Page 6

Chapter Six

E xcitement hummed through Dr. Scarlett Turner at the thought of testing her latest prototype, and she itched to run down the corridor. However, the last time she’d done that, someone had scolded her.

Her dragon spoke up. Who cares? They weren’t confined to an underground cell for years like we were.

Scarlett tried not to think about the past and how her former clan leader had locked her up. The loneliness, the pain, the cold. It’d always been so cold.

And all because she’d refused to use her clan members as medical test subjects.

Those years were ones she’d rather forget, and yet no matter how much she tried, the scar running down her cheek was a constant reminder. Just seeing it in a mirror brought back memories, ones that sometimes gave her nightmares.

Scarlett pushed aside the past and replied to her beast, After all the hoops we had to jump through to join this project, I won’t risk it to save a few minutes. Besides, we’re free now. That’s all that matters.

You always do that. Always push things aside. But one day, it’ll break you.

I thought you were supposed to be on my side?

I am on your side. But whilst I was forced silent for a while and don’t have those memories, you do. I see them sometimes, in your dreams. And you need to face the past and heal, or…

Or what? We won’t find a mate? I might’ve wanted that once, but no more. The last time I trusted my heart to a male, he betrayed me and turned me over to him . I trust no one but my twin brother and maybe Honoria and Asher.

Honoria and Asher were the co-leaders of Clan Skyhunter. Asher had gone through a lot worse under the old leader, and Honoria had been sent away before the terror had begun. However, after taking over the clan, they’d both done their bloody best to heal everyone and improve things.

They’d even found a way for Scarlett to finish up her doctor studies, which had been nearly finished before she’d become a prisoner.

But she was still wary of some of her clan and wished like hell she wasn’t.

Her dragon sighed. Fine. I’ll drop it. For now. However, if you’re going to play with that thing, then I’m taking a nap.

Sweet dreams, dragon. Because we’re here.

Scarlett stopped in front of a keypad and tapped in the code. The door opened, and she rushed the last few feet until she could see through the observation glass.

On the other side, the purple dragon form of Iris Mahajan was curled into a ball, sleeping. The sight reminded Scarlett of doing the same in her human form, wearing rags and trying to keep warm in the winter.

No. Within seconds, she forced the memory away. Iris was warm and fed and would be let out as soon as they confirmed she didn’t have anything contagious or something that could be passed on.

Since it would be a few days yet before she’d know that, Scarlett headed toward the small room off to the side, where she could put on her protective gear.

It took far longer than she liked, every second dragging. She was impatient to test the latest tweaks to her dragon voice transmitter. The last test she’d been close, so very close, to fixing all the glitches. Until it’d shorted out and slightly shocked her colleague.

Crossing her fingers, she wished for things to go well. It wasn’t exactly scientific, but Scarlett would take any help she could get.

After typing the code into the new keypad, she entered the large room. A second later, Iris opened her eyes, her giant slitted pupils staring at her. Slowly, the other dragonwoman lifted her head and Scarlett held up her prototype. “Like promised, I brought it. Although I need to draw some blood and do a general examination first.”

Iris bobbed her head, and Scarlett inwardly sighed with relief. Some dragon-shifters could be stubborn and irritable and grumpy when it came to doctors. Something about being sick or injured and not liking to appear weak.

Thankfully, last New Year’s, Scarlett had met Dr. Sid Jackson in person for the first time, and she’d learned so much from the Stonefire doctor. Some of Sid’s advice came back to her: When it comes to stubborn patients, always act as if you’re the king and they must obey your every order. Obviously, they can refuse. But a dominant tone, especially coming from a female, is extremely effective.

So, even though Iris seemed cooperative, she kept up her usual dominant doctor tone. “Right, let’s get started. Lower your head and let me check your eyes, nostrils, and mouth.”

After examining everything, she stated, “You’re doing better. However, your eyes are still a little unfocused, and your nostrils are slightly swollen from the gas. But after a few more days, with enough rest, you might even be able to go home.”

Antony Holbrook’s voice came from speakers inside the room. “That will be up to me, Dr. Turner.”

Ah, yes. The human male who liked to play with people’s lives.

Her dragon’s sleepy voice filled her head. Without his help, you wouldn’t be able to do your experiments. Stop blaming him for not saving Skyhunter.

Not wanting to have the same argument again, she turned and replied to Antony, “You may try to keep her prisoner, but I won’t stick around. You know there’s a female on Skyhunter expecting a baby in the next two weeks. I won’t abandon her.”

Antony stood on the other side of the glass and shrugged. “You can go home once Iris is well. However, I have things to discuss with her in private, once she can shift into her human form again.” He motioned toward the prototype she’d laid down on the side of the room. “Even if that works, I’d rather wait until Iris can’t merely sit on me to quiet me down.”

Iris snorted, and Scarlett glanced back at the purple dragon. “I can get him in here and you can sit on him now.”

Antony sighed. “Yes, yes, pick on the human. Now, are you going to try this gadget of yours or not? Because I have things to do, Dr. Turner, no matter what you may think.”

Still facing Iris, Scarlett rolled her eyes. “Fine. Give me a minute here. Now, Iris, lean your head down to my level. Yes, just like that. Right, let’s get this attached.”

Scarlett slowly wrapped the long strips around the dragon’s head, using her ears and horns to help keep the equipment in place. Then she checked each of the diodes to make sure they lay flat against Iris’s scales. With everything secure, she flipped the little switch to turn on the speakers and stepped back. “Right, now how this works is you merely think whatever it is you or your dragon want to say and it should project it through the small speakers on your head. It may take a few tries, until the device attunes to your brain activity. After it learns your processes, it should, in theory, freely let you talk.”

And so Scarlett watched Iris intently, waiting to see if her device would finally give dragon-shifters in their dragon forms the ability to talk without getting shocked.

Once the doctor finished her explanation, Iris said inside her mind, Is this working?

But the speakers on her head screeched and emitted, “orking?”

Close, but not quite right. So she thought it again, and after a few seconds, the speakers said in an AI-English accent, “Is this working?”

Her dragon perked up at the words just as Dr. Turner clapped her hands and said, “Keep going, Iris. Try something else. Anything. I need to see if it can handle more complex thoughts.”

“Why…hell…English…”

Iris focused and tried again. “Why the bloody hell is it in an English accent?”

Dr. Turner shrugged. “That’s what I have, and it’s easier to project than a Scottish one.”

Iris replied, “I sound bloody stupid.”

Antony’s voice filled the room. “Now, how about you tell me why you went off to investigate that site by yourself?”

The other dragonwoman turned toward Antony. “How about you wait until I make sure it won’t short out and possibly hurt her?”

He crossed his arms over his chest, and Iris nearly snorted. It was the closest thing to irritated she’d seen from the human, and she couldn’t resist saying, “Maybe I just won’t talk to you, anyway.”

Antony narrowed his eyes. “That would be unwise, my dear.”

“Why?”

From the corner of her eye, she noticed Dr. Turner glancing between them. However, Antony’s reply garnered her attention again. “Because I ultimately decide when you can leave this place.”

“Are you really trying to pull a power play over me?”

“Trust me, I have connections you can only dream of, my dear. Ones I could’ve used to protect you if you’d just bloody rung me.”

“There wasn’t time. Besides, I’m not your lackey.”

“Ah, but you’re wrong there, Iris. Because from the second you went to investigate that site, you became my problem. And once you can shift again, we’re going to discuss it.”

Without another word, Antony walked out of her sight. Iris growled, hating how she couldn’t follow him.

Scarlett’s voice garnered her attention. “He’s never shown that much emotion with anyone else, at least in my experience. But it seems you know how to get under his skin.”

Iris’s dragon spoke this time. “And I wouldn’t mind being under him, skin-to-skin.”

Silence. Scarlett just stared at her, blinking, as Iris wondered if the prototype meant she could never have a private conversation with her dragon while wearing it.

So she decided to ask. Scarlett shook her head a few times and replied, “I don’t know. I was so focused on getting the thing to work that I didn’t consider how all thoughts would be projected, both human and dragon. And that can be a bloody nuisance, with our dragon halves.”

As Scarlett’s pupils flashed to slits and back, Iris decided she was done voicing thoughts. “Take this off me, please. I’m tired.”

As expected, the doctor moved closer and studied her. “I will, but just one last question: was there any pain or discomfort from the device on your head? And please be honest.”

“No. No pain.”

The doctor nodded. “Brilliant. That went better than the last time.” Iris narrowed her eyes in question, and Scarlett cleared her throat before adding, “It may have shocked my last test subject. But I fixed it! Hopefully for good. Now, lower your head again, and I’ll remove it.”

Iris quickly asked, “When can I leave this place? Is Antony really going to keep me here?”

“In all honesty, I don’t know. But he could keep you here forever, if he wanted to. I’ve worked with him and his team for months now, and Holbrook seems to have a lot of sway with both the human government and the DDA specifically.”

“Tell me what you can.”

“There’s not much more I can share, without repercussions. But there is a little…”

As Scarlett removed her thought-translation device, Iris listened to the dragonwoman’s information.

It wasn’t much, but by the end, Iris had a slightly better idea of how things were run. Mainly, Antony was in charge of an elite team of humans and dragon-shifters. They did missions, but Scarlett didn’t know the specifics. She mainly patched people up and focused on her prototypes.

Once the female finished taking off the device, Scarlett added, “I’ll check in on you in a little while, after they feed you. I’ll bring the interpreter device, but you don’t have to use it if you don’t want to. Especially if Antony is here, since your dragon might voice her lusty thoughts. Although I have to admit, his face would be priceless if she did.”

Iris grunted, and Scarlett laughed. “Hey, whoever you fancy, that’s your business. But I need to go. I’ll see you later.”

With that, the doctor left, and Iris finally spoke to her dragon. You would say your randy words again out loud, with him here, wouldn’t you?

Of course. Because you’d rather die than tell him you want him naked and inside us.

Being attracted to someone doesn’t mean I’m going to strip and instantly ask them to fuck me.

Why not? It would make things easier.

Except humans have those pesky decency laws…

I somehow doubt Antony would report us. He wants us too.

How do you know that?

I pay attention.

That’s all you’re going to say?

Yes. Now, I’m tired. That took a lot of work. Let’s nap.

Her beast didn’t wait for a reply but instead curled up and went to sleep. And since Iris’s mind hummed, she stared at the wall, wondering when she could leave and get as far away from Antony Holbrook as possible. Her dragon’s interest hadn’t waned with time, and that worried her.

Because if, and that was a big if, she kissed him and he turned out to be her true mate, it would ruin everything she’d ever worked for.