Page 41 of Having the Dragon's Baby

“And that’s all your fault,” Vincent seethed, his teeth gritted and glistening in the black night, moving his eyes in closer. “You really had to show up and fuck everything up, didn’t you? With you alive, he will be undefeatable.”

He had started to squeeze, which ramped up Rachel’s heartbeat. She wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of seeing her struggle, so she swallowed, wheezed for a breath, and then croaked out one final quip.

“Still,” she said, trying to come up with something that would stall her death in any way possible, “after all your work, all that deception, you couldn’t stop me. No wonder you’re a beta.” Maybe poking the bear … uh, dragon … wasn’t the best idea. It wasn’t the first time her mouth reacted before her brain.

Vincent smiled, and before he got the chance to snap her throat like a stick of celery, she swung her knee, connecting with his balls. It was a relentless, shattering blow that knocked the wind out of the man and caused him to release his tightening grip around her neck. As he doubled over and clutched his privates, Rachel ran, scared but snickering to herself that even a fucking dragon had that single, most vulnerable spot.

“Fucking bitch!” Vincent screeched.

Rachel sprinted, dodging the trees and leaping over branches with a primal fear she had never experienced before. She heard him running, stomping through the dark, and gaining on her with the speed that could only come from a supernatural being. A stitch developed in her side when she felt another flash of air whoosh past her, accompanied by a booming clatter that made her stop in her tracks.

She skidded over the dirt, bent over and panting as she found a place behind a large evergreen to hide in. The pain in her side was hot and cramping, but that didn’t stop her from frantically studying the darkness to find out where the clamor had come from. When her eyes finally honed in on the sight, she felt her heart speed up even faster.

Marcus stood a few feet away, naked and glorious, holding Vincent by the throat two feet in the air. Vincent's feet dangled as he clawed with desperation at Marcus’s forearm but to no avail. Marcus’s teeth were clenched, a deep scowl embedded in the grooves of his face, and lord, he looked exasperated. But he stood tall, his stone-hard chest rising and falling.

Rachel had never felt more protected or more loved in her entire life. It filled her with certainty that she wished she could bottle, but it was ineffable. She leaned against the tree, holding her side, watching her alpha as Vincent gurgled pathetically.

“Marcus…” she whispered.

“Go home now, Rachel, you don’t want to see this,” he said sternly.

“But the fight … did you…”

He shot his gaze at her, blazing like a golden sun. It warmed her despite the anger he expressed.

“Rachel, please. You don’t want to see what I’m going to do to this traitor. Go, my men are waiting.”

With that, Rachel nodded, listening to her alpha, and hurried past them and through the forest. She wasn’t worried about Marcus. However, she didn’t want to leave him. He would do what he needed to do as an alpha protector, but she wanted to be with him. To feel his arms engulfing her, his mouth lapping against the spot where Vincent had nearly crushed the life out of her.

Her body was suddenly depleted of energy as she emerged from the forest. She toppled to her knees. After a fluttery moment, she realized that it was shock, the body’s way of protecting itself from trauma. The moon was still out, bright and bold, when one of Marcus’s enforcers arrived at her side in his dragon form, encouraging her to climb on and fly back to the den.

Rachel did as he asked and was soon soaring through the dark sky as she looked back at the forest. From a distance, it was like an ink blot spill, malevolent and eerie. Her heart felt like it was being punched repeatedly, imagining a tragic end that would have Vincent getting what he truly deserved.

She tried not to let her thoughts roam as she was taken to the den and tended to by the women as well as the enforcers. There was only a tiny bump on her head from colliding with the tree, while the rest of her scars were invisible and emotional. She thanked all of the shifters but implored them to leave her be. Rest was what she truly required.

They finally did, all gathering to wait for their alpha to return with lights cast upon the trail like a plane’s landing path. Rachel couldn’t stomach waiting out there with everyone. Her mind was flooding with terrible thoughts and considerations. So she lingered inside the home she now shared with Marcus, lying on the couch as the world spun around her.

Rachel made herself tea, feeling antsy, even making herself a small meal to distract herself. It was like waiting for your husband to come home from war. You never really knew if it was going to happen or would remain a fable in your mind. She paced the room a few times before returning to the couch, attempting to read a book, but ended up tossing it onto the floor with impatience and frustration.

She stared up at the ceiling, listening to the chatter of the shifters outside. Her fingers rolled down and settled upon her stomach where their child was growing. She closed her eyes and laid her hand flat against her belly, sending love and hope to the unborn fetus. Really, Rachel was sending them to herself. She couldn’t be a single mother. That wasn’t how the story was supposed to go. She breathed in and out slowly, calming her racing heart and lulling herself into a serene sleep.

She dreamed of her child. She dreamed of Marcus, unharmed, laughing and playing with their child. She dreamed of her soaring on his back, of making love in a field of roses. It was everything she had ever wanted.

EIGHTEEN

RACHEL

Rachel woke with a start at the feeling of floating.

She had not even realized that she had drifted to sleep until she had been disturbed.

At first, she thought it was still a part of her dream, flying around on Marcus toward the setting sun.

But, after feeling a slight jolt, Rachel became more conscious of her surroundings and saw that it wasn’t clouds below her but steps.

She was being carried.

Her body stiffened as she looked up, slightly jittery after being dragged from a deep sleep.

---