Page 52 of Claimed By the Dragon
The nurse ran to the other side as he injected the serum.
Trahern carefully removed the needle and waited. Thirty seconds passed, then thirty more.
Then the vital signs sped up, beeping, and the dragon opened his eyes. Groggily at first, but then he jumped up and roared.
Something wasn’t right.
“Listen to your human half! Work together! Don’t let him bully you now!”
For a second, he thought maybe the human half was starting to take control as the dragon stilled and shook his head.
But then he roared again and charged at Trahern.
He tried to dodge, but the jagged, broken horn pierced his back before tossing Trahern across the room.
And as soon as he collided with the wall, the world went black.
Chapter Seventeen
Grace had just followed Trina out of her cottage with the pram when Myla, a younger female Protector with ginger hair, ran into view. She skidded to a halt and blurted, “Grace, you need to come quick. Bring your boys. We need to get you off Stonefire.”
Her heart froze. “He found us?”
The dragonwoman shook her head. “No, that male is in Keswick right now, being watched. But it’s Trahern. Something’s happened.”
Her stomach dropped. “What?”
“Let’s go. I’ll share on the way. Trina needs to come too.”
Grace glanced at Trina, but she shook her head. “I don’t know anything, or I would tell you.”
As the two dragon-shifters ushered her along, Grace asked, “Is Trahern still alive?”
Myla replied, “From what I know, yes. But he’s in a bad way, and you’re his best chance at pulling through.”
A million scenarios played out in her head, ranging from the dragon hunters finding Trahern to him being attacked by a rogue dragon-shifter.
Stop it. No matter what, you need to keep it together.She blurted, “What do you mean in a bad way? Don’t keep me in the dark about this. Please.”
Myla looked sheepish. “Sorry. I can be dramatic, according to my mum. He was attacked and had to go into surgery. He pulled through but is unconscious.”
Trahern.“How can I help him? I want to, of course, but I’m not a doctor.”
“No, but you’re his mate. And he’s become father to the twins. If anyone can encourage him to fight and pull through, it’s the three of you.”
“Of course, whatever you need, whatever Trahern needs, I’ll help in any way I can.”
And yet, as she was herded into the Protector building and told to wait while they made their last-minute preparations to leave, a niggle of doubt entered her mind. She might love Trahern, but he’d never spoken of strong feelings for her. Desire, yes. She knew he wanted her that way. But she had no idea if he loved her, or ever would.
Maybe her presence wouldn’t be strong enough of a draw to help him fight and survive.
Eddie fussed, and she picked up her son and gently jostled him up and down. “Don’t worry, Eddie. We’re going to do whatever we can to help your dad. That means you need to help, too. And help Mummy. Can you be good for the trip? Daddy is going to need us rested and calm once we arrive wherever we’re going.”
She’d resisted calling Trahern their dad, but he was. It didn’t matter if it was his DNA or not, he’d done more for the twins than a lot of biological dads ever did for their kids.
Holding Eddie closer, she breathed in his baby scent and willed her heart to calm a fraction. Eddie had always picked upon her moods the most, and she needed to keep it together for him, Eli, and most especially Trahern.
After Trina and Myla had herded her into a van and started down a back road—their undisclosed location was secret and needed to remain that way—she focused on playing games with her boys and telling them stories until they fell asleep.