Slave Dragon: Earth Dragons Series: Book4

by Hartnady, Charlene

  “Look, don’t worry about it.” She sounded a bit defeated but at least she wasn’t crying. Macy wanted to cry right then, she wanted it so badly. Instead, she pulled her shoulders back. She could do this. She was strong.

  Sand calmed right down as soon as the pressure was off. She wanted to hate him for it, but she couldn’t. Thankfully, they arrived at their destination just then.

  Sand knocked once on the door, even though it was slightly ajar.

  “Come on in!” a woman yelled.

  Sand pushed on the door and gestured for her to go in first. He put his hand on the small of her back. His touch both soothing and rattling. It was so confusing.

  “Hello and welcome.” The woman who greeted them was not at all what she expected. This was the queen of the Earth dragons. She was also tiny, with a head of curly red hair. Her smile was wide and her whole demeanor was warm and welcoming. “I’m Louise. I’m Granite’s mate. It’s so good to meet you.”

  Macy introduced herself and they shook hands. Then Louise and Sand hugged. They made small-talk about Granite and the kids and the weather, of course.

  Macy struggled to pay attention. She was too nervous. She actually felt nauseous but that could also be from the hormones which would still be in her body. Could also be because she was— Not going there!

  Louise touched her on the side of her arm. She realized that Sand and the doctor were looking at her. “Sorry, what was that?”

  “I said that we should probably do the procedure. I’m sure you are both eager to hear the results. Or in this case, to see them.”

  “You are right, Doctor.” She nodded.

  The other woman laughed, her eyes were a beautiful, bright green. They twinkled. “No need to be so formal. Please call me Louise.”

  She nodded once. “Sorry, I guess I’m a bit nervous.”

  Louise handed her a gown. “You can go into the bathroom over there to change. Take off all your clothing from below the waist. We are going to do a transvaginal scan. We most likely won’t be able to see anything, but just in case we can, I want to be a hundred percent sure that you’re not pregnant.”

  “Okay.” She took the garment and headed for the bathroom. Macy changed quickly. Her heart raced and her palms felt sweaty.

  Sand smiled as she reentered the room. He also looked tense and even slightly pale. “You okay?” he asked.

  She nodded, not trusting her voice.

  “You can lie down on this bed.” Louise gestured to what looked like a hospital bed.

  Macy did as Louise said. The doctor pulled on some rubber gloves and held up an instrument that was attached to the ultrasound machine. “This is a transducer or wand.” It looked like a thin dildo. It was even covered in a condom. “I need to insert this into your vagina.”

  Sand cleared his throat, looking distinctly uncomfortable. He stood by her legs on the other side of the bed. He shifted his weight and then moved to the head of the bed, his eyes on the black screen.

  “It won’t hurt,” Louise continued, squirting some KY Gel onto the wand. “But it might be a bit uncomfortable.”

  “Okay, that’s fine.”

  Louise moved a little down the bed, she laid a thin blanket over her lap. “You can bend your knees, placing your feet on the bed and then open your legs a little for me.”

  Macy did as she said, trying to clear her head.

  “That’s it.” Louise was really sweet. “I’m going to insert the transducer now, if that’s okay?”

  Macy nodded. “That’s fine.” She pushed out a breath. The wand thingy was colder than she expected.

  A picture immediately popped up on the screen. She couldn’t really make out what everything was, but it was clear that they were looking inside her.

  “Is that Macy’s womb?” Sand’s voice was deep and gravelly.

  “Yes, it is.”

  “Does that mean…?” He sounded gruff.

  Louise had her eyes trained on the screen, she seemed to be concentrating. “I just need to be sure, but I don’t think you’re pregnant.”

  Macy’s heart sank. It didn’t just sink, it plummeted. Like a rock into the ocean. A deep dark ocean at that.

  Louise moved the wand a few times. “You’re definitely not pregnant, I’m sorry.” She glanced first at her and then Sand.

  “I’m sorry, Mace.” Sand squeezed her shoulder.

  “No,” Macy shrugged, “it’s no biggie…it’s fine…” Shit! Although she sounded upbeat, she realized she was crying.

  “Oh fu…! Shit, Mace…I’m so sorry. I know you wanted this.”

  She did.

  He didn’t.

  “I said it’s fine.” She wiped her face. “It’s not a big deal at all. It’s better this way. Much better. It’s just been very emotional. That’s all! I’m tired as well. I haven’t slept well for the last few days.”

  “Okay.” He let her shoulder go. “I’m here to talk. You can stay as long as you want and—”

  “I’m leaving today,” she blurted, wiping her eyes.

  “Mace, you don’t have to, we—”

  “I want to.” She swiped another tear as it hit her cheek. “These hormones are a nightmare. Hopefully, they’ll be out of my system soon.” She realized that Louise was still looking at her uterus. That she was still looking at the screen with intense concentration, a frown on her face. “Is everything okay doc…Louise.”

  The redhead smiled and look up at her. “All good. It’s nothing to be concerned about but I’m pretty sure you have endometriosis.”

  “What’s that?” Sand barked. “Is it bad? Is it—”

  “There’s nothing to be concerned about,” Louise repeated. “It would need to be confirmed with an MRI but I’m ninety-five percent sure that you have it. You should have become pregnant by Sand. Non-humans and shifters have a particularly high pregnancy success rate. This will have been higher after taking fertility drugs.”

  “What is en-do-metri…?” He was frowning heavily.

  “Very simply put, endometriosis is when the lining of the womb grows outside of the womb as well. It normally ends up covering other parts of the reproductive organs like the ovaries ‒ where the eggs are produced ‒ and the fallopian tubes, which are the pathway for the egg to get to the womb. These areas become inflamed and even damaged.”

  “How do you know I have it?” Macy asked.

  “You have quite a few cysts on your ovaries and there are dark spots on both your fallopian tubes which, in my opinion, could be lesions associated with the condition. Do you have quite bad pain during your menstrual cycle?”

  “Yes,” both she and Sand answered.

  “Sorry.” Sand looked sheepish. “Go on.”

  “Yes, as Sand would know.” She gave him a smile.

  “It is treatable, and, with intervention, you should be able to get pregnant in the future.” She spoke to both of them. “I suggest you go and visit your gynecologist.” She removed the wand. “All done. You can get dressed now.”

  “I will doc…Louise. Thank you.” She bit down on her lip to keep from crying any more.

  Chapter 26

  Later that day…

  A breeze ruffled his hair. “I mean it,” he folded his arms across his chest, “you really don’t have to go just yet. Take a few days to…to decompress after what happened. Your best friend is here, I’m sure you want to spend time with her.”

  “I really need to get back to my own life. I’ve been gone for weeks with no explanation. I’m probably going to lose my job. My parents and my brother will be out of their minds with worry. Then there’s Scout.”

  “Your puppy.” He gave a half-smile.

  She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, my puppy. I need to find out who has him. Hopefully, he wasn’t taken to the pound and adopted out. I’d be devastated. I’m sure he misses me.”

  “I’ll miss you as well.” His eyes bore into hers.

  Tell me to stay then.

  Sand stepped forward and gripped her
hips. His touch felt so right. “Is there nothing I can say to change your mind about going?”

  There were so many things, but since he wasn’t going to say them, she shook her head. “I’m afraid not. The time has come to go our separate ways, it would seem.” As much as she wanted things to be different.

  “I can’t believe this is it, Mace.” His hands gripped her tighter. “After everything. This is it.”

  It doesn’t have to be. She tried to tell him that with her eyes.

  Then he leaned in, his gaze locked onto her mouth. One of his hands slid around her back to pull her in.

  “Um…” She turned her head a little to the side. “That’s not a good idea, Sand. We should have stuck to our rules a whole lot more.”

  “That’s just it, we didn’t, so what’s one more—”

  “No, I’m going to have to insist. Those rules were in place for a reason and we were stupid to have ignored them. I was stupid.” She reached up and hugged him tightly, like she would a close friend. Wishing for so much more, which tossed the friendship thing out the window. Macy swallowed thickly. “I will miss you too,” she whispered.

  Sand hugged her back just as tightly. He buried his head into her shoulder. On some crazy level, maybe he did feel something for her, just obviously not enough to try to get her to stay for the right reasons. “I’m sorry this all happened. That things had to end this way.”

  “Not your fault,” she said as she pulled away. “Thank you for saving me.”

  “Anytime, Mace, and I mean that. I would drop everything.” His eyes told her that he meant it. That it wasn’t just hot air.

  Tell me to stay then.

  She nodded. “Duly noted.” She pushed out a laugh. “Okay, then. Take care of yourself.”

  “You too. Oh and,” he frowned. “Go and see a doctor. I’m sure you’ll be just fine, but do it anyway just to be sure.”

  “I will be fine, but I do plan to go and see one.” She shrugged. “You heard Louise. It is treatable. I’m not too worried.” That wasn’t entirely true. She’d googled the condition and wished she hadn’t. The chances of her conceiving without intervention weren’t great. Only half of women suffering from endometriosis went on to become pregnant. Half. Terrible odds, in her opinion. She pushed that thought out of her head right then. It wasn’t like she was trying for a baby. She needed a partner for that. A husband. A lover. A friend. She needed Sand. Macy wanted to get angry with him for pushing her away. For throwing away what they had. He could deny it all he wanted, but they definitely had something. Something special. She couldn’t bring herself to get mad, he had warned her. He’d been honest with her every step of the way. He’d never bullshitted or sugarcoated. Somehow, she’d believed that he would open his mouth when the time came. That he would somehow realize what was right in front of him and yet…crickets. She got nothing.

  “I guess it’s goodbye then,” Sand said.

  It didn’t have to be. He could beg her to stay…with him.

  It didn’t happen. She nodded, not trusting her voice.

  “I’m going to kiss you—”

  She sucked in a breath, preparing to argue.

  “On the cheek,” he blurted. “On the cheek, Mace.” He leaned in and kissed her, his lips lingering for a moment.

  Then she turned and walked away. Not looking back was the hardest thing she had ever done, especially when she could feel him watching.

  * * *

  “We need to get one of those.” Granite stood next to him, they both stared at the chopper as it disappeared over the horizon. “It looks like it would come in handy. Maybe Storm could teach you or Stone how to fly.”

  “Sounds like a plan.”

  His brother gave him a man-hug. It lasted all of a second. “Are you okay? You don’t look okay.”

  “I’m fine. Keen to get back to work.” He clapped his hands together.

  “Are you sure you made the right decision?”

  “What do you mean?” He frowned. Granite was referring to Macy. “It was her decision to leave. I tried to talk her into staying for a while, but she didn’t want to.”

  “From what I heard, you’ve been keeping her at arm’s length.”

  “Not true!” Sand shook his head. “I’ve given her some space. She’s had enough of my ugly mug.” Sand choked out a laugh that didn’t hold much humor.

  “You could have been a father. How do you feel about that?”

  Sand shrugged. “I feel like I dodged a bullet.”

  “But you sound like you’re about to go to a funeral. You don’t look happy at all. I’ll ask you again, was letting Macy go the right decision?”

  “I’m not ready to settle down, so, yes, it was.” Sand folded his arms.

  “Why do you look so cut up over it?” Granite asked, not letting up. Why was his older brother coming at him like this?

  “I happened to like Macy. I enjoy her company. I wish she would have stayed a bit longer…that’s all.”

  “Is that all?”

  “Yes,” he growled, getting irritated. “That’s all. End of story. Why are you giving me such shit about it?”

  “Because I think you have real feelings for this female. I think you are refusing, for whatever reason, to face up to them.”

  “I just told you that I like her. That I like being with her, so, I guess you’re right about me having feelings for her. I’ll admit it.”

  Granite narrowed his eyes at him. “Real feelings, Sand. I think you might love this female.”

  Sand pushed out another laugh. “That’s ridiculous. I don’t…love…” he whispered the word, “Macy. It’s not like that between us. She left, didn’t she?” Granite had no idea what he was talking about.

  “I had a chat with Louise, and we think that Macy is in love with your sorry ass. Personally, I’m not sure I get what she sees in you,” he slipped in some sibling ribbing designed to try and make him feel better. It didn’t work. “I’m pretty sure she left because you won’t admit to your feelings for her.”

  “Macy doesn’t…she… Okay, maybe she did develop feelings for me, but I wouldn’t go so far as to use the L-word here. Humans don’t fall that quickly.”

  “They do when they meet the right person. When they meet their person. I think Macy is your person. Forgive me for overstepping the boundaries here, but I think you guys are perfect together. You should go after her before it’s too late. Before you fuck things up even more than you have already.”

  “You’re right.” Sand clenched his jaw for a moment or two. “You are overstepping the boundaries. You have no idea about Macy and me. You hardly even saw her.”

  “I saw enough, Louise filled me in on a couple of things and I know you, Sand. You’ve changed.”

  “I was locked in a cage and forced to breed. Of course I’ve changed,” he all but snarled, feeling as prickly as fuck.

  “It’s more than that, and you’re tougher than to let something like that get you down.” Granite’s voice grew agitated. “You’ve changed for different reasons. You—”

  “I feel like I lost my whelps,” Sand blurted. The admission was a shock to him. “It’s the stupidest damned thing. Macy wasn’t even pregnant and yet I feel like I lost them.” His voice hitched. “I feel like I lost—” Sand stopped there. He wasn’t sure what he had been about to say but it was a path he needed to stay clear of.

  His brother’s whole demeanor softened. He put an arm around Sand and pulled him into a man-hug again. “I’m sorry this happened, Sand. You need to know that you did lose. You lost big time. I don’t want you losing any more than you have to. My advice would be to fix it before it’s too late. Get on your knees if you have to but win her back.” He tapped Sand on the side of the arm and left.

  Work.

  It was getting late, but he was going to get started. All he needed was something else to focus on. Macy was gone and it was better that way.

  Chapter 27

  Four days later…

 
Her mother stirred her coffee even though she didn’t take sugar. “You are lucky, Macy. Very lucky, my girl,” her mom said for the eighth time since Macy had arrived ten minutes earlier.

  “I know, mom.” She added sugar to her cappuccino and stirred as well.

  “I still can’t believe they kept you on. And I still can’t believe you won’t tell me where you were.” Her voice became animated.

  “Let’s leave it alone. I don’t want to talk about it. Sit boy.” She pushed on Scout’s rear, trying to get him to sit back down. “I’ll take you for a walk in a minute.”

  “I don’t know why you insisted on bringing that—”

  “Scout is my dog.” Macy used a warning tone. “He missed me like crazy. He cries now when I try to leave him.”

  “It’s not healthy for a dog to be so attached to a human.” Her mother looked down at Scout, scrunching her nose and shaking her head.

  “Please, mom, can we just have a nice cup of coffee and maybe a pastry? Can we not argue?”

  “Of course, darling, although I don’t know if you should be having the pastry, dear, your BMI is—”

  “I don’t give a shit about my BMI! If you can’t be nice about my waistline and my dog, then I’m leaving.” She pushed her chair back and Scout jumped to his feet, tongue lolling.

  Her mom’s eyes got panic-stricken. Macy knew she meant well but it sometimes hurt her when she acted this way. “No, please don’t. I’m sorry.” Her whole demeanor changed. “I didn’t mean to…to…”

  “Hurt me?”

  Her mom’s face dropped. “No, Macy. I’m sorry. It is never my intention to hurt you. I only want the best for you.”

  Funny, she knew it was true, but she wished her mom would find some other way to show her love. “Okay, we’ll stay, but only if you’re nice.” She pushed on Scout’s butt until he sat back down, looking disappointed. “We’ll go soon.” She petted his neck and he tried to mouth her.

  “Good, because…” Her mother’s expression grew sheepish.