"Aye, they have. But it was mostly because the landowners were too afraid to tell the dragons to leave. The skirmishes here forced the government—well, and the monarch at the time, Queen Victoria—to come to a formal agreement."
"Wait, so that's after the Clearances, then? Queen Victoria reigned from 1837 to 1901."
He grinned. "You know history, too? Och, lass, you're getting more perfect by the minute."
She rolled her eyes. "I told you before, I like to know the history of an area before studying the present inhabitants. I know the basics of treaties, but there's little in human records about this supposed signing you're talking about."
Alistair shrugged. "I'm sure that's by design. From what I've read, the humans thought they were magnanimous in granting Lochguard their land. In reality, they had little choice. Lacking the weapons or biological weapons of the modern era, they had little hope in winning a war with a clan of dragon-shifters without great cost, if at all."
She gestured toward the ruins. "So then why is this one of your favorite places? Because of the historical significance?"
Alistair looked back at the piles of rocks in the middle of the walls. "Partially. However, it's been a constant reminder to me that two different factions can make an alliance work, of sorts. Aye, the DDA has put more and more restrictions on us over the years. And aye, your parliament tries to pass laws about us. However, Lochguard kept its land through determination, stubbornness, and a wee bit of dramatics. That sort of thing will be necessary for getting other dragon clans to work together, too, I think."
She studied Alistair's profile. The man constantly surprised her with how many layers and depths he possessed. "So this place became your favorite once you returned from your last visit to America, right?"
His eyes instantly found hers. "Aye."
She squeezed his hand in hers. "Because this place reminded you of what could be accomplished, even if it took some time." He nodded, but she continued before he could speak. "Then once we find a way to get the dragons to work together, we should put a small memorial nearby, to mark the achievement."
Silence fell, but it wasn't strained. Judging from his eyes, Alistair's mind whirred with who knew what thoughts.
Someday, she'd be at the point where she'd always ask what he was thinking. But considering he'd just shown her something dear to his heart, representing the past three years' inspiration for his work, she would let him speak first.
People weren't always ready to talk about certain issues with a near stranger. And no matter how much she and Alistair connected, there were still barely past the stranger phase.
Alistair eventually cleared his throat. "You're a brilliant female, Kiyana Barnes. And the more I learn about you, the more I wonder if I truly deserve you."
"Deserving isn't part of the equation. At least, not this early on. Just don't lie to me, Alistair, and we'll be on equal terms."
He gently pulled her close and nuzzled his cheek against hers. "Do you need more time to acclimate to me, lass? Or, would you be okay with me bringing my dragon back tomorrow? And not just because of the frenzy, either. He's part of who I am and the longer he's silent, the more I feel as if I'm cheating him out of the experience of getting to know you. Besides, you deserve to know what it's like to be with a male who is essentially two personalities in one body."
Wrapping her arms around his broad back, she lightly rubbed one hand up and down. "Of course I'd like to know him. And I'm positive it won't change my answer concerning the frenzy."
He pulled back a fraction and placed his forehead against hers, his breath dancing across her lips as he said, "Thank you."
She was about to say it was ridiculous to thank her for something so basic, but an older woman's Scottish voice filled the air.
One belonging to Alistair's mother, Meg.
"Och, there you are, lad. We've been looking for you."
Alistair sighed and raised his head. Since Kiyana wanted to see who constituted "we," she released Alistair and turned to find Meg, Faye MacKenzie, and Grant McFarland.
The latter two individuals were Lochguard's co-head Protectors.
Which most likely meant something had happened.
Alistair asked, "What is it?"
Faye replied first. "We wouldn't be here if it wasn't important, Alistair. I hope you know that."
Alistair grunted. "Aye, and you can save explaining why my mother is trekking out here until later, too. What's wrong?"
Faye glanced at Kiyana and back to Alistair. "Meg came to take Kiyana back to Lochguard."
Alistair took her hand. "She's to be my mate. She should stay."
Faye grimaced, and her partner grunted. "We don't have time for you to be noble and romantic. Finn says she's to return with Meg."
Kiyana jumped in. "It's okay, Alistair. It'll give me a chance to get to know your mother better." She looked at Faye and then Grant. "And I'm sure one day you'll trust me enough to say what's going on." Faye bobbed her head, and Kiyana smiled up at Alistair. "Find me when you can."
Alistair's grip on her hand tightened. Not wanting him to make things worse for himself, she murmured, "It's okay. I won't go running for the hills, I promise."
Meg placed her hands on her hips. "Och, now, come, lad. I'll take good care of Kiyana. Finn needs your help. It's the least you can do."
She tugged and Alistair let her go. Once she was at Meg's side, she waved. "Help your clan, Alistair. Because that's what good dragons do—help their clan and family."
Meg grunted her approval. But Alistair spoke before his mother. "Aye, I will, lass. Until later, then."
Even though she knew she'd see him again soon, she took a second to memorize Alistair's short hair blowing in the wind, the ruins just behind him.
Satisfied she'd burned the image into her memory, she finally turned and walked away with Meg.
Alistair's mother chatted the entire time back to Lochguard—the woman was spritely for her age, that was for sure—but Kiyana barely paid attention. Thankfully the older woman liked to talk, so she could merely think about Alistair. Both what he'd revealed, but also wondering how Lochguard needed his help.
She only hoped something dangerous wasn't happening or about to happen. Because then she had a feeling Alistair would have to go without his dragon even longer, and that would put a whole different kind of strain on him.
And Kiyana didn't want her future mate to be in any sort of pain.
~~~
Alistair waited until his mother and Kiyana were out of earshot before he grunted and demanded, "What's so bloody important that you had to ruin my first date with my true mate?"
Faye clicked her tongue. "My, my, someone's tetchy today."
He growled, and Grant sighed at Faye's words. "Don't provoke him, Faye. And if you say it's merely the baby making you do it, so help me, I won't go out on the next odd craving run you have."
Faye narrowed her eyes. "You wouldn't."
Grant raised both eyebrows. "Wouldn't I?"
Under normal circumstances, Alistair wouldn't care if the two went back and forth, their odd love playing out in a way he didn't always understand.
However, Kiyana was stuck with his mother for who knew how long, and he wanted to rescue her from that form of torture. "So what's the damn emergency?"
Grant put up a hand, the pair exchanged some sort of nonverbal communication, and then the male looked back at Alistair. After taking something out of his pocket—a mini-scrambling device by the look of it—and clicking it, the male answered, "You know how Snowridge found and raided the place being used by the Dragon Knights in Wales, aye?"
Anger rolled in his stomach. The bastards had trapped children and experimented on them. "Aye, I do."
"Well, after going through all the stuff they found with a fine-tooth comb, one of the Snowridge Protectors found something concerning, something related to what Stonefire sent us recently."
He frowned. "Wait, what did Stonefire send you?"
&
nbsp; Faye jumped in, clearly unable to stay quiet for long. "A human showed up on their land with a flash drive full of information. Even though she's still unconscious from some kind of poison that's in her system, it appears she worked for the Dragon Knights at one point. Why she broke with them and ran, no one knows. But the flash drive contained loads of detailed information concerning ongoing projects, hideout locations, and more."
Grant spoke again. "Which brings us to why we're here. Snowridge found some tiny, weird-shaped devices they think were used to internally administer and monitor their prisoners. The information from Stonefire contained some schematics to something similar, although it doesn't say what they were used for explicitly—the human must've copied what she could find, not fully understanding what she got."
He put it together. "Which means you want me to look at the schematics, compare them to what was found on Snowridge, and determine their uses. And, if possible, ways to disable them if we find anyone with one of the devices in their bodies still."
Faye bit her lip in an unusual sign of hesitation or regret. "I know you're supposed to go through the frenzy with Kiyana. And until your dragon wakes up again, I'm sure you'd rather spend the time with her. However, this is important. If these sorts of devices are being used en masse, without our knowledge, that could be dangerous."
"Just how wee are they?"
"Very. You can barely see them with the naked eye," Grant stated.
Alistair rubbed both hands through his hair. He may want to spend time with Kiyana, but the lass had been right. Clan was important to a dragon-shifter. And even worse, the mystery device could be affecting the children they'd rescued in Wales. Especially if the devices were small enough to escape notice on various medical scans.
He couldn't risk them suffering, or worse, because he wanted to joke and tease with his future mate.
The only bollocks of it all was how he couldn't share his work with her.
Faye's gentle voice filled his ears. "I know this is a lot to ask. And I know you're a teacher now, not a researcher or electrical engineer. But this is a highly sensitive task, and Finn, as well as the other two clan leaders, want someone they trust to handle it. And given your background, you're the most qualified by far, Alistair."
Lowering his hands, he sighed. "I know. I'll take a look and figure it out, provided you fulfill one request."
Grant grunted. "You can't share this information with the human. She's not your mate yet, and it's too risky."
He clenched his fingers into a fist. Rationally, he knew Grant had to be careful. However, he didn't like him dismissing Kiyana so easily.
Tamping down his irritation, he bit out, "That's not my request. Kiyana seems to get along with Arabella. So can you have Ara rescue Kiyana from my mother? If I'm busy doing this, I don't want the lass trapped in that special variety of hell for long."
Faye snorted, and Grant shot her a look with narrowed eyes. The male looked back at Alistair. "I'll talk to Ara myself."
He nodded. "Okay, then I need everything you have. And I hope you've collected one of the devices from Snowridge."
"Aye, we have. Everything is ready for you inside the Protectors main security building."
As they made their way back and Alistair wheedled out as much information as he could about the assignment, he did his best not to think of Kiyana. He'd trust Finn and Arabella with his life, and they would take good care of his human.
No, what worried him was how long this project would take. Alistair already missed his inner beast, but he couldn't let him return until it was time for the frenzy. Because once a dragon-shifter kissed their true mate, there was no stopping their inner dragons' instincts without the use of drugs for extremely long stretches of time.
He only hoped Layla and the other doctors knew how much of the dragon sleeping drug he could take before it became too much. He and his dragon had a strong bond, but drugs did odd things to inner dragons. Sometimes, it silenced them forever.
And he shuddered to think of that ever happening to him.
Chapter Eight
As one day passed, and then another, Kiyana began to worry.
She knew in her gut that Alistair would come to see her if he could. But all of the hush-hush whisperings of what he was doing and the uncertainty of how long it'd take for him to finish was getting to her.
And while yes, helping his clan was important, she didn't want him to harm his dragon in the process.
Which was why after she'd finished working with the other human women for the day, she stood in front of the door that belonged to Fergus MacKenzie and his human mate, Gina's place.
Arabella had let slip how Fergus had contained his mate-claim frenzy for months before finally letting it out. And all without any sort of drugs.
Kiyana wanted to know how, and if someone else could do it. Because another thing she'd learned was that the longer Alistair drugged his dragon silent, the greater the chance his inner beast would either turn rogue or maybe not return at all.
She knocked and soon after, a red-haired woman carrying a baby on her hip answered. She instantly smiled. "You're Kiyana. What do I owe the pleasure?"
The human's American accent was charming, and in a way, made her smile. "I'm sorry to bother you, but I have some questions about Fergus."
"Fergus isn't here right now. You're still welcome to come in, but I might not be able to help."
"No, it's you I wanted to talk to."
Gina didn't hesitate to step aside and allow Kiyana to enter. Once the door closed, Gina gently bounced her baby and spoke again. "What's on your mind?"
The best way to get through the conversation was to treat it as a professional one. After all, the more she learned about inner dragons and mate-claim frenzies, the better she could prepare the other humans. "It's about how Fergus resisted the mate-claim frenzy for so long."
Gina tilted her head. "I heard about you and Alistair. To be honest, I thought you'd be deep in the throes of the frenzy by now. It's exhausting, but also amazing at the same time."
She'd heard something similar from Arabella, but it helped to add more people to the list of those who enjoyed the frenzy. Kiyana wasn't scared, exactly, but she liked to be prepared. "He's doing something secretive at the moment, for the clan."
Gina bit her lip. Kiyana would bet everything she had the human knew about what.
But she hadn't come to interrogate Gina about Alistair's assignment. So she said, "And I know you can't talk about it. However, the drugs keeping Alistair's dragon silent should be wearing off soon, and I'm worried if he keeps taking the dragon sleeping drugs, then it'll do lasting damage."
Gina shook her head. "I wouldn't worry. Layla is careful about those things, especially since Lochguard's former doctor—Innes—mated a dragon-shifter on Stonefire who lost her dragon for twenty years before it came back again."
She blinked. "Wait, what? Her dragon came back after twenty years?"
Gina nodded toward the living room. "Let's sit so I can bounce my little chunky monkey on my knee as we talk."
Gina then tickled her son's neck, and Kiyana couldn't help but smile. She followed her to the living room and sat down in a chair opposite the sofa. Unable to wait for Gina to continue, she prodded, "How do dragons leave and come back?"
Sitting down, Gina answered, "Oh, in Sid's case—she's the Stonefire dragon-shifter I mentioned—it's complicated. Something about an overdose when Sid was younger. But that's why Layla's extra careful and keeps strict records of how much she administers and when."
"Still…"
After bouncing her son a minute, Gina studied Kiyana's eyes. "For someone who hasn't known Alistair long, you're awfully concerned about his inner dragon. Not to mention you haven't had much time to bond before learning you're his true mate, either."
Kiyana tapped her fingers against her legs. "I'm not like most other humans. I know a lot about dragon-shifters and have spent over a decade trying to learn more. And from what I've learne
d of Alistair, I like him. Quite a bit. It's that simple."
Gina bobbed her head. "Good. He's quiet, but nice. I've always felt sorry for how his mother went on and on about trying to find him someone."
"Meg's not so bad, once you get to know her. I think a lot of people dismiss her before they should."
Gina searched her gaze. "Okay, you definitely need to explain that statement."
Kiyana was debating how much she could tell Gina when a tall, ginger-haired dragonman burst into the room. While she wasn't good enough yet to tell the MacKenzie twins apart, she assumed it was Fergus since it was his house.
Fergus's blue eyes instantly found hers and her stomach churned at the anger there.
He ordered, "Come. We need to get you somewhere safe."
"What are you talking about?" Kiyana demanded.
Fergus shook his head. "There's no time. Something's wrong with Alistair, and Finn's afraid for your safety."
Her heart raced. "Alistair wouldn't hurt me. I'm his true mate, remember?"
"Aye, that may be so, but something is off. And until we know what, you need to be kept in hiding."
Gina stood and held her son close. "You're scaring her, Fergus."
He glanced to his mate. "Aye, and rightly so." Fergus looked back at her and gestured toward the door. "Come, lass. I won't ask again. If you're not up and walking in the next five seconds, I'll carry you out of here if I have to."
Her skin turned cold. There was true panic in Fergus's voice.
Making her body work, she stood, and Fergus gently gripped her upper arm. "This way." He threw over his shoulder, "You stay here, Gina, with the bairn. Everyone's to stay inside until Finn, Faye, or Grant give the all clear."
Gina bobbed her head, but that was all she managed before Fergus was half dragging Kiyana out of his house and down a path. The entire time, he scanned the area, both on the ground and in the sky.
Her heart raced, and she did her best to keep panic from her voice. "Why are you looking at the sky? Alistair shouldn't be able to shift right now."
The Dragon's Discovery (Lochguard Highland Dragons Book 6) Page 9