Page 9 of Sanctuary with a Dragon
We’d been hoping, praying, for a miracle. The only cure for FMMS was to find your mate. We’d searched, back when we had the strength to do so, but even though we’d spent countless years looking, we hadn’t found her.
And to think—all these years she’d been so close.
It almost made me want to weep again, and I knew Elandor felt the same way.
She’d beensoclose!
We’d waited and searched for overtwelve hundred yearsfor her. The loneliness without her had completely hollowed us out. There were things that broke you in life. I thought I’d understood that when I was younger, after I’d lived for a few centuries and had lost friendsand family. But as the years passed, and we still hadn’t found her, I discovered that I’d knownnothingabout pain.
Some shifters didn’t handle that pain well. They staved off the loneliness through dating or casual relationships, but Elandor and I had vowed to wait for our mate. We hadn’t wanted anyone but her.
So we’d waited.
As the centuries passed, we’d begun to lose hope. When we contracted FMMS, we’d come here to die. We’d already set our earthly affairs in order, left our corporations in good hands, and handed over the reigns of our current brainchild,Beleaguered Dragon Adventures, and it’s corporate headquarters in Anchorage Alaska, into the hands of a very trusted friend and associate.
But now our mate was here.
Was she okay? I knew she was hungry and exhausted, that much had been visible, but what if there were things wrong my eyes couldn’t see? I scanned her raven form, scrutinizing every detail I could see with my naked eyes. She was a good size for a raven. Her feathers did look dusty and bedraggled, and she definitely needed a few solid meals, but she didn’t appear to have any damage to her raven form.
I was grateful. Alaska had plenty of predators that thought ravens would make a good snack.
For a long moment, I knelt there, breathing, shaking, letting my body and mind process the shock. Ifocused on slow, calming breaths. As my shock ebbed, I ran my fingers through my hair and tilted my head back, exhausted from the fallout of my emotions.
The good news was that, though Elandor and I had FMMS, we would slowly start to heal now that our mate was in our life. We didn’t even have to be mated to her for that magic to happen. It just happened the more time we spent around her.
Which meant that he and I would be able to speak again soon. Maybe as soon as tomorrow or the next day, depending on how quickly the magic mended us. Shifting and flying, though, would take longer.
FMMS wasn’t something that could be cured in a day. It would take time, but wewouldget better.
I shifted my gaze back to my mate.
And it was all because of her.
Lost in my thoughts, it took me a moment to realize the fast, thrumming sound, was my mate’s heart beat. How could that be her heart rate? It was so fast!
I counted the beats against my my watch, and gaped when I realized it was well over two hundred beats per minute.
If my heart was beating that fast, I’d call for a life flight.
Elandor remained calm—maybe he had a better sense of bird biology. I, on the other hand, panicked. I pulled out my phone—thankfully, the internet tower I’d installed in the village gave me reliable service here—and slumped in relief when the page loaded. Twohundred and twenty beats per minute was in the normal range for a raven. They could even go up to nearly three hundred beats per minute and be perfectly fine.
Even flying, dragons had slow heartbeats. Most immortals did. So, this news about Everly fascinated me.
I shook my head in wonder, then shakily heaved myself to my feet and went to the kitchen to put together another plate of food for her. With a heart rate that fast, she probably had a quick metabolism and would need to eat often. She also had lost weight, I think, on her flight to my cabin, and would need extra calories for the next few days. It would be good to just keep a plate ready in the fridge at all times for her.
I left the kitchen after washing my hands again, then paused, watching her sleep on the couch pillow. Now that she was here, I didn’t know what to do with myself.
I busied myself by straightening up the cabin—anything to keep my hands occupied—before settling into the recliner facing her. It felt a little strange, watching her sleep just to make sure she was still breathing, so I leaned my head back and closed my eyes.
That letter...
Reading between the lines, it sounded like the warlock had made sure the women in the Winters family always found their mates—or at least the rightpartner. Not that the magic only did that. It also seemed to help them find their purpose, happiness, even a fulfilling career. It was like an all-purpose life improvement spell.
I could appreciate that.
But it gave no indication of how long the magic would last, and how long she would be in her raven form. It could be days, but what if it was months or years? I needed someone I trusted to examine the spell. Someone who could actuallyseethe magic woven into her, and decipher it for me.
Seeing no hope for it, I heaved myself out of my recliner again, went into my bedroom, shut the door quietly, and called Shay.
