“Bram—”
“No. This discussion is over. As clan leader, I’m kicking your arse out of my office so I can do some work.”
Tristan clenched his jaw. Pulling his clan leader title out had been enough to stop him from arguing, as Bram well knew. “Fine. Will you at least tell me if she’s staying with Samira?”
“Yes. Now get the hell out and go deal with your bloody issues. They’re giving me a headache.”
Tristan turned on his heel before he said something he’d regret and left.
He had planned to visit Melanie, but now that he knew he would have to spend tomorrow morning with her, he needed to retreat to the teaching area. If he didn’t calm his dragon down again, his beast wouldn’t care if children were present or not, it’d jump the female at the first whiff of her scent.
~~~
Melanie made her way to today’s training area. This was her third day of working with the students, and she’d discovered that without all of the bias and hatred of the adults, she loved interacting with the young dragon-shifters. They were as curious about her as she was about them, which would be a welcome distraction in the coming months. Especially since she’d been told that human women who were pregnant with a dragon-shifter child usually developed morning sickness faster than if she were having a human baby. As it was, the smells of certain foods were already making her queasy.
She placed a hand over her belly and smiled. After winning over Ava Moore-Llewellyn, whom she’d later learned was Bram’s niece, Melanie actually looked forward to being a mother. Even if her baby was stubborn when he or she got older, all of this time teaching had taught her how to not only handle difficult children, but also what to expect when it came time to deal with her child’s emerging dragon. Apparently, since the shifting gene was dominant, all human females who had a dragon-shifter’s baby would have a little child capable of one day shifting, too.
That was something else she wished she’d found out during her research before coming here. Not that it mattered; she was determined to stay and raise her child. But it might help with other women who were on the fence about whether to sacrifice themselves or not.
She just hoped her child would take after her and not Tristan. The asshole had yet to say anything to her since he’d scented her pregnancy a week ago.
Don’t think about him. She had friends, a purpose, and an entire culture to study. If she could contact her family or let them visit, it would almost be perfect.
Of course, she had weeks before she’d be granted communication privileges, and only then if Tristan said so. Maybe if she excelled at this teaching thing, then Bram would grant her the privileges regardless.
Mel came up to the rock ridge sheltering the practice areas used for the young dragon-shifters. Since it was early summer, the teachers tried to bring the students outside as much as the northern English weather allowed, using the few months of sunshine for shifting practice.
She had yet to see any of the children attempt to shift, but hopefully the longer she worked with the teachers, the more they’d open up to her and let her watch some of their lessons. After all, she was a child when it came to dragon-shifter ways and if she was going to spend the rest of her life here, she needed to start catching up.
She came to the ten-foot-wide gap between the rock walls that formed an entrance to one of the “safe areas” used for the youngest children and stopped to wait for a natural break in the lesson to approach the teacher. But as she looked over at the far side of the clearing, she barely noticed the ten students. No, her eyes latched on to the tall figure of Tristan MacLeod.
He was currently talking to his students. She couldn’t hear what he was saying, but the frown and broody attitude was mostly gone. Instead, Tristan had a patient, yet firm look on his face as he motioned for one of the students to come up front.
The little boy moved to stand next to Tristan. After listening to his teacher, the little boy closed his eyes. A few seconds later, his hand became something that wasn’t a hand—she was too far away to see clearly, but she guessed it was a dragon claw—and then opened his eyes to shout, “I did it!”
The sound echoed down to her, and she smiled as Tristan gave the boy’s shoulder a squeeze. After saying something else, the boy’s hand returned to a pale human one. The other students cheered as the boy went to stand back with his classmates.
Tristan was even smiling as he watched the boy return to his place. Then Tristan’s eyes roamed over his students, as if he were trying to think of whom to pick next, when his gaze found hers.
Even from this distance, his look sent a little thrill through her body. Melanie remembered everything he—and by extension, she—had done less than a week ago. Such as the feel of his hands on her ass; the sting of his bite on her neck; the fullness of his cock inside her as he took her against a wall.
The growl he made when he came.
Her cheeks went hot, but she didn’t break his gaze. She wasn’t embarrassed about their marathon of fantastic sex, let alone afraid of him, and she wanted to make sure he knew it.
With a deep inhale and exhale, she squared her shoulders, pasted a patient smile on her face, and strode toward the end of the clearing. By now, the students all turned to see what their teacher was staring at. When she was close enough, she could hear their murmurs of “Who is she?”, “Do we have a guest?”, and finally, when she was less than ten feet from them, “Why does she smell like Mr. MacLeod?”
Before either she or Tristan could say anything, one of the little girls said, “I know why! She smells like him because she’s carrying Mr. MacLeod’s baby! My mama smelled like my dad before my brother was born.”
The other students started to chatter, but then Tristan said, “Quiet,” and the students stopped talking.
She moved to stand next to Tristan. Despite the frown on his face, she remembered the patient version of him with the student, and she yearned to have that version of him holding her against his warm chest. That man she could actually like.
But the guarded look he always seemed to carry when she was around was back. It was best to get on with why she was here.
She raised an eyebrow and said, “They must’ve told you I would come to teach. Aren’t you going to introduce me to your students?”
Chapter Five
From the instant Tristan had met Melanie’s gaze, he’d had to battle both his attraction to her and the demands of his dragon.
With the children standing in front of him, his dragon was behaving—for the moment. The beast only thought of fucking her once every thirty seconds, which was only marginally better than having a constant need and desire broadcast inside his head.
When she stood next to him, the mixture of her feminine scent with his, because of the pregnancy, caused an overwhelming protectiveness to rush through his body.
Why did you abandon her? She is ours. We should take her home. Treasure her. Pleasure her. Fuck her.
Not right now. I need to help the young. Or do you want to leave them vulnerable? That thought silenced his dragon. Protecting the young was the most important.
Melanie asked if he was going to introduce her, and he turned to his morning class. “This is Miss Melanie Hall. You’ve probably scented it already, but she is a human female. From today, she’s going to come at least once a week to teach you human studies.” He turned toward Melanie. “They’re all yours.”
He barely registered what she said next as he studied the curve of her cheek, or the way the sun cast red glints in her hair. Her top clung to her breasts as if to tempt him, much like her jeans hugged her nice, wide hips and soft arse, reminding him what it was like to fuck her from behind.
Everything about her body called to him.
He resisted a frown. What the bloody hell was wrong with him? He’d never felt such attraction to a woman before. Determined not to fall prey to her luscious, curvy body, he turned his gaze back to his students. He just caught Melanie telling them to ask her anyth
ing, and Misa’s hand shot up.
Mel nodded and the little girl said, “So, was I right? Are you carrying Mr. MacLeod’s baby?”
He watched Melanie cross her arms over her chest. Only through an ironclad will did he avoid looking at them as she said, “Yes. But since dragon-shifters also get pregnant and have babies, how about asking me something related to human ways?”
One of the boys shouted, “I heard that humans like to collect dragon teeth and talons and wear them around their necks. Is that true?”
“Hundreds of years ago, yes, it was. However, since then, things have changed. These days, there is a type of truce between most humans and dragon-shifters.”
The boy looked unconvinced. “Then why do some humans hunt us?”
Tristan was keen to hear her answer. Melanie took a second, and then said, “Because just like with dragon-shifters, some humans will always be jerks and will ignore the rules.”
“Are you one of the jerks?”
Melanie smiled. “No, I don’t think so. I’ve actually studied dragon-shifters for years. Someday, I want to write a book and help get rid of the nasty rumors.”
That piqued Tristan’s curiosity. Was the female being sincere or just saying what the children wanted to hear?
One of the other boys said, “Which rumors? Like, do all humans think we’re strong and fierce monsters? Or I’ve also heard they think we steal their belongings in the middle of the night. And there’s the one about us breathing fire. Or...”
As the boy rattled off all the old stories and rumors about their kind, Tristan watched as Melanie calmly answered and dispelled most of them. Considering how tight-lipped the dragons were, she knew an astounding amount about them. He wasn’t sure if that made him more or less suspicious of her.
But by the time the lunch cart was being rolled toward the students, it was clear that she’d won over his pupils by being honest and open. She never dismissed them as too young to understand or said their questions were silly or daft.
Tristan started to wonder if Bram’s words were true and that his mistrust of her was unfounded.
But he would talk with her in private before making any final decisions on what to do with her.
He raised a hand in greeting at the middle-aged dragonwoman rolling the lunch cart toward them. The scent of warm roast beef hit his nose and his stomach growled. While dragon-shifters weren’t carnivores, their beasts always loved the smell and taste of meat.
He turned to dismiss the students for lunch when he saw Melanie holding a hand to her mouth and looking rather pale. He glanced around, but he didn’t see any threats. He moved to her side. “What’s wrong? Are you ill?”
She nodded and dashed for the far side of the clearing, leaned over, and dry heaved. He asked the lunch attendant to keep an eye on his students and he went to Melanie’s side. Without thinking, he rubbed her back as she lost what must’ve been her breakfast.
~~~
As soon as the smell of roasted meat had hit her nose, Mel’s stomach had started churning right before the nausea hit her. Apparently, her early morning sickness had decided to rear its ugly head in front of Tristan of all people.
To avoid embarrassing herself by getting sick all over him, she rushed away from Tristan and the children to a spot near the wall of rock. She dry-heaved for about thirty seconds before her breakfast finally came up, burning her throat. At some point, a warm hand caressed her back, and the reassuring, warm touch made her feel a little better.
When she had nothing left to vomit, she stood up and a blue reusable water bottle was thrust in front of her face. Tristan said, “Here. Take it.”
Wanting to get rid of the awful taste in her mouth, she took it without a word, rinsed out her mouth, and spit out the water. After a few sips of water, she started to feel somewhat normal again.
And to think, she had months of this to look forward to. At least she had Samira and Liam to help her through the worst of it.
After one more inhale and exhale, she looked up to thank Tristan for the water, but her words died in her throat at the fierce look in his eyes. The look kicked her temper into gear, and before she could stop herself, she said, “What have I done now to deserve that look? Is my vomit, caused by your baby by the way, offending your sensitive dragon nose?”
He growled. “No. You’re ill and my dragon doesn’t like it.”
She’d been civil in front of the children, but she decided to let loose in a quiet, steely voice. “Oh, that’s right. Only your dragon cares about me because I’m breeding. You are perfectly all right to ditch me at the first scent of pregnancy.” She waved toward the students. “Go eat your lunch, Tristan. My time is up, so I’ll leave you alone for today.”
She moved to leave when Tristan’s hands clamped around her upper arms. “I will see you home.”
She gave a pointed look at the grip on her arm and back to his face. “Why? I can walk, and you made it clear that I’m on my own. I fulfilled my end of the sacrifice contract by conceiving and I don’t need your protection. If something happens, Samira or Liam will help me.”
As soon as she mentioned Liam’s name, Tristan’s pupils flashed to slits and back again. “You shouldn’t be asking another male to look after you.”
Aware of the children, Melanie kept her anger to a restrained whisper. “You gave up any claim as to what I do or who I ask for help the instant you snuck out and left me alone in that bed.”
“I have my reasons for doing that, but you wouldn’t understand.”
She narrowed her eyes. “If this is about what happened to your mother and sister, I know about that.”
His fierce look grew fiercer. “Who told you?”
“All that matters is that I know. And while focusing hatred on all humans might seem like a fine idea to you, it’s useless, Tristan. And I would think you’d see that if you only gave me a chance.”
“Giving you a chance would mean being near you. As long as I remain with the children, my beast’s need to claim you is replaced by a need to protect the young. If I meet with you anywhere else, even in front of others, my dragon will push to the forefront and seek you out.” He leaned down until his breath was hot on her ear and whispered, “My inner beast is already attached to you. I guarantee that if you let me fuck you even just one more time, I won’t be able to keep my dragon away from you as I’ve been doing the past week. And you remember what happened the last time my dragon broke loose, and that’s just a glimpse of what could happen.”
~~~
He was trying to scare her away from him. For himself, or because of his dragon’s throbbing need to claim her, he didn’t know. As he waited for her reply, he was overly aware of her womanly scent filling his nose, making him hard all over again. He was tempted to lick her ear, but he had just enough self-control to stop himself.
Take her home. Care for her. Protect her. Let the other dragon watch the children.
His dragon was starting to demand more than just sex; the beast wanted to look after her.
Fuck, that wasn’t good. The attachment was getting stronger, and after the last half-hour of watching Melanie deal with the children before being sick, even the human-half of him was starting to wonder if he’d been too harsh on her.
Melanie turned her head to look him in the eye. “Before I let you fuck me again, Tristan, I want to meet your sister.”
His dragon hummed. The female wanted to fuck him. He wanted to claim her harder. They needed to do anything to make her theirs. Next time she wouldn’t think of leaving.
Tristan gritted his teeth, ignored his dragon, and focused on Melanie’s request as he said, “My sister likes humans even less than I do.”
“You’re really going for the gold with your compliments, aren’t you?”
He growled, his arousal dimmed by anger. “This isn’t a laughing matter. They beat my sister within an inch of her life, and if my mother hadn’t succeeded in distracting the human dragon hunters, my sister would’ve been ra
ped and butchered for parts just like what had happened with my mother.”
Melanie’s look softened. “Tristan, I’m so sorry.”
“I didn’t ask for your pity.”
“It’s not pity. I’m being sincere, as I couldn’t imagine what that would be like.” She put a hand on his chest and the touch soothed his anger a fraction. “But believe me, I’m not an undercover dragon hunter. I’m going to be the mother of your child. Doesn’t that count for something?”
He stared at her for a second and decided he needed to ask her something before he brought her anywhere near his sister.
He resisted a frown. Why was he thinking of introducing her to his sister? Meeting with a human was the last thing Arabella needed.
But the curiosity that had been bouncing around inside his head was strong enough to make him ask his question anyway. “Did you mean what you said earlier to the students, about wanting to write a book to help stop the nasty rumors about us?”
Mel nodded. “Yes. At first, I just wanted to find something unique for my doctoral thesis, but after three days of teaching the children of this clan, I want to help build a better future for them. The bias and discrimination will never completely disappear, but it’d be nice if humans and dragon-shifters could interact without living in perpetual fear of trying to kill each other.”
There was no trace of deceit or fear in her scent. That told him the human believed in her words.
Had Bram been right to say he was letting his prejudice get in the way? Even if it was true, and he wasn’t entirely convinced it was, he still had his sister to think about. Arabella was his only family, and if she couldn’t get past Melanie being human, there was no way he could have both Melanie and his sister in his life if Melanie decided to stay after their child was born.
Sacrificed to the Dragon: Part Two Page 4