Haunted By Her Dragon (The Dragon Guard Series) (29 page)

“All
right then,
keep
that tattoo in mind while I’m telling
you the next part of our
family’s
history. See, after the boys go
through what is called their transformation. The men they have become can then
call forth the dragon that lives within.”
Kyndel
paused and Sam could feel how much she wanted her to believe what she was
saying, but there was no way any of this could be true…was there?

Kyndel
continued, “By calling forth, I mean they can actually shift from man to
dragon, and back again. Now, I can see that you think I’ve been smoking
something really good or maybe I drank the
Kool
-aid,
but I’m telling you the absolute truth, and if you’ll bear with us just a bit
longer, I’m going to prove everything we’re saying. Can you do that? Will you
do that for Lance?”

Kyndel
wasn’t playing fair if she was going to throw Lance in her face. She wished she
could say it didn’t matter, but that would be a lie, and she really tried to
never be dishonest. Two deep breaths later, she nodded.

“Now
the men we love and their
brothers,
they consider it an honor that their
families were selected. They take the duty associated with it very seriously.
They protect the dragon way of life, and help those in need whenever possible.
They are kind of like superheroes without the capes,” the ladies both burst out
laughing. It didn’t take long before Sam was laughing right along with them. It
felt good to let go of some of the tension thrumming through her body, but it
did not negate the fact that they were both certifiable.

When
the laughter died down and they all had a fresh cup of coffee,
Kyndel
continued, “I have a question for you Miss
Sam.  Has there ever been a time when you were talking to Lance and he
seemed to be about a million miles away, and when you asked him about it, he
made some excuse?”

“Yeah,
it’s happened, why?” Sam asked suspiciously, preparing for what was to come.

“When
the man and the dragon were merged, they began to share the magic that is
inherent to the beast. One of the many benefits of that sharing is that the
warrior can speak directly into the minds of other dragon shifters or vice
versa.”

Kyndel
reached across the table and touched her arm, “Think about it before you call
the men in the white suits. Haven’t you always felt like there is something
different
about Lance?
Something special?
And when you met his
brothers,
didn’t the weirdness kind of get hiked up a notch or two?”

She
had to admit that everything
Kyndel
was saying about
Lance being different, and the interaction between him and his brothers being
anything but normal was true, but
really?
Dragons?
Telepathy?
Could any of this be true? The longer she
thought about it, the more she decided that she really needed to know the truth
for her own sanity, and for the growing love she felt for the goofy man with
the hypnotic blue eyes.

“I
know what you’re saying about the guys is right. They do act ‘different’ when
they’re together, and there have been times when I could have sworn Lance was
carrying on a conversation I couldn’t hear, but all of this is just too crazy.
I mean, really? Psych ward, shock treatment, institutionalized for life,
crazy.” She looked out the window, and then back to the two women that had been
nothing but gracious to both her and Sydney. Resigned that she was going to
listen to all they had to say, if for no other reason than to get to Lance, she
said, “I’m listening…go on.”

Both
women smiled, and Grace started again, “One of the most important milestones in
a dragon shifter’s life, other than his transformation, is finding his mate.
The one female in the entire world created just for him. She is the other half
of his soul, the completion of the man and his beast; the peace, love, and
light that both man and beast need to survive the many years they have left in
this life and the next. This woman grounds them, makes them whole, and is the
single most important person to both entities, ever. They’ve existed longer
than we can imagine before meeting their mate, but only truly begin to
live
when they’re able to share their life and love with the one the Universe
designed for them.

“
We believe,” she motioned between herself and
Kyndel
, “And so do the men, that you are Lance’s mate. The
one meant for him.” Sam started to shake her head, and Grace held up her hands.
“Just seeing you two together solidifies that belief and if I had any doubts,
they all went up in smoke when I saw how hard you’ve fought to get down there
with him. The fire in your eyes says it is a need inside of you to protect what
is yours.”

“Yes, I care about him, and I owe him my life,
but I seriously doubt that I’m his…mate. He’s a nice guy, and we’re getting
to know each other, but I have plans for my life and my career. Those things
have to come first. I’ve been trying to get down to him because I know that I
can help him. I am a trained doctor after all.”

Grace looked at Sam like she was sure the woman
had looked at many defendants across the courtroom in her life, and when she
spoke there was steel in her voice, “You can lie to yourself, that’s fine, but
I’ll tell you one thing. Lance believes you’re his mate and that may just be
the one thing that saves his life.” She paused and Sam could tell she was
deciding what to tell her.

“What is it? Just tell me.”

Grace shrugged, “The bond between mates is
almost immediate, but very weak in the beginning. The more time you spend
together and the more…
intimate
that time is, the quicker and stronger
the bond grows. Because he believes you are his mate even though he’s in his
‘healing sleep’ which is kind of like a coma, he will seek you out. That’s the
main reason
Kyndel
and I decided we needed to tell
you everything we could, so that you
can
go down there and be with him.
Help him heal.”

There were several seconds of silence that
stretched on like an eternity. Sam refused to be the first one to speak. They
could give in first. She was not the one telling fairy tales while the man
they
all cared for was hurt and needed
their
help. Sure their standoff would
go on forever; she jumped when Sydney’s little hand touched hers. She looked
down, and the little girl was smiling. The little one made a ‘come here’ sign
with her finger then she whispered, “They’re telling the truth, Dr. Sam…promise.”

Sam jerked back, and stared in the little
girl’s eyes. There had always been a maturity to the child that exceeded her
years, but at that moment there was a look of resignation and belief,
attempting to relay that all she’d heard had been the complete truth. Unsure
what to do, she asked “How do you know that, Sydney?”

“I can hear them when they talk to each other,
up here.” She placed her chubby, little finger on her temple, and grinned.

“You can...
hear
them?” Sam asked, not
sure what was happening but afraid she might miss something if she blinked.

“Not what they’re saying, but I know when
they’re talking to each other,” Sydney nodded, and continued, “I told Lance,
and he said we would talk about it when you weren’t around, but then he got
hurt. Hope he doesn’t get mad that I’m telling you now.” She stopped and
squinted like she was thinking really hard about something, and then said,
“Nah, he won’t get mad. He loves us, right, Dr. Sam?”

She felt her eyebrows shoot up, and breathed
deeply, trying to think of some way to answer the child that looked at her like
she had all the answers. In the blink of an eye, it all made sense; he did love
them. What other man would rescue a woman from certain death, and ask for
nothing in return? Or watch after the same woman for months on end without ever
making contact? Even more than that, what
normal
man would willingly
take on the responsibility of a little girl that needed protection, and then go
after the man that had tried to kidnap her? The list of things he had done for
her was unimaginable. No other person she had ever known, aside from her
parents, had given her so much. There was no denying there was
something
between them. He looked at her like no other ever had. He touched her, and it
was a though there had never been any other man, and there never would be…
ever
.
He made her feel like she could be Sam, the Sam she was meant to be, and
nothing or no one would stand in the way of her dreams. He wanted her for her,
nothing more, and she didn’t even care that he called her ‘Doc’. If she was
honest, she liked it. It was
his
name for her. “Yes, Baby, he loves us,”
she answered.

Her thoughts went on and on, leading her to the
dream she’d almost forgotten. At least she thought it was a dream. It seemed
like a dream. What else could seeing a golden dragon flying over the woods
behind her house be? With her new ‘information’, she figured it could be almost
anything. She was almost yelling but couldn’t stop, she had to know. “Is
Lance’s dragon, golden?”

Both women smiled so brightly that she could
feel their relief.
Kyndel
spoke first, “Yes,
Sweetpea
, his dragon is a brilliant, glittering gold.”

Not able to sit any longer, she stood and paced
the floor, soon realizing that Sydney paced alongside her. Sydney had said she
could hear when Lance and his brothers were talking in each others’ minds.
Could that be true too? Could all of what they had just told her be true? It
was completely mind boggling and more than a bit disturbing, but she was
beginning to believe at least some of it. She thought about the amazing man
that had haunted so many of her thoughts for so long. If what they were saying
was the truth, he needed her more than she’d originally thought, and she was
wasting time questioning everything. There would be time later. Lance was all
that mattered.

“All right, let’s say I believe at least some
of what you’re saying. Can I
please
go down and see him now?” she asked,
unable to keep the pleading tone from her voice.

“Absolutely, Honey, just one more thing,”
Kyndel
responded, and Sam worked hard to not roll her eyes.

“The only thing that can kill one of our boys
is silver poisoning or beheading. Right now, Lance has part of a silver blade
sticking out of his chest, and from what I’ve heard it was coated in liquid
silver as well. The dragon within him is able to dispel the silver but only
after the blade has been removed…”

“Then why the hell haven’t they removed it?”
she interrupted.

“Because the blade is
in
the bottom part
of his heart and, Siobhan, our Healer, is afraid that he won’t be able to heal
fast enough to keep from bleeding to death. His dragon was weakened during the
fight too. His beast is unable to help with healing as much as he usually
would, and that’s where you come in. We’re all praying that your strength, plus
your medical knowledge will help get that blade out of him and get our pain in
the ass back to his lovable, irritating self.”

She worried her lip with her teeth and slid into
doctor mode. It was way safer for her emotions and her heart than girlfriend or
mate or whatever the hell she was to him, mode. Thinking of her rotation in
Cardiac Care, she remembered a case study she’d read about an army surgeon that
had been able to remove large pieces of shrapnel from a man’s heart on the
battlefield, and the soldier had survived. All she had to do was get down there
and see if the same procedure would work for a silver blade.

“What the hell are we waiting for?” Done
wasting time, she turned on her heels and headed towards the door that was
still being guarded by the young man whose name she couldn’t remember. When he
stepped in front of her, she looked him dead in the eye and in a low ominous
voice said, “You’re probably a hundred times stronger than I am, but I promise,
if you try to stop me from going through that door I will fight as dirty as I
know how to get past you. I was a foster kid, we know how to fight dirty and we
know how to win.”

His eyes widened. She knew he had been told not
to let her pass but could see that he wouldn’t fight with her either. She was
about to muscle her way through when the door opened, and a pair of very tired
violet eyes looked down at her. His attempt at a smile was weak at best. She
couldn’t blame him; it had to be hard to see one of his own hurt. He placed his
hand on the younger man’s shoulder, “
It’s
fine,
Jace
, let Dr. Malone pass. Hopefully, she’ll be able to
help.”

Without another word, he turned and headed back
down the stairs.
Jace
moved and she took that as her
cue to follow. The stairs turned at a right angle and as she rounded the
corner, a blindingly bright light caused her to stumble. When the spots cleared
from her eyes, she saw antiseptically white walls and a painted gray floor, not
unlike the operating rooms at the hospital.

She quickly scanned the area as her feet took
her down the last few steps. The state-of-the-art triage and surgical area was
amazing. It had to have cost a fortune, but she guessed when you lived hundreds
of years, you had time to save some serious coin. What she was not thrilled to
see was a tiny little woman with platinum blonde hair praying or chanting or
whatever the hell she was doing over Lance. Rationally, she knew she had no
claim to him even though Grace and
Kyndel
had said
they were mates, but just the thought of the curvy little woman touching him
made her see
red
. She made her way over to where they had Lance. Her
first instinct was to throw herself over him and cry, but she was a doctor and
doctors didn’t act that way, no matter who was on their table. She took her
millionth deep breath, and put her professional persona firmly in place. She
was going to save his life, and then she was
gonna
kick his ass.