His dragon was clawing to get free, but Tristan pushed him back knowing full well that if his beast took control, Melanie would die.
Through sheer force of will he released his mate’s hand and moved out of the way. He let a nurse guide him out of the room, never taking his eyes off his mate until they were out in the hall.
He stopped and clenched his fists. He wanted to do something to help her, but in this, he was useless. Especially as his dragon was threatening to come out and kill everyone in the delivery room. They had killed their mate. They needed to revenge her. It would make them feel better.
Shut it, he yelled at his dragon. They are trying to save her.
His dragon gave a grunt and went back to pacing.
The nurse touched his arm and he glanced over. “Do you want to see your children now?”
With his dragon pacing and growling inside his head, seeing his children would help to keep his human-half in control. Not only that, it would help distract his human-half as well. He had every confidence in Sid’s abilities. Between the skill of the doctor and his mate’s stubbornness, he was confident Melanie would come back to him.
She had to.
He nodded at the nurse and followed her down the hallway into the newborn room. Since dragon-shifter numbers were low, there weren’t any other children in the room.
As he approached the two little carts that held them, he could scent his son and daughter and his dragon relaxed a fraction. They needed to protect their young. No one would harm them.
Tristan didn’t argue and reached a hand out to caress the cheek of his son and then his daughter. And for the first time in memory, he felt tears prick his eyes. He whispered to his children, “Don’t worry. Your mum will be a bit late, but she’ll be here. She loves you and would never abandon you.”
As the feel of his children’s skin helped to calm him, he only hoped he wasn’t lying.
~~~
Melanie heard a voice so faint she couldn’t make out whether it was male or female, let alone what they were saying. There was so much noise. Beeping and yelling. Metal crashing and more yelling.
But she didn’t hear the cries of her children.
Her children. Where were they?
Then she felt a jolt go through her body followed by a split-second burning, which caused her to gasp in a mouthful of air. She opened her eyes and saw four dragon-shifters standing around her.
As her muddled mind tried to figure out what was going on, one of the dragonwomen—the doctor, she remembered—said, “Melanie. Thank fuck. Can you hear me?”
It took a colossal amount of energy for her to whisper, “Sid?”
“Yes, it’s Cassidy. You’re going to be okay.”
“Tristan?”
“He’ll be back soon. You know how protective male dragon-shifters are, so I kicked him out. He’s with your children.”
Her children. She wanted her children. “Where are my babies?”
Sid said, “We’ll bring them in shortly. I think you’re out of the danger zone, but I want to monitor you for the next ten minutes just to make sure and also deliver the afterbirth. It’s safe for you to fall asleep, so close your eyes and I’ll wake you when Tristan comes back with your twins.”
“Tristan,” she whispered and then she dozed.
A short time later, she woke to someone shaking her. “Melanie, wake up. Tristan’s here.”
At the sound of her mate’s name, Melanie forced her eyes open. Her brain was still bleary with exhaustion, but her power nap had helped with her concentration.
The doctor moved out of the way and she saw Tristan holding two little bundles.
The picture of her tall, muscled dragonman holding two tiny, ridiculously pastel bundles in green and yellow made her smile. “Hi,” she whispered.
Tristan rushed to her side and maneuvered himself into the chair at her bedside. He leaned over and kissed her before he said, “Hi, yourself.”
“You’re being nice to me. It’s weird.”
He smiled. “Don’t worry, it won’t last long. Now, how would you like to meet your children, Melanie Hall-MacLeod?”
Tears filled her eyes and she nodded. He raised one bundle, the yellow one, and said, “This is our daughter,” —he then raised the green bundle— “and this is our son.”
She was too exhausted to attempt picking up either of her children. Instead, she said, “Can you place one in the crook of my arm, Tristan?”
“I can do better than that.”
He rearranged her arm and placed their daughter. Then he gently laid their son on her chest and kept him steady by supporting him with his hand.
At the feel of the warmth of her two children, tears rolled down her cheeks. Happy seemed too tame a word to describe what she felt right now.
As she looked from her son to her daughter and then up to her mate, she decided she felt complete.
Tristan kissed her, lingering a few seconds before pulling away. “Sid told me we only have a few minutes before I need to let you rest. So I wanted to tell you our children’s names first.”
She frowned. “Tell me? Since when do you get to decide?”
He grinned. “I’ll think you like my names.”
She doubted it, but she was too tired to argue. “Fine. What ridiculous names did you decide on? Gerard and Millicent?”
“No.” He nodded toward their son. “This is Jack Ryan.” He then nodded toward their daughter. “And this is Annabel Piper.”
Melanie blinked. “But those are the names I wanted.”
He smiled and caressed her forehead with his free hand. “You more than deserve the privilege of naming them, love. I think I can live with my children being named Jack and Annabel MacLeod.”
Tears started falling again and Mel somehow managed to whisper, “Are you sure?”
“Of course. I already registered their names with the nurse, so it’s a done deal.”
“Oh, Tristan.”
He leaned down and kissed her. Then he laid his forehead on hers. “All that matters to me is that my family is alive and healthy. Our children’s names mean little as long as I have you.”
Love spread throughout her body. “Tristan MacLeod, I love you.”
He smiled. “And I love you too, my little mate.”
As they smiled at each other, their daughter started to fuss so Tristan stood up. “I think the nurse is going to help you feed the baby. And then I’m kicking the nurse out so you can get some sleep.”
“But you’ll stay with me and the babies?”
“Always.”
Melanie was really doing the waterworks today, but given the amount of hormones currently surging through her body, she decided she could cry as much as she wanted.
When the nurse came over, Tristan gingerly picked up their son Jack, moved out of the way, and traced the little man’s cheek. The sight of Tristan MacLeod, alpha dragon-shifter extraordinaire, cooing a baby warmed her heart.
She hugged her daughter close and decided that she and Tristan had come a long way. What had originally started out as an exchange to save her brother’s life had turned into her own happily ever after.
Not that times wouldn’t be tough in the future, especially once she finished her book, but Melanie had her own family now and she would do whatever it took to protect them. She didn’t doubt for a second that Tristan would do the same. Together, they might be able to make the world a better place for their children.
For now, she watched her mate and cuddled her daughter, content to live in the moment because she’d never been as happy as she was right at that moment.
*~*~*~*
Don’t be sad that it’s over! Bram’s story, Seducing the Dragon, is next. :) To learn how you can receive an alert when Part One is ready (late October), please turn the page. But before you do so, if you enjoyed this story, then please consider leaving a review!
Dear Reader:
Would you like to know when the first part of Seducing the Dragon (
Bram’s story) is available? (And receive exclusive goodies and information too?) You can sign up for my newsletter at www.jessiedonovan.com or by liking my Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/JessieDonovanAuthor.
Also, I need to ask you a favor. Word-of-mouth is crucial for any author to succeed. If you enjoyed this book, please consider leaving a review. Even if it's only a line or two, it would be a huge help!
While waiting for the first installment of Bram and Evie’s story, maybe you’d like to check out the first book of my Cascade Shifters series, Reclaiming the Wolf, or the first book in my Asylums for Magical Threats paranormal romance series, Blaze of Secrets. Turn the page for a glimpse of my other works.
With Gratitude,
Jessie Donovan
Reclaiming the Wolf
(Cascade Shifters #1)
Female wolf-shifter clan leaders are rare, but Kaya Alexie thrives on the challenge and can handle anything the men of her pack throw her way. However, when the male cougar-shifter who broke her heart ten years ago shows up on her doorstep with a dead wolf-shifter in tow, her whole world goes off-kilter. She’s determined to ignore him, but when a virus threatens to decimate her clan, she has no choice but to work with her ex and his brother to survive.
Sylas Murray is sent by his brother to ask for the wolves’ help in solving the mystery of a recent wolf-shifter attack. There are a few problems, however. Not only is he a cougar-shifter among a pack of wolves, the clan leader is also his ex-girlfriend. To say they had a bad break-up would be putting it mildly—Sy’s actions nearly destroyed the truce his clan had with the wolf-shifters. But as a virus threatens the GreyFire wolves, Sy and Kaya must put aside their past to find a cure.
As they work together and race against the clock, Sy starts to wonder why he let Kaya go in the first place. Despite their past, will he be able to reclaim the wolf that captured his heart and start over?
———————
Available now on All Romance eBooks.
Blaze of Secrets
(Asylums for Magical Threats #1)
Kiarra Melini overhears the dangerous secrets of her blood and decides that if Feiru elemental magic is to survive, she needs to die. However, before she can finish the deed, a strange yet determined man shows up in her cell, throws her over his shoulder, and carries her right out of the prison for elemental magic users.
Jaxton Ward is ordered by his superiors to train the stubborn elemental fire user he rescued. There's only one problem—she claims her magic is gone and he has no idea how to train a woman who spent the last fifteen years inside a prison cell. He's determined to keep his relationship professional, but as the danger amps up and they're forced to go on the run, he starts to fall for the newly confident woman who ignites his temper like no other.
Kiarra's final secret is the key to them staying alive, but can they outrun the prison enforcers long enough for her to embrace her unique magical talents and finally learn to love again?
———————
Available now on All Romance eBooks.
Books by Jessie Donovan
Asylums for Magical Threats
Blaze of Secrets (AMT #1)
Frozen Desires (AMT #2)
Shadow of Temptation (AMT #2.5)
Cascade Shifters
Convincing the Cougar (CS #0.5)
Reclaiming the Wolf (CS #1)
Cougar’s First Christmas (CS #1.5, November 2014)
Stonefire Dragons
Sacrificed to the Dragon: Part One
Sacrificed to the Dragon: Part Two
Sacrificed to the Dragon: Part Three
Sacrificed to the Dragon: Part Four
Seducing the Dragon: Part One (late October 2014)
Author’s Note
Writing my first serialized story has been unbelievable. I never expected for people to enjoy my dragon-shifters this much, and I’m grateful every day to my readers and fans for their support! I have many more stories to tell in this world, and I hope you’ll join me along for the ride!
However, I had a lot of help along the way in getting these stories out. I am extremely grateful to Becky Johnson of Hot Tree Editing for responding to my, “Hey! I have a new idea! Can you book me in the next few weeks for this awesome story I’m going to write now?” with a “Sure, we’ll make it work.” Becky and her team have made me a better writer.
I also need to thank Clarissa Yeo of Yocla Designs for my gorgeous covers. I asked for a hot guy and a dragon on the cover, and she came back with the eye-catching red cover we all know from Part One. She is extremely talented, and I am lucky to have her as my cover artist!
Jayelle Anderson is my “beginnings” critique partner (I suck at openings, and she always helps me with them). It was because of her questions that I was able to make my world-building that much more believable. She has an awesome web comic, Anaria, and you should check it out (Anaria.net)!
And finally, I can’t thank The Wolf Pack enough for their support and steady stream of man candy. It helps to keep me sane. :)
Thanks everyone! If you don’t completely hate me for killing off Caitriona Belmont (sorry, it had to be done! It’ll make sense eventually...), then I hope you’ll join me for Bram and Evie’s story. Fingers crossed, the first part of Seducing the Dragon will be out in late October.
Happy reading!
About the Author
Jessie Donovan wrote her first story at age five, and after discovering The Dragonriders of Pern series by Anne McCaffrey in junior high, she realized people actually wanted to read stories like those floating around inside her head. From there on out, she was determined to tap into her over-active imagination and write a book someday.
After living abroad for five years and earning degrees in Japanese, Anthropology, and Secondary Education, she buckled down and finally wrote her first full-length book. While that story will never see the light of day, it laid the world-building groundwork of what would become her debut paranormal romance, Blaze of Secrets.
Jessie loves to interact with readers. When not reading a book or traipsing around some foreign country on a shoestring, she can often be found on Facebook and Twitter. You can email her at: [email protected].
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the writer’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Sacrificed to the Dragon: Part Four
Copyright © 2014 Laura Hoak-Kagey
All rights reserved.
First Digital Edition
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner without the express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Cover Art by Clarissa Yeo of Yocla Designs
ISBN: 978-0989733694
Sacrificed to the Dragon: Part Four Page 7
