Page 14 of Dragon Daddy's Second Chance

“Hey, calm down, I’m sure she’s fine,” Blake said, pulling her into his arms. “We just need to look a little harder.”

She took a deep breath. “Sorry, I started to panic,” she said, then filled her lungs once again and let it out slowly. “Let’s split up. Maybe she’s in one of the tidal pools and can’t hear us.”

“Some of them are pretty deep,” Blake agreed, looking across the expanse of rock. “You search closer to the jungle, and I’ll stick close to the shore. One of us will find her, you’ll see.”

“We’d better hurry,” she said, looking out at the water. “The tide is already coming in.”

It took time to hopscotch between the tidal pools on the slippery rocks, and she found herself holding her breath every time she approached one of the deep crevasses, but time after time she was disappointed. Then, just as she was about to giveup hope, she heard a faint cry over the sound of the surf, froze where she was, and lifted her head to listen. When she heard it again, she looked over at Blake, who was standing as still as she was, his entire focus on a spot farther down the beach.

A desperate cry for help floated to them on the breeze and Blake took off in the direction it had come from, a look of relief on his face. But when she came to a halt next to him on the edge of a huge tidal pool, he was already frowning and shaking his head, and she understood why when she saw the size of the rock formation. Water had worn away the rock in a huge circle all the way down to the sand, the sides were worn smooth, and there wasn’t a single hand or foothold in sight.

Susan was at the bottom at least six feet from the top standing in a foot of water, her face red and streaked with tears, but she managed a smile when she saw them. “It’s about time. I thought you two were never going to show up,” she said, her voice horse from screaming. “Now get me out of here.”

She looked over at Blake, then back down at Susan. “We’re going to need a rope or something,” she said. “Hang on, we’ll figure something out.”

“I twisted my ankle when I fell. I don’t know if I can climb out of here,” Susan said, staggering when a wave of water rushed through an opening in the rock. “Hurry, it’s getting deeper.”

Blake stepped back from the edge, a look of frustration on his face, “I don’t know if we have time to come up with a rope,” he said, keeping his voice low. “The water is coming in fast, Wren.”

“What are we going to do? We can’t just let her die,” she said, beginning to panic. “We have to get her out of there.”

Just then, an even bigger wave came crashing through the opening in the rock, sending up a spray of water thatdrenched them both. She heard Susan let out a cry, then there was silence, and she hurried back over to the edge, gasping when she saw her friend crumpled against the rocks, her eyes closed, a gash on her forehead. Turning back to Blake, now desperate for a way to save Susan, she fought back the panic and fear, hoping a way to help would pop into her mind.

A look of resignation on his face, Blake walked over to her, grabbed her by the shoulders, then looked into her eyes. “There’s only one way I can think of to save Susan, but it’s going to scare the hell out of you,” he said. “I wish I could have prepared you better for this. I wish I could have told you sooner what I can do, but there’s no time now; the water is rising, and it’s now or never.”

“Blake, what are you trying to tell me?” she asked, the look in his eyes scaring her. “What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to use my special gift to save Susan,” he said, then kissed her. “Just remember it’s still me, I’ll just look different.”

Still confused, she reached for him when he stepped away, but then a powerful wave of energy washed over her, and she was frozen for a second while her body absorbed it. The air around Blake began to shimmer oddly, and before she could take another breath, he vanished, replaced by a winged creature she could only describe as a dragon. Her brain instantly shut down, her head began to get fuzzy, and the reality of what she was seeing was almost too much, but then she looked into the dragon’s eyes.

She sucked in a gasping breath when she realized she was looking into Blake’s eyes, and the darkness that was slowly closing around her vanished with the wave of warmth that spread through her. Staggering back a couple of steps, no longer afraid of what she saw, she watched Blake spread his wings, pushed off from the ground with his powerful legs,and soared up into the air. He plunged back down into the tidal pool, gently scooped Susan into his arms without even landing and rose back into the air, his wings beating in the air, creating a slight breeze.

He landed lightly in front of her, Susan clutched to his chest, and folded his wings in close to his body. Then she felt another rush of power, this time making her entire body tingle and the man was standing in front of her again. Not aware that she’d been holding her breath, she let it out in a whoosh and rushed over to the two of them, surprised to find Susan’s eyes open and focused on Blake’s face.

“You scared the heck out of us,” she said, wondering how much her friend had seen. “That was a little too close if you ask me.”

“I thought I…did I just see…” Susan stammered, then shook her head and winced. “I must have hit my head really hard, I thought I saw…a dragon.”

CHAPTER 9

***BLAKE***

Blake was very aware of Susan’s eyes on him as he carried her back to the village, but did his best to pretend that everything was normal even though he was sure his life was about to crumble around him. He’d never shifted in front of a regular human, never trusted anyone enough to expose his secret so openly, and he didn’t want to think about what Wren must be thinking. The look in Susan’s eyes was enough to give him just a taste of what must be running through Wren’s mind, and he wished that he’d told her, that he’d explained about the magic that ran through his blood before she had to see it.

He wasn’t fooled by how calm she appeared as they followed the path back to the village. He knew that her mind must be overwhelmed by what she’d seen and was preparing himself for the moment that it hit her. He had no idea how she would react; he’d never been in this position before, but he was sure that it wouldn’t be good, that before it was over, his chance with her would be gone, evaporated like mist in the wind.

As soon as they reached the village, they were surroundedby a crowd; someone took Susan from his arms, and someone else handed them water bottles as they were shuffled over to the infirmary. The doctor swept Susan into a room, and Wren followed as soon as they walked in the doors, and he was left standing in the hallway alone again, but it wasn’t long before Max came rushing in.

“What the hell happened?” he demanded. “Does trouble just follow you around?”

“Hey, this wasn’t my fault,” he said, holding up his hands. “Susan went to explore the tidal pools and fell in a really deep one. She twisted her ankle and couldn’t get out. We made it just in time to get her out before the tide came in. She’s got a big bump on her head, but I think she’s okay.”

“How did you get her out?” Max asked, clearly relieved. “Those rocks are as slick as snot.”

He didn’t answer right away, and Max’s eyes widened in surprise. “You shifted,” he whispered. “Have you lost your mind? Someone could have seen you.”

“Well, I wasn’t going to let Susan die,” he shot back. “You would have done the same thing, and no one saw me, so there’s no harm done.”

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