21. Quinlan’s Rescue

21

Quinlan dove into the deepest part of the lake, keeping an eye out for any hidden threats.

When he was absolutely sure he and Annie were the only people there, he slipped into the kelp forest and tied a long piece of kelp around Annie's chest and shoulders, so she couldn't swim away.

He pulled more strands of kelp over her and knotted them together, to form a dome that would keep her even more obscured.

"Sweetheart," he said, cupping her head to turn her face up to his. "I'll be back. Don't get into trouble, all right?"

"Wa wa!" She smiled toothily.

Gods, what wouldn't he do to keep her safe?

Her, and the new life growing in his belly. There was a visible bump now. Griff's claim.

Quinlan swallowed hard.

With a flick of his tail, he darted along the lake bed to search for something he could use as a weapon.

It had been a while since Quinlan last fought anything underwater. Shortly after he'd turned thirteen, his parents had begun bringing him to the sea regularly so they could teach him how to defend himself.

They'd been so proud of him, too, by the time he'd turned eighteen.

He found a long metal pipe that he could move easily through the water. Satisfied, Quinlan propelled himself to the surface, worry crowding his chest when he realized he'd left Griff alone for too long.

So many kidnappers surrounded the lake. Griff was fighting an ink-black monster that looked as though it was falling apart, except it was trying to sink its needle teeth into Griff's throat.

Griff unleashed a plume of fire at the monster and flung it at some silver-skinned men, only to have the men melt into puddles on contact, and re-form just as quickly.

The monster lunged at Griff. They were a mess of clawing limbs and fire, until the monster did something else. And suddenly the dragon was on the ground, surrounded by silver-skinned men.

Before Quinlan could react, several men in wetsuits dove into the water.

They were coming after him and Annie.

Fury surged through Quinlan.

Channel your emotions, his mom had said. Whatever you're feeling, let it out through your fighting, but never let it cloud your mind.

Quinlan charged at the nearest diver, slamming the end of the metal pipe into his face. The man's head snapped back at an unnatural angle, and he went down. But Quinlan didn't stay to watch. He swam up to the next diver and struck his head, too. Then, the next diver.

If he wasn't sure the blows were fatal, he struck them again.

They would not lay their hands on Annie. Quinlan wouldn't let them.

His heart pounded when the divers began teaming up against him. There were so many in the lake, using his distraction to either trap him, or search for Annie.

One of them grabbed him from behind. Quinlan elbowed his face and broke his nose, slipping easily out of another diver's grasp. He yanked his pipe back when someone tried to take it from him, slamming its circular end into the man's face.

When he got a chance to break the water's surface, he found Griff on his feet, the monster torn apart next to him.

But Griff was struggling—the silver-skinned men had thrown some kind of net over him, and he couldn't free himself.

One of the men stabbed Griff with something. Griff gave an enraged roar and thrashed.

He needed help.

Quinlan ducked back underwater and took down more men. He whipped the metal pipe through the water and broke more faces; he slammed the pipe into someone trying to grab his tail.

No one had gone for the kelp forest yet, but Quinlan couldn't risk giving them the chance.

With a speed born from desperation, he chased down the kidnappers with powerful pumps of his tail, knocking them out until there was a radius of safety around the kelp forest that reassured him a little.

He darted back to the surface.

Griff was still struggling on the ground, but there were more men around him now. They'd gotten ropes around his snout, preventing him from breathing fire.

A horrible unease grew in Quinlan's chest.

He ducked under the water's surface to make sure the remaining divers were far enough away from the kelp forest. Then he hurtled toward Griff, terrified that the dragon might make one wrong move, and end up dead.

From what Elson and Joey had told him, the kidnappers had no qualms about killing adult dragons, just so they could get their hands on the dragon babies.

And there was no telling when the kidnappers would run out of patience with Griff.

The closer he got to shore, the more lethargic Griff's movements became. Quinlan's stomach twisted.

He was so close. He just needed a few more seconds—

Except Griff stopped moving. Quinlan waited for his dragon to start struggling again, to roar again, but Griff... didn't.

Had they weakened Griff too much? Did Griff have enough life left to move?

How had things turned out like this?

If Griff didn't wake up, if they decided to kill Griff right there...

There'd be no more silly dragon singing him terrible songs. There'd be no more goofy smiles, Griff curled protectively around him in bed like Quinlan was his greatest treasure. There'd be no more of Griff rubbing noses with Annie, Griff pretending to know how to cook. No more of Griff nuzzling Quinlan's belly with the fondest smile on his face.

Griff was earnest and crazy and loud, but beneath it all, he was loyal to a fault, excitable, and so full of life that Quinlan knew no one else would compare to his dragon.

Losing him would darken the rest of Quinlan's existence.

I love him, Quinlan realized. And this was the worst possible moment for it, because he couldn't even tell Griff. He didn't even know if Griff would open his eyes again.

Don't die, don't die, don't die.

Sick to his stomach, Quinlan shifted back into a human when the lake grew too shallow to swim in. His splashing drew the attention of the kidnappers.

As one, they turned to look at him.

Quinlan's blood froze. But he couldn't stop here.

"Griff," he bellowed, swinging his metal pipe at the silver-skinned men. The men's bodies melted around the pipe like they were made of water, stitching themselves back together even before the pipe had made it out of them. "Wake up! You have to wake up!"

Half the men started toward Quinlan. Some of them had weapons, but they didn't even need the weapons to capture him; there were so many of them.

"Griff!" Quinlan yelled. He ran closer as the men raised their arms to trap him; he feinted and stabbed the metal pipe through them as though they were his target.

At the last moment, he hooked the pipe into the net covering Griff, tearing it off his prone form.

The men grabbed Quinlan.

Griff's eyelids fluttered. His pupils focused on Quinlan. And he jerked upright with a roar, ripping off the ropes around his neck. Blue flames swallowed the silver-skinned men around him.

The men lunged at Griff. Griff got to his feet and punched his paws through the men surrounding Quinlan, grabbing his arm.

He pulled Quinlan straight through the men, yanking Quinlan against his hot, solid chest.

"He's mine," Griff snarled.

Quinlan's stomach dropped when the men aimed several guns at them. "Griff!"

With a snap of his wings, Griff took off into the sky. Bullets whizzed beneath them; one of them skimmed the side of Quinlan's leg in a burst of heat. Quinlan hissed.

"Fireheart?" Griff asked worriedly.

"I'm fine. I don't know how to kill the silver guys."

"They got scared when I breathed a lot of fire at them," Griff growled. He scanned their surroundings. The silver-skinned men were gathering around the spot where Griff had been; Hex was mowing down the remaining divers still on the lake shore.

With a deep breath, Griff released the largest plume of flame Quinlan had ever seen, aiming it at the silver men so they screamed and scattered.

Griff didn't stop. He chased down the men and kept breathing fire until they bubbled and melted and didn't re-form into their human shapes. The rest of the men fled into the forest.

Griff stopped breathing fire when there were no more enemies on the lake shore. "I don't want to set the forest on fire."

"Yeah, no," Quinlan said shakily. He glanced into the lake to make sure no one had left with Annie. "We just need more help—"

Something screeched above them.

They looked up to see an odd shape descending from the sky. An odd-shaped bird carrying a large person?

The shape plummeted past them. Quinlan realized it was a pterodactyl holding up a man—demon?—with jet-black skin and horns on his head. That was Onyx. Liem's mate.

"Pterodactyls always save the day," Telos crowed. "Take that, you dino-hating suckers! And take that, you fucker Mav!"

"The silver guys went to hide in the forest," Quinlan yelled and pointed.

Onyx gave a thumbs up. Telos dropped him on the ground with a resounding thump; the demon sprinted into the cover of the trees.

Telos changed directions and grabbed an escaping diver with his feet, dropping him in front of Hex so Hex could trample him flat.

"Where's Annie?" Griff asked in concern.

"In the lake." Quinlan's forehead pinched. "I need to retrieve her. There might still be divers down there."

Griff growled. "I'm coming with you."

"You'll have to hold your breath for a very long time."

Griff tucked in his wings, turning them so they took a nosedive.

They broke the water's surface with a giant splash. Griff shifted back into a human.

"You remembered to shift?" Quinlan asked.

Griff nodded.

With a small, worried smile, Quinlan slipped his arm around Griff's waist and hauled him to the lakebed. He found a smaller, sturdier iron rod to replace his pipe. Then he brought Griff to the kelp forest.

Something moved between the thick strands of kelp. Someone had found Annie.

"Fuck," Quinlan hissed.

Griff opened his mouth; bubbles came out. Quinlan didn't wait for his words.

He released Griff and dove for the kidnapper, so swift that the man didn't even see him coming.

Quinlan stabbed his pipe through the diver's throat. "That's for threatening my baby," he hissed. "Go to Hell and take your friends with you!"

He left the choking man to bleed, making sure that Annie was still safe in her kelp dome.

Except there were more men lurking around the bottom of the lake. Quinlan tracked them down one by one, and stabbed them.

When he turned to check on Griff, he found Griff behind him, making sure the divers were well and truly dead.

Their eyes met. Griff's gaze was hot and possessive, and it made Quinlan's stomach flip.

He swallowed hard and checked their surroundings again. "Do you hear anyone else down here?"

Griff cocked his head, listening. Then he shook his head slowly.

"Good." Quinlan grabbed Griff around the middle, bringing him to the kelp dome where Annie was making tiny, angry sounds. "Hey, sweetheart. Sorry for leaving you alone for so long. I had to take care of some things to keep you safe."

He untied her from the kelp and scooped her into his arms, relief overwhelming him now that they were safe again. He nuzzled Annie and dropped kisses all over her face; she smiled and grabbed his mouth. She felt so small and precious against him.

"Annie!" Griff gurgled. He peeked over Quinlan's shoulder; Annie grabbed Griff's nose and yanked.

Griff snorted. It came out as a stream of bubbles that made Annie squeal in delight.

But Griff's face also grew steadily more pinched—he wasn't used to holding his breath for this long.

"I'll take you up," Quinlan said, suddenly worried that maybe he'd let Griff stay underwater for too long. "C'mon."

He held Annie in one arm and grabbed Griff with the other, hauling them up to the surface. Griff tried to help by swimming; he was much slower than Quinlan, though.

When they broke the surface, Griff gulped down some air. Quinlan watched him worriedly.

"You okay?" Quinlan asked. "I'm sorry for keeping you underwater for so long."

But Griff only looked at him fondly, leaning in to kiss him softly on the lips. "No, it was fine. I had to make sure there was nothing else threatening you and Annie."

Quinlan's heart skipped.

"You were so amazing down there, fireheart," Griff continued, his voice rough. "Taking down all those fuckers. There were so many bodies down there. You're such a capable mate. Such a strong dad."

Quinlan blushed. "I had to keep Annie safe."

Griff covered Quinlan's belly with his hand. "And our other baby, too. Is our second lil flame safe?"

Quinlan's heart swelled. "I think so. They didn't hit me in the belly. I think we're both fine."

Griff's relief was palpable. "You did it. You saved the day."

And Quinlan knew what he felt for his dragon was real and true. He opened his mouth to tell Griff those words he needed to hear.

Except more shadows swooped over them, and Quinlan panicked.

"You're late," Telos crowed above them, still a pterodactyl. "Onyx and I whooped ass!"

Blade, a golden dragon, swooped low over the lake and snorted. "Yeah, because pterodactyls are a dime a dozen, and on no one's hit list. No one cares if you fly over a crowded town."

"A dime a dozen?" Telos screeched.

"Blade's right," Mav shouted from the shore. "Being full of yourself isn't a good look, Telos."

"Fuck you, you stuck up asshole," Telos yelled back.

Griff winced, glancing down.

Quinlan frowned. "What's wrong?"

"Got shot in the leg earlier."

"Damn it! You should've said something sooner." Quinlan gritted his teeth, anger swelling in his chest—at the kidnappers, at himself for not noticing earlier. He pumped his tail, bringing Griff and Annie to the shore. "Does anyone have a first aid kit?" he shouted. "Griff was shot."

"Where?" Blade flew closer immediately. "Doc's here. He'll fix you up."

"Leg," Griff grumbled. "I'm fine. I'm not bleeding out, Fireheart."

"I'm not going to believe you until a doctor tells me you're fine," Quinlan growled.

When they stumbled onto dry land, they found Doc and Fang waiting for them.

"You guys all right?" Fang asked, helping to haul Griff to a dry part of the shore.

Fang had a wild air about him that said he was very much not-human. Like Blade's other friends, he was strong and huge. And he was watching Quinlan and Griff with an unreadable expression.

Quinlan stared back, unsure if he trusted that man. He'd heard that Fang had joined the alphas' friend-group not too long ago.

"It's just a flesh wound," Griff declared dramatically.

Quinlan elbowed him in the side. "I don't care. You're bleeding!"

"Aww, fireheart." Griff's gaze turned soft and fond, and Quinlan's sharp edges melted a little.

Onyx came striding out of the forest. "I've cleared the area. No more of those metallic guys."

"For now," Blade said with narrowed eyes. He landed next to Griff and lowered his head to watch Doc disinfect Griff's wound. "You said they ambushed you in the forest? This was too many of them. They've been planning this for a while."

"They struck while we were heading out on a trip, too." Griff shook his fist. "I wanted to see the cats at the shelter! Damn dingbats!"

Doc sighed. "We should all be more careful from this point forward."

"Don't we know it," Mav said dryly.

"I'll find a way to ward the road to my lair," Griff said mulishly.

"If only all of us could do that." Blade huffed. "Unfortunately, my lair opens up right onto a public street. I can't just seal off the road."

"You could if you become a dictator and build a wall around your road," Griff said with a grin.

Blade rolled his eyes. "I would have to arrest myself for being a public nuisance."

Griff perked up. "Arrest yourself!"

Quinlan elbowed Griff again. "Don't say that to your brother!"

"I want to ride in the prisoner section of Blade's police car," Griff announced. "I want to pretend to be a criminal."

Blade laughed. "For kidnapping a man?"

Griff grinned toothily. "I did nothing wrong."

Everyone snorted.

Hex came running up, now in his human form with his robes fluttering around him. "Dragon Master! Consort! Young baby mistress! Are you all okay?"

"Aside from my flesh wound, I am." Griff turned to scrutinize Quinlan, making a soft sound of horror. "Fireheart, your leg is bleeding."

Quinlan had completely forgotten about that. "It's just a scrape."

Griff pulled him and Annie onto his lap, holding them in place while Doc patched up Quinlan's leg.

"Now we'll have matching battle scars," Griff said proudly.

After all that had happened today, this was what Griff took away from it?

A laugh bubbled out of Quinlan's chest, unbidden. "I was so worried about you, you know," he said quietly. "Back when you were on the ground, trapped by the net. You weren't moving. I was so afraid that you'd..."

He couldn't say it. The words felt like a crushing weight in his chest.

Griff knew, somehow. "Fireheart," Griff whispered, his gaze so tender. "I won't leave you. You mean everything to me."

"I love you," Quinlan murmured. "I want you to know that. I didn't think you'd be the right person for me—you caught me against my will. But your songs grew on me; so did your enthusiasm and your undiluted joy. Being around you makes my heart happy. You give me hope, Griff. You make me believe in the good of a person. You're there for me even when I'm grumpy, when I'm not feeling well. You care so much for Annie. And I just... I can't help but love you. I know that now."

The more Quinlan said, the wider Griff's eyes grew. His breathing hitched. Then he cupped Quinlan's face in his large hands, peering deep into Quinlan's eyes. "You mean all of that."

"I do."

A brilliant smile spread across Griff's face. Tears welled up in his eyes. "Oh, fireheart. You're the spark in my fire. You're the gem in my soul. You're—"

And he burst into song.

"You are my rain

You are my stars

When you poop I'm on Mars

I love you

I really do

But now we must fuse together or it won't be true"

Quinlan giggled helplessly. He couldn't stop. "Oh, Griff. No. We don't have to fuse together for it to still be true."

"But you want it to be true."

"Yes."

Griff grinned and rubbed their noses together. It was such a simple gesture, but so intimate, that Quinlan's heart skipped.

"You love me," Quinlan said, humbled.

"Yes. And I've told you why. You're brave and full of love. You accept me for who I am. You'd do anything for our babies."

Quinlan had known it. But to hear Griff say it... It made his heart soar.

They leaned in at the same time. When their lips met, it was an explosion of sparks, sweet comfort and delight all rolled into one.

"Mine," Griff whispered against Quinlan's lips. "All mine. Will you—" His breath snagged. "Will you walk the Circle with me, fireheart? Be my mate for life?"

Quinlan's heart skipped. They hadn't known each other all that long. But he was absolutely certain of his answer in this. He took Griff's hand and pressed it to his belly. "Will you raise all our babies with me?"

"Yes. Yes, of course," Griff said earnestly.

Quinlan swallowed and tried to put all his feelings into speech. But one word wasn't enough to make Griff understand.

He turned to Hex. "Do you have that book on you?"

Hex whipped it out immediately. "Of course."

Quinlan flipped to the section on love, and picked the line that was the closest to what he felt. "If time was a chain that came out of my butt, I would give you that chain to hold. It will be a never-ending butt chain because I will love you until the end of time."

Griff threw his head back and roared for joy. In their arms, Annie tried to roar, too. So Quinlan joined in, roaring with them.

Griff cackled. "Oh, I love all of you."

Quinlan would've been content to bask in the glow of their happiness, except Blade came up to them, snapping his fingers.

"That was very sweet and all, but I need to call this scene into the station," Blade said. "Hex, could you get some fresh clothes for Griff, Quinlan, and Annie?"

Hex shifted immediately into a falcon and flew off. "On it!"

"While we're here, we should discuss Pinks' friends," Doc said. "I've sent out some feelers and we may have some leads on where they've been taken. Crush and Duke have volunteered to investigate."

"My brothers will also go," Griff announced. "Raptor and Ace."

Blade snorted. "They haven't even offered their services."

"They will if they know they might get a mate out of it!"

"Griff," Quinlan groaned. "No helping your brothers kidnap a mate."

Griff's eyes grew round. "This isn't kidnap! This is like a blind date but with violence."

Blade facepalmed.

"Is it really kidnap if you're kidnapping them from their kidnappers?" Griff pointed out.

"That's called a rescue," Fang said helpfully. "I guess the real difference is what you do after you take them out of captivity."

Griff shrugged.

Maybe Quinlan should be wary about Griff's ideas, but right now, he had Annie safe in his arms, his and Griff's baby safe in his belly, and no immediate threat on their heels. That was good enough.

"I know!" Griff said. "One of you should bring the book of pickup lines on your kidnapping mission. Then you'll know what to say when you free them!"

"No," everybody else said.

"Don't let the butlers hear it," Fang added. "Or someone will suffer greatly."

"Don't let the butlers hear what?" Hex swooped down from the sky, dropping a bundle of clothes next to Griff.

"Nothing!" Blade, Mav, and Onyx said.

Hex shifted back into a human and pulled on his robes. Innocently, he said, "I thought I heard something about pickup lines."

"You heard wrong," Blade told him hurriedly. "Please don't jeopardize the mission."

Hex exchanged a look with Griff, and they grinned.

Quinlan could only shake his head. Too late.