Page 50 of Dragon's Revenge

Erwan inhaled deeply. Was he…? Oh gods, his face was changing, glowing, radiating this light as if he were shining from the inside out.“Codladh, laoch. Codladh agus leigheas.”

Adar’s face relaxed, his mouth curling into a smile as the bruises visibly faded and the swelling reduced. His body sank deeper into the mattress as if it had been loosened from the bonds of pain. Tears formed in Delton’s eyes, and his gentle gasp mixed with those of the others. Enar looked stunned, but then a wide smile broke free on his face. His shoulders straightened as if a heavy load had been removed.

Erwan stood motionless for maybe a minute until he finally removed his hands from Adar’s head. He slowly turned around, meeting Delton’s eyes with a gentle smile. His face was pale as a ghost, but his smile was real. “He’s asleep now. He will be well.”

A sob escaped from Oliver’s lips, and he twirled around, burying his face against Delton’s chest. Delton pulled him close, hugging him tightly as his eyes met Erwan’s. “Thank you.”

“No, Delton, thank you. I forgot the power I had in me, and you reminded me of who I am. So thank you.”

Delton merely nodded at him, still holding on to Oliver.

“You can stay with him,” Enar said. “I’ll ask Lucan to place an extra bed in here so you can spend the night. Adar will want you here when he wakes up.”

“Thank you.”

Minutes later, Lucan brought in a second bed. It was a tight fit, but they made it work as they curled up on it together, Delton holding Oliver. “I’ll have some dinner brought for you,” Lucan said.

Delton gave him a smile stuffed with gratitude. “We appreciate it.”

“I’ve never seen magic like that,” Oliver whispered when they were alone again. “I didn’t know Erwan was capable of that.”

“I’m not sure he even knew himself, but somehow, my wolf did. Isn’t it funny how sometimes others have more faith in us than we do ourselves?”

Oliver hummed in agreement. “They say his mom was a mighty healer too, though her husband never knew. And I know his father and uncle are bad to the bone, but they have powerful magic. He has a strong bloodline.”

“He does, but that alone wouldn’t have been enough. He’s found favor with the gods because of his character, and that’s what makes the difference. Just like Lidon is extra powerful because of his heritage and being chosen to be the True Alpha, Erwan is the most powerful dragon on earth right now, fueled by his bloodline and being chosen as the White Dragon. We’ve only seen a fraction of what he’s capable of.”

ChapterTwenty

Half of him was missing. Erwan had no other way to explain it, but that was how it felt. And the longer Rhene was gone, the deeper the ache in Erwan’s soul. He couldn’t sleep, didn’t want to eat, and had no energy to make it through yet another day without Rhene.

And after healing Adar, his symptoms had gotten ten times worse. It almost felt as if he’d somehow transferred Adar’s injuries to himself, though nowhere near as severe. He had bruises pop up all over his torso with no other explanation as to where he could’ve gotten them. And his belly hurt, both deep inside and on his skin—exactly where they’d opened Adar up.

Not that he regretted it. Hell no. He wasn’t a doctor, but even he had seen that Adar had been knocking on heaven’s door. What angered him was that he’d never even considered attempting to heal the man until Delton had told him to. What was that about? When had he lost faith in himself, in his abilities? He could’ve at least tried to do some good, but he hadn’t, not until he’d been all but forced to.

Major points for Delton for stepping up. They’d said it before, but the betas in this pack really were something else. Then again, so were the omegas. No one who had met Sivney or Fallon could ever deny that truth. And Zack was proving to be a powerhouse as well.

The only thing that made Erwan feel better was holding Ainle. Not only was it like staring into his mate’s eyes, but somehow, the cute little baby had a part of Rhene’s soul as well. Which made sense, seeing as Ainle was his biological son and shared DNA with Rhene, but it was still strange how much holding Ainle calmed Erwan.

Yitro had dropped the baby off for the day, and Erwan had played with him all morning. Now they lay on the couch, Ainle asleep on Erwan’s chest. He was a snuggle bug, their son, and he preferred to sleep while being held. Rhene had worried it would spoil the kid, but Yitro had disagreed. “A baby’s need to be held is a deep one that I would never deny. Giving him that sense of safety and security now can set him up for a lifetime of feeling loved,” he’d said.

Erwan had been relieved because he hadn’t wanted to give up on the pure joy of watching their son fall asleep, his blinks getting slower and slower until he sank into a deep slumber. Once he was asleep, little could wake him, and even if something did, he fell right back asleep.

Hmm, maybe they could go for a little walk now that Ainle was sleeping? They’d been inside all morning, and Erwan was restless. He wasn’t sure why, but his dragon was having trouble staying still, stirring inside him.

Carefully, so he didn’t wake Ainle, he got up. Yitro had left the baby carrier like he always did, even though Erwan rarely used it. It wasn’t that he felt it was unmanly to carry a baby on his chest, though he couldn’t deny feeling somewhat awkward, probably because everyone was always staring at him and oohing and aahing.

No, it was because he could never figure out how to get Ainle in it without getting everything all tangled up or, worse, almost dropping the baby. But he’d have to get it right this time because he was going stir-crazy and needed some fresh air. He should have at least another hour before Ainle woke up.

By sheer luck—though maybe he had subconsciously whispered a few spells—he managed to get Ainle into the carrier without getting his foot stuck. He hoisted him onto his chest and wrapped the straps around his shoulders and back. He made sure he heard the telltale click of the safety mechanism, then double-checked in the mirror before he let go of Ainle and trusted the carrier to hold him.

Yay, he’d done it. Look at him, parenting like a boss. He quickly grabbed a little hat for the baby to protect his head and face from the sun—though it wasn’t that strong in the late fall—and headed out, where he almost ran straight into Sivney.

“Hey,” the omega said. “Going for a walk?”

“Yeah, just wanted to get some fresh air.” He looked at the crystal-blue sky. “It’s a gorgeous day.”

“It is. The last hurrah before winter hits. It’s supposed to be a mild one, but you never know.”

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