Page 21 of Claimed By the Dragon
However, Trahern murmured, “It’s complicated,” before picking up Eddie and rushing into the living room.
As soon as Trahern fled the bedroom, his beast growled.Why are you still running and hiding from her?
He ignored his beast and focused on spreading a blanket on the floor and laying Eddie on the ground. He’d read a few articles about what to do, and so he helped Eddie clap his hands, and then moved his feet, all while reciting some of his favorite theorems. Grace sat on the sofa, Eli leaning his back against her front as she shook a rattle toy.
After a while, Grace finally spoke. “The boys can have some tummy time whilst you tell me why things are complicated with your dragon.”
“Why?”
She moved to the floor before placing Eli next to his brother, on his stomach. She replied softly, “I know very little about dragon-shifters, Trahern. I need to learn as much as possible, so I can be there for my sons if they need me. What if they have trouble talking with their inner dragons? Or what if their beasts never come out at all? Or maybe the boys are afraid of suddenly having a second personality inside their heads?”
Glancing over, he saw Grace wringing her hands as she stared at her twins.
His dragon spoke up.I don’t like her being upset.
He didn’t, either. He almost wanted to reach out to her and soothe her.
Not that he really knew how. But he’d seen that with mates or parents with children at the clinic.
Instead, he looked at Eddie and Eli as he replied, “Most dragon-shifters get along with their inner beasts after a few weeks or maybe months.”
After a beat, Grace stated, “But not you.”
He shook his head. “My father kept me isolated from a young age, when he realized I didn’t smile or laugh like most other children. Well, maybe once in a great, great while. But he already resented me for killing my mother, and so he said the deficiency was a good reason to keep me hidden. He told everyone I couldn’t handle being around people and that I needed quiet spaces. Which, in part, was true. But…”
He trailed off, struggling to push down the memories of learning about a new medicinal plant he wanted to see. How he’d tried to escape and visit the clan’s medicinal garden. But his father had caught him and installed a lock on his door.
On the outside of his door.
His dragon spoke up.Telling her will help.
Why?
If she is to be our mate, she needs to understand us. Only then will you eventually accept her.
Before he could reply, Grace’s voice snapped him out of his head. “But what?”
At first, he debated sharing more. Grace had been sobbing uncontrollably only the day before.
Yet, as he glanced at her, she stared at him and raised her brows. Then, after a few seconds, she touched his arm. “Tell me, Trahern. Please.”
His self-preservation kicked in before he could stop it—which meant deflecting. “It’s nothing compared to what you must’ve endured in the prison.”
“Just because we have different kinds of painful memories doesn’t mean yours aren’t valid, too.”
Moving his gaze to where her hand touched him, something shifted inside him. Almost as if he didn’t want to hide from her.
His dragon spoke up.Good. Then tell her.
Eventually, he cleared his throat and watched the twins again as he said, “When I was a boy, I fell in love with science, specifically medicine and botany.” He paused, but then her hand squeezed his arm, and he let out a breath before continuing, “Whilst reading, I discovered a plant that sometimes helped dragon-shifters with anxiety, both with others and with their own inner dragons. I struggled to connect to my beast in the beginning, and I thought maybe, just maybe, this plant might help. Not only could I be more normal, but maybe my father would start treating me like the other boys and girls in my class.
“Snowridge, much like Stonefire, has a medicinal garden. I wanted to see if they had the exact plant and snuck out when my father was out. However, he returned just as I was leaving, and he was furious. My father didn’t want others to see his embarrassment, and with my escape attempt, he could no longer trust me to stay put. So, he put a lock on the outside of my door. I spent the next few years alone in my room, apart from school and required clan-wide events.”
“Oh, Trahern.”
He ignored her soft voice and forced himself to state, “I will never be like him, Grace. I vow it. So even if the boys have trouble with their inner dragons, I will try to help them, in my own way. But I will never call them odd or useless or an embarrassment.”
For a few beats, he merely watched the twins squirm on the ground. Then Grace’s tight voice demanded, “Is your father still alive? Because I’m tempted to hire someone to find him and lock him in a room for a while to see how it feels.”