“See you later?” Topaz repeated.
“Yes, sure,” he answered quickly, squeezing her hand before pulling away. “I need to go.” He kept his eyes on the retreating group. Without a backward glance, he jogged so that he could catch up.
Mountain knocked on a set of double doors and entered. Tide filed in behind the group, inclining his head at Granite and his healer mate. He took up his position at the wall as was customary of a guard. Ice next to him.
After introductions, Meghan went through the motions explaining what she had planned. She and Louise, Granite’s mate, went to town talking in their own healer lingo. Tide saw Granite stifle a yawn on more than one occasion. After a while, even he and Ice were shuffling from one leg to another. Meghan asked Louise some questions and then Louise asked Meghan a couple and so it went. Back and forth for what felt like an age. It was almost impossible to understand what the hell they were saying.
Finally, there was crying from the next room.
“That would be the twins.” Louise smiled. She and Granite headed off to fetch them. Returning, each of them held a baby.
“They are beautiful.” Tide stepped forward to get a better look. He looked from Louise to Granite and back again.
“Thank you,” Granite beamed. “They’re a handful, but I wouldn’t trade them for the world.”
“I’m sure.” Meghan had that look all females get when looking at cute little babies. Granite might be an ugly mother, but he’d done a decent job making these children.
“We need to make this quick,” Louise advised. “They will want to eat soon and then all hell will break loose.”
“No problem.” Meghan was rooting around in her bag. She pulled out a couple of items before placing them on the coffee table. “I’ll do the swabs first and then we’ll test them for the allergy. I would suggest you have bottles at the ready.”
“I’m still breastfeeding,” Louise said.
It wasn’t his imagination when Granite gave both him and Ice a scathing look. Males could be so possessive over their mates. He’d seen it with his brother and Candy. Hell, his brother had almost lost his mate early on in their relationship because of jealousy. He fought back an eye-roll. Poor schmucks. There were definite downsides to the whole relationship thing.
“Let’s get started,” Meghan announced as she finished laying out the supplies. She picked up a test tube and pulled out a swab. Then she leaned over Granite and swiped the swab inside the baby’s mouth. “What’s his name?”
“Quake,” Granite said.
Meghan grabbed a marker and wrote what he presumed was the child’s name on a label on the test tube, which she then sealed.
Meghan did the same with the other baby and wrote Declan on the label. She carefully packed the test tubes away in the backpack and produced a needle out of a black velvet case.
“Woah.” Granite’s eyes widened up, Tide could see the male bristle. If he was even slightly more agitated, his scales would show and smoke would waft from his nostrils.
“I’m not going to actually stick them with the needle,” Meghan quickly assured them, obviously noticing the change of atmosphere. “I plan on touching the blunt side to his skin. She turned the needle over, touching the tip of her finger to the blunt edge. “See?” She gave a nervous looking smile. “One quick touch to the inside of Quake’s arm. That’s it. This is a two percent silver needle. Only two.” She held up two fingers. “It might take a few seconds or even a minute for a red mark to appear. If none is apparent, I’ll have to use a four percent needle and so on and so forth.”
Granite was frowning so hard that his face might crack at any second. Tide couldn’t blame the male. Dragons were touchy when it came to what was theirs. The need to protect would be riding him hard. Louise must have sensed the lingering aggression in the air because she touched the side of her mate’s arm. “It’s okay. They’ll be fine.”
Some of the tension eased from Granite’s frame and he gave a nod.
“I’ll start with Declan,” Meghan said, moving over to Louise.
Tide felt his lip twitch. Smart female. There were a couple of things he liked about Meghan. That was for sure.
She touched the needle to the inside of the baby’s arm and then looked at her watch. The seconds ticked by.
Louise shook her head as she pulled Declan’s arm away from his body to check the spot where the needle had touched. “Nothing.”
They went through the same process with Quake.
Meghan pulled another needle from the velvet box. “Let’s try four percent.”
Louise nodded, holding the babies arm out so that Meghan could touch the needle to his skin. He squirmed and made a yelping noise. Within seconds the little one was crying.
Louise rocked the tiny baby. “He’s allergic.” She pointed to a red mark on his arm. Half a minute later and the mark had turned into a raised welt.
Tide could hear how Granite ground his teeth. Tide only realized he had moved when he found himself just a few feet behind Meghan. He sucked in a deep breath. It was all good. Louise glanced at her mate. “He’ll be fine. This is perfectly normal.” She used a soothing voice, continuing to rock little Declan. The baby had already calmed down significantly. “Declan will be fine in no time.”
Meghan turned to Granite. “Aside from that red mark, he’ll be fine, since none of the silver has entered his bloodstream.”
“Look, he’s already forgotten all about it,” Louise said, looking down at the little boy in her arms.
“I need to test Quake.” Meghan didn’t move forward.
Granite cradled the little one in his arms. He looked pissed. Shit! Looking after the good doctor was going to be fun and fucking games. The Earth king finally relinquished his hold on the baby enough for Meghan to proceed. “Ready?” She looked at Granite, waiting for his approval.
The male finally pulled in a deep breath and nodded his head. “Yes.”
“Since they are identical twins, we can expect the same reaction. I must test Quake, just to be sure.”
“Go ahead.” He held the baby out.
Meghan carefully clasped his little arm and touched the blunt side of the needle to his skin.
Quake screamed blue murder within a second of the needle touching his skin. First, smoke wafted from his nostrils and then flames shot from the baby’s mouth. Actual honest to god flames. Orange, twirling and about two feet long. Granite roared. Tide clasped Meghan around the waist and pulled her behind his back, snarling at Granite, fists clenched and ready. It was purely instinctual. He had been tasked with protecting the human and protect her he would.
Both Meghan and Louise screamed. Both females were yelling for them to stop. Louise was more insistent, probably because she knew what dragons were capable of.
Granite was on his feet in a nanosecond. His tiny son still cradled in his arms. His eyes were narrowed and his brow creased. His one free hand was fisted. In short, baby or no baby, the male was ready.
“No! Stop! Quake!” Louise screamed, grabbing her mate by the arm.
“Wait.” Tide forced himself to stand down. It went against everything in him. Especially considering the adrenaline that coursed through his veins. “Don’t,” he spoke softly, still holding Meghan in place behind his back. He spoke to both her ‒ she was trying to move ‒ and to Granite who still looked pissed. “You’ll hurt your boy.” Tide looked down at the baby in Granite’s arms.
“It’s over. Quake’s fine.” There was a pleading edge to Louise’s voice.
“I’m sorry,” Meghan whispered from behind him, she stuck her head around him.
Granite’s gaze softened. He sucked in a deep breath. “I’m sorry. I reacted … make that, I overreacted,” he corrected himself.
“What was that?” Tide asked. The events of the last few minutes replaying in his mind. “What the hell just happened?”
“An Earth dragon should not be able to breathe fire.” Ice sounded just as shocked.
; “It’s happened once before,” Louise said. “We weren’t sure if it was a one-time thing, or …” She let the sentence die.
“What?” Tide shook his head. “Did you report it? Because I sure as hell didn’t hear about it,” he asked Granite, who shook his head.
“No.” The male tapped Quake on the back in a rhythmic fashion. Still trying to soothe the child. “It only happened once. My mate and another female witnessed it. We thought it might be a fluke.”
“Well, it’s not.” Tide’s mind raced. “Is this an isolated case? Have any of the others with mixed breed children reported any … strange occurrences?”
Granite shook his head. “I don’t know of any others. Thunder had a son a couple of weeks ago. He didn’t mention anything the last time we spoke. Blaze hasn’t mentioned anything about his or Coal’s sons either.”
“Okay.” Meghan came out from behind him, shaking off his hand. “I’m going to assume that that’s not normal.”
“No,” Tide said. “Only Fire dragons can breathe fire. May I see his marking. I hear that there is no coloring, only an outline.”
Granite nodded. “It is true for all of the young born from a dragon human mating. No silver, no gold, no black flecks to show that they are Earth dragons. There’s just an outline. This is the second time he has breathed fire.” He pulled in a deep breath. “Truth be told, I hoped that it wouldn’t happen again. Thing is, Declan is perfectly normal. It only seems to be Quake who can do this … breathe fire.” The male ran a hand through his hair. “Blaze is not going to like this.”
"No shit," Tide said, turning to Meghan. "The only reason the Fire dragons rule all four kingdoms is because they can breathe fire. It gives them the edge over the rest of us. This though …" He shook his head. "This could turn everything on its head. This could start a war."
“Surely not.” Meghan’s eyes were wide, her skin pale.
“The kingdoms are working together but it’s tenuous at best. There is a shared interest—”
“Tide,” Granite warned. The male shook his head.
“I wasn’t going to say anything more.”
“I should hope not,” Granite chided.
Tide had said too much … again.
"You said that Water dragons can breathe underwater," Meghan stated, directing the conversation at Granite, taking the heat away from Tide. He was appreciative. "What about Earth dragons? What is your special power?"
“We can blend into our surroundings like a chameleon.”
“And Air dragons?” she asked.
“They have the ability to create lighting from the air. It can be used as a weapon. Not as powerful as fire, but it is a good ability to have.”
“Interesting.” Meghan looked deep in thought.
Granite unfastened the snaps on Quake’s onesie and peeled the material from his chest. The little one kicked his legs and moaned. He knew from experience that babies disliked being undressed.
“Oh my god!” Louise covered her hand with her mouth, her eyes wide.
“That gold wasn’t there before.” Granite looked shocked as well.
For the most part, there was still an empty outline where the child’s mark should have been, only now there were flecks of gold here and there.
Louise unclasped Declan’s outfit as well. “See,” she said, her voice animated. “This is what it looked like before.” There was a dark outline and otherwise, where the silver or gold coloring would have been, was blank.
“You need to inform Blaze,” Tide insisted. “This can’t be kept quiet.”
Granite’s mouth became a hard line and his jaw tensed. He finally gave a nod. “Yes, there is no longer any doubt, my son can breathe fire.” There was awe in his voice but also a nervous edge. “I will call a meeting of all four kingdoms,” Granite added. “Earth, Air and Water will need to stand together. This could be a new anomaly that affects us all.”
“I will talk with Torrent. Maybe the three kingdoms should meet first,” Tide said
“We don’t want to be seen as banding against Blaze. You remember what happened last time.” Granite shook his head.
“All too well.” Tide grit his teeth as memories accosted him. The conference room becoming engulfed in flames. Everyone present was injured. His own skin had melted. The left side of his face, his chest, his hair had been scorched. The pain was unbearable. It was nothing compared to what Thunder had suffered. The male had almost died. It took him a full week to recover.
“What happened, honey?” Louise asked, looking up at her mate. Little Declan began to fuss.
“The boys are hungry. We will talk later.” He smoothed the hair from her brow. His mate nodded.
“Before you go,” Meghan pulled another one of the test tube things out of her bag, “I need a sample from you as well, please, Granite. It would be a test sample for an Earth dragon’s DNA.”
This hadn’t been part of the plan. Tide held his breath. How would Granite react to this request? The male seemed to think it over before finally nodding his head. “Fine.” He opened his mouth and Meghan took the swab, sealing and labeling the test tube like she had with the twins’ samples. “You’ll let us know what the findings are?” Quake had also started to fuss.
Meghan nodded. “It will take a week to ten days. I will definitely let you know.”
Granite narrowed his eyes as they landed on Tide. “Have Torrent call me.”
“I will,” Tide said as the male retreated to the bedroom.
“Fuck,” Ice choked out as soon as the door closed.
The human male busied himself packing up.
“No one speaks a word of this. Am I clear?” Tide ordered, looking at each of them in turn.
“I’m not sure what this is all about.” Meghan frowned.
“You don’t need to know at this time. It’s politics. Let’s leave it at that.” He looked her head-on, waiting for her to argue.
“Okay,” she finally said, and he breathed out a sigh of relief.
“Not a word,” he addressed Ice. The male nodded. “Blaze especially is not to hear of this. He will be told but it needs to be handled correctly.”
“Absolutely,” Ice agreed.
“Hey,” George held up both hands. “It has nothing to do with me.”
“I won’t say anything unless directly asked. I’m not comfortable with lying,” Meghan said.
“Fair enough.” There would be no reason for Tide to start that type of conversation with her at this time. He needed to get back. He needed to talk with Torrent. They would be expected in the dining hall for lunch though. “Let’s eat and head out. Thunder is expecting us this afternoon. Not a word to him either.”
Chapter 12
“Doctor Roberts, how lovely it is to see you again so soon. My brother, Granite, mentioned something about you being here today.” It was the shifter she had met yesterday.
"Nice to see you again, Shale." She couldn't help but smile. He was charming.
“We’re over there if you need us.” George gestured to a table in the corner. Ice was already taking a seat.
“Okay,” Meghan said.
Shale hooked his arm with hers. Just like all the other shifters, he was huge. “Come and sit with me.”
“Leave the human.” Tide had that hard, gruff edge to his voice. “We’re not staying long.” She wasn’t sure whether he directed the last to her or to Shale. It was probably to both of them.
“It’s just lunch, Tide.” Shale had sandy blond hair and the most incredible golden brown eyes. His lashes were obscenely long.
“Don’t you have to be somewhere? Preparing for a certain mission maybe?” Tide asked, looking angry.
“Everything is taken care of.” Shale grinned. “Thanks for all the hard work, by the way.”
“Yeah, no need to thank me, just stay focused and do a good job. That’s all I ask.”
“Don’t worry about it. I won’t fuck it up. I’ll—”
“There you are.” The same woma
n from the hall earlier, gripped Tide’s arm. “I saved you a seat.” She winked at Tide, flicking her long black hair over her shoulder. “Or we could skip lunch and …”
“We need to leave soon,” Meghan blurted. Shit! She didn’t want to come across as jealous. “I can’t be late for the next meeting.” She locked eyes with Tide as she spoke.
“I need to stay with the human.” He kept his eyes on her even though he was addressing the shifter lady.
Meghan bristled. The human! The human? Like she was some sort of burden.
“I’ll stay with Doctor Roberts,” Shale said. She smiled at Shale. At least he was polite.
"Not happening," Tide's voice was still gruff. Then he smiled, looking at the woman at his side. "Why don't you join us?" Without waiting for a response ‒ of course, a guy like Tide would automatically assume her answer would be yes ‒ he turned to them. "This is Topaz. Topaz, this is Doctor Roberts. She's helping us with our silver affliction."
“Oh, that’s great.” Topaz didn’t even look her way. Her focus was solely directed at Tide.
“Let me get that for you.” Shale pulled out her chair, gesturing for her to sit.
“Thank you.” A total gentleman, unlike other people she knew.
Topaz plunked herself in Tide’s lap. How inappropriate. She wrapped her arms around his neck. Don’t look! It didn’t matter anyway. Meghan was so not interested in Tide. Sure, he was attractive but that was where it ended.
Someone gripped her shoulders from behind. “You’re welcome to join us,” George said.
“I’m fine. We’re leaving soon, so eat up.” She was amazed at how normal her voice sounded, even though Topaz was kissing Tide’s neck. Kissy, kissy kissy. What the hell?
“You sure?” George widened his eyes. Her friend knew her well. He knew that this would be rubbing her the wrong way.
“Yes, of course,” she lied. All out lied and did it with a straight face. She wasn’t sure about anything right now. Only that she hated Tide. Hated. Him. He was clearly a jackass and a slut.
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