Healed by the Dragon: Boxed Set (Parts #1-4) Page 22

  “Yes, exactly.” Finn’s gaze turned fierce. He walked to her and whispered, “I love you, Arabella MacLeod,” before he kissed her and tugged her into the shower.

  Arabella was still trying to think how to respond, when Finn turned her around and scrubbed her back. As he sang a song in the wrong key, she smiled. He was giving her time and space to figure things out for herself.

  Jumping on the distraction, Arabella joined him and sang as loudly as she could. Looking over her shoulder, Finn shook his head but never stopped the song.

  Finn had claimed her with his body, but he was quickly claiming her heart as well.

  ~~~

  Finn stood with Arabella outside the tent serving as Faye’s hospital room.

  The shower and plate of sandwiches had helped erase some of his exhaustion. Compared to the three days he’d spent foraging food during the clan leader trials, Aunt Lorna’s sandwiches had been heaven and he was ready to tackle his cousin, especially with Arabella at his side.

  Glancing at Arabella, he was amazed she looked as refreshed as she did. Some dragonwomen experienced early pregnancy symptoms, such as lethargy and morning sickness.

  Not that it should surprise him that Arabella was handling it well. His female could handle anything she put her mind to if she tried.

  Arabella frowned and lightly hit his side. “Stop staring. Your gaze only encourages my dragon.”

  Because of the levity of the minutes to come, Finn jumped on a few minutes of peace with Arabella. “Oh, aye? She’s ready for more of my wondrous cock? She never did get her fill, now did she?”

  Arabella sighed. “I’m not going to answer that.”

  He grinned. “I knew there had to be a reason why she didn’t break my penis when she had the chance.”

  Arabella rolled her eyes and looked over at him. “We’re here to see your cousin, not discuss your cock.”

  Layla’s voice interrupted them. “As much as Faye needs a bit of normalcy, I don’t think she wants to hear about her cousin’s penis.”

  Finn looked to Layla and winked. “Aye, you’re right. Although I have other ways to raise my cousin’s spirits.”

  Layla’s eyes turned sympathetic and she lowered her voice. “She needs some cheering up, but no one seems to know how. Not even her twin brothers could get a response from her.”

  Finn’s smile died. “Tell me what we need to know, Layla, and the full truth.”

  Layla nodded, her long, dark braid bouncing behind her. “She’s out of danger and will recover. However, I won’t know until we take the cast off her wing later this week if she can fly again or not. If the tissue is too knotted or the bones didn’t mend right, it could throw off her balance.”

  Arabella asked, “Has she been cooped up inside this tent the whole time?” Layla bobbed her head and Arabella frowned. “Is there any way to remove the outside walls of the tent, even for part of a day? I’d be depressed if I had to stay inside that thing with nothing to do, too.”

  Layla tapped her chin. “Possibly. It will take some convincing of the more senior doctors, but I’ll see what I can do.”

  Finn jumped in. “As long as it won’t endanger her health, make sure the others know I wish it to happen, too. My word may give you the leverage you need.”

  “I will.” Layla turned and parted the slit opening. “Come. You should visit her while she’s still awake.”

  Taking a deep breath, Finn walked into the tent. After blinking to adjust his eyes, he took in the sight before him.

  Faye was curled up in a ball, her head tucked under her tail. While the pose wasn’t unusual for a sleeping or resting dragon, the dull color of her blue hide alarmed him; the tint was faded, almost as if she were an old dragon-shifter in her twilight years.

  The tent was also dim, hiding the last few sunny days of September. Squeezing Arabella’s hip, she looked to him and asked, “What?”

  “I think you’re right about getting Faye into the sunshine. It should help.”

  At the mention of her name, Faye raised her head and met his eyes with her own. The despair and pity he saw knocked the wind from him.

  But only for a second. Finn raised an eyebrow. “If you’re trying to get me to pamper you, it’s not going to work, cousin. If it weren’t for the frenzy, I would’ve come sooner and kicked your arse into gear.”

  Faye lowered her head and closed her eyes.

  She’d never had such a lack of spirit in her life.

  Arabella moved from his side and went to Faye’s ear. She whispered something and then waited. When Faye didn’t move, Arabella grabbed a small piece of Faye’s ear and twisted.

  Faye roared. For a split second, Finn’s heart stopped as he worried Faye would knock Arabella across the room. But leave it to his mate to slap Faye’s snout and order, “Stop it. Do you really want to hurt Finn’s offspring? I have a feeling it might piss him off, not to mention me. You really don’t want to anger the pair of us. We’ll win against you, even if your brothers jump in to help you.”

  Faye glanced from Arabella to Finn and back again. She then moved her snout to Arabella’s abdomen and inhaled deeply. After a second, the sadness eased a fraction from her eyes. There was still enough there to depress a lesser dragon-shifter, but even lifting a little warmed Finn’s heart.

  He took a step toward Faye’s snout. “Arabella’s right. If you want to be an auntie, then you’d better behave. That means stop pitying yourself. If Arabella can survive her ordeal, you can survive yours.”

  Faye bumped her snout against Finn’s stomach, as if to tell him to bugger off. He stroked her hide. “I’m not leaving you alone, so don’t waste your energy.” Then he steeled his voice and ordered, “Get better as soon as possible so I can hear your brief of what happened. We can’t guard against new threats without information.”

  His cousin looked into his eyes. He couldn’t read her expression, but he wanted to believe she was a little better. Maybe her mother and brothers had felt sorry for her; as he’d learned with Arabella that was the exact wrong thing to do with strong, alpha dragonwomen.

  Arabella spoke up. “Finn, could you give us a few minutes? I want to talk with Faye alone.”

  “You’re not plotting a clan takeover, are you?”

  She scowled. “Be serious for a second. Besides, if I wanted to take over the clan, you wouldn’t know about it until it’d already happened.”

  His dragon chuckled. I like her.

  Shut it, dragon. You wouldn’t be so cheerful if it happened.

  I don’t know. She likes me.

  Finn gave an exaggerated sigh. “I see I’m unwanted. I guess becoming the father of your child didn’t earn me any extra brownie points.”

  Arabella pointed toward the exit. “Out. See about taking the outer wall of the tent down.”

  Giving his cousin’s snout one last pat, he murmured, “Don’t make her mad, cousin. The pregnancy is making her bossier and I wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of her temper.”

  Arabella growled. “You will be unless you leave in the next ten seconds.”

  Winking at his mate, Finn turned and left the tent. He spotted the doctor in charge and headed toward him. The sooner he made Faye comfortable, the sooner he could go back and hear Grant’s updates on the clan. From what he’d seen during his brief visit, Faye should be all right in time, especially with her family behind her. Arabella alone would singlehandedly prod Faye until she gave in and did whatever Arabella asked.

  His clan, however, would no doubt be fractured after the recent attack. Finn needed to make things right with them as soon as possible. Both his mate and his future child needed a stable, safe home. He’d do everything in his power to ensure Lochguard would be it.

  ~~~

  Arabella waited about thirty seconds to ensure Finn was gone before she turned back toward Faye. The blue dragon’s eyes were closed again, but if Faye was hinting she wanted Arabella gone, she was in for a surprise.

  Arabella touched
the corner of one eye and poked one of the most sensitive areas on a dragon until Faye blew air out her nose and opened her eyelids. Arabella removed her finger. “Better. Close your eyes again, and I’ll just start all over again. You have older brothers, so I’m sure you know that area can get sore pretty quickly.” Faye grunted and Arabella continued, “Right. Then listen closely because this is one of the most important periods in your life. You can either choose to hide away from your friends and family to feel sorry for yourself or you can face your tragedy and become a stronger person.”

  Arabella stared at Faye, waiting for a sign the dragon woman was listening. When the blue dragon turned her head a few inches toward Arabella, she took it as a sign to push on. Arabella crossed her arms over her chest. “My past makes me one of the few people to truly understand you. Yes, we went through different tragedies, but a head Protector maybe losing her ability to fly is traumatic in its own way. I wish I’d had someone to kick my arse into gear ten years ago, but no one stepped up.” Arabella leaned a fraction toward Faye. “Just know that I’m here and I’m going to bug you every day until you stop the self-pity and start fighting for what you want.” Arabella smiled. “And I should warn you that I’m pretty stubborn when I set my mind to it. I’m sure I can have your brothers, Finn, and half a dozen other people helping me to get you back on your feet.

  “So nod if you want to fight for your future or close your eyes if you’re going to wallow about life being unfair. Which future do you want, Faye MacKenzie?”

  As Faye’s giant dragon eyes searched hers, Arabella tightened her grip on her forearms. Maybe she was pushing too far, but Arabella remembered how quickly she’d hid from the world. After all, hiding had been the easiest thing to do.

  She wanted Faye to know she could fight before hiding was even an option.

  One minute ticked by and then another. Finally, Faye bobbed her head and Arabella clapped her hands. “Fantastic.” She moved to pet Faye’s snout. “Then spend the rest of the week resting and visualizing yourself flying again. Once the cast comes off, we’ll think of how to get you back into the skies.”

  Faye grunted, sounding as if she didn’t believe it would ever happen.

  Still, the dragonwoman had admitted to wanting to fight, and that was a huge step. One that had taken Arabella nearly ten years to reach.

  Sunlight filtered in and she turned her head from the brightness. After blinking a few times, she watched as one section of the tent opened to reveal Finn and a few other dragon-shifters rolling up the side canvas. Leaning toward the opening, Arabella asked, “Is more coming down? You can barely see the sky with that small opening.”

  Finn answered, “Well, that depends if you ask me nicely or not.”

  Arabella growled. “Making your cousin happy should not require irritating me. I’m growing a tiny dragon-shifter inside me, remember? You’re the one who’s supposed to be nice to me.”

  Signaling to someone at his side, another section started to come down. “Nice is boring, heather. The baby will only get you so many passes, so choose them wisely.”

  “Bloody irritating man.”

  “That’s dragonman, love. And don’t forget it.”

  Arabella turned her back on Finn and he laughed. She whispered in Faye’s ear, “See what I have to put up with? I need your help to torture him, so get better sooner rather than later.”

  Something that resembled amusement flashed in Faye’s eyes and it warmed Arabella’s heart. With time and hard work, Faye would probably avoid Arabella’s fate after the dragon hunters tortured her.

  Thinking about her past, she placed a hand over her belly. She had yet to tell Finn the whole of it and a part of her wanted to do it as soon as possible. As long as she kept the memories bottled up inside, she couldn’t truly focus on her child, let alone Finn and the clan.

  Glancing over her shoulder, she decided she would tell him on the walk back toward the command center. Sure, it may not be the best time to do it, but if she put it off, Arabella might lose her nerve. From here on out, there would be a multitude of distractions—mating Finn, sorting out traitors, reestablishing a relationship with the local human villages, and more. She couldn’t afford to wait or her baby could be born before she had another chance.

  Faye gently butted her shoulder and Arabella looked up into the big dragon’s eye. It was almost as if Faye could read her mind.

  Arabella patted her snout and murmured, “I have some matters to sort out, but I’ll be back. Enjoy the sunshine.”

  With that, she headed out the door and around the tent to watch Finn help the others take down the last outer panel of canvas. Her dragon was still sleepy and recovering from the frenzy, but she woke up for a second to say, Ours.

  In that, Arabella agreed.

  ~~~

  Finn felt Arabella’s gaze on his back as he helped to take down the walls of the tent.

  All he wanted to do was quiz her about her conversation with Faye. Even from the few glimpses he’d stolen here and there during the takedown process, Finn could tell something was different about Faye MacKenzie. Whatever Arabella had told her was helping.

  A year ago, he would’ve resented the fact Arabella had helped his family when he couldn’t. In the present, however, he was grateful for having Arabella MacLeod in his life. He would never take her for granted.

  Not just because he loved her or the fact she would give him a child; no, his clan would be worse off without her. He was starting to lean on her bit by bit, lessening his own load.

  After another week, Arabella would feel right at home giving orders.

  The thought made him smile.

  The last piece of the outer canvas came down and Finn handed his section to the two younger dragon-shifters helping. He flashed the young dragonwoman a smile and gripped the young dragonman’s shoulder. They both blinked a second before mumbling goodbyes and carrying the canvas away.

  His dragon spoke up. You shouldn’t flirt with other females.

  I wasn’t flirting. I merely smiled.

  I don’t think our mate will see it that way.

  You’re tired and grumpy. Go back to sleep.

  Before his beast could reply, Finn constructed a complex maze and shoved his dragon inside. Since his beast was still recovering from the frenzy, he would merely go to sleep instead of trying to find the exit.

  Finn walked over to Arabella and leaned down to kiss her when she turned her head. For a second, he thought she’d bring up flirting, but she surprised him by saying, “Are you going to stop calling me heather? Now that the frenzy is over, I’m determined to stop the ridiculous nickname.”

  Taking her chin with his fingers, he forced her head back to look him in the eye. “Deep down, I know you like it. Just think, one day you can regale our child with the tale of how I came up with the clever name.”

  Arabella rolled her eyes. “More like I can use the story on what not to do when courting a female.”

  Finn leaned toward his mate. “I think it worked pretty well, don’t you think, heather?”

  She growled, but he stopped her with a quick, rough kiss. When he pulled away, Arabella’s irritated look had been replaced with one of heat. But a second later, she frowned. “We need to head back to the command center, but just know this isn’t over.”

  Finn grinned and hooked his arm around Arabella’s shoulders. “Of course not. We have a good seventy years to wage this battle.”

  Arabella shook her head. “I’m not sure if I should be happy or sad about that.”

  He growled. “Be happy, Arabella. You’re not allowed to be sad.” She glanced over at him with an unreadable expression. The sight made him a little uneasy. “Tell me what you’re thinking about, love.”

  The change of endearment eased the tension under his arm. Arabella pointed toward one of the sheltered rock areas not too far away. “Let’s go over there and I’ll tell you, provided we have ten or fifteen minutes to spare. If not, it can wait.”

 
From her tone, Finn guessed something was weighing her down and she needed to get it off her chest.

  Taking out his mobile phone, he checked for any alerts, but there was nothing. He pocketed his phone and started walking. “We have a little time. Besides, you look like you could do with a few minutes of rest.”

  When Arabella nodded without a retort, his heart rate ticked up. Something serious was on his mate’s mind.

  As they walked toward the sheltered space in silence, Finn absently rubbed Arabella’s arm, wondering what troubled his lass. If it was within his power to fix it, he would.

  Arabella MacLeod deserved happiness, and despite his tendency to irritate her on purpose, he would always be the one to give it to her.

  His dragon gave a half-hearted rumble from inside the maze, and Finn amended, Okay, we will be the one to give it to her. Happy?

  A yawn echoed through his head and Finn took that as a yes.

  They reached the sheltered space. Once he took off his shirt and laid it over a small boulder, he motioned toward it. “Now, sit down and tell me why you’re being so quiet, Arabella. Because, frankly, your silence creeps me out a little.”

  Chapter Six

  Finn’s comment snapped Arabella out of her head. “And to think, some people have mates who tell them how beautiful they are. I have one who tells me I’m creepy.”

  Finn shrugged. “You like honesty.”

  Arabella’s dragon chimed in. You’re stalling. The sooner you tell him, the sooner you can truly put the past behind you. This is the final step to being whole and healthy.

  Final step? Since when are you a psychologist?

  I’m a dragon. I know everything.

  Not wanting to waste time arguing that point, Arabella looked back up to Finn. “Can you pretend you’re a kind, caring mate for a second? What I have to say is serious.”

  Finn kneeled before her and took her hands. In a dramatic voice, he said, “Tell me, my lady. I am here to do your bidding.”