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Chapter Forty

Elena

B ones carefully lifted the stethoscope from my chest, the cold metal leaving a brief chill on my skin, and unplugged the earpieces from his ears with a soft click.

He draped the stethoscope around his neck where it rested against his white coat, then reached over to the sleek tablet on the table beside him.

The screen flickered to life as he picked it up, his fingers poised to scroll through my medical records.

“Your heart is beating faster than a normal human. It isn’t just anxiety.

I’m guessing it is because your body is preparing itself for changes, or it could be from your impending heat arriving. ”

I wrinkled my nose and looked away from him.

“It’s hard to say, I’ve never dealt with a dragon shifter before. I can only give you my best guess.”

Anaki surprisingly took us upstairs to the clinic when we arrived at the bar.

First, we had Luis looked over for any cuts or bruises.

Of course, he was fine after the entire ordeal.

Nadia, who was under Bones’ training, was in the room as well.

She was there more so for the emotional side of the visit and asked Luis a lot of questions about what he had seen.

Luis saw more than I realized, including seeing a fae strangle an enemy with their vines.

My motherly instincts instantly took over as I ran from across the room and held him as he told us what happened.

Not that it would do anything to take the memory away.

It was just too soon for my son to see death, but here he was.

Luis held a brave face while he explained. It was the whole reason he left his hiding spot in the first place to come find us, because the danger had come too close to him.

My brave little mijo.

I was a terrible mother.

He didn’t even want to call me mama anymore. He said since he feels like he has grown up so much, he wanted to call me Madre now.

Oh, Goddess!

I drew in a shaky breath, trying to steady myself as Bones continued talking about how baffling my symptoms were to him.

Anaki was instantly by my side, his presence a force of nature as his scent filled the room.

My head instinctively sought refuge on his shoulder, pressing into him with a desperate need for comfort.

As if his very essence could ward off the spiraling thoughts of my son growing up too fast because of the world we were a part of now.

Bones pulled away the glasses that sat on top of his nose and gave me a concerned look.

“Is it something I said? I’m sorry, I don’t have a lot of information about your condition and what is coming.

I’ve asked Bram to give me as many text books as he could about dragon anatomy, there just isn’t a lot—”

Anaki shook his head. “No, it’s not that. She’s worried about Luis.”

Bones stared at the door where Luis had left minutes ago.

“Ah.” He pulled up the rolling stool from behind him and sat down next to the exam table.

“I’m going to tell you something right now, Elena.

Your son is strong. Even though I am weak, with no wolf to help me, I can tell he is meant to do great things. Your Abuela told me so.”

I sniffed and nodded in reply.

“He has an old soul.” He laced his hands together. “Luis will grow up well around people like us. He was born in the right family and will be raised by the right mom and dad. You have done nothing wrong, you’ve done everything right.”

Anaki reached out and put his hand on Bones’ shoulder. Bones flinched.

“Not gonna hit ya,” Anaki chuckled. “I’ll leave that up to everyone else. You’re a good wolf. Thank you.”

Bones studied Anaki intently, caught between a desire to smile and what appeared to be the need to remain cautious.

“I do what I can. Now…” Bones stood and cleared his throat.

“What I need you both to be aware of, what I have learned about dragons, is that your shift will take time. You are lucky you didn’t force a shift.

A wolf forced to shift was dangerous, a forced dragon shifting, I would think, would be fatal.

You need time alone. Your dragon, Anaki, should help coax Elena’s. ”

Anaki stood up tall and straightened his back.

“Does this mean he will need to speak to her?”

Bones leaned on the counter and crossed his arms. “After seeing what our alpha’s lycan did for our Luna, I believe that to be the case. Locke said it was like two separate parts of him. He could command the pack, while his wolf took charge and helped Emm shift.”

My heart pounded. Emm forced shifting? “Is she okay? Why did she have to force a shift?”

Bones rubbed the back of his neck. “It was required to form the pack. She had to be of equal power as the Alpha, and Locke is a special wolf, well, Lycan. Can walk on two legs, speak through his muzzle. Not just a wolf. Emm had to skip from being a human to Lycan to create the pack and the link. She went through a lot of pain to do that. ”

I gasped. “How is she? Can I see her?”

I was worried about Luis, and I hadn’t even seen or heard from her. Locke was keeping her away from me, and I hadn’t had my phone!

“Our Luna is fine. Alpha is taking good care of her. She is very depressed and needs time alone. The mind-link is a mess right now, as you can imagine. How are you both doing with that, by the way?” Bones picked up his tablet again and began typing again.

I leaned into Anaki, and he hopped onto the exam table. “Dragons never had one. I don’t know what’s normal. Sometimes there is static, and sometimes, I’ll hear Elena’s thoughts, or see her past when I don’t want to. I try not to listen or watch past memories.”

Bones hummed. “Yes, dragons didn’t have that sort of communication.

You had emotional connections. Since you are able to speak with your dragon, and he with you, you can dig through each other’s memories now.

You will both need to set boundaries with each other, along with the link, and when you want to read each other’s thoughts. ”

I bit my lip and buried my face into Anaki’s chest.

Bones chuckled. “I’m guessing you both have already done something I don’t need to know about.”

Anaki coughed into his fist. “I can’t answer that.”

“Oh gods, are you reading our thoughts right now?” I slapped my hand over my mouth.

Bones laughed sadly. “No, I do not have a link. I am still not technically part of the pack.”

I sat up straight. “But why? I thought with Locke and Emm doing all that stuff, you would automatically be in the pack?”

Anaki’s fingers ran through my hair. “Doesn’t work that way, love. His wolf is weak. He needs him to help establish a link. His wolf is too far gone. We need to get him his mate. ”

Again, I felt my eyes filling with tears. “Let’s go then. Let’s go through the town and find some women he can meet. We can’t just sit here.” I went to stand up, and my medical gown rode up to the top of my thighs. Anaki pulled me back onto the table, and a growl escaped his throat.

“Hold on there, you aren’t going anywhere.” Anaki bit down on my shoulder.

I groaned and leaned back into him.

Not cool.

Bones cleared his throat. “And with that, I will conclude this exam. I suggest you find someone to watch Luis for a couple weeks, maybe even a month, while you undergo your transformation and your, uh, heat.” Bones turned his back on us and walked to the door.

“Someone you trust, I know you would prefer Emm, but with her still under her depression with Abuela’s death and still realizing this new role she will take on, I suggest someone else.

Do you know of anyone? Perhaps Bear and Nadia?

They watch Hawke and Delilah’s child often. ”

Anaki and I looked at one another and immediately knew who would be the best.

“I think we know,” I replied and gave him a small smile.

Anaki gently rested his hand on the small of my back as we descended the staircase.

The bar was far less crowded than the bustling scene I recalled from my initial visit.

The atmosphere had changed; there were no men perched up on the bar, gyrating energetically while women eagerly stuffed bills into their waistbands.

The music hummed softly in the background as we stepped inside, a gentle murmur of conversation could easily drown that out.

Luis was instantly noticeable, perched at the bar with a generous plate of fries in front of him.

The fries were a golden cascade, smothered in melted cheese, crispy bacon bits, and accompanied by a side of the special ranch sauce.

While I wanted to tell him that was completely disgusting, a little bit of junk food was okay right now.

We strolled leisurely over and took a long, careful look at everyone gathered there.

The air was thick with stories of struggle and resilience, as each person bore physical marks of their bravery.

Some people were still nursing severe injuries; bandages were wrapped tightly around arms and legs, while others sat with limbs in splints.

They were seated at tables, deep in conversation, recounting the battles they had endured.

Bones off-handedly said some will heal faster than others, all depending on how far their animals had gone rogue or when they were rejected. Some souls’ healing was down to a human’s pace.

My heart ached for them, knowing they were unjustly rejected and cast aside, yet part of me couldn't help but question how they ended up in this club. They were not at fault, yet many remained angry with the goddess. I felt a powerful urge to protect them.

My jaw clenched so tightly I could almost hear the grind of my teeth, and my fist curled into a tight ball.

Heat surged through my body, and beads of sweat gathered and trickled down my forehead.

Suddenly, Anaki's firm grip closed around my wrist, pulling me back with a swift motion.

He spun me around to meet his intense gaze.

“Hey, love, take a deep breath for me.”

I grunted in reply and shook my head. “It isn’t fair to them. It isn’t their fault.”

Anaki smiled and pulled me into his chest. He released his scent yet again. I cursed him inside my head and I could hear the most cocky laugh of Scales. “Feisty one aren’t we, soulkin?”

I stomped my foot.

“Mama, they are going to get their chance. They have been loyal to the Fang.”

“What if it’s too late?” I linked.

Anaki laid his cheek on the top of my head. “Bones has a serum that helped Locke. No one is going to be put down anymore. We will figure it out, don’t know how, but we will. Just keep that feisty spirit, okay?”

I hummed and pulled away to find Luis staring at us from over his shoulder. Ranch dripped at the corner of his mouth.

“Hi, mijo.” I came up behind him and gave him a hug. In the process, I took one of his fries and popped it into my mouth.

Anaki sat beside him and gave him the side eye. “Enjoying your grease, so you can have better bowel movements?”

Luis shoved another fry into his mouth. “Si, I feel my gut moving as we speak. I can’t wait to put a load down the only toilet in the cave.”

I gasped. “Mijo, NO!”

Anaki laughed and rubbed his chin. “You know, he’s right. We don’t have great ventilation. I think I need to get a hold of the bear shifters and see if we can extend the cave for another bathroom while they are working on the pack house. It would be beneficial.”

“The pack house? What’s wrong with the pack house?” I asked, panicked.

“Destroyed.” A dark-haired man said with an emphasis on the s.

The man had a snake tattoo on his hand that crawled up his arm.

He had been working behind the bar the night Anaki was dancing.

He set down a glass of milk next to Luis and pointed to him like he was to drink it.

“At least not all of it, but most. A lot of cabins were messed up, too. The bear shifters were called in to take care of it.”

“This is Surkash, Madre. He’s a snake shifter. Isn’t that so cool?”

Anaki shuffled from side to side. “But dragons are cooler, right?”

“Of course!” Luis said, but gave an exaggerated wink to Surkash. The stoic face of the snake shifter’s lip curled only slightly until he walked away.

?Dios Mio! what did I just witness?

“I feel betrayed. We can’t leave Luis alone, Elena. He might start calling Surkash dad. I can’t have my title taken away from me!” Anaki pulled on my arm.

Luis barked out in laughter, and Tajah walked up behind him. “I told you it would tear Anaki up. Isn’t it fun pulling pranks on people?” Tajah smiled while Beretta shook her head behind her.

“Tajah, you cannot teach the boy those kinds of tricks. Not when Anaki is still trying to fill in his new role as a father. Luis, don’t play tricks like that unless we say it’s okay. We can’t have a cranky and emotional dragon in the bar, or he might squirt water all over the flaming shots.”

Tajah snorted and slammed her hand on the bar. “That I would love to see!”

Anaki relaxed and ran his hand down his forehead. “You both are asking for it. Next time you ask for a drink, I’m putting laxatives in it. Stronger than the last time I put anything in there.”

I cringed. Maybe he deserved it.