by Eliza Gayle
Wait.
He scrutinized her expression before once again scanning her body for obvious signs of distress. There wasn’t much to see other than she kept her legs bent at the knee as if it hurt to stretch them all the way out and her arms were still wrapped around her abdomen.
“Does this have something to do with your mating heat?”
She didn’t answer right away and he practically saw the lightbulb go on over his head. How could he be so oblivious to something that obvious?
“I’m right, aren’t I?”
She stared up at the ceiling when she answered him. “How the hell would I know? This is my first time. I know jack all about fertile female dragons because I was kept far away from them. They are prone to violence. I know that. So I wasn’t allowed to mingle outside our family except for work. Not that it mattered. The onset of mating heat didn’t happen for me when it was supposed to so everyone believed I was barren, including me. Fertile females are few and far between. Fertile royal females nonexistent. Well, until now.”
Her answers had his mind moving frantically as idea after idea popped into his head. He was trying to read between the lines as best he could though.
“Where are your parents?” he asked.
A flash of fresh pain appeared across her face and just as quickly disappeared again. Crap. He’d hit a nerve.
“They’re gone. Killed before I was fully grown.”
Simon winced. The scent of her lingering pain over her parent’s violent end filled the room and soured his stomach as guilt settled in. Leave it to him to bring up what was probably the worst memory of her life.
“I’m sorry,” he said, hoping she understood he was both sorry for her loss and for bringing it up.
“It’s okay. I thought by now the loss would hurt less, but it never seems to lessen. I just think about it a bit less than I used to.”
He reached forward and squeezed her hand. There was nothing he could do to ease that pain, but his need to touch and comfort overwhelmed anyway.
She laid still and allowed his touch. As if indulging him, or maybe them both, in a small connection that could possibly become something more vital than either of them expected.
A few minutes passed where neither moved or said a word until she finally tugged her hand free from his. “My phone. I need my phone.”
In that moment he wanted to curse the damned cell phone. He was here, by her side. She should need no one else.
He tried to shrug off those selfish thoughts, but couldn’t seem to let them go. Although for once he was smart enough to keep them to himself. She was in no condition to be argued with. Although as her potential mate, he had certain rights and responsibilities. Her well being and happiness were of utmost priority and if that meant giving her that damned phone, then she would get the damned contraption.
And if she did with it what he thought she would, they were all screwed.
Chapter Twelve
“Where the hell is my sister?”
Simon felt the words more than he heard them as they too rattled along the walls of his clinic. Kenzie had done exactly as expected and contacted her brother. With one weak dragon barely able to move without writhing in pain and another stalking through his small building, Simon began to wonder, not for the first time, how in the hell he would prevent a war.
Thanks to Marci, or maybe half the shifters in his waiting room, both Bhric and Rafe had returned to the clinic shortly before Galen. He doubted they’d come alone either. Both men were well informed about the risks the dragons posed to their communities. In fact, this development would likely pull the two leaders to work together once again to solve a common problem.
“You should probably tell him where I am before he goes berserk on someone out there,” Kenzie whispered, her voice laced with more pain than before. “He controls his dragon well, but you never know for sure what a rage will do to his control.”
Fortunately, the sedative he’d given her seemed to still be holding her dragon at bay, but he had no idea how long that would work. Now he had two to worry about. If they were moving in for good, he’d have to look into a larger building.
“Don’t worry. There aren’t many left in the building and the ones able to greet him can handle themselves.”
She rolled her eyes.
“Kenzie!” Her brother’s roars were getting louder as he made his way to this side of the building, completely ignoring Bhric and Rafe’s attempts to talk to him. However, Marci seemed to have snagged his attention as he overheard her offer to lead him to his sister.
Not a minute later, he practically crashed into their room as the door slammed against the wall nearly shaking on its hinges.
“What the fuck is going on in here?”
“Goddess, Galen. Calm the hell down.”
Simon’s anger rose as he heard the strain in Kenzie’s voice. “Why don’t we talk out—”
“I’m not here to talk to you.” Galen brushed past him and stalked to his sister’s side.
“What did you do?” he demanded. “Did I not warn you that you were playing with fire? And do not dare joke with me about your fire. Goddammit! There is nothing funny about this situation. Not one damned thing.”
“Calm down, Galen. I wasn’t going to joke. I agree this is not funny.” She winced and wrapped her arms around her abdomen a bit tighter.
“She’s in a lot of pain. You need to back off.” Simon wasn’t about to brushed off like a piece of dirt on this man’s clothing. “I need to run some tests to figure out what’s happening and she won’t allow it.”
Galen whirled on him, his eyes brimming with the red glow of his own fire. “She doesn’t need tests to know what’s going on.” He took several steps in Simon’s direction as anger twisted his mouth into an ugly snarl. “Although I can bet you had something to do with this. She reeks of you.”
An unbidden deep growl rumbled in Simon’s throat in response to the threat coming at him. Dragon or not, he wasn’t about to be attacked for trying to help Kenzie.
At the sound, Galen’s head swiveled back to glare at his sister. “Seriously, Kenzie? This wolf? What were you thinking? This is exactly why you had no business coming to America like this. You should have stayed home where you belonged.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Simon snarled. He was on the verge of losing his shit when Bhric and Rafe entered the room at his back.
The dragon turned back. “It means, you dumbass—”
“Galen, haud yer wheesht,” Kenzie cried, but her protests were too weak to make a difference.
Galen shoved a finger in his direction. “This is your fault. What did you do? Kiss her? Or so help me Goddess, if you—”
“Enough. I told you to shut up already.” Kenzie’s voice rose high enough for the entire clinic to hear. Her dragon was overpowering the sedative in record time. “What we did or did not do is precisely none of your business. None of you!” She waved her arm around the room as heat shimmered from her skin.
Galen returned his attention back to his sister, his voice gentling. “It is actually my business. As long as we are the only two of the family here, I am the patriarch. I’m responsible for your life AND your death.”
“Death? What the hell?” Some of the anger deflated from Simon’s system as solid fear spiked through him.
“That’s what happens when a female dragon’s mating heat is triggered and there is no acceptable mate to get her through it.”
Simon’s head spun as he tried to wrap his head around Galen’s words. She was already in heat when they met. He didn’t understand.
“Wait. She’s in heat?” Bhric interrupted while obviously sniffing the room. “How is that possible?”
Galen didn’t bother to face Bhric or Rafe when he answered. “Because she’s not a wolf, or a bear or whatever hell else you all are. She is a precious and rare royal dragon. Meant to be a queen one day.” His voice broke as did his anger as sadness cloaked the room. “It’
s not supposed to happen like this, wee sis. You were meant to grow old over the centuries…”
Simon stepped forward until he too stood at Kenzie’s side. Although the sight of her watery eyes as her brother stroked her cheek nearly broke him too.
“You might as well stop right there.” Simon’s voice was harsh with emotion. “She isn’t going to die. Not as long as I draw breath too.”
Both Galen and Kenzie looked at him, but it was her eyes wide with shock that snagged his attention. “Let me run tests. I’m positive I can figure something out.”
Galen shook his head. “Impossible. Nothing short of a—mating can save her now.”
“Fine. No problem then. I volunteer.”
A snort behind him almost made him smile—almost. Except this was no laughing matter and he was willing to do anything to keep Kenzie alive and well.
“You can’t just—” she started to protest.
“I can and I did. The pull has been there since you walked into the Dark Moon the other night. While I admit I thought I’d have some time to do this properly, that was just a formality for what I considered a forgone conclusion.”
Before she could respond, Galen stepped between him and Kenzie cutting them both off. “That’s never going to happen.”
Rage bubbled up so fast from the wolf, Simon didn’t even realize he was losing control until it was too late. Hair coated his skin as his bones began to shift. His teeth grew and claws formed from his fingers.
This time it was Rafe who grabbed him by the neck and dragged him from the room. “Don’t you fucking dare shift, Simon.” The demand from his alpha came heavily laced with power, but for the first time since they were kids, Simon ignored him.
“Dammit, Simon. Don’t do this. I may not be able to force you to my will, but I can damn sure fight you and then we’ll both lose. Is that what you want?”
Simon closed his eyes. Fuck.
Damned if he did and damned if he didn’t. Those were always his choices when it came to his life and he was past sick and tired of it. But Rafe was right. If he challenged Rafe now, the repercussions would ripple through their clan like wildfire as the dominance he fought to contain was revealed. Rafe’s status as Alpha would be questioned and the entire pack could devolve into an unending fight for control.
And that was if Rafe or he weren’t killed in the fight, as they likely would be. They both knew his wolf unleashed would go for blood. Something he’d waited inertly for decades to happen.
“Do whatever you have to do, but get it back under control. If that woman in there is worth fighting for then you need to find a better way. You attack her brother and whatever hope you have for a life with her will be gone. Trust me.”
Those two little words from Rafe meant more than all the others. Well, that and the fact he knew to his core that he would do whatever it took to save Kenzie. He had to be smarter about this. Sheer force wouldn’t win this fight.
With that thought solidified in his mind, the wolf melted away. His human half regained control and Rafe gave him an arrogant, knowing smile.
“Knew that brain of yours would win out. Now what are we going to do to salvage this mess? Is there a way to save your girl without a mating? I think that’s going to be a fight for another day, okay?”
He nodded, although the knots in his stomach grew ten fold as he remembered the horrified look on Kenzie’s face when he’d suggested the mating. As always, Rafe was right again. But if she refused his mate claim, or her brother did, then there had to be another way to save her.
He was mulling over the ideas when Bhric pulled them back into the room. “All better?” he asked.
Simon growled and Rafe shook his head.
Smart asses, all of them.
Galen stood at the window with his back to the room. Apparently, he’d backed down as well when he realized they weren’t going to push the mating thing again. At least not right now. But that subject was far from dead if Simon had his way and he sure as hell would.
“I need to understand dragon physiology if I’m going to find an alternate solution. If I could run those—”
“No tests,” Kenzie repeated.
He sighed. If she was going to fight him every step of the way, he might have to resort to other drastic actions.
First, he took a breath and started asking question. “Okay, then tell me more about a dragon’s mating cycle. I need more information to find a solution.”
“I already told you I don’t—”
“From onset it’s normally a six week cycle from start to finish,” Galen interrupted. “Unless of course, the egg she carries becomes viable. Then the female transitions into pregnancy that lasts six to nine months depending on the female.” Galen turned from the window and crossed the room. “The problems generally come before that though. If a female finds no mate deemed acceptable, then she generally goes into seclusion to wait out her cycle. The pheromones she gives off are uhh—rather intense. I’ve seen dragons kill each other trying to get to one of our females in heat. Fortunately for you, only another dragon can scent it. Otherwise we’d have a much bigger problem on our hands.”
Simon considered all the information Galen gave him while remaining silent on the fact that he knew exactly what it was like to experience those pheromones in action. Although he wasn’t sure he had experienced the full effect considering he wasn’t contemplating murder just to get to her. But now that he thought about it, it wasn’t a horrible plan.
If all that stood between him and his mate was the dragon in front of him…
Simon shook that thought from his head. It wasn’t just him in the objection pool and he had a feeling that killing her brother would not endear him to Kenzie. At the moment he was feeling a bit more evolved than every other shifter who resorted to violence over every little thing.
“What about sex without mating? What kind of effect does that have on the cycle?”
An angry blast of heat from Galen filled the room, scorching the tips of Simon’s hair. If the foul stench of burnt hair wasn’t filling his nostrils he would have laughed at the dragon’s reaction. Talk about a hair trigger.
“Relax. I wasn’t making a suggestion yet. I’m a doctor. I need all the facts. Even the uncomfortable ones.”
Galen narrowed his eyes. “Your healer status doesn’t make your implication any more palatable.”
“It’s right though, isn’t it?” Kenzie asked. “I only need to have sex to get through it?”
Her brother’s eyes closed as he clenched his jaw and fists. “It’s not quite that simple. Well, it could be if there was another dragon here who was not your brother. But there isn’t and there isn’t enough time to get one here. Not even our fastest flyer could make it here on time.”
A red haze grew at the outer edges of Simon’s vision as he tried to process all of the information being given. Kenzie did not belong to a dragon. If she were going to have sex with anyone, it would be him. While he fought against all the rage filled thoughts and desires fighting for a stronghold on his mind, leave it to Bhric to cut to the chase in the most blunt way possible.
“What are you saying?” he asked. “That dragons have some sort of super semen that your females need to survive?”
Chapter Thirteen
Oh good grief.
She needed to get the hell out of this room. Or maybe she’d just shift and bring the whole clinic down on top of them. Really, whatever it took to stop this asinine conversation right this second.
When Galen denied the super semen comment with obvious reluctance she wanted to set the room on fire. This whole damn topic was getting completely out of hand. Not to mention the violent memories getting churned to the surface that she couldn’t handle. This topic needed to be dropped. Now!
“This is getting us nowhere.” She turned to Galen. “And you are not helping. Can you stop acting like a teenage boy and just tell him what he wants to know so we can end this conversation already?”
Galen�
��s expression didn’t move, but the look in his eyes did. They both knew he had a soft spot for her somewhere deep inside that mean outer crust of his. It was the sole reason she came to him for help despite all of his bluster.
Any of her other brothers would have had her escorted home by now. Especially now. They’d force her to mate with a dragon to save her life. Fortunately, she didn’t have to test Galen’s loyalty. He’d been right about one thing. There wasn’t enough time to send for someone.
She might not be well versed in her reproductive cycles, but she did know her dragon and right now she was sick as hell.
“What Galen is afraid to tell you is that, yes, sex would help. And no, it doesn’t have to be a dragon. But—”
“MacKenzie!” Galen snapped.
She ignored him. “But sex with anyone other than a dragon during an active mating cycle is too risky. Mate or not.”
“Riskier than death?” Simon demanded, his eyes white hot in their intensity as he glared at her.
“Yes.” She had to keep her answers brief because the pain of the past was beginning to surface. She tried to fight it, but it was too hard to contain as a fresh wave of grief engulfed her.
Rafe, the one Simon called Alpha stepped forward. “I have to say I agree with Simon here. You two are making no sense. I may not understand your unusual dragon dynamics, but I do know family and that means everything to our people. We don’t sacrifice our women for any reason.”
Galen exploded. His skin turned to dark red scales and his eyes blazed yellow-orange with anger. He didn’t fully shift however, keeping himself in his half human, half dragon state. Unlike her, he had complete and total control over his dragon at all times, where she couldn’t always control her emotional responses.
“Galen, please. They don’t know.”
“That doesn’t give them the right to insult us.” His words came out rough and a little garbled, but she’d been around her brothers her entire life and she understood half dragon speak when she heard it.