

  He pushed out a heavy breath. “Okay then. It’s going to be fine.”

  “I hope so.”

  “It will.” He leaned in and kissed her. It got hot and heavy quickly. Before long he was yanking the sheet away and putting her on her back. Macy expected him to turn her onto her knees, but it didn’t happen. Sand pulled her legs up over his hips and gently nudged into her. Slowly and carefully. Nudging his way into her. His eyes were on her. They burned with intensity. He covered her mouth with his and proceeded to help her forget about everything that was going on. He made her feel like it was just the two of them. That it would be that way forever.