With that, he was gone. Mel looked to Ara and patted the rock next to her. “Come. Sit down. I’ve been pacing for too long and it really doesn’t help Tristan any.”
Ara didn’t sit. Instead, she said, “Thank you for fighting to save my brother’s life.”
Mel blinked. She hadn’t seen that coming.
She shrugged, downplaying her actions. “I’m sure he would’ve done the same for me.” She patted the rock again. “Now, sit down. You’re super tall and looking up at you is giving me a crick in my neck. My little dragon baby might not care, but I do. Sit down, Arabella. I won’t bite.”
The dragonwoman hesitated a few second before gingerly sitting next to Mel. It took everything Mel had not to wrap her arm around the woman’s shoulders for support.
But for now, she was content that Arabella MacLeod would sit next to her.
The two of them sat in silence, staring at the tent and no doubt both hoping Tristan would pull through.
~~~
Tristan was trying to sleep, but his inner dragon kept repeating, “Wake up” over and over inside his head. Nothing, not even a growl or a threat of not shifting for a week, would make the beast stop.
Finally tired of it, he cracked open an eye and promptly shut it again. He moved his arm over his eyes. The light was too bloody bright.
He heard a breathy, “Tristan,” before a soft, warm hand grabbed his other hand and squeezed. He could scent Melanie Hall.
Suddenly, he remembered everything she’d done for him back in the clearing.
Clearly, he was still alive, and now in human form, which meant he was no longer in danger of dying. Yet he had no bloody idea what had happened between then and now. Maybe Melanie could tell him.
He moved his arm and opened his eyes more slowly this time to adjust to the light. Then he looked up into the face of his beautiful human. The way the light played along her cheeks and highlighted the red glints in her hair took his breath away. “Melanie.”
His voice sounded more like a choke than his usual calm, deep voice. But before he could ask for water, Melanie threw her upper body against his and hugged him tightly.
A little too tight. Pain seared through his shoulder, and despite the surge of joy at her touch and warmth, he couldn’t help but say, “Ouch.”
“Oh, sorry!” She released him and moved away. His dragon growled at that, but Melanie then moved to stroke his forehead and both the man and beast settled down. His female smiled and said, “I would tease you about being a big man baby when it comes to pain, but I’m beyond happy that you’re awake. You’ve been out for nearly a week, Tristan, and everyone was starting to think you wouldn’t wake up.”
The pain in his injured shoulder subsided as she continued to stroke his skin. He leaned into the caress of her fingers on his forehead and said, “But you never gave up, did you?”
A tear rolled down her cheek and he wished he had the strength to reach up and wipe it away.
Melanie shook her head as she rubbed away her tears. “No, of course not. If you haven’t learned by now how stubborn I can be, then you never will.”
His smile ruined his words. “You bloody stubborn ox.”
She laughed and leaned down to kiss his lips. She lingered and he found the strength to raise his hand and cup her cheek. “Melanie.”
“Yes?”
As they stared into one another’s eyes, Tristan wondered what would’ve happened to him if Melanie Hall hadn’t entered his life.
It wasn’t just the fact she was giving him the chance to be a father or that the wound he’d received from the dragon hunters might’ve killed him without her coaxing and calming his dragon enough to let the healers help him.
There was also finding out the truth about Arabella and making him realize his sister needed more help than he’d offered.
And, most of all, Melanie Hall had convinced him that not all humans were bad. Yes, bastards like the Carlisle hunters deserved his hatred and scorn, but the average person deserved a chance. Some, such as his human, were downright amazing.
Before he could stop himself from asking the question burning in his mind, he said, “Why did you put up with me, Melanie? I was a right bastard to you. And as much as I recoil at the thought of another male touching you, I am honest enough to admit that you deserve a man better than me.”
She frowned down at him. “That is your opinion. Do you want to hear mine?”
Yes, his dragon screamed. Let her talk. Don’t try to push her away. We love her.
Rather than think on his dragon’s use of “love” again, he nodded. Melanie sat on the edge of his bed and said, “You’re partially right. You were a bastard.” He opened his mouth to speak, but she beat him to it. “No, it’s my turn to talk.”
He shut his mouth and fought a smile at her bossy tone. The short, fragile human wasn’t afraid to order him around, and both halves of him liked that. A lot.
Seeing that he was keeping quiet, Melanie sat up and continued, “But you were a bastard out of pain. Once I saw you interacting with the children, I knew there was a good man inside of you, buried beneath your animosity and anger. And since we were already tied together because of the baby, I decided it was worth fighting to see if I could help you. Your child will be half human, and I couldn’t—and still can’t—stomach the thought of you hating that part of him or her.”
This time he wasn’t about to allow her to think that of him. He said, “I could never hate our child because it will always be half you.”
Her hand found his and squeezed. “Oh, Tristan.”
He really should say more, but fancy, pretty words were not his forte.
His dragon-half, however, was pushing him to say more. Tell her. We should claim her. Never let her leave.
Tristan didn’t want Melanie to leave. Even if, for some reason, she didn’t survive childbirth, he didn’t think he could ever care as much for someone again as he did for Melanie Hall. Her stubbornness, determination, and love had won him over. Completely.
But just as he wrestled the nerve to say something, there was a knock on the door. Melanie quickly rubbed her eyes and said, “Come in.”
Tristan had expected a doctor or maybe Bram. But it was neither.
His sister Arabella was standing in the doorway.
~~~
Over the past week, Melanie had won over Arabella bit by bit, but right now, she wished the dragonwoman would be anywhere but here.
Mel knew it was selfish, but Tristan was finally awake and she wanted to spend time with her dragon-shifter. Especially since the last of his inner walls constructed to keep her out were crumbling. His comment about never hating their baby because it was half hers had proven it.
But Arabella was Tristan’s sister and she had spent a good deal of the last week relieving Melanie of bedside duty and making sure Melanie had food to eat. While Ara still acted self-conscious whenever a new dragon-shifter saw her scars for the first time, at least she wasn’t cooped up in her house, locked away from the world.
And she had to be nearly as relieved as Melanie that Tristan was doing better. She smiled at the dragonwoman and said, “Did you hear? He’s awake?”
She frowned. “Why didn’t you call me?”
Mel still had a grip on Tristan’s hand and squeezed it. “Don’t look at me like that. It was only a few minutes ago and I think I earned a few minutes alone with my dragonman.”
Tristan tugged at her hand and said, “Your dragonman is awake and can talk for himself. Can we stop pretending that I’m not here?”
She couldn’t help but smile and motioned for Ara to join them before she turned back toward Tristan. “There, now you’re the focus of our attention again. Does that soothe your male ego?”
He frowned and Mel barely resisted laughing. He said, “I’m not awake five minutes and you’re teasing me again. What happened to taking care of me? I think this qualifies as being unwell enough to merit it.”
“If you think I’m goi
ng to coddle you and wait on you hand and foot, then you’ll be waiting a long time.”
Tristan smiled and Mel’s heart skipped a beat. The man was beyond handsome when he smiled.
Before he could say a word, Arabella sat down on the other side of Tristan and said, “So I’m guessing that you’re going to keep the human.”
Melanie tried not to hold her breath as she waited for his answer. Every cell in her body screamed that Tristan cared for her and never would toss her aside, but he’d never said anything out loud and she desperately wanted to hear it. She wasn’t a needy person by nature, but she’d like to know what her future held.
Well, at least for the next seven or eight months. She could still die in childbirth.
But she pushed that thought aside. Right now was a happy time. Tristan was awake and teasing her. Arabella didn’t hate her and could stand being in her company. Things were good compared to when she’d first arrived here a few weeks ago. She could worry about dying later.
Tristan glanced at her before looking at his sister. “I’m not sure anyone could ‘keep’ her. You’ve seen what she’s like. A right menace she is.”
Mel’s heart plummeted, but then Tristan looked at her with mischief in his eyes and hope surged again. He said, “But I plan on spending the time we have until our baby is born convincing Melanie to stay with me. Both the man and the dragon want to keep her.”
She wanted to scream, “Yes!”, but decided that would be a little too easy for her dragonman. After all, he’d admitted to being a bastard. She could tease him until he was well enough that she might reward him for not dying with more than words.
She tapped her chin in an overly dramatic fashion and said, “Hmm, well, you’re going to have to work hard at convincing me to stay. You’ve been a bit mean since meeting me.” She removed her finger from her chin and leaned down to whisper in his ear, “But I hope that you spend a good chunk of your time convincing me to stay by being naked in my bed.”
Arabella moved from the bed. “Okay, I really didn’t need to hear that.”
Oops. Mel had forgotten about the super-sensitive hearing of dragon-shifters.
She was about to apologize when there was a knock followed by the door opening to reveal Dr. Sid. “Someone reported hearing a male voice coming from this room despite the lack of male visitors, so I came to check and see if it was Tristan’s.” Her eyes darted to the male dragon-shifter. Then she looked from Melanie to Arabella and back. “And since he’s awake, I need to do a thorough examination and ask some questions. I know he just woke up and you’re happy about it, but I need you to leave me alone with him for fifteen minutes.”
Before she could reply, Tristan spoke up, “Melanie needs to go rest and eat something anyway.” She looked at his face and his eyes flashed to dragon slits. “My inner dragon doesn’t like the circles under your eyes or the fact I can tell you’ve lost some weight this week. Go. Eat, rest, and get well for me.”
“But you just woke up.”
He squeezed her hand and looked to Dr. Sid. “The danger has passed, right, Sid?”
Mel looked over at the doctor and she nodded. “While a complete examination will tell me more, I’m fairly certain you should pull through just fine. We were concerned that you’d never wake up from your coma, but that worry is gone.”
Tristan looked back to her. “See? Now that I’m getting better, I need you to take care of not only yourself, but our baby too.”
Melanie was teetering. Now that she wasn’t constantly worrying about Tristan, her exhaustion and hunger were starting to set it in.
Still, she looked to the doctor and said, “Will the exam be able to tell you when he can come home?” The doctor nodded and she looked back to Tristan. “Okay, then you win this time. But after a nap and some food, I’ll be back.”
Tristan said, “Good. Wake me up if I’m asleep.” She opened her mouth to protest but he shook his head. “No, Melanie. There are things we need to talk about and they can’t wait.”
She sighed. “Great. Now I’m sure that I’ll sleep just fine with that sentence hanging over my head.”
He snorted. “I’m not going to toss you aside or push you away again, if that’s what you’re worried about.” He moved his hand to her thigh and squeezed. “Get some sleep. Then we’ll talk about our baby and the future.”
She moved her hand over his and squeezed. “Okay, okay. If sleeping will ensure that you’ll talk openly later, then I can live with that deal.” She leaned down and kissed him gently on the lips. She stayed a hairbreadth away and said, “Until later, dragonman.”
The look in his eyes turned tender and sent a rush straight to her heart. She could still barely believe Tristan was finally hers.
She reluctantly moved from the bed and went out the door to allow Arabella to say goodbye to her brother. As she made her way to the exit of the building used as Stonefire’s hospital, Melanie couldn’t help but smile. Her dragon-shifter was awake, alive, and wanted to talk to her about their future.
Maybe her stubbornness and ability to see the good in people were about to finally pay off. She hoped so because Melanie couldn’t imagine living on Stonefire’s lands to raise her baby without Tristan by her side.
Chapter Five
Tristan had tried sleeping once the doctor had left, but his dragon-half wasn’t having it.
Our female is alone. No male to protect her. She doesn’t know she’s ours. Find her.
I’ve said it a million times. Soon. She’s sleeping and we are still recovering, he said to his inner beast. The dragon huffed and went back to pacing inside his head. No doubt so that Tristan would try to relax enough to fall asleep, only for his inner dragon to start demanding action all over again.
There were few times in his life he truly wished to silence his dragon, but this was one of them.
Did his dragon not realize how hard it was for Tristan to lie here, alone, without Melanie’s scent or heat next to him? He wasn’t well enough to fuck anything, but he wanted to hold his human close, and not just because he owed her his life. No, he missed her.
There was a gentle knock on the door before it eased open. Melanie peeked her head inside, but once she saw he was awake, she came in and closed the door behind her. She frowned and said, “Aren’t you supposed to be sleeping?”
While he was happy to see his human’s face again, he decided not to hide his grumpiness. “I tried to sleep, but my bloody dragon is all but roaring inside my head for me to find you.”
“Oh.”
“Yes, ‘oh’. Come here, Melanie, and lie next to me.”
She took a few steps closer, but remained out of the range of his hands and arms. “Not until you tell me what happened the day of Miles’ rescue.”
Right. The rescue. “That could take some time, love, and you look about ready to fall over.”
She started to move toward him but caught herself. “How do I know this isn’t a trick to get me into your bed and then you avoid answering any of my questions?”
This woman had risked her life to save his. Tristan was done with being anything less than honest with her. “My male ego may not like what happened, but you’ve earned an explanation. If not for you, Melanie Hall, I would not be alive. I will answer your questions. I swear it on our baby’s life.”
Melanie blinked, but then smiled. “I’m still trying to get used to this nicer version of you. It’s a bit of a shock, really.”
He growled. “I’m sure some of it will wear off when I’m not recovering from a near life-ending injury. Now, get into my bloody bed or I’ll find a way to cart you over here myself.”
She laughed. “I’d like to see that.”
He tossed back his blanket and moved to sit up. Melanie put up her hands. “Okay, okay. I’ll come over. Just don’t try to get up or you might rip open your cut again.”
She moved to his bed, sat down, and swung up her legs. The instant her head touched the pillow he threw his arm over her and squeeze
d. He whispered, “I’ve missed your soft body next to mine.”
Her tone held warning. “Tristan, you’re not well enough for sex. You know that.”
He moved his head to lay it on her shoulder. He kissed her exposed skin over her collarbone. “Believe me, if I were, you’d already be naked and under me by now.”
Her breath hitched and his inner beast hummed. Yes, their female liked that. Later, they would show her. Many times. She would never wander from them. She would stay forever.
Quiet, he muttered at his dragon-half. I can’t think with you banging on around inside my head.
The beast gave a huff and fell quiet, recognizing that it was the human-half of them who would have to convince their female to stay.
Melanie’s soft, lyrical voice echoed beneath his ear. “Okay, so I know what the whole clan knows and that you had to help Kai and Zain rescue the teenager, who is bruised but alive and should be okay in time with the support of his family. But everyone was surprised you went into the Carlisle compound. Why? Everyone just dismisses a rescue as a Protector’s job, not a teacher’s. If that’s true, why did they ask for your help in the first place?”
Apparently, his clan had kept more closed-lipped around Melanie than he liked. His dragon snarled at the lack of trust in their human, and Tristan nuzzled her exposed skin to calm both man and beast, loving the soft warmth of her skin. “The Protectors are similar to a human private security company. They’re the best of the best and each of them has trained with the human military for a time. Usually, they are the ones to rescue or help get a dragon-shifter out of trouble. But the two young males who reported Miles’ capture forgot to mention it was the Carlisle dragon hunters. Once we found that out, we had to change our plans and act fast.”
“Why?”
He resisted tightening his grip around his human and instead leaned into her warm curves to keep his anger concerning the dragon hunters in check. The contact worked. “The Carlisle branch of dragon hunters will torture, abuse, and sometimes even rape a dragon-shifter before draining it of blood. The problem is, young dragon-shifter blood won’t cure anything. They would either keep the young male until he was an adult, subjecting him to years of abuse, or kill him and sell his scales, teeth, and talons to the highest bidder.”
Sacrificed to the Dragon: Part Four Page 4
