Page 93 of Charming the Dragon
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.”
