by Chant, Zoe
Georgia caught her breath, her brain finally clicking into gear. She realized she was acting crazy, and these people were trying to help. Reluctantly, she moved away, though she still couldn’t take her eyes off Garrett’s supine form.
“Wyvern poison,” the woman said, her voice steady. “No surprises there. Fuck, how much of this stuff did Garrett get in him? How the hell did he make it all the way here?”
Biting her lip, Georgia closed her eyes. Suddenly, she found she couldn’t watch as the man and woman tore away Garrett’s clothing, exposing his wounds and commenting on them. Their words became nothing more than a low, incoherent murmur in her ears as the woman listed the wounds and asked for various items to treat them.
She barely felt it as someone ushered her into a chair and sat her down into it, before kneeling in front of her.
“Ma’am, can I ask your name?”
Georgia heaved in a deep breath, and tried to still her whirling thoughts. “Georgia. Georgia Clarkson.”
The man in front of her was in his fifties, with graying hair and a lined face, but nonetheless, he was broad shouldered and his muscles filled out the shirt he was wearing.
“And how do you know Garrett?”
“I – I’m his mate.” The words came tumbling out of her lips before she had time to think. Though she assumed if these people knew Garrett, they also knew what he was.
The man sucked in a quick, surprised breath. “His –?” He glanced toward where Garrett was lying. “Well. He didn’t mention that in his phone call. But in a way, this is good.” He looked back at Georgia, eyes serious. “Would you be willing to do something to help Garrett?”
Georgia’s heart leapt. “Anything.”
The man took her arm, urging her to stand. “Come here. I know we told you to stand back before, but that was when we didn’t know you were his mate. Kneel down. Put your hand on his forehead. And think about the bond you share.”
Georgia did what she was asked without question. She could see the woman pressing something against Garrett’s neck, before wiping away the green slime it seemed to be drawing out of the wound. She felt that if she looked for too long her fear might overwhelm her, so she closed her eyes, doing what she’d been told, and focusing on the bond she felt with Garrett instead.
They had only known each other a short time, but already Georgia knew she was ready to spend her life with him. Concentrating hard, she focused on the golden glow she’d felt in her heart when she’d first woken up beside Garrett – about the way her whole body had been suffused with warmth; the expression in his eyes when he looked at her that made her stomach turn over.
Please, Garrett. Please. I can’t lose you. Not when we’ve only just found each other.
His forehead felt warm beneath her palm, and Georgia concentrated on that. The voices in the room became indistinct. As far as she was concerned, there were only two people in the room right now: her and Garrett.
Please, Garrett. Wake up. I want you. I need you. I love you.
Warmth filled her at the word love.
She didn’t know why, but she hadn’t thought it, even to herself, before now. But it was true.
She loved him. His kindness, his strength. How dedicated he was to protecting what was important to him. His patience with Logan.
She had so wanted to watch them build a bond together. She wanted Garrett to be there for Logan in the way his real father never had been – not even when he was still technically together with her. She had wanted to see Logan smile at Garrett and come to admire him and then one day to love him like a father.
I love you, Garrett.
She felt him wake up before she saw it. She felt almost as if she was surfacing from underwater, as Garrett’s consciousness at last touched hers.
She opened her eyes to find Garrett gazing up at her, his blue eyes blazing with light.
“Georgia…”
She couldn’t stop herself. She leaned down, pressing her lips to his. They were warm and filled with life.
“All right, all right.” A male voice broke into her reverie, and she sat up, feeling a little embarrassed. She wasn’t usually one for public displays of affection, but she thought in this instance she could be forgiven!
Garrett sat up slowly, blinking, and looked at the people around him in turn.
“Sally – Beau –” He looked surprised as his eyes fell on the last man – the older one who’d led Georgia to Garrett before. “Hardwicke? What’re you doing here?”
Georgia looked up in surprise. So this was Hardwicke – Garrett’s boss?
She shouldn’t be surprised, really. He had an air of authority about him, after all, and he’d quickly taken charge of the situation.
“After I thought about what you’d told me, I decided I better come and check things out for myself,” Hardwicke said. “Seems just as well I did.”
Garrett shook his head, looking down at his hand, before slowly clenching his fist. “What happened?”
“You had about two gallons of wyvern venom in you, that’s what happened,” the woman Garrett had called Sally said. “You were lucky we got here when we did. Another minute and there would have been nothing I could do for you.”
“Thanks, guys,” Garrett said, grimacing. “But how did you find me?”
“We could hardly miss the trail you left,” Beau said. “Smashed trees and mini-avalanches all over the mountain. We found the guy you handcuffed, by the way – and don’t worry, he’s in safe hands. I assume he’s the wyvern you fought?”
Georgia’s eyes went wide. Garrett fought a wyvern? She paused. What even is a wyvern?
“Yeah,” Garrett said. “There’s more to it as well. He and Barston – they swindled some other shifters out of the land here. I wanted to find some proof, but the way Barston’s acted today – that pretty much confirms he’s got something to hide, doesn’t it?”
“Even if he doesn’t, kidnapping a human is enough to get him into serious trouble,” Hardwicke said, leaning back, his eyes sharp. “But you’re right: we’ve known Barston has been shady for years. It’s not just this place, either. His whole empire is suspect: cheating shifters out of their lands and their homes, and then using the land for tourism developments. It’s been a pattern for years, but until now he’s been careful. He’s slipped up badly here. This might be the thread that unravels his whole empire.”
Garrett let out a low, deep laugh. “I knew you must have had some ulterior motive in sending me here, Hardwicke. And here I really thought you wanted me to go on vacation.”
“I did,” Hardwicke said, unruffled. “But if you just happened to come across something suspicious, well… I knew you were the agent for the job. Obviously, I didn’t expect you to find your mate here, though – and all the complications that seems to have thrown up.”
Shaking her head, Georgia held up a hand. “Okay. Okay. I get it – you guys have a lot of things to sort out. And please – don’t think I’m not grateful.” She turned to Sally. “You saved Garrett’s life. And I want to thank you for it properly, but right now, I just –”
“Of course,” Hardwicke cut in smoothly. “Garrett needs his rest. He might be out of danger, but he still has a lot of healing to do. I suggest he does it somewhere quiet.”
“All right, all right,” Garrett said. “There’s no way I’m arguing with that.”
“But there is one thing we need to get cleared up right away,” Hardwicke said. “Where’s Barston?”
“Oh. Right.” Georgia bit her lip, feeling a slightly hysterical laugh bubbling up in her throat. “He’s, uh, over there.”
She pointed to the vase sitting upended on the floor. She watched as Hardwicke’s mouth opened, his eyebrows drawing together, obviously about to ask Where? when his gaze fell on Barston’s gecko form, clearly visible inside the crystal vase. He had flattened himself almost completely, but it didn’t do much to hide him from everyone’s eyes.
“Oh. I see.”
Georgia w
as certain she caught the tiniest twitch of a smile trying to break free on Hardwicke’s mouth. Unwillingly, Georgia felt just the smallest amount of sympathy for Barston creeping into her heart. Not everyone could be a big, bad dragon after all!
“Sally, would you mind –?” Hardwicke said, gesturing across the room.
“Sure thing, Boss.”
Sally quickly made her way across the floor to the vase, scooping Barston up before grabbing a large, hardcover book from the coffee table and slamming it down over the vase’s open mouth.
“Well, I suppose we’ll talk to him if and when he chooses to shift back into his human form,” Hardwicke said almost musingly. “Either way, Garrett, your involvement ends here – at least for the moment. We’ll obviously need to record what happened between you and Crane, and –” his eyes moved to Georgia “– we’ll need to talk to you about how Crane and Barston’s men kidnapped you. But all of that can wait for another day.”
“Yes, it can,” Georgia said firmly. She didn’t care who Hardwicke was at his job or how seriously Garrett seemed to take him; right now, the only thing she cared about was getting Garrett home.
And then going to pick up Logan from Kelly, she thought, as she led Garrett outside, after he’d nodded to and thanked his fellow agents for saving his life. I’m sure he’s fine, but after everything that’s happened, I really want to see his face, give him a hug, tell him I love him…
Though she’d make sure she only did that once they were back home at the chalet. She was pretty sure a nine-year-old boy would not appreciate his mother smothering him with affection in front of all his newfound friends!
“You know what the weirdest thing about all of this is,” Georgia suddenly blurted as they stood in the frosty air outside Barston’s cabin.
Garrett cocked his head. “What’s that?”
“Your dragon form,” Georgia replied, laughing. “I feel like everyone’s seen it except me. From what I hear from Rowan, usually shifters can’t wait to show off their animal form to their mates!”
Garrett nodded, giving her a small grin. “Believe me, I’d like nothing better than to show you my dragon, there just hasn’t been a good time recently.” He glanced over his shoulder at the closed door of the cabin. “Would you like to see it?”
Georgia blinked. “Now?”
“Yeah. Right now. Hardwicke would kill me for shifting so close to humans, but we’re pretty isolated up here. As long as we go straight to the chalet, I don’t think there’s any risk of anyone seeing us.”
“But – your injuries –” Georgia started to protest, until Garrett stopped her with a shrug.
“Honestly, I feel okay. Not perfect, but fine. Now that the wyvern venom is out of my system I’m healing as normal. I can feel it. If you want to think of it this way, it’ll take much less time to fly back to the chalet than it will to walk. So it’s a shorter trip for me if we fly.”
“We – you mean I’d –”
Ride him, Georgia’s brain supplied, when her mouth ran out of words. A moment before it said, I think you already did that.
Georgia bit her lip, lowering her head to try to hide the blush that was spreading across her cheeks. When she glanced up again, Garrett was still smiling at her, one eyebrow raised.
“Come on – I promise it’ll be fun.”
His smile was infectious – Georgia could feel an answering one tugging at her own lips.
“Okay, then,” she said at last. “Show me your dragon.”
Garrett’s smile grew wider, and then he stepped away from her, moving into the clearing that surrounded Barston’s cabin. Georgia barely had time to blink before he spread his arms out wide – and then began to change.
It was nothing Georgia could see clearly at first: just a gentle ripple over his skin. But then the shift of his form began to accelerate, his body growing huge, dark scales spread over what had once been his smooth, tanned skin. Massive wings seemed to swing out from his back, filling the air above him. A long tail swished out behind him, while his neck elongated.
Until finally, standing before her, was a dragon.
Georgia gaped. She’d been prepared for the idea that Garrett was a dragon – or at least, she thought she had been. She now realized there was nothing on earth that could have prepared her for the sight before her now.
Garrett was still, gazing at her as if watching for any signs of fear or alarm. But Georgia didn’t feel anything like that – she only felt amazement. Amazement, and pride.
This magnificent creature is my mate.
As if sensing she wasn’t even slightly afraid of him, Garrett let out a low growl, before lowering his shoulder, as if prompting her to climb up on his back. Georgia let out a low laugh as she hurried across to him. She supposed if what Garrett had said about Hardwicke killing him if he saw he’d shifted here was true, then they’d better get a move on.
Garrett’s scales weren’t rough like she’d been expecting. Or at least, the ones on his side weren’t. They grew tougher and larger over his back. He was surprisingly warm, too – Georgia leaned down over his neck when she’d found a secure place to sit, just in front of his shoulders. She knew that even in the frigid mountain air, she wouldn’t get cold if she pressed herself against Garrett like this.
Garrett let out another low growl, as if to warn her to prepare. Behind her, she felt the beat of his massive wings, and then the shock of air against her face as they lifted up into the sky.
The wind whipped through her hair, and Georgia had a sudden, crazy compulsion to laugh.
I’m riding a dragon. I’m riding a dragon through the mountains. And the dragon just happens to be my mate, and he turns into the hottest man I’ve ever seen in my entire life.
The beat of Garrett’s wings behind her almost felt like the beat of a heart – sure and steady. Georgia gripped onto two small spines that sprouted up from the base of Garrett’s neck, holding on tightly, but despite how high they were in the sky, she felt totally secure.
Garrett wouldn’t let her fall.
She felt so secure, in fact, that she chanced a glance down at the earth below – and gasped at the sight.
The dark forest spread out below them, the trees tipped with snow. Over to her right the mountains rose up, the snow shining blue and white, the early afternoon sunshine glinting like gold between them.
It was all unbelievably beautiful, and Georgia knew she was fortunate to be seeing it from this angle – surely, she was one of only a few that had ever seen the landscape from such a vantage point.
It’s amazing, she thought. It’s all so amazing.
Her thoughts might not have been the most poetic, but after the morning she’d had, Georgia didn’t think anyone would blame her.
All she wanted to do right now was to stare out over the beauty laid out before her, and feel the beat of Garrett’s wings and know that he was safe. They both were.
The flight seemed to end all too soon, though Georgia couldn’t help but feel relieved when they finally touched down outside Garrett’s cabin. It meant he would finally get the rest Georgia knew he needed.
She slid down from his back as soon as he landed, his massive clawed feet leaving deep furrows in the newly fallen snow. She missed the warmth of his body immediately, but a second later he was shifting back into his human form, shrinking down, his scales once more becoming skin.
“Your dragon form is pretty impressive, I gotta say,” Georgia said once he stood before her, fully human again. “But this one is much sexier.”
Garrett laughed low in his throat – a sound that sent a twist of desire curling through her stomach, and made her want to do nothing so much as throw herself into his arms and kiss him until they were both breathless.
But she knew if she started, she wouldn’t be able to stop – and she still had to go pick up Logan. Kelly might have been starting to get concerned. The way she’d left hadn’t exactly been reassuring.
“I – I have to get Logan,” Georgia sa
id, her voice barely above a gasp. “I don’t want him to worry.”
Garrett nodded. “Of course. Do you want me to come with you?”
Georgia hesitated a moment, before shaking her head. “No. No, I’m not worried that there’s any danger now. And I want you to rest.”
For a moment, Garrett looked like he might be about to argue with her, but then he simply nodded, accepting her decision. “I’ll be here when you get back,” he said, reaching out to touch her arm. “Always.”
Georgia swallowed as she forced herself to turn away, heading back toward the path leading to the resort.
He really will be, won’t he?
She heard the answer as soon as she asked the question, almost as if he’d said it aloud.
Of course I will. Forever. Always.
Epilogue
One year later – two days before Christmas
Laughing, Garrett ducked behind a tree as the expertly-aimed snowball whizzed past his head, barely missing his ear.
“Hey, that’s not fair!” Logan called out to him, though he was already leaning down to scoop up more snow in his mittened hands. “You said no shifter speed!”
“I wasn’t using it,” Garrett said, truthfully. “You’ll just have to get faster!”
Logan paused to grin at him, before winding up and then sending another snowball in Garrett’s direction. Garrett ducked out of the way – but there was no dodging this one. It hit his shoulder and exploded in a powdery splash of snow.
“Aaaargh!” Garrett pretended to go down, clutching his shoulder. “I’m hit!”
“I got you!” Logan called out, laughing, throwing his hands up in the air in a victory wave. “Ha! Hey! Mom!”
Garrett turned in time to see Georgia appearing from the back doorway of the chalet, a smile on her lips, her beautiful dark eyes dancing.
“Did you see?” Logan asked. “I finally managed to get a hit!”
“Well done, sweetheart,” Georgia laughed. “Congratulations.”
Logan was so busy celebrating his expert snowball throwing that he didn’t see Garrett’s returning throw, however – not until it plopped! against his stomach, the snow scattering over his winter jacket.