Page 51 of Claimed By the Dragon
While they’d been able to silence his dragon with the dragon-silent drug, the boy wasn’t responding well. Without the human half to help keep them together, the child was fading fast.
As Trahern went over his notes and findings yet again—he needed to be ready at a moment’s notice, if the boy’s condition worsened—Dr. Scarlett Turner walked into the room.
Of all the doctors inside the facility, he enjoyed working with her the best. She didn’t chatter unnecessarily, spoke bluntly, and didn’t seem to get annoyed with his quirks of needing to clean up his space or talk to Grace and the boys at exactly the same times every day.
Grace.He missed his mate more than he’d ever thought possible. For a male who’d spent his whole life avoiding touch and closeness, he was struggling to go without now that he wanted to claim his female.
Thankfully, Dr. Turner spoke and distracted him from his longing for Grace’s touch. The doctor stated, “You have to try disabling the device today, Trahern. The boy won’t survive until tomorrow.”
As he stacked his notes into a neat pile, he replied, “The probability of him dying is still over 50 percent.”
“It will be 98 percent if he receives another dose of the dragon-silent drug. And no, there’s nothing else left to try. Dragon-shifters don’t do well with sedatives to begin with, and we’ve exhausted new ones to try.”
He’d have to add devising new types of sedatives for dragon-shifters to his list of projects.
The doctor waited, and he knew there was no choice—he would have to try to save the young dragon. “Is the rest of your team ready to act?”
“Yes. Some of the best medical minds in the country are in the room next to the boy’s.”
He nodded, stood, and went to the far side of the room to collect the necessary tools.
The other doctor spoke again. “No matter what happens, you’re giving him his best chance, Trahern. Remember that.” He nodded without turning around, and the doctor continued, “We’ll need you to continue to work on these devices, no matter what happens today. Antony received intel that the dragon hunters are trying to even the odds by having their own dragon army since we can counter most of the drugs they’ve used so far.”
The aim of the dragon hunters was to harvest as much dragon’s blood as possible and sell it. Since it had far-reaching healing properties, humans would often pay anything to save a loved one.
While in a perfect world the dragon-shifters would help anyone who needed it, their blood was one of the few bargaining chips they could use once the humans had forced them off most of their land.
However, politics wasn’t Trahern’s purview. He would always help someone who needed medical attention, but the power dynamics between dragons and humans were his clan leader’s prerogative.
Once he had what he needed for the procedure, he turned, but Dr. Turner didn’t move out of his way. She asked, “Do you want to call Grace beforehand?”
Just in case something goes wrong, was left unsaid.
As much as he wanted to scream yes, he shook his head. “If I call at an unscheduled time, it’ll worry Grace. And she doesn’t need any extra stress.”
“Yes, I heard about a sighting of her ex in the Lake District. But don’t worry, Antony sent a few more people to help trackdown and capture him. He won’t allow the arsehole to harm Grace or your boys.”
Since Antony Holbrook hadn’t given him a reason to distrust him yet, he merely nodded and said, “Now, let’s go. The stronger the boy is, the greater the chance he’ll survive. If he’s as weak as you say, every minute counts.”
With that, they exited and went to the preparation room next to the boy’s cell. Trahern ensured the medical team was ready before sterilizing everything and thoroughly washing his hands. Once he had the gown and cap on, he nodded at the nurse who was going to help him. He stated, “Remember, as soon as I tell you to move to the opposite side of the room, you do so.”
The male nodded. “Yes, Dr. Lewis.”
He approached the small blue dragon, who appeared to be about eleven years old. His chest rose and fell, but slower than a healthy person.
Moving to behind the boy’s head, Trahern ignored the broken horn and focused on the base of the brain. He’d memorized the earlier scan and found the markings he’d made previously.
After turning toward the tray table one of the staff had placed next to the boy, Trahern scanned until he found the right tool—a syringe with an extra-long needle. The serum would help calm the boy after he’d punctured the microchip affixed to his brainstem.
Once he had it in hand, he checked the boy’s vital signs and noticed they were dropping. It had to be now, or he might not be strong enough to pull through.
“Be ready to move.”
The nurse nodded, and Trahern found the markings he’d made on the skin, where he’d clipped a few scales earlier. He took three deep breaths to steady himself and then counted toten before pressing the needle into the skin. He met the expected resistance—he’d found the chip.
After one more deep inhalation, he pressed with just enough force to pierce the chip but not the brainstem.
The dragon jerked a second and Trahern said, “Now.”