Serafina bobbed her head. "I thought so, and your response is believable. However, you're going to have to work hard to convince everyone of how that is the truth."
Ivy should say nothing and merely tell the dragonwoman what she wanted to hear. That would get her out of her room as quickly as possible.
And yet anger flooded her body. Anger at what she'd done to her brother, at the Knights for using and disposing of her, and even anger at no one believing her when she was being bloody sincere.
She'd done awful things, and would always have to live with that. But Ivy was trying her best to make up for it, and no one seemed to notice or give a shit.
And while Serafina hadn't said anything that others hadn't said already, something snapped inside Ivy. "What else do I bloody need to do? I nearly died coming here with information you lot needed. Then I lost a year of my life to a coma, courtesy of some unknown drug the Knights gave me. And then I've been offering information whenever asked of me. Do I need to cut off one of my legs to prove how serious I am? Or, do I need to charge into battle and help take down the Knights myself before anyone gives me a chance? Tell me, Dr. Rossi, what's the magical next step I need to take on my road of recovery?"
The dragonwoman didn't miss a beat. "With the clan, that's easy—give them all the information needed to decrypt the data you brought."
"I already offered to do that, but Zain said I couldn't meet with the men or women in charge of that task."
Serafina folded her arms across her chest. "Then I'll see what I can arrange. But the other aspect, to come to terms with what you've done internally, within yourself, will be much harder."
Ivy didn't think she'd ever be able to forgive herself for what had happened to her brother and David. Nothing would bring either of them back from the dead.
However, she was in such a mood that she motioned with her hand and demanded, "Then tell me your advice, Doctor."
"You'll need to grieve properly, first and foremost. And commit to regular sessions with me. I think you need at least one person you can be yourself with and not hide anything. And since you're my patient, I won't hold judgment. Every step I take will be based on what I think needs to be done to help you heal."
Ivy growled, "Which is close to what the Friends of the World told me, back when they first lured me in to try and get me into the Dragon Knights."
Serafina tilted her head. "And whilst the Protectors will want to hear more of that process with the Friends of the World, I'm more concerned about you. I'm a fully licensed psychologist, unlike those fake ones you dealt with before. My goal isn't to brainwash. No, it's quite the opposite—to help you see the world through your own eyes."
For a split second, Ivy yearned to have someone she could unload to, a person to talk with who wouldn't growl, condescend, or outright speak with hatred toward her.
And yet, the thought of baring so much of herself to Serafina made her nervous. The Knights had used the information from her sessions against her over the years, to keep her in line. Not only that, but her personal revelations had probably also led them straight to her brother and his partner.
However, this time, Ivy had nothing to lose. No family, no friends. Not even a few quid to her name.
With nothing to lose, she shrugged and said, "Fine. But not today. I need time to wrap my head around talking with anyone about some of the worst parts of myself."
Serafina stood and bobbed her head. "I wasn't planning on talking with you today, anyway. But request me at any time, Ivy. I have a feeling you'll need me sooner than you think."
With that cryptic statement, Serafina exited the room, leaving Ivy alone again before she could ask about meeting with the IT personnel working on her thumb drive data.
She'd have to make that request again as soon as possible.
However, as Ivy sat in her bed and stared at the blank wall, it was hard to believe she'd really just agreed to talk with Serafina on a regular basis, most likely baring her soul in the process.
The only positive was that it was true—Ivy didn't have anything to lose. No, she only had things to gain. Namely, the ability to grieve and vent on occasion. It'd take some time to get to the harder stuff, such as her massive guilt and maybe even overcoming it one day.
And it wasn't as if she had any friends with the dragons she could do that with.
So if no one wanted to talk to her simply because she tried to be better and reach out, then she'd take whatever she could get. Even Ivy could get lonely, and the nurses and sparse visits from Zain and a few others weren't nearly enough.
Only time would tell if her sessions with Serafina made any fucking difference to her situation on Stonefire.
Chapter Eight
The next morning Ivy had barely finished her physical therapy session with Nurse Ginny when Zain waltzed into the room.
She'd planned on asking about the kids visiting her again, but something about the determination in his unwavering gaze made her voice die in her throat.
He stopped next to her bed and continued to stare, as if he'd never seen her before.
True, the nurses had used some special dry shampoo to take away the greasiness of her hair, but it wasn't as if her slightly cleaner appearance would attract the dragonman's notice.
He nodded and then said, "Today's your lucky day, Ivy Passmore."
Something about his eyes flashing made her wary. She asked cautiously, "Why?"
"Because you're gaining a mate, which means you'll be safe from the DDA for a while, as well as the other clan members."
A mate was the term dragons used for their spouses, and she nearly snorted at the absurdity of Zain's statement. "Stop joking around and wasting time, Zain. I'd rather discuss if you accessed the information on the corrupt police officers or not?"
He grunted. "We did, and we'll talk more about that later. But I'm not joking, Ivy. We're to be mated later today."
She blinked. "What?"
"No, I'm not about to profess some sort of secret love for you. But now that you're awake, it's only a matter of time before someone leaks to the DDA that you're here. So we're being proactive."
Too many thoughts whirred through her brain, and all she could manage to say was "I can't marry a dragon-shifter."
Zain leaned forward, his eyes mere inches away. "You can, and you will."
Something about the certainty in his tone, as if he were a parent telling a child what to do, snapped her out of her shock. "I know I shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth, but even if I were to marry some dragon for protection, I would hope it was someone who doesn't obviously hate me."
He leaned even closer, to the point she could feel the heat of his breath on her face. "Hate is a strong word. Besides, this way I can keep an eye on you."
She had a feeling that was the true reason for the absurd mating suggestion.
And as Zain continued to invade her personal space, with Ivy not being able to move away, she tried to not look at his lips. She really shouldn't. However, her curiosity won out, and she instantly noticed how firm and lickable they were, as if kissing them was something she should do every day.
Not to mention the heat and scent that was uniquely Zain filled her nose, and for a few beats, her sadness, her past, all of it didn't matter. She felt…safe.
No. She had to stop falling for the dragon's strange pheromones, or whatever it was that addled her brain whenever Zain was nearby.
Ivy forced her gaze to just over his shoulder, focusing on a faded picture of a lake with mountains behind it, helping her to focus on what Zain had said and not his inarguably fit body.
If she mated him, she'd no doubt have to be near him all the time. His quiet presence studying her as if she were some sort of unique insect. Never saying something to cheer her up, or even caring about what went on through her brain.
True, she had Serafina to confide in, to a degree. But Ivy had always seen marriage—er, matings—as a serious step in her life. She may need to do it for pro
tection, but there had to be a less intense dragon-shifter who'd do it.
She finally murmured, "There has to be someone else."
He moved away. "No, there's just me. Bram and a few witnesses will be here in a little while. And before you protest about being mated in your hospital gown, Nikki and Jane will be stopping by to help you put on something else. I have no idea what—and frankly, don't care—but you can thank Nikki for that little bit of kindness."
She forced her gaze back to his again, to the brusque man she was supposed to marry. "I don't care about looking pretty, or some sort of kindness. I'm barely getting used to you stopping by once a day. Having you around all the time will hurt my health."
He snorted. "Sure, say that. But don't worry. You've met Serafina, and she'll help you with overcoming your fear of dragons. Between her and the children visiting, your apprehensions should slowly melt away."
He spoke as if she were afraid on purpose, just to irritate him. Ivy leaned forward a little. "You can't just snap your fingers and make everything okay."
"No, but it's not as if you have a choice in the matter, do you?"
As they stared at one another, neither of them speaking, Ivy's heart rate kicked up.
The hard planes of his face should terrify her. And yet, the deep brown of his eyes drew her in, making her want to know more about him.
No. She moved as far away from him as she could manage, which wasn't much. Spending a prolonged amount of time near Zain was a bad idea, a really bad idea.
Because she could deny it, but she might start to want the dragonman if he were around all the time and showed the slightest hint of kindness.
And Ivy didn't want the temptation to distract her from her end goal of eradicating the Dragon Knights.
He slowly stood upright again. "And here's one last thing I'll leave you with—open up to me and work with us, and I'll ensure that whoever killed your brother and his partner will be at the top of my list of Knights to find."
So now he was dangling a treat in front of her? He didn't have to, which piqued her curiosity. "Why would you promise that?"
"I want all the Knights taken down, so finding one or a small group of them isn't that much extra work."
If Ivy cooperated with the Stonefire dragons, they'd find her brother's killers eventually anyway.
However, she may never know who they were.
No, this might be the only way she could learn the names of the murderers and get some closure. Because even if she didn't know them personally, names alone would allow her to blame a specific someone or someones.
Well, mostly. Ivy would never fully be absolved of her part in it all.
Not wanting to think more about that right now, when her future was being decided, she looked at Zain. She sensed he was right—she didn't have a choice. However, Ivy had one last question before agreeing to the ridiculous plan. "It will be a legal marriage only, right?"
Zain's pupils flashed a few times before he cleared his throat and said, "Yes. Despite what the Knights may have taught you, I don't rape females for sport. If a female is in my bed, she's there willingly."
He was cocky, for sure. That was one of the few things the Knights had told her that had turned out to be true regarding dragon-shifters, at least in Zain's case. "That's a non-answer."
He raised his brows. "Only if it means you intend to show the slightest interest in being in my bed."
Ivy pulled the covers up to her shoulders even though the thin material could do nothing to protect her from the tall, muscled dragonman not more than a foot away. She cleared her throat. "That won't be a problem for me."
"Good. Then Nikki and Jane will be by shortly. The next time you see me, it'll be to mate you."
Zain exited the room, and Ivy dropped the covers as she let out a huge sigh.
If someone had told her even a few days ago that she'd be mating a dragonman, she would've laughed in their face.
True, it wasn't like she really had a choice in the matter if she wanted continued protection. However, her former colleagues would've tried to kidnap her and chain her inside a cave rather than let her go through with it.
Of course, they weren't her colleagues any longer. No, they were her enemies.
So Ivy would go through with it. But if Zain thought she'd ever share his bed, he'd be waiting a long time. Even putting aside her fears and doubts about his species, human women who birthed half-dragon-shifter babies not only had a fifty-fifty chance of dying in childbirth, they were often ostracized by a large portion of human society.
Ivy didn't want any of that. She'd spent nearly five years of her life working in secret with the Knights, abandoning everyone she knew outside of their organization. She didn't want to have to face that all again.
Once the Knights were taken care of, then Ivy would find a way to escape and start over somewhere in the world with a new identity.
And that would be her motivation for surviving the mating ceremony and probably living with a grumpy dragonman for who knew how long.
Less than an hour later, shortly after Ivy had finally dozed off, there was a resounding knock on her door. She'd barely opened her eyes before two women entered the room.
Well, one was a human woman—Jane. The other with black hair and light golden skin had the tell-tale tattoo on her bicep of a dragon-shifter.
The dragonwoman was a little shorter than Jane, which was rare since dragon-shifters were usually really tall. Maybe her mother had been human.
Not that she would ever ask that question and risk upsetting a dragon-shifter she'd never met before.
As Ivy tried to think of what to do or say, the dragonwoman spoke up, her accent the same Northern English as everyone else originally from Stonefire. "You don't have to look at me like I'm going to eviscerate you. Maybe before I had my daughter, I'd have been tempted, but now I need to set an example. Tolerance at first meeting, and all that. But only because you gave us so much useful information." The dragonwoman stepped closer toward Ivy's bed. "Do anything to hurt my mate or daughter, though, and tolerance is out the window."
Ivy had always been taught that female dragon-shifters were weak and did whatever the men wanted. However, first with Dr. Sid and now this dragonwoman, Ivy started to believe it was another lie she needed to throw away.
Jane snorted. "Be a little nicer, Nikki. She's about to mate Zain, which means she'll get more than her fill of threats and alpha attitude."
"Hey, that's her choice, not mine." Nikki looked back at Ivy. "Besides, I was the one who lobbied for Ivy to have a real dress for her mating ceremony. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't want my arse hanging out for the occasion."
Since the pair seemed to be talking more to each other than to Ivy, she decided to jump in. "I don't care either way. It's not a real marriage."
"Mating," Jane corrected. "Regardless, I don't want to see your arse for the ceremony. And seeing as I'll be here, along with my mate, let's get you changed for my own selfish reasons."
Jane acted nonchalantly, but Ivy sensed the woman was pretending it meant nothing and wanted her to have a little normalcy for the event.
Ivy hadn't lied—she didn't care what she wore one way or the other. But as she imagined strangers staring at her backside, she did her best to sit up, albeit slowly. "Fine. Then let's hurry and get this over with."
Jane sat on the side of the bed. "Not quite yet. First, we're going to have a chat."
Bloody great. Everyone seemed to have a talk or chat in mind. Even the children had come prepared before.
Since remaining silent and nodding was the fastest way to get it over with, Ivy did so.
Nikki laughed. "It's almost as if she knows you already, Jane. Not even fighting the dictate."
Jane raised an eyebrow. "And a word of advice, Ivy—don't do the nod and smile routine with your dragonman. Zain is stubborn and determined, and quite a private person compared to most other dragon-shifters I know. If you don't attempt to roll over him on occa
sion—speaking your mind and not backing down—you'll never learn anything about him."
She frowned. "Why would I even want to? As soon as everyone gets what they need from me, he'll divorce me. I think dragon-shifters divorce, don't they?"
Nikki bobbed her head. "They do, but it's rare. However, if you end up being Zain's true mate, something he won't know until you're not pumped full of drugs and you're finally healthy again, he might not grant you one."
Ivy blinked. "Wait, what are you talking about? A dragon sees their true mate, claims them whether they're willing or not, and then takes the child and tosses the woman aside until he's ready for another offspring. I can't be Zain's since he hasn't done any of those things."
Nikki raised her brows. "Is that the rubbish they teach you? No wonder you lot hate us so much. My true mate is human, by the way. And if you ask Rafe, he'll confirm that I didn't rape him to conceive a child." She smiled secretly. "The conceiving a child bit can be the fun part, if done right."
She blinked. "Your mate is human? I didn't think human men could be with a dragonwoman."
Jane shared a glance with Nikki before the woman said to Ivy, "They did a real number on you, didn't they? I have half a mind to tell Zain to wait to mate you until Nikki, me, and probably Mel and Evie sit you down and tell you the truth about living with a dragon-shifter."
Ivy recognized one of the names. "Melanie Hall-MacLeod. She wrote that book, the fictional one to make dragons look good."
Jane frowned. "No, it's all true. I heard about the books they forced you to read, and after reading excerpts myself from the files you brought us, I can start to see why you fear dragons so much. But it's all rubbish, Ivy. Mel loves Tristan, and whilst Tristan can be a grumpy arsehole to the rest of us, he adores Melanie and his children. You should see it for yourself."
Ivy looked from Jane to Nikki and back again. Were they telling the truth? Had everything she'd ever learned about dragon-shifters from the Knights been a lie?
Closing her eyes, she placed a hand on her forehead and took a few deep breaths. Most of the people she'd met on Stonefire seemed so normal. And the majority of them were happy, and even liked to joke around.
Persuading the Dragon (Stonefire British Dragons Book 12) Page 7