Ryan looked for the other one but couldn't see him.
Grateful for the adrenaline, he jumped to his feet and ran the opposite way. He'd nearly gotten back to the main path when a green dragon appeared in the sky. In a split second, the beast had swooped down, scooped Ryan up in his talons, and flapped its wings to head skyward.
As the ground grew smaller and smaller, fear crept over him.
All the dragon had to do was drop him and he was dead.
And sure enough, about sixty seconds later, the dragon did exactly that and Ryan screamed as he raced toward the ground.
Another dragon swooped down and plucked him from the air, the force of the talons against his chest sending excruciating pain through his body and he heard a crack.
Before he could do more than notice that the dragon was slowly descending toward the landing area, Ryan blacked out.
Chapter Ten
Gaby paced the length of the small, private waiting room inside the clinic and dug her nails into her palms in impatience. Ryan had been in surgery for five hours already, and she'd yet to receive an update.
Her dragon said softly, Dr. Carter will tell us when there's news. It's better for him to focus solely on Ryan right now.
Even though she knew that was true, Gaby growled, A nurse could tell us something, anything, about his condition. Even if it's only how there's no change, that would be something.
Wisely, her dragon said nothing.
They'd argued back and forth the entire return flight to PineRock, about how her dragon hadn't wanted to leave Ryan alone and Gaby assuring her beast that he'd be fine with all the protections in place.
In the end, Gaby had been dead wrong. Although it did help her feel a little better that even Cris had been fooled by the traitors.
The human haters had gone to the extent of snapping the bones of one of their children and putting the boy inside a cave for Cris to rescue.
Not even the fact the traitors were all being held, awaiting ADDA to collect them, helped ease her anger and fear.
Because it was entirely possible that Ryan would end up either paralyzed, or could even die. Snatching a human body from free fall wasn't easy to begin with, and probably few, apart from Cris, could have managed it without killing him.
Gaby was still beyond grateful that Cris had been on her way home when she'd spotted one of her Protectors carrying Ryan into the air.
She shuddered to think what would've happened if Cris had approached PineRock a few minutes later.
Her dragon spoke up again. Stop wondering about what could've been. Ryan is still alive, and that's all that matters.
For now. I don't know how you can be so calm.
I have faith in our human. Besides, there is a major upside from it all—Wes has discovered the last of the traitors within the clan.
I wish I could be happy about that. But I just want Ryan to wake up again.
It'd been hard enough leaving him to go back to work, but to only be called back soon after and told he might die had made Gaby realize something important.
She loved Ryan Ford. And now, she might never get the chance to tell him.
Tears prickled her eyes, but in the next instant, her mother returned from the cafeteria. She must've noticed Gaby's tears even from across the room and rushed to her side. "Oh Gaby, come here."
Needing her mother's touch, she hugged her close and let some of her tears fall. As her mom stroked her hair, she murmured, "Your human is strong. I have faith he'll pull through."
"But he might not."
"Now, Gabriela Santos, what have I said all these years about not giving up on the things you love?"
She sniffled. "We cherish them and fight to our last breath to protect them."
Her mom leaned back to meet her gaze again. "That's right. So do as I taught you. Be strong and fight the best way you can—by believing in him and Dr. Carter. And once Ryan opens his eyes, you let him know he's not going anywhere, either, so he'd better not think of dying for many, many decades to come. And even that will be negotiable."
Gaby nearly argued that positive thinking wasn't enough sometimes, but held back. Her mother was only trying to help. And the fact her mom so wholeheartedly endorsed Ryan meant a lot to her.
She nodded. "Oh, believe me, when he wakes up, I'm not letting him out of my sight any time soon."
Her mother raised her brows. "For a short while, yes. But don't let the traitors win in the long run. If you fear living your life going forward, they will have won, no matter if they're locked up somewhere or not."
Gaby frowned. "That's easy for you to say—Dad is a dragon-shifter and can more easily overcome threats from within the clan. However, Ryan can't change his form and it's simply a fact that he's weaker. I can't just disregard that bit and pretend everything will work out."
Her mother raised her brows. "Your human did a pretty good job after such a short period of training. I'm sure Cris and Wes will arm him further, and train him harder, once this is done. Even if Wes is pretty sure he's cleaned out the last of the clan who want to harm your mate and Jose's—thanks to confessions—he's not going to take any chances."
She opened her mouth to argue, but Dr. Carter entered the room still wearing his scrubs. Both she and her mother turned toward him and he spoke before they could ask anything. "Ryan is alive. I repaired the internal damage and he should heal fully from that, but a few spinal fractures showed up on the X-ray. I won't know for sure the extent of the damage until he's awake and we can test if he's paralyzed from the waist down, or at all."
Her mother gripped her hand and Gaby squeezed back, taking comfort. Gaby blurted, "When can I see him?"
Dr. Carter replied, "He won't be awake for a while, but if you want to sit next to his bed and hold his hand, you can follow me now. However, you have to promise not to jostle him or do more than hold his hand or maybe gently touch his face at this point. Since he's human, the fractures will take a lot longer to heal even with dragon's blood injections and I don't want to risk any more damage."
With a dragon-shifter, they'd probably be up and about within a few days after a similar injury.
It was yet another disadvantage her human possessed.
At least dragon's blood sped up the healing process in humans a little. Gaby would give as much as she needed to get him healthy ASAP. "I promise to follow any order you have, but just let me see my male."
Dr. Carter motioned with a hand. "Then follow me."
Gaby barely paid attention as she followed the head doctor down the corridor. She somehow went through the motions of washing her hands, too, before finally reaching the room. Dr. Carter said quietly, "Just remember he looks worse than he is, Gaby. The bruises will heal within a day or two thanks to the injection of dragon's blood you gave us."
The doctor's words made her heart pound harder. She had been able to at least do that. Gaby bobbed her head. "Just let me see him."
He finally allowed Gaby into the room and she drew in a breath.
Ryan was paler than normal, his face and arms a mottle of bruises, not to mention a bandage around one of his upper arms poking from under his hospital gown. A brace was around his neck, and he had various machines hooked up to him.
It took everything Gaby had not to start crying again. She needed to be strong for her male.
Dr. Carter whispered, "He's breathing on his own, which is good. The rest of the machines are just keeping track of his vitals." He gently pushed her toward the bed. "Go. Your mate will sense you're near and it'll help him."
Swallowing, Gaby moved to the bedside and gently took Ryan's hand. It was cooler than she liked, but the steady rise and fall of his chest helped ease the worst of her fears.
Her dragon spoke up. Talk to him. Corny as it sounds, our voice could help his healing process. Let him know we're here and won't walk away from him.
Why would you even suggest we'd leave him?
Because some people wouldn't be able to handle this so soon a
fter meeting.
Ryan is our mate, even if we haven't had our official ceremony yet. I won't abandon him because of a few injuries.
Her dragon grunted in approval and fell silent.
Once the doctor left her, Gaby gently touched his cheek and said, "I'm here, Ryan. You were brave to try and fight them, and I couldn't be prouder. But do you know what will make me even prouder to be your mate? If you wake up and heal as quickly as possible. Wes has most of the threats under control and we might even be able to finally have our own place. That should be a strong enough motivation for you, I think, to not have to try and sneak around in my parents' house."
Silence, except for the whirring of the machines and Ryan's breathing.
Tears rolled down her cheeks, but Gaby quickly wiped them away. She'd done enough crying over the last few hours. Ryan needed her to be strong, and she would be.
So she sat down and kept talking, telling him stories about her, her family, and even some of the dragon-shifter legends she'd learned as a child.
While she had no proof that it helped, she believed that it did. She'd do a hell of a lot more to get her male to wake up again.
Ryan heard some sort of muffled sound, and it brought him out of a deep sleep.
His eyelids were heavy, though, and he merely laid there as the sound became clearer and clearer, until he recognized Gaby's voice.
"And that's how dragon-shifters came to be in North America. It seems a little far-fetched to me, but it sure makes for a good story."
Gaby. The attack and his fall came rushing back. He was alive, and his woman was right next to him.
Ryan tried his best to open his eyes. After a few beats, he finally managed to do it. Gaby's beautiful eyes came into view and she gasped. "Ryan! You're awake."
He tried to make his mouth work, but his tongue was heavy and mouth dry. All he managed was a croak.
Gaby released his hand and crossed to a small freezer, returning with a cup of something. As she took an ice chip from the cup, she put it at his lips. "The doctor said to give you a few of these when you woke up. It should make it easier to talk."
He gratefully took the cool piece, and once the ice melted and he swallowed, he tried talking again. This time he managed to say, "Gaby, I love you."
She frowned. "Don't go saying your goodbyes, Ryan Ford. I love you, too, but you're going to tell me later, on a real date, when you're not hooked up to machines and wearing a gown that has your ass hanging out."
Probably thanks to some sort of drugs, he smiled without too much pain. "You could turn it around, if you like, and have your way with me."
She snorted. "You're such a male. Here you are, lying in bed with a broken back, and you want to have sex. Sorry, but as sexy as you are in a neck brace—ha ha—you're going to have to wait."
Ryan tried to laugh, but it turned into a groan. "I feel as if I've been hit by a semitruck. So don't make me laugh."
She touched his cheek and leaned over to gently kiss his lips before sitting back beside his bed. "I'll try, but it's better than me ranting about what happened, isn't it? I don't want to make your blood pressure go up."
Her hand found his and Ryan managed to squeeze her fingers. It didn't escape him that it took a hell of a lot of effort to do so, but at least he wasn't completely paralyzed. "Tell me what happened, love. I remember most of it, but it all turns blank as soon as I was snatched from midair."
Gaby sighed. "You have Cris to thank for that."
As Gaby went on to explain about the traitors, their using a child to make their ruse believable, and Cris and Wes cleaning up the remaining bastards within hours, Ryan did his best to stay calm. He wanted to be angry—hell, he wanted to shout—but he wasn't in the best health and he needed to get better to have that real date with Gaby and tell her his feelings again.
When she finally finished, Gaby added, "So now it's just the matter of getting you better."
He forced himself to ask, "And once I do, will I be able to stay?"
Gaby bobbed her head. "Wes thinks so. He's talking with Ashley Swift today, to see if he can come to an agreement with ADDA. It'll be tricky, given how you almost died and all at the hands of a dragon-shifter, but Wes is going to try his best to make it happen. He feels he owes you that, and a lot more, to make up for what happened."
He squeezed Gaby's fingers again. "If he can get me to stay, that's enough. I don't think either Wes or Cris could've predicted someone hurting a child to get to me."
Gaby narrowed her eyes and growled. "No, and thankfully none of them will have children to hurt anymore. ADDA will lock them away for a really long time, or possibly send them to that tiny, isolated island in the Pacific Ocean, the one used for the worst dragon offenders in the world."
He was about to ask more about the dragon-shifter prison island he'd never heard of when Dr. Carter walked into the room and said, "You're awake, Ryan. That's a good sign and shows us the dragon's blood is doing its magic."
"Dragon's blood?" Ryan echoed.
He raised his brows. "Gaby didn't tell you yet? She gave you some, to help you heal. I'm not sure how much it'll help with your back, but it will certainly speed up the rest of your healing."
Gaby turned toward the doctor. "He can squeeze my hand, so that's a good sign, right?"
"It's proof he's not completely paralyzed, but I'm going to need to do a few tests to say anything further." Dr. Carter moved his gaze to Ryan's. "I know you must be exhausted, but do you have enough energy to try a few things for me?"
"If it can tell me whether I can walk again or not, then I'd endure a hell of a lot worse."
"Good." He walked to the base of Ryan's bed. "Gaby, while I won't ask you to leave, move to the side for a few minutes. I need Ryan's full attention for my tests."
After she kissed his cheek, Gaby let go of his hand. Selfish as it was, Ryan wanted to snatch it back.
However, he focused on Dr. Carter and awaited the tests. Finding out if he was paralyzed or not was more important right then and there.
"Okay, close your eyes and tell me if you feel anything, and where."
Ryan complied, his heart speeding up a fraction, hoping he could feel something.
Then a sharp point stuck into his calf. "Ow."
"Where was it?"
"My calf."
"Good. Now, wait for another jab."
Never in his life had Ryan wanted to feel someone stab him.
One beat passed, and then another. Finally he felt something at the bottom of his foot. "Something on my foot, although it didn't feel sharp."
"Good again. It was the end of my pencil. Open your eyes." Once he complied, the doctor continued, "The early tests are promising, but I can't guarantee you won't have trouble walking or other tasks until you heal enough to try them."
He tried not to let hope overwhelm him as he asked, "When will that be?"
"We'll take it day by day. And yes, I know that's not the answer you want to hear. But if you think yelling or threatening will make me give you a different answer, let alone you trying to hide your health to appear well before you actually are, then you'll be sorely disappointed. I've had to deal with Wes and Cris's injuries before, and didn't give in. You don't stand a chance, human."
The words were said with humor, not threats. Ryan sighed. "Fine. But I'm going to keep asking when we can do the next step every chance I get. I don't like waiting and doing nothing."
Dr. Carter snorted. "Welcome to the club." He looked at Gaby. "You can stay at his side. One of the nurses will bring some food a little later for you both. I'll leave it to you to ensure he eats it."
"Of course, Dr. Carter." Gaby moved back to Ryan’s side and took his hand again. The heat of her skin helped him relax. "Give me any task and I'll make sure it gets done."
With a laugh, the doctor left the room.
Gaby stared down at him, and he could tell there were tears in her eyes. "Shh, darling. Everything's going to be okay."
She sniffed
. "We're both fighters, so of course we'll do our best. But there's still the chance you won't fully recover. And in a way, it's my fault."
"Don't say that, Gaby. You can't watch me every second of every day, no more than I can you. You merely standing by my side now, regardless of the eventual outcome, is all that matters to me."
It was on the tip of his tongue to say he loved her again, but he decided to keep the feelings until he could take her on a date.
Which meant doing everything he could to get better. Even if he ended up needing a wheelchair for the rest of his life, he'd find a way to make it work.
Just like his sister had never given up on him, he'd never give up on Gaby or their child. They were his family now.
His dragon lady tilted her head. "Of course I'm going to be by your side. You're my human, Ryan, mine." Gaby leaned down to kiss him before standing up straight again. He smiled at his woman, and when she did the same, it raised his spirits a fraction.
Gaby cleared her throat before she spoke again. "With that settled, then there's just one more thing. Once you're a little better, I'll need to call your sister."
He could just imagine her hovering on the other side of his bed. "No, don't worry Tiffany. She has to finish her dissertation before summer or she won't graduate. Letting her know about my condition will only distract her."
She raised an eyebrow. "So you want to keep your injuries a secret from your sister? The one, I might add, who is the whole reason you entered the lottery and brought us together?"
He sighed. "I'm injured. Aren't you supposed to save the guilt trip for later?"
Gaby grinned. "Nope."
He started to laugh, but the pain in his middle made him stop. Stupid injuries. "At least give me a few days so I at least look less like a mottled monster."
His dragon lady gently brushed hair back from his face. "I don't see a monster. Nope, just the sexiest male I know. True, you have a few temporary marks here and there, but it'll take more than that to fool me and my dragon."
The Dragon's Need (Tahoe Dragon Mates Book 2) Page 9