Bound By Flames: A Hot Paranormal Dragon Shifter Romance (Hidden Realms of Silver Lake Book 8)

by Vella Day

  Logan rushed down the hallway, and once outside, he shifted and then soared upward. The higher he flew the more concerned he became.

  There is nothing to worry about. There is nothing to worry about. Too bad that mantra didn’t help as much as he’d hoped.

  Once in town, Logan landed on top of the SinCas building and then raced down one flight to take the elevator to the bottom floor. Every time he didn’t stop and say hi to his siblings and cousins, guilt attacked him. Today though, he couldn’t afford to. All he could do was promise he’d make it up to them soon.

  After exiting the building, he jogged toward Wendy’s apartment building. Once he arrived, he took the steps two at a time until he reached the third floor. At her door he knocked, but she didn’t answer.

  “Wendy? It’s Logan.”

  He didn’t need to press his ear to the door to recognize that nothing was moving inside. Damn. In case, she was still asleep or was listening to music using earphones, he knocked again.

  Still no answer. When he pressed his palms to the door, his body tingled, indicating his mate was near. He wished he could figure out what kind of game she was playing. Surely, she sensed he was on the other side of the door. They were mates after all.

  He jiggled the door handle and found it open. What the hell? When he pushed it open, he froze. It took him a good second or two before his body could even move. Wendy was sprawled on the floor, her cheek pressed against the carpet, and her eyes closed. He rushed over to her, dropped to his knees, and shook her shoulder. “Wendy? Can you hear me?”

  Her breathing was ragged and her skin pale. Why hadn’t her wolf healed her? Both Greer and Declan were healers. Since they’d know what to do, he called his sister. When he’d passed the SinCas jewelry store on his way out of the building, Tory was manning the store, which meant Greer would be free.

  “Hey, Log. What’s up?”

  “I just found Wendy unconscious on her apartment floor. Can you come over and do your magic?”

  “What happened?”

  “I don’t know. I just arrived at her place.”

  “Just hang tight. I’ll be right there.”

  He didn’t know if Greer had ever visited Wendy at her place. “She’s in the same apartment building as where Danita used to live. It’s apartment 308.”

  “Got it. I’ll contact Declan in case he’s better suited to heal her. Is she bleeding anywhere?” Her high heels clicked on the steps going up to the rooftop.

  Shit. He hadn’t even thought to look. “Let me see.”

  “Check her whole body.”

  He wasn’t about to undress her, but he did do a visual sweep. Seeing nothing that resembled any kind of injury, he rolled her onto her other side. “No. Nothing.”

  “Good. Stay with her. I’ll be there shortly.”

  Like he was going to leave his mate? When he disconnected, he pressed two fingers to her neck though he wasn’t sure why. Her chest was rising and falling slowly, meaning she had a pulse, faint though it was.

  “Come on, Wendy, wake up for me.”

  Only she didn’t move—or moan. Logan looked around the apartment to see if there was any evidence of a struggle, but everything appeared to be in order. Even her laptop was undisturbed on the table. If she’d fainted from lack of food or something, her wolf would have stepped in and cured her.

  The next few minutes waiting for Greer or Declan were the longest he’d ever spent. Feeling helpless was foreign to him, and he didn’t like it one bit.

  As if Greer had the ability to teleport, his sister appeared by his side. “Logan, scoot over. Let me see what I can do.”

  “Is Declan coming?”

  “He’ll be here as soon as he can. How about getting a cold compress for her?”

  Happy to have something to do, Logan jumped up and rushed into the kitchen. He suspected it was to get him out of the way while his sister administered her healing powers, but he wasn’t about to question her.

  Before he was able to retrieve the cold cloth though, Declan arrived, and Logan gave himself permission to relax for the first time since he’d found his mate. At least she was now in good hands.

  With the cold compress in hand, Logan strode out of the kitchen half expecting to see Wendy in her wolf form to finish the healing process.

  What he found instead were two very worried faces. Both Greer and Declan were on the floor conversing. He handed the cloth to Greer and then squatted next to them. “What’s wrong with her?”

  His sister reached out and clasped his hand. “We can’t be sure, but given her lack of response and the aura surrounding her, we both think she might have been poisoned,” Greer said.

  Logan’s world spun. All he could think of was the two dead teens. True, they were human, and Wendy was not, but she might have ingested more than they had. “We have to do something.”

  Declan stood. “We’ve done what we can. Wendy should be fine in an hour or so, but we want the medic to take some blood samples just to be sure.”

  The doctors at the Sinclair mine were trained for every contingency. “I’ll take her there now.”

  “Be prepared if she happens to wake up mid-flight,” Declan said.

  “I will. Thanks. How about you call the doctor and fill him in?”

  “We will. Go,” Greer said. “We’ll pack her laptop and clothes too in case she needs to spend the night.”

  Without any more delay, Logan lifted Wendy, who seemed to weigh nothing. With her in his arms, he rushed into the hallway and then took the stairs up one flight to the rooftop.

  Inhaling, he shifted and took off. Please let her be okay. He wasn’t really the praying type, but this was his mate. Logan would do whatever it took to make sure she healed.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Logan hated not knowing who had tried to poison Wendy. Most likely the attack was meant as a warning to keep her from researching the death of the two teens. While Logan was no expert in wolf anatomy, he’d never heard of a wolf shifter being poisoned to death. That meant either the person didn’t know she was a shifter, or it was just to let Wendy know the next step would be fatal. Speculating however would get him nowhere. Research was his friend.

  As Logan headed to the Sinclair mines’ underground safehouse with an unconscious Wendy in his grasp, he constantly checked the surrounding airspace to make certain that Deke Darnell—or any other dragon—wasn’t following him. Not that he would know what Deke’s dragon looked like, but if anyone else approached, Logan would be hard-pressed to do battle while holding her.

  When the mines came into view, he relaxed a bit. Logan adjusted his altitude and landed as close to the front entrance as possible. Thank goodness, one of the medical staff members was there to help open the doors and guide him inside.

  “Put her on the gurney,” the attendant said. “The doctor is waiting for her.”

  Not wanting to let her out of his sight, he followed the attendant who pushed Wendy down the long corridor. As they neared the medical room, the doctor stepped into the hallway.

  He faced Logan. “Greer called me, but can you tell me what happened exactly?”

  Wendy groaned, opened her eyes, and gave Logan a small smile. “Where am I?”

  “You’re in a safe place now. I found you passed out and brought you here. This good doctor wants to check you out,” Logan said, thrilled that she would be okay as Declan had said.

  “K.” She smiled and then nodded off to asleep again.

  “Why don’t you wheel her into the room?” the doctor said to the attendant before returning his attention back to Logan “Go on.”

  “I stopped by her apartment a short while ago and found her on the floor. Wendy had been working on a story involving the death of two teens.” Logan explained that it could be rat poisoning based solely on the fact that it was what was found to have killed those kids.

  “Did you see a box of poison?” the doctor asked.

  “No, but those two boys died from a mixture of Crena
thum and rat poisoning.”

  “I’ll test her blood. Why don’t you get something to drink and give me some space?”

  Apparently, healers didn’t like anyone hovering. “Sure thing. Can I bring you anything?”

  “No, but when Greer and Declan arrive, send them in.”

  Logan wanted to say he was Wendy’s mate, but the doctor and he didn’t need to be wasting time arguing. “Sure.”

  Instead of grabbing his drink, Logan returned to the entrance to wait for his sister and cousin. Hopefully, they found what had caused Wendy’s collapse.

  It wasn’t long before Logan spotted two specks of black in the air. They landed a few seconds later, and Greer rushed up to him. “Is she okay?”

  “Yes. She woke up but was a little disoriented. I didn’t get a chance to ask her any questions though. She’s with the doctor. Did you find the source of the poison?” he asked.

  Declan handed him Wendy’s tablet and shook his head. “No, and we looked.”

  “Damn. The doctor wants to talk to you both. I’m going to call Camden to see if he can test the food in the house.”

  “Good idea. While we don’t know what kind of poison it was, I sensed some kind of evil lingering in her body,” Greer said.

  He could only hope some dark Fey hadn’t come back to take revenge for her exposing Malpan. Logan shook his head. He couldn’t think that way, or it would drive him crazy.

  Logan followed Greer and Declan inside. While he wanted to track down the person who did this, he didn’t want to leave Wendy in her time of need. If her apartment complex had security cameras, he would have requested the footage of who came and went into her place. The fact her front door was open when he arrived really bothered him. He hoped Wendy hadn’t been careless and left her door unlocked.

  In front of the doctor’s office, Greer gave him Wendy’s satchel. “She’ll want this when she’s feeling better,” his sister said. “Here are her keys too. We found them on the table. Don’t worry, we locked her front door when we left.”

  “Thanks.”

  Declan knocked on the closed medical room door, pushed it open, and then stepped inside. Logan wouldn’t do any good waiting there, so he headed down the hallway to find an unoccupied room for his mate. The nicest rooms were the suites at the end.

  He placed her case near the entrance and her tablet on the desk across from the bed. When Wendy was well again, she’d ask about it for sure. He couldn’t remember a time when she didn’t have it with her.

  In need of something to perk him up, he went to the kitchen. Once Logan poured himself a cup of rather cold coffee, he called Camden at the lab.

  “Hey, big brother. What’s up?”

  “I guess you haven’t heard.”

  “Heard what?”

  Logan wasn’t sure where to begin. Since his chemistry-genius brother needed to understand the history of what happened, Logan started with the deaths of the two teens, the death of the truck driver a few months back, and then how Wendy had been targeted twice now. “She’s definitely stepped on some toes.”

  “I’d say.”

  “If the driver of the furniture truck from Thedia hadn’t died of the same lethal combination of Crenathum and rat poisoning as had the two teens, I’m not sure I would have believed she was poisoned. Greer and Declan sensed she had been, but the doctor is doing tests now.”

  “What do you need me to do?”

  “Can you find the source of the poison at her place?” Logan asked.

  “I can look. Do you have the key to her apartment?”

  “Yes, but you’ll have to pick up the key from the safehouse. I’ll meet you out front.”

  “I’m on my way,” Camden said.

  “I’ll owe you big time.”

  Camden worked in the SinCas lab mostly designing and setting gems into jewelry pieces, but his real specialty was building and embedding tracking devices into rings and necklaces, as well as being able to determine the chemical composition of anything and everything. Whereas Stone loved to be outside flying around searching for clues, Camden would rather stay cooped up in his lab being creative.

  Let’s hope both of their talents could help save Wendy.

  A quick cramp shot across her abdomen, jarring her back to awareness. What was going on? Wendy tried to open her eyes, but it was as if her muscles had gone on vacation. Out of nowhere, soothing waves of pleasure washed over her, helping to reassure her that things would be okay.

  A soft, warm hand clasped hers. “I think she’s coming out of it.”

  It was a woman’s voice, but Wendy couldn’t tell who it belonged to. She tried to say something, but her lips appeared to be stuck together.

  “Logan, try holding her hand,” said the woman.

  Logan? Yes. Everything would be okay. She was sure of it now.

  “Wake up again, Wendy. You did it before.”

  She remembered seeing Logan’s face, which meant she must have passed out again.

  Warmth and strength seeped through to her from his gentle grip. Even if the woman hadn’t said Logan’s name, Wendy would have known it was him. The connection between them pumped up her heart, and it was as if he was transferring his health into her.

  Her eyes popped open all by themselves, and then his face loomed over hers.

  “Welcome back,” Logan said with a smile.

  Her mind spun but came up empty. “Did I fall asleep again?”

  “You did.”

  “What happened?” she asked.

  “I’m not quite sure.” He explained about finding her on the floor in her apartment and how Greer and Declan helped heal her. “I know you have a lot of questions. I do too. Bottom line is that we believe someone poisoned you.”

  All of a sudden reality flooded in, and her stomach churned. “Poisoned? How is that possible? I was by myself ever since I left you, though you might be right. My stomach isn’t totally back to normal.”

  He patted her hand. “How about resting, and when you are feeling better, we’ll figure it out, okay?”

  “I’m already feeling better. I don’t even need to shift to finish healing.”

  Logan dipped his chin. “Wendy.”

  “Okay, I’ll shift for a bit, and when I’m good, I’ll rest even more.”

  Logan let go of her hand. He nodded to the others, and they all exited the room.

  When she awoke the next time, the lights were out. While she couldn’t tell how long she’d slept, she felt a lot better. All she needed was a moment to assess what happened. She shifted back into her human form, and just as she swung her legs over the edge of the bed, her stomach grumbled. Considering she’d been poisoned, she was a bit surprised she’d want food—but she did. Thank you, my wolf.

  You’re welcome.

  Wanting to see this safe place, she located the light switch by the door and flicked it on. Nice! Was this Logan’s house per chance? No. It couldn’t be. Even if he’d called someone to make a house call, he wouldn’t have an exam room.

  The room was quite large. One wall was covered by a closed drape, and in the corner sat a small sofa, two chairs, and a table. Across from that was a desk, and on it was her tablet. Excitement raced through her. How thoughtful of Logan to bring it here.

  To the left of the door sat her satchel. When Wendy opened it, she found several changes of clothes, including underwear. Heat flushed her face thinking about Logan going through drawers. She didn’t know why she was embarrassed. He must have realized she’d want something to change into and had acted accordingly. Or had Greer gathered her stuff? She and Declan had helped heal her, so Greer might have grabbed a few things for her to wear.

  Across from the covered wall was a door that led to a luxurious bathroom. Wow. Not only did it have a large shower, there was a soaker tub too. After what she’d been through, Wendy decided to enjoy the luxury. It would help her heal more fully, both physically as well as mentally.

  Almost giddy, she dragged her case with her clean clot
hes into the bathroom and then stripped. While she believed she and Logan belonged together, Wendy closed the bathroom door, convinced that Logan never slept. Dragons, she’d been told, didn’t need much rest. Knowing him, he’d hear that she was up and want to talk to her. It didn’t matter it was in the middle of the night.

  Hoping she could have another few hours to reflect on who might have tried to poison her, Wendy drew a bath. While luxuriating in the tub, someone knocked on the bathroom door. Called it! “Yes?”

  She knew it was Logan from the way pulses of pleasure were rippling over her skin.

  “Are you okay?” Logan asked.

  At least this time she understood why he’d ask. “I’m good.”

  “I’d like to talk to you.”

  The clock on the nightstand had said it was only two. “Give me a sec to get out of the tub. I just need to dry off and change.”

  “Okay. Take your time.”

  Logan must have learned something if he felt it that important to talk to her in the middle of the night. Wendy climbed out of the tub and drained the water. As she ran her towel over her body, she stared at the mirror and cringed. Maybe it was the rather dim light over the sink, but her skin looked almost gray. She felt okay, so why did she look so bad? Sheesh.

  As quickly as she could, she tossed on some clothes and then brushed her teeth since the metallic taste in her mouth was rather disgusting. When she opened the door, she almost expected to see an empty room. Most men wouldn’t have been so patient but apparently Logan was.

  He jumped up from the chair and rushed over to her. Clasping her shoulders, he studied her. “How are you feeling? And don’t just say okay. I want the truth.”

  “I was a little weak, but the rest did wonders. I’m fine, really.

  He smiled briefly. “Good. Are you hungry?”

  She didn’t have to think about that. “Surprisingly yes. You said I was poisoned, but it must be out of my system, or I wouldn’t be.”

  “Great. Then follow me.”

  “In the middle of the night?”

  He smiled. “It’s two in the afternoon. You’ve slept a lot.”