Chapter 29

Chapter Twenty-Nine

N athan groaned as something on his side burned, more than anything he'd felt in his life.

He expected his dragon to say something, but nothing came. Nathan tried calling for him, but there was only silence.

Then something was placed on his burning side and he screamed as his eyes popped open.

Dr. Sid's firm voice filled his ears. "I'm nearly done. Hold still."

Again, something touched his side, and he howled. It was only then he realized he was tied to the bed, so he couldn't move.

The intense pain finally dulled to a throb. As he caught his breath, recent events came flooding back.

He searched the room, but didn't see his mate anywhere. He only found Dr. Sid's familiar face. "Where's Hayley?"

"Not far away. She's being checked out by Gregor. Now, I'm nearly done. But prepare yourself. This is going to hurt even more."

"What the—FUCK!"

It felt like a mixture of fire and needles against his side, so intense it nearly made his eyes water.

But as quickly as it'd come, it faded. As Nathan tried to catch his breath, Dr. Sid nodded to herself. "Right, that should do it. Your skin should heal now. And before you ask, yes, there was a chance it never would. The bloody hunters have some clever scientists. Twisted ones, of course. But clever. Thankfully, not more than me."

He'd ponder her words later. For now, only one thing mattered. "Where's Hayley? How's the baby?"

Gregor rushed into the room, and Nathan's stomach dropped. However, Hayley was right behind him. He barely heard Gregor say, "Come on, Cassidy. Grace is in labor. She's carrying twins, and she needs the both of us."

Dr. Sid stated, "Stay in this room. And don't untie him until one of us tells you otherwise, Hayley."

With that, she rushed out with Gregor.

Hayley stood next to his bed, reached out a hand, and brushed the hair off his forehead. "Hi ya."

He struggled against his bonds, and pain seared his side again.

His female tsked. "Don't do that, Nathan."

"But I want to hold you."

She kissed his lips and laid her forehead against his. Just having her near settled him a bit, although the silence in his head worried him.

She said, "I love you."

A pure joy rushed through him. "I love you, too. I have for a while now."

Smiling, she murmured, "You didn't need to almost die to get me to say the words, you silly man."

"I didn't try to die. I was trying to rescue you."

She sat next to him and cupped his cheek. "I'm glad you figured out my message."

"We can talk about all that later. Are you and the baby okay?"

"Gregor says we should be fine. From what they found at Fairfields, it was a mild sedative, one that wouldn't harm any unborn children." Screaming came from nearby, and Hayley bit her bottom lip before adding, "Grace needs all the healing vibes we can send, Nathan. Gregor barely learned she hadn't had any shots of dragon's blood before she went into labor."

Which meant the human's chances of survival were about fifty-fifty. "I'm sure Dr. Sid has something to help."

They endured more screaming, and Nathan debated mentioning his silent dragon. Grace's situation had clearly upset Hayley, and he didn't want to give her anything else to worry about.

Then he remembered their agreement to be honest. So he blurted, "My dragon is silent."

"Oh, Nathan! Did you tell Dr. Sid?"

"No, not yet. But she should focus on Grace right now."

"Trahern's nearby. Let me get him."

He tried to reach for Hayley, but his restraints stopped him. "It's okay, love, I can wait."

She whirled and waggled her finger at him. "No, it's not okay. I thought you were dead earlier, Nathan. That I'd never see you again, talk with you, feel your arms around me." Her voice caught before she added, "I won't risk you losing your dragon. I'll be right back."

His female stormed off and less than two minutes later, returned with a dazed Trahern.

Dr. Trahern Lewis preferred research to patients, but could do the job when needed. Hayley motioned toward Nathan. "Help him, Dr. Lewis. Whatever the hunters did to him, it made his dragon silent."

The doctor's Welsh accent filled the room. "I have a few things to try. Let me fetch them. And whilst I do that, untie him for me."

With that, the doctor exited the room.

Hayley slowly untied him, pausing every time he grunted in pain, to the point he did his best not to. When he was finally free, she kissed his lips. "Don't even think of trying to sit up, Nathan Woodhouse."

At her firm tone, his lips twitched. "I wouldn't dare try to go against your word, Hayley Beckett."

As they smiled at each other, relief coursed through his body. "I've missed you, love."

Before his female could reply, Trahern waltzed into the room and promptly stuck a needle into Nathan's arm. After the injection, Trahern pushed up his glasses. "If it's one of the known dragon hunter formulas, the injection should start working in the next five minutes. I'll be back to check on you. I need to help Sid and Gregor."

Hayley blurted, "Is Grace okay?"

"I don't like to speculate. You'll receive an update soon."

As the door closed behind the Welsh doctor, Hayley frowned. "He doesn't have any bedside manner, does he?"

A faint voice in his head said, No. He should've been more concerned about me.

Are you back, dragon? Already?

Yes. Everything hurts, and I'm not at my best, but I'm back.

Hayley's voice prevented him from replying to his beast. "Your pupils are flashing! Is your dragon all right?"

"Yes, mostly. Too tired to take control, but I'm sure he'll be back to his normal self soon."

His female laid her cheek against his, and he felt wetness. "Are you crying, love?"

She sniffed. "Yes. I can't help it. I was so worried, Nathan. About you, the baby, Grace, everything."

As she recounted her time inside Fairfield's, he managed to raise the arm on his good side and rub her back. When she finished, her tears had stopped, and he said, "Everything should be fine, Hayley. I love you, and I won't ever let them take you again."

She pulled back. Smiling, she rolled her eyes. "You can't promise that."

"I'm going to do everything within my power to keep you and our child safe, Hayley. Even if it means learning new skills, being put through hell by Kai or the other Protectors, I will be ready to protect you both, no matter if it's from behind or away from the keyboard."

"I know you will, Nathan. But don't forget I'll try to protect you too. But to do that, I need to become your mate first."

"We could do it now."

"Now?"

"Yes. All we need is Bram and a few witnesses. I know it's not ideal, and your sister wasn't allowed to stay on Stonefire with you gone. But it's not only my burning desire to claim you as mine that makes me think we need to do it. The law will be on our side, too."

"Look at you, using my passion for the law against me."

"Hey, I'll do whatever it takes to call you mine, love. Mine forever."

She kissed him. "Then we'll be mated as soon as possible." There was more screaming from the room next door before it fell eerily silent. Hayley gripped his hand and squeezed.

She whispered, "I hope Grace and her babies are okay."

"Lay on my good side, Hayley. We'll wait to see how she does before we contact Bram to be mated."

"Are you sure that's okay?"

"I don't want you distracted. And hopefully the labor will be swift."

She gingerly laid down next to him. "I hope so."

And so they waited, eager to be mates but more concerned about the woman next door and her less than ideal chances of surviving the birth.