Slave Dragon: Earth Dragons Series: Book4

by Hartnady, Charlene

  Macy couldn’t help that a teeny tiny part of her felt guilty. Despite this being wrong on every level, she felt bad for the creature.

  “Is everything okay?” Sand asked from the doorway.

  The Feral jumped to her feet. “The human is with child.” She wiped her face. “Prepare to leave. I no longer have need for you.”

  “You are welcome.” Sand clenched his jaw. “I’m ready when you are.” Sand spread his hands. “It’s not like I need to take anything with me, unless, of course, you’ll let me take Macy.”

  The Feral grinned. “That is funny, dragon. Let us take our leave.” She walked out, Macy followed behind. “Do you wish for me to knock you out or would you prefer a hug?”

  “What about a blindfold? I promise not to look.” He raised his brows.

  The Feral laughed. “You are full of jokes today.” She turned serious. “Unfortunately, that won’t be possible. I cannot have you finding us. I’m sure you understand.” She didn’t wait for a reply. “I will take you far enough away from our territory and you will need to make the rest of your way home. I cannot risk being caught.”

  “Give me a minute to say goodbye, and then I don’t really care which method you use,” he growled, frowning all the while.

  “I will wait a few minutes, but do not dilly dally.” The Feral moved to the main exit.

  Sand walked over to where Macy was standing. He took her hands, locking his eyes with hers. They were solemn. “Look after yourself.”

  “I will.” She nodded, trying hard not to cry. He was coming back. It would be soon.

  “I mean it, Mace. Drink plenty of fluids. Eat healthy food.”

  “I will bring—” the Feral began.

  “Can you stay out of this,” Sand snapped, turning to the Feral.

  “I was only trying to be helpful.”

  “If you want to be helpful you can let us both go, otherwise keep your beak shut,” he growled, his eyes bright.

  “You do not have to be so testy.” The Feral cocked her head, looking irritated.

  Macy gave a tiny shake of the head, silently begging him to stay quiet. He tightened his jaw and pulled in a deep breath through his nose. “Just take care of yourself. Of them too.” He squeezed her hands.

  Her heart sped up. It was an act. The Feral was watching and listening in.

  “I’ll miss you.” It was more acting.

  She nodded. “I’ll miss you too.” Her eyes stung. It was getting harder and harder not to cry.

  “Fuck it!” Sand cupped her face in both his hands and kissed her. It was soft and tender, slowly blossoming into something passionate and yet still…tender. She couldn’t help but be swept away. Macy gripped his biceps, closing her eyes with a tiny whimper. She gave…she took…she fell some more.

  “That’s enough,” the Feral said. “We need to leave.”

  Sand broke the kiss. He kept her face in his hands and his eyes on hers. Then he nodded once. She knew what the nod meant. It was a reassurance that he was coming for her.

  She nodded once as well. He slanted one last kiss over her mouth and walked away.

  “I’m ready for my h—”

  The Feral bitch hit Sand square in the jaw. He flew back about seven feet and landed hard on the stone floor.

  Macy ran over to him. “Why did you do that?” she yelled, crouching next to him.

  “It is the easiest way to render a being unconscious,” she countered.

  “I heard a crack.” Sand’s jaw was already swelling. “You didn’t have to hit him so hard, damn you!”

  “I hardly even touched him. Dragons are such frail creatures,” she snorted. “To think they are the next strongest species to us.” She picked Sand up like he weighed nothing. “I will be back often to check on you. I will take good care of you, human.”

  Like she was a hamster, or a house plant, or something.

  “You will be well rewarded at the end of this,” she added. All Macy could do was nod and blink. Again, trying to hold back the tears. This had to be over soon. It had to.

  Chapter 23

  Later that same day…

  How fucking far was the Feral territory from their own? It seemed like he had been flying for years, when in reality it was hours. He was close to home, but his reserves were almost done. Sure, he’d worked out inside that tiny cage. He’d even shifted a good couple of times when the urge had become too great, but he hadn’t done this in weeks. He hadn’t spread his wings and taken to the skies and he could feel it. Sand was dog tired. His limbs felt heavy. Every flap of his wings was a hardship. He struggled to get sufficient air into his lungs, which burned. Everything hurt. All he wanted to do was stop. To rest. Instead, he pushed on. He had to. Macy was counting on him. Sweet, kind, beautiful Macy. She would be afraid, and she was alone. Sand picked up the pace with renewed energy. It wasn’t too far now. Did he go to the main balcony or straight to one of his brothers? As their king, Granite was the obvious choice. No! He didn’t want to scare the male’s children. What of Shale? His brother’s children were still whelps. There was a good chance they would be home. Yes, his twin would know exactly what to do in this type of situation.

  He aimed for Shale’s balcony. There was no need to slow down since he was going so damned slow. He worked to keep his wings flapping. If he had been in his skin, his body would be covered in sweat. Now to slow down and to— He realized how quickly the ground was coming at him. His body wasn’t reacting quickly enough to the signals his brain was sending. He was just too tired. There might not be much in the way of forward momentum but there was nothing in the way of breaks. Fuck! He tried, at the last moment, to divert, afraid of hurting someone, but there was no reaction from his muscles. Impact was imminent. He clenched his jaw, trying to make himself as small as possible. Less chance of hitting Georgia, or the whelps. There was an almighty crash as he hit the apartment bay windows, smashing through them. Glass splintered and he rolled head over heels a couple of times before coming to a stop.

  “You okay?” He heard Shale asking his mate, Georgia.

  “Y-yes,” she muttered, sounding confused but unharmed.

  “You’re not hurt?” Shale growled.

  With a huge amount of effort, Sand turned towards them. Shale had used his body to protect the female, who shook her head. Thank fuck! He breathed out in relief. They both turned to what had caused the ruckus. Namely to him. He was lying in a heap on their living room floor. One of the sofas was on its side next to him and he was lying on something hard and splintered. Sand was pretty sure it was the coffee table but he couldn’t be certain.

  “What in the—?” Georgia began, her eyes wide.

  “Sand!” Shale boomed, his arms still around his female.

  Sand needed to tell Shale what had happened. He lifted his head, but it was too heavy for his neck to carry. He suddenly felt dizzy, his head was spinning. Sand felt his eyes roll back in his skull, his head crashed back down. All he wanted to do was sleep but he held back. Macy… Had to save…

  “By claw!” Sand heard Shale yell. His brother sounded far away “Sand!” he shouted, closer this time. His ears felt like they were stuffed with cotton wool. He needed to tell Shale what had happened. They needed to rescue Macy. She was counting on him.

  Using what felt like every last ounce of strength he possessed, Sand shifted. He felt his scales pull back. Same thing with his wings and tail. He felt his muscles shorten. The process seemed to take forever. It sapped him. By the time he was done, Sand was panting heavily. His mouth was dry. His body ached.

  “I can’t believe it,” he heard Georgia whisper. “It’s him!”

  Sand felt his brother shake him. “Sand.” Then Shale rubbed his back and shook him again. Harder this time. “Brother, please!”

  Sand had to work hard to respond. Thankfully, he could feel some energy slowly return. He lifted his head, still panting hard. He felt dizzy and struggled to focus. Fuck! Maybe he should have taken it easier on the trip there. Sa
nd had been frantic. Now that he was there, he calmed some. The plan was going to work. It had to.

  “He’s exhausted,” Shale said. “Where were you?” He squeezed Sand’s shoulder.

  “Macy,” Sand muttered. “Mace…” he said again.

  “Where is she?” Georgia yelled, crouching next to Sand. “What happened to you?” She paused. When he didn’t answer she went on. “What can I do to help him?”

  “Need a team of males…” Sand pushed out. He kept his eyes closed for the moment. “Need to go back…” He sucked in another breath, opening his eyes. When the dizziness stayed at bay, he sat up, moving slowly, feeling like a day-old whelp. His brother visibly relaxed, even though Shale’s eyes were still filled with concern.

  One of the babies cried over the monitor. “That’s Gossan,” Georgia looked behind her. “I’ll go…” she began.

  Gossan. They’d called the whelp Gossan. “Gossan, after father.” He shook his head “The old man must be thrilled.” He could just picture his dad. The male would be beside himself with happiness. What would he and Macy call their whelps if— No…fuck! He couldn’t think like that right then. He needed to rescue Macy first.

  “He is quite.” Shale nodded, a hint of a smile on his lips. It was gone in the next instant. “You still haven’t—”

  “And my other nephew?” Sand asked, just as both boys began yelling over the monitor.

  “Granite,” Georgia said. “We named him after your brother. He stuck his neck out and gave permission for my mom—”

  “What?” Sand scowled. “I thought I was your favorite, Georgie. I’m hurt.”

  “Stop with the bullshit!” Shale growled. “You should lay back down. I’m calling for a healer.”

  “No.” Sand shook his head vehemently. “Assemble a team of males. We need to rescue Macy. She is safe, but not for very long.”

  “Those hunters!” Shale snarled. “We can’t just head off to god knows where, to—”

  “It’s not the hunters who have her.” Sand shook his head, a deep frown marring his forehead.

  Then the babies began screaming in earnest. Georgia looked wistfully at him and then got up and left to tend to her whelps.

  “It’s the Feral who have her,” Sand blurted.

  “The Feral?” Shale frowned. “Why would the Feral want to take the two of you? What could they possibly gain?”

  “Let me rephrase that,” Sand said. “One specific feral took us and the crazy bitch still has Macy.”

  “Explain,” Shale pushed.

  “I need water.” Sand’s mouth felt dry. His tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth. His lips were cracked.

  Shale nodded once. He headed for the kitchen, returning with two bottles of water. Sand opened and downed one of the bottles, his hands shaking. He wanted to drink the second bottle as well but held off. “She took us because she wants young.” Sand went on to tell Shale everything that had happened, touching on all the main events and sticking to the facts.

  “So, everything hinges on the healer’s phone. Where is it?” Shale swept his eyes over Sand’s body.

  “I didn’t take the whole device, just the memory stick. There was less chance of being discovered that way. I also didn’t want to lose it while in dragon form, so I left the stick in my jeans pocket and hid the garment back where the Feral dropped me off.”

  “And you definitely didn’t see anything after leaving that cage?”

  “She knocked me out cold. Broke my jaw.” He rubbed his chin. “They are very strong. I was no match for even a female of their species. I tried to retaliate against the female but got knocked out then too. Resistance was futile.”

  “We need to assemble a team and head back to where you left your jeans. We need to get our hands on that memory stick.”

  Sand stood up; his legs felt weak, so he swayed. Shale gripped him by the arm. “You need to get stronger.”

  “No time, we must leave now.”

  “Easy! I know you are worried about Macy.” He pushed out a heavy breath, looking like he was deep in thought. “Especially since she is most likely pregnant with your whelps, but we can’t rush into anything. Blaze and Granite will reach out to the Feral king. I will contact Storm, perhaps he can take you, with his helicopter, to the site where you left that memory stick. You will need to take a large contingent of guards.”

  “Yes. That’s a good idea. There is no time to waste.” He wouldn’t have to wait until he felt stronger if they took the chopper.

  “You said that we have five days until those drugs wear out of her system. Let’s face it, the chances of her not being pregnant are small. We have time.”

  “She is locked up in there. Frightened and alone. No!” Sand snarled. “I told her less than two days and I am sticking to my word. I will go by myself if—”

  Shale gripped his shoulder. “We are going to move right now. I will brief Granite while you get cleaned up and get some food in your belly. You can leave as soon as Storm gets here. I will put in a call to the male as soon as Granite grants permission, which he will do. We’ll get your female and we won’t make you wait any longer than necessary.”

  Sand wanted to set the record straight about Macy not being his female but couldn’t bring himself to do it. Not right then.

  Chapter 24

  The next day…

  Did she feel any different? Were her breasts any less tender? She didn’t think so. She still felt queasy at the thought of drinking milk. It was too soon for the drug to have worn out of her system. It had just been one day. That was why she felt the way she did. Maybe it wasn’t that, though. Maybe there was another reason for the symptoms. Macy was driving herself nuts.

  Am I pregnant?

  Am I pregnant?

  The same question swirled around inside her head on an endless loop. It was also the what ifs that were driving her mad. What if I am pregnant? What if I’m not?

  She pulled a pillow over her head, trying to drown out the noise inside her head because there was another what if doing the rounds as well. What if Sand didn’t come back?

  All of the answers to her questions changed, depending on how she answered that one. What if Sand didn’t come back? It made her blood run cold and her heart beat faster. It terrified her. She groaned, the noise muffled beneath the pillow.

  There was a loud screeching noise that broke through the pillow. The Feral…and she sounded angry. Macy jumped out of bed. She was prepared, wearing jeans and a blouse that fit her a little too snugly. Macy wanted to be ready when Sand got there.

  There was the sound of metal protesting and then a ripping noise, followed by a crash. The Feral entered, she was in her half-shifted state, reminding Macy of all those weeks ago when she’d first appeared. There was murder in her eyes.

  “What’s wrong? What happened?”

  The other woman ignored her. She walked up to Macy, who couldn’t help but backpedal. “Wait!” She put up a hand, trying to ward the other woman off.

  It didn’t help. Next thing she knew she was being hoisted up. There was no hugging or blindfolding. The Feral moved so quickly, her stomach lurched. For a moment, Macy thought she might vomit down the creature’s back. Then the Feral jumped off the ledge. Macy screamed, feeling the creature shift and change beneath her, even though it took a split second. Her hair must have broken loose from its ponytail because it whipped about her face. The air streamed past, making her eyes water.

  Macy squeezed her eyes shut but not before she saw them. They were being pursued. The Feral screeched, grinding to a halt and hovering. Macy opened her eyes. There were more of them ahead of them. They were closing in. More Feral…but wait…if she looked into the distance…dragons too. Macy sobbed in relief. She also clutched onto the Feral’s scaly, clawed hands. This wasn’t over yet.

  The creatures began screeching at one another. The Feral’s claws clasped her even tighter as she screeched back. By now the dragons were surrounding the outer band of birdlike creatures.
r />   The Feral woman gave an almighty screech. There was anger in the sound but there was also sorrow. A plaintive screeching wail filled with hurt and anguish. Then she let Macy go. Her clawed hands opened. Hard as she tried, Macy couldn’t hold on. The yellow scales were slippery. There was just no purchase.

  Macy screamed as she fell, looking up at the Feral woman’s belly as it seemed to get smaller and smaller.

  It happened quick as a flash. One second she was freefalling and the next, she was in another clawed grasp. There were iridescent scales though. She looked up to see a dragon. They headed for the cage. Whoever had her, landed and entered the cage. There was a cracking noise as the dragon folded in on itself.

  She watched in fascination, still trying to catch her breath. Still trying to get her heartrate under control.

  “Hey, Mace.” It was Sand, in all of his naked glory. She’d never been happier to see a person in her whole entire life. Never. “Sand!” she yelled, jumping up and throwing her arms around him. Hugging him as tight as she could for a good long while. Until her heartrate returned to normal.

  “I told you I’d come back.” He finally murmured, lifting her off her feet and twirled her around.

  Macy laughed, instantly feeling safe and secure.

  “Are you okay?” He put her down, still holding onto her. Then began to run his hands up and down her body.

  She pulled away, keeping her hands on his shoulders. “I’m fine. I didn’t get hurt at all. What happened? I take it the Feral king helped you. Or did you find some other way?”

  He nodded. “Yes, he did. First, sit down.” He led her to the sofa. Macy did as he said, and Sand sat down next to her.

  “Tell me what happened already.” Macy kept her eyes on his. She could hardly believe he was there. That they were finally free.

  The Feral dropped me just outside the furthest border of our territory. I had to stash the memory stick out there. With such a long trip ahead of me, I was afraid I might lose it in my dragon form. My brother, the Earth king, Granite…”